mixing on headphones

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kasey
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Kasey

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I was just curious as to what everyones view on mixing on headphones is. Most people of course say dont do it, but then again i've heard other people say that if you listen to music on headphones a lot, then you can get by because you know how the music should sound through headphones. Opinions, anyone?
 
don´t do that. Your ears will thank you for that.
 
My own feeling is that if you have the mix right on speakers it will sound good on headphones. I use headphones to check mixes, to listen to detail from time to time, but otherwise use speakers.

There was a big thread on this recently, you can find it here:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=161926&highlight=headphones

The discussion gets a bit heated at times, but it's actually a good thread in my opinion.
 
Personal experience is usually a good teacher. Try mixing both ways and compare the results. I've always found that the headphone mix was pretty far off the mark--even for something very basic such as the level of the lead vocal.
 
How come, if monitor speakers are so good, they don't make hifi speakers basically the same as monitor speakers? And if you listen to a CD/album on monitor speakers, are you getting a closer experience of the sound the producers intended?
 
Home audio speakers are designed to make music sound good. Monitors are designed to tell the truth. Audio speakers produce frequencies used in music. Monitors produce the wholw audio spectrum., including hiss, hum, rumble, everything that sucks. If monitors sound really good, either they aren't very good monitors, or you have a righteous mix. Generally, mixes done on headphones sound pretty good- on headphones. The lack of crosstalk is a killer. It skews the pan on every signal. When I play something on speakers, my left ear doesn't just hear the left speaker, it hears both left and right. And the difference in time between the arrival of those two signals is what tells me the left speaker is to my left. Headphones are like an MC Escher painting. It's a picture that cant exist in the real world. So then I start playing with the panning to simulate reality, but it doesn't work. I do a lot of stereo recording, and I find mixing with cans to be pointless.-Richie
 
What Blue Bear said...... Oh, and this is my 500th post!! :D

Seriously, Bear pointed you to a great article.... Enjoy!!
 
Nice post, Richard. Sometimes a short, clear explanation means a lot more than "just don't do it." I've found exactly what you describe although I'll admit that I still use my phones periodically during the mixing process. After all, a mix should sound good on everything, not only my speakers. I just don't rely on the phones while making any key decisions.

J.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Home audio speakers are designed to make music sound good. Monitors are designed to tell the truth. Audio speakers produce frequencies used in music. Monitors produce the wholw audio spectrum., including hiss, hum, rumble, everything that sucks. If monitors sound really good, either they aren't very good monitors, or you have a righteous mix. Generally, mixes done on headphones sound pretty good- on headphones. The lack of crosstalk is a killer. It skews the pan on every signal. When I play something on speakers, my left ear doesn't just hear the left speaker, it hears both left and right. And the difference in time between the arrival of those two signals is what tells me the left speaker is to my left. Headphones are like an MC Escher painting. It's a picture that cant exist in the real world. So then I start playing with the panning to simulate reality, but it doesn't work. I do a lot of stereo recording, and I find mixing with cans to be pointless.-Richie
Click to expand...

When i go with your definition richard i have to say that genelec 1030a´s are home audio speakers or they aren't very good monitors :D


@ Kasey

don´t do that. Your ears will thank you for that.
 
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