monitors vs. headphones

[teketuco]

Hello everybody!


Do you guys think you can get a great sounding mix using good headphones? Im taking some online mixing courses but i dont have a studio, just headphones, pro tools 10, mbox....

Thanks!

[jryser]

No. I think they can help and will make for additional reference but nothing will replace a set of monitors THAT TOU INTIMATELY know! Notice how I worded that...the best monitors are the ones YOU know best.


Sent from my PT beating heart

[graveleye]

I started recording in 1984, and I have never once been able to make anything of listenable value with headphones as monitors. I will track with them on occasionally because I know my phones and can get it in the ballpark, but never ever made a decent mix through headphones.

[albee1952]

I tend to agree and will leave you this recommendation. Buy a quality set of phones and a decent set of powered monitors(which can be had for around $300-400. I like the KRK Rokit6 G2 myself). Mix on the speakers at low volume(enough so you don't disturb others, which I assume is the reason for the question) and then check the low end by listening to the phones. After "learning" this, you should be able to get good mixes fairly quickly

[jryser]

I have also taken the Bob Clearmountain approach to mixing - very low volume! When I worked with him WAY back in the 80's I was always impressed with how he made Bryan Adams' mixes sound. He mixed at low volume on NS-10's. David Leonard (John Mellencamp), on the other hand, had his own Tannoy Golds shipped everywhere he went and he mixed loud. The point here is that those guys knew their stuff like the backs of their hands and it worked for them. NONE of the producers and engineers I know would suggest to mix on headphones.


Sent from my PT beating heart

[spenner]

Originally Posted by albee1952

I tend to agree and will leave you this recommendation. Buy a quality set of phones and a decent set of powered monitors(which can be had for around $300-400. I like the KRK Rokit6 G2 myself). Mix on the speakers at low volume(enough so you don't disturb others, which I assume is the reason for the question) and then check the low end by listening to the phones. After "learning" this, you should be able to get good mixes fairly quickly

^^^ This ^^^

Did this while living in an apartment with great results. I set the initial levels and pan on the headphones then mixed at low volume on computer speakers and Rokit 5's... Checked on iPhone ear buds, car, and home theater system. Even had a few mastering engineers compliment a few mixes done in that apartment.

OP, just use what you have and focus on the techniques that the course is teaching, which is more important than gear and a treated room. Remember that a top engineers' great skills (and a bit of luck) gets him work in studios with great monitoring and rooms. There are also engineers with great monitors and rooms not making great mixes!

Good luck!

[jolson57]

Never mix using headphones. You need to have a good quality pair of unbiased monitor speakers for mixing purposes. Keyword: "Unbiased." Headphones are biased. You need unbiased. I know of no unbiased headphones. Even after using a good pair of unbiased studio monitor speakers and bouncing your recording to disc, your mix is still not done. You need to listen to your mix in your car and on your home stereo system which has biased speakers (with treble, mid-range, and bass adjustments). This will help you to fine tune your mix. Mixing and mastering is an art form, and art cannot be compromised through any set of headphones when it comes to mixing. If you use headphones, you will find that there is too much treble, or too much mid-range, or too much bass, or too much track volume. Ok to use the headphones for audio input, like playing guitar or singing, but never for mixing.

[Emcha_audio]

Headphones won't give you a true representation of the stereo field. Also, the fact that you are closing in your ears will change how your eardrum will react to air pressure and in turn change how it responds to different frequencies.

[JFreak]

Open back headphones such as Sennheiser HD650 are less biased than closed headphones, but it still takes considerable time and effort to learn how to mix with them. It is not impossible, but takes time to get used to it -- and every pair is unique in how the elements are "burnt in", so you better keep yours in a safe place and never let anyone else use them

I say this as a guy who has done +100 live TV shows without the luxury of a properly calibrated listening room and real monitors. It can be done, but it isn't easy. Hard left and hard right sound way too sweet and the centerfield is too narrow compared to monitors. Once you learn that you can trust your mixes.

[luceeloo]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Open back headphones such as Sennheiser HD650 are less biased than closed headphones, but it still takes considerable time and effort to learn how to mix with them. It is not impossible, but takes time to get used to it -- and every pair is unique in how the elements are "burnt in", so you better keep yours in a safe place and never let anyone else use them

I say this as a guy who has done +100 live TV shows without the luxury of a properly calibrated listening room and real monitors. It can be done, but it isn't easy. Hard left and hard right sound way too sweet and the centerfield is too narrow compared to monitors. Once you learn that you can trust your mixes.

well said - IMO you can teach yourself to mix with some decent headphones but not before you've acquired some above-average skill, while strictly using some decent monitors. It may be difficult, but eventually you can logically compensate for any discrepancies in the audio when using headphones.