Mix with phones or speakers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ShawnT
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ShawnT

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I've been using a cheap headset with attached mic for mixing down my stuff. This is probably not the best thing to do. What is an affordable way to monitor my mix as I work, that sounds natural and doesn't color what I'm hearing too much? Are speakers really better than phones? I would think phones are better, because you can hear everything up close and personal.
 
Most would recommend you mix with monitors, not headphones. Obviously if you have really crappy monitors, or none at all, the headphones are your best option. Some people purposely run their mixes through crappy monitors, figuring that if they can get the mix to sound good on them, it will sound good on just about any sound system.
 
Optimum, of course, would be some good flat monitors in a well treated room. The reason being, headphones are hyped in either the low end or the high end or both and don't give you the real story on what's going on in your mix. I check my mixes on headphones for space, panning etc but the main mixing happens on my nearfields.

Have you noticed that when you burn off a CD from a headphone mix and then try it in different sound systems (car, home stereo, boombox) they don't sound the same? Too bass heavy or other parts way outta whack...?

Until you can get to the point where you have the money and time to set up your room right, just learn what you've got. If you know that your cans are bass heavy, just do your mixes bass light. Know what I mean? It's not perfect and will take some trial and error but you can still get useable mixes.

Hope it helps man.....:cool:
 
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