Sounding different in headphones than speakers?

N

Notebook.

New member
I don't get it, haha. I sound different in my headphones than my speakers.
but, the speakers seem to sound more like me.
my voice sounds dull and cluttered in headphones,
but the speakers sound like how I intended my vocals to be.


Anyone know the reason for this?
 
Notebook. said:
Anyone know the reason for this?
Click to expand...
Because when you use headphones your ears get in the way. You'll need to cut off your ears.


:D



Try open-backed headphones, if you haven't, for a less claustrophobic sound. You won't get as good isolation though.
 
Which is the real sound of your voice? Neither. Any recording/playback system gives a simulation of your real voice, more or less sophisticated, depending. And that's good because it allows the recording to sometimes sound better than the original voice.

BTW I was only half kidding about the ears being in the way. An individual's outer ears greatly affect how particular headphones sound to them, making one pair of headphones have a different EQ response from one person to the next.

Try this: take a CDR of yourself singing to a pro audio retailer and ask to try out headphones. You'll be amazed at the difference in sound "realism" from one pair to another. Speaker systems too.
 
True.
Like, listen to my voice on my recordings: www.myspace.com/catanotebook
In my speakers, my voice sounds more bright and full of energy as I intend it to be when I record.
then when I put on my headphones, it sounds so dull.
which leaves me questioning if I should re-do my vocals or leave as be, lol.
 
Monitoring is a critical factor, probably the most critical factor, to making good recordings. Lots of info on the site if you search. Listening to your tracks on a wide variety of systems tells you a lot - car, home stereo, studio monitors, iPod earbuds, etc. And using reference recordings - pro recordings that you like the sound of and that are similar to what you're going for - to compare your own to on those same playback systems. It takes a lot of work to get to really know your monitor system, and get it set up right. Well set up speaker systems are better than headphones for accurate monitoring of sound quality, IME.
 
yeah, I get you.
well, listen to my music on the link that I sent you.
and actually like, tell me what YOU hear and think of my voice, haha. if you don't mind.
 
I just listened to your latest song on your MySpace page on headphones, then on speakers. They sounded different. On headphones everything sounds so close but on speakers everything sounds much farther away. I'm not sure, maybe you should re-record your vocals....:confused:
 
OK. Listened to the first track. The vocal sounds very good (where the main vocal comes in around :40 or so), even on myspace. I listened through KRK V6 monitor speakers, in a treated room. I think you need to replace your headphones.
 
I've gotten away from headphones. There seems to be a trend because every musician friend of mine hates headphones. Hates them. And I don't think I heard this from people 10 - 15 years ago.

If you think about it, mounting speakers 1/2" away from your head and cutting off the outside world is a very unnatural thing if you're trying to hear in any normal way. It's just not human. It's a make-do thing, something you do if you really have to. It shouldn't be part of normal recording if you can avoid it.

Ten years ago I used headphones constantly but in this last while I've been using them less and less to the point where I think they are over.
 
XLR said:
OK. Listened to the first track. The vocal sounds very good (where the main vocal comes in around :40 or so), even on myspace. I listened through KRK V6 monitor speakers, in a treated room. I think you need to replace your headphones.
Click to expand...

so, my voice sounds pretty bright and normal, and not deep and muffled from where you're listening at?
 
I saw your question the first time you said it. And I already answered it 9 posts before this one.
 
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