What Headphones Do You Use With Your DAW?

[bbbjjj]

I use two, an Audio technica ath-m50x (closed) for a more "real-world" sound or when there is background noise in the room. And a Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO for analytical work (but I like it for composition as well so I end up using it most of the time).

I have both of them connected on a Mackie HM-4 headphone amplifier.

[BONES]

The room will definitely matter there too, I have nearfields and this room is unmixable in any level, I can assure that.

If that's true, then you are doing it wrong. Nearfield monitoring should drown out your room, that's how it works. If the room is still interfering with your ability to work, then something isn't right. My first thought is that maybe your monitors are way too large for the space? Or maybe not powerful enough?

Of course one must learn the rooms in VSX too by listening them a lot, like one would do with speakers in a room, or with headphones.

Seems like a serious duplication of effort, given that you probably already know your own equipment and space. How much of that stuff can you even keep in your head? It makes me realise that this technology would be good for a professional who works in different studios, kind of like NS-10s were - something you can take with you and know what it's doing instantly. I'm not sure it has as much value for people like us, working in our own studios, which we know intimately.

Quiet listening is a must for a busy mix and I'll do it anyway usually, it'll reveal what pokes out most and what should poke out more.

How often is that a thing, though? Because by the time I get around to listening quietly or through cans, the mix is pretty bloody close to as good as I can make it. I can count on my thumbs the number of times either process has revealed anything useful. For me it's entirely peace-of-mind stuff.

[legendCNCD]

The room will definitely matter there too, I have nearfields and this room is unmixable in any level, I can assure that.

If that's true, then you are doing it wrong. Nearfield monitoring should drown out your room, that's how it works. If the room is still interfering with your ability to work, then something isn't right. My first thought is that maybe your monitors are way too large for the space? Or maybe not powerful enough?

Of course one must learn the rooms in VSX too by listening them a lot, like one would do with speakers in a room, or with headphones.

Seems like a serious duplication of effort, given that you probably already know your own equipment and space. How much of that stuff can you even keep in your head? It makes me realise that this technology would be good for a professional who works in different studios, kind of like NS-10s were - something you can take with you and know what it's doing instantly. I'm not sure it has as much value for people like us, working in our own studios, which we know intimately.

Quiet listening is a must for a busy mix and I'll do it anyway usually, it'll reveal what pokes out most and what should poke out more.

How often is that a thing, though? Because by the time I get around to listening quietly or through cans, the mix is pretty bloody close to as good as I can make it. I can count on my thumbs the number of times either process has revealed anything useful. For me it's entirely peace-of-mind stuff.

Yeah I can drown out the room so to say with the monitoring, but then the volume is way too high for mixing etc.
This is concrete room, massive reflections. It is just impossible to hear properly here. Bass moves to the behind of me and trebles make *TSIRRR* sound when triggering transients etc. Just awful.

I keep the nearfields on sometimes when starting to compose, but usually when doing bass I'm moving to headphones.

VSX works really nicely especially if you are moving a lot, and I Mike Dean who mixed his latest customer mix in a hotel room with VSX as it has his room modelled there.

I got them to replace my room, as I might change apartments. Last one was okayish with the nearfields, just bass moving 1m behind me. This apartment is just hopeless without investing to dampening.

Well I do audition with low and high volume gains from time to time during mixing as it is a good practice, these days it is rare to have anything poking up when doing that though, true.

I wish I had the same space as half of Soft Knees, but I dont live in the countryside

Here is how the northern studio looks like, and it sounds gorgeous now.

[BONES]

This is concrete room, massive reflections. It is just impossible to hear properly here. Bass moves to the behind of me and trebles make *TSIRRR* sound when triggering transients etc. Just awful.

Yeah but look how well you know it! You should have no trouble at all compensating for all of those things.

It's a mistake to think you need the perfect environment to get good results. Once you know how your space works, you should be able to do great work there, no matter how compromised it is. Again, the NS-10s illustrate this perfectly - deeply flawed speakers but, if you know them, you can compensate for their shortcomings and still do good work. I think maybe you just need to trust yourself a bit more and rely on your set-up a bit less.

[rACatkvr]

I’m looking for some headphones that are light and allow a lot of airflow around my ears as I find in my climate that my DT880s can only be worn for about 45 minutes before an ear or two feels like its fermenting something in it.

[osiris]

This is true. One of my phones has pleather(?) ear coverings, the other is fabric. I always feel like I just submerged from a deep sea dive with the pleather.

[Jac459]

I’m looking for some headphones that are light and allow a lot of airflow around my ears as I find in my climate that my DT880s can only be worn for about 45 minutes before an ear or two feels like its fermenting something in it.

Staying in Singapore and definitelyy got the climate issue.
Very happy of the confort of the focal Elegia... IMMV.

[legendCNCD]

This is concrete room, massive reflections. It is just impossible to hear properly here. Bass moves to the behind of me and trebles make *TSIRRR* sound when triggering transients etc. Just awful.

Yeah but look how well you know it! You should have no trouble at all compensating for all of those things.

It's a mistake to think you need the perfect environment to get good results. Once you know how your space works, you should be able to do great work there, no matter how compromised it is. Again, the NS-10s illustrate this perfectly - deeply flawed speakers but, if you know them, you can compensate for their shortcomings and still do good work. I think maybe you just need to trust yourself a bit more and rely on your set-up a bit less.

Yes I know the space, but if I cannot hear fex. bass here I cannot use it properly and if treble is a fluttery mess, its very hard to hear properly whats going on.
I do not think I need a perfect env. but a good one, where I do not get angry or annoyed because I have to take the tune again to mixing table. VSX solved this for me - of course after learning the few spaces there.

I can get the mix to good levels with nearfields too, its the other stuff thats lost with them here, impossible to hear properly stuff.

I have worked with NS-10s and have them on VSX too. Like auratone they are good in revealing whats there in the middle area. Same with the msp5studios I have, but the bass is severely lacking as we all know.

[BONES]

Yes I know the space, but if I cannot hear fex. bass here I cannot use it properly and if treble is a fluttery mess, its very hard to hear properly whats going on.

My point is that you can, you just have to trust your ears. If you think you can't, then you won't. You just need to have a bit more confidence in your own ability and I guarantee you'll surprise yourself.

[legendCNCD]

Yes I know the space, but if I cannot hear fex. bass here I cannot use it properly and if treble is a fluttery mess, its very hard to hear properly whats going on.

My point is that you can, you just have to trust your ears. If you think you can't, then you won't. You just need to have a bit more confidence in your own ability and I guarantee you'll surprise yourself.

Sure, I am not against that. Last time we had jams here we used the nearfields of course, but as bass was not properly heard, it was lifted up and treble toned down. Not a big deal to fix afterwards but we were just laughing at how much of dB's were needed for us to hear the bass even somehow.
Volume leveling can be done.

[THE INTRANCER]

Can BONES and legendCNCD take this to private Pm's or create another thread as not to monopolise this one. Thanks. This is about people's headphones they use or are interested in aquiring, not a single-person room acoustics.

[zerocrossing]

I use Byerdynamics DT-770 Pros. They seem good to me.

[legendCNCD]

Or you can just buy a packet of pancakes from the supermarket, like a normal person.

Sure, I am not against that. Last time we had jams here we used the nearfields of course

... which, ironically, is probably not using them as nearfield monitors at all, assuming you weren't all sat right in front of them for the jam.

Well, we were next to them, sitting at the table they're on. Jam meaning here two midikeyboards/controllers. But of course not in the center of the triangle as one is supposed to be.

Doable but not great sounding, opposed to his place (in the video) where its doable and great sounding from the get go as we can hear fex. bass much better.

[legendCNCD]

Anyway, I think we're done. We can do composing in almost any enviroment, mixing less so, doable if you know (and one should) your equipment and very doable with VSX's anywhere, even on the road.

[THE INTRANCER]

I think I've found my next headphones, the current ones I'm wearing are essentially hanging together vie a single wire as the arm of one side of the ATH M50's I have headphones just keeps breaking even with super glue. The ones I'm looking at now are the newer Shure SRH440A type which look more robust.