which headphones for studio mixing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter relaxandreflect
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relaxandreflect

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can anyone recommend any good studio mixing headphones for $150 or less?
 
Relaxandreflect, Do yourself a favor and do a search in this forum for "headphone mixing".

A cheap pair of monitors is arguably better than a kick ass pair of headphones for mixing purposes. You'll find your better not to get those $150 headphones and get a shitty pair of monitors.
 
well the space i am looking at may not be large enough for mixing with studio monitors. are there not any headphones available that would work for studio mixing? i will be recording music for distribution, but only my own.
 
I doubt you would ever be happy with the results of mixing via headphones.

You would do well to find a way to use even the smallest of monitors.

If you *absolutely* must use headphones to mix, Beyer Dynamic DT990s would be a decent choice I guess.
 
GABritton said:
Relaxandreflect, Do yourself a favor and do a search in this forum for "headphone mixing".

A cheap pair of monitors is arguably better than a kick ass pair of headphones for mixing purposes. You'll find your better not to get those $150 headphones and get a shitty pair of monitors.
Click to expand...


ALL the PROS on this board will tell you not to mix in cans the mix will most likley SUCK!!!!!! :eek: find you some inexpensive monitors off E-Bay you will be much better off :cool: .
 
For headphones, I like Sennheiser HD280 Pro. For mixing, you need *SPEAKERS*! Professional grade mixing cannot be done with headphones. As soon as you put them on, stereo separation becomes too extreme, so you don't get the panning right. What comes out of the left cup can't be heard in the right ear, so you start compensating by panning softer and softer. When you play it back through a stereo with speakers, the stereo picture is lost. But- now you've got too much bass, because you cranked it up so you could hear it out of a 1" speaker.-Richie
 
^^^ nice link.

however, mixing w/ headphones is proper when your target listener will be wearing them,
and it actually opens up new doors because of the full seperation. (binaural beats / brainwave entrainment)
 
That's a great article Bruce! I tried the keyboard patch comparison you suggested and you're right, the sonic difference was staggering. I've always used monitors for mixing to eliminate the fatigue, tinnitis results inherent with headphones. The tendency for people that use headphones as their preferred method of listening to music will continue to turn the volume up to compensate for the hearing loss that occurs over long periods of monitoring. The resultant 'ringing' in the ears is a sign of hearing loss. The use of speakers over headphones for monitoring is not only a best practice for mixing but is a healthy choice as well.
 
Lambo said:
The tendency for people that use headphones as their preferred method of listening to music will continue to turn the volume up to compensate for the hearing loss that occurs over long periods of monitoring.
Click to expand...
They also "turn-up" to compensate for the lack of physical vibration felt from low-frequencies!
 
never only on headphones but when i use 'em they are always sony mdr-7506's. when they break i get another set. they have and great freq. response and the bass is lovely. i mostly just check the mix in the cans. then test it on ipod standard phones [target audience] and speakers of all sizes.

www.neohiphopclassics.com
 
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