MIXING AND MASTERING THROUGH HEADPHONES (WHICH 2 BUY)

yes I agree with Jord

I mix with monitors and try to tailor my mix for the car. I burn a multiple mixes to CD's, and take it out to the car for listening. if it sounds good there, it will probably work anywhere. once in a while I listen to headphones just so I know the listener will have a pleasant expiriance when they do.

My feeling is that when doing something creative like
making music or painting a picture, if someone tells
you that "you should never do [blank]" they are
wrong.

Yes, that is for the creative part and although mixing is still part of the creative process it obeys strict laws of physics. Sound is a pressure wave in air that will bounce off of everything it touches. With headphones that airgap is about an inch - if that.

For consistant sounding mixes across multiple listening environments you must have that space. Yes, of course you can mix on headphones but as jord rightly points out, the frequencies of instruments can be misleading on headphones.

I currently use DT770's for tracking and listening back after mixing through monitors.

Couldn't have said it any better. Jord knows what he's talking about. You shouldn't rely on one or the other. Use all the tools at your disposal if possible. Using headphones and the car are essential tools to learning your monitors. That's where the whole idea comes from. When you know what the mix you have on your monitors will sound like when listened to thru headphones are in the car, you've been educated. And as Jord said, it is time consuming and requires vast amounts of patience.

If you must use a set of cans, I can recommend these:

Beyerdynamic DTT 880 (make sure they're the new 2006 model)

AKG K240 DF

AKG 701 (awsome!)

-I own the first and last......and love both. I use a headphone amp to get the best performance out of them (Shellbrook Audio Labs).

Best,

JV

no you didn't, but go ahead.

I'm using the AKG K240s. Only $100. I really like the sound I'm getting from these. Not the best...but worth the money.

p.s.

Don't do your mix in headphones. Phase will get you almost everytime.

To add to octopi:

An obvious difference is that when you mix with headphones the right hear ears only the right channel, and the equivalent can be said about the left ear. Listening to monitors is an open environment where both ears hear both channels. Listening on headphones is completely different experience, and perhaps mp3 players should have their own separate mix.

I do most of mixes on Monitors then when done listen to them on headphones to hear the wideness of the mix compare to the monitors and the room

great idea Stash

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I have to agree with both arguments. I've done some passable mixes relying heavily on headphones, but they certainly weren't the best. Ever notice how many times you tweak a mix only to find out the rough had the right feel? Some times those late night sessions in the project studio with headphones can get you going.

I once played a headphone mix for an "audiophile" with a $2000+ audio system. He raved about the sound and quality of the recording, the spaciousness and ambiance, how well the musicians interacted and how delightful it was to listen to fine instruments for a change. (He didn't know it was my work.) The look on his face when I told him the whole thing was sequenced(except the vocals), with no live instruments and recorded in someone's bedroom studio - priceless.

I'm not recommending parlor tricks, but if the guy wants to mix using headphones, let'm mix. There was a time when people said one could never produce a record on a portastudio, then Alesis took things to another level via the ADAT. Necessity is a mother...

perhaps mp3 players should have their own separate mix.

Perhaps an argument FOR headphone mixes 😉

Hmmm, may be a good idea to do mixes on my Macbook right there in the car 🙂

Seeing as the car is one of the toughest spots to get
a mix right, it is definitely more important to get
the space right and mix predominately with monitors.
Getting this, as well as the other aspects, down will
result in mixes that travel better from place to
place.

I'm using the AKG K240s. Only $100. I really like the
sound I'm getting from these. Not the best...but
worth the money.

Have you tried the DF (defused field) series? I have K240 DS and I have mixed feelings about them...

This sort of question always brings out the fors and againsts and both have their points to make.

I use AKG 271 headphones and Genelec 8030's to monitor and mix and find I need both to get the sound right.

Also my final test is to play everything on in house CD players big and small, my cars CD and also on my i Pod. The difference sometimes can be telling even on a mix that I thought was just right.

The end product also has a bearing on the mix as I do mainly TV documentary stuff which requires certain sounds to be highlighted in a way that as a pure piece of music may not work as a so called perfect mix.

I believe that you should use whatever you want too as long as the end result satisfies you and the listener.

Rules are great and experience can tell us a lot but a little invention every now and then doesn't hurt



Powermac G5 2.3 Dual 2GB Ram Mac OS X (10.4.5) Powerbook 17", Motu 828Mk11,MCU

Speaking of invention...

i once took a really old pair of headphones that just didn't sound right anymore (never figured out why) but still worked, bent them flat, duct taped them to the "outside" head of the bass drum of a kinda crappy, but usable drumset, used a stereo to mono adaptor, plugged it in to a mixer with some other mics around the kit, and did a recording of a drum part of a song. Surprisingluy, the bass drum sounded better then all the other mics in the mix. I still have those old headphones...

Nice one xs4is,

I remember one of my instructors getting excited about a track I did. Looooooong story.

J

I would really love to hear it. If not here, feel free to e-mail...