Mixing on Headphones - anyone with experience

I read this from SOS:

but was wondering if anyone has any experience who could discuss this issue intelligently, i.e. with Brains.

I would also like to hear recommendations re: hardware, I am looking at DT990 (German Brand) headphones.

Gr,

Intelligent people with brains use the search function :

:smiley:

Aloha guys,

Just to chime in.

I only use headphones for ‘pan placement’ and ‘reverb/echo’ tails etc.

Good Luck!
{‘-’}

:laughing:

To the OP, I use headphones for almost everything, track & mixing. The only time I turn on my monitors is to check it against my mix as a final comparison.

It’s generally not considered wise to mix on headphones :slight_smile:

A different perspective here: Mixing On Headphones

That’s a true statement… but doing things that are considered to be “unwise” have also produced amazing outcomes…for example, people once considered the Earth to be flat… :wink:

But the reality is, another another hand… how many people have an environment that truly is better to mix in their ‘room’ (whatever that room is) than mixing with a good set of headphones that they’re familiar with as a reference, to other environments they’re familiar with. Me, I have an untreated ‘spare bedroom studio’ with KRK powered near fields. Not all of us here are the ‘former’ Paul Woodlocks (before he lost his mind on armchair world politics, and passionate fighting for islamic terrorists rights) …or the current knowledgeable Tom Zalters etc :smiley: :wink:

??

I had the same predicament just before xmas, I eventually settled on the Shure SRH840.Read review in SOS mag and tested all headphones reviewed in my local shop. there are better out there, but price and quality dictated my choice.
I find it good and accurate - I usually use it for pan placement and overall sense of space as Curteye mentioned above. even checking the overall balance of a mix.
I like it, it does what i want it to do and it didn’t break the bank. it is comfortable and honest in transparency. - the bottom end is not exaggerated, and it can handle mid/high/low frequencies adequately. also not fatiguing, i use it for extended periods in the studio.

I do it when I’m on the go but the final mix should be heard on speakers… My suggestion is only if you have to…

Hi Syco,

I started a thread asking for advice on headphones. I found the iformation given most useful and since purchased a pair of DT BEYER DYNAMICS.

Best,

Paul

This was a useful post:

Really, I’m mostly deaf when it comes to reverb in cans. Meaning when I later on listen to it on speakers, reverb seams way to loud.

Dave Pensado had a mix challenge some years ago, I remember the winner had mixed on Beyer Dynamics DT 990, that’s impressive and shows it can be done.
I use
Beyer Dynamics DT 770 for editing, cleanup work.(closed)
AKG k701, balance, mix, master. (Open)
AKG k240df, almost as good as the 701, (open)
AKG k271, almost as good as the 240, (closed)
I think it is a good idea to invest in both closed and open pairs, they have different strengths.

+1 I hear ya!

I only use the h/phones to check the ‘tails’ for timing and pan placement.
Overall reverb ‘amount’ is done in studio monitors.

{‘-’}

I use these almost exclusively over my KRK nearfield monitors and my AKG Studio phones…they sound good, and so light weight & comfortable I forget I’m wearing them.

:slight_smile:

Looks like a tiny bike :wink:

Fancy looking bike wheels :stuck_out_tongue: While you can pay well over $100 for a decent pair of clip-ons, this particular pair was on a liquidation sale for like $10.00 when I walked into a Sears. My other Philips clip-on phones cost three times that much and sound half as good.

These Koss clip-on’s actually sound better that my nearly $200 AKG studio phones, and are far more comfortable & liberating. I may never use big studio cans again on a regular basis :ugeek:

Sounding good and being accurate aren’t necessary the same thing when it comes to headphones. My dull old Beyerdynamic 270s aren’t what I choose to listen to Queen or Beethoven but they do enable me to mix late at night without any surprises via monitors the next day. :cry:

Really?

That’s strange.
I have exactly the opposite experience.
Headphones for me (ancient Sony MDR-V900s - LOVE them, if they break I’ll have to quit the business) ) are like a microscope.
I can hear EVERYTHING - way back ear candy, verb flow, etc.
I too, like Curteye, use them for placement and spotting small things . . (that one extra Tamb Hit that’s not supposed to be there even though it’s 30Db down . . ).
But occasionally, like mixing a live show for Video from a dressing room with the Director next to me screaming at cameras - I’ve HAD to use them.
And I’ve found that low level but necessary stuff - Audience Sounds, Room Mics, background parts, etc. - I tend to mix too low in phones.
So I’ve learned to compensate.

But, you know, a lot of people listen on (sometimes nice) earbuds now . . so I suppose it’s a good thing to check.

Hugh