Headphone correction: which ones ? / Toneboosters Morphit ?

[mabian]

i use Toneboosters Morphit then Isone. I have done this for years. My mixes translate better than in years past. I feel pretty confident when I mix something that it will sound reasonably the same across different systems.

I see Toneboosters don’t sell Isone anymore. What does it do that Morphit doesn’t?

Isone is still in the Toneboosters legacy bundle, available at their website for free.
I think Isone does more HRTF (head related transfer function, simulates environment and audio positioning from headphones, it didn't work consistently for me, very hard to calibrate) than MorphIt.

I moved to DSoniq RealPhones and didn't look back. It's often on sale and much more powerful; to be honest my mixes started to translate better since when I began using a Sennheiser HD600 headphones, RealPhones improved further the reliability of the setup in this regard.

- Mario

[jamcat]

There are 2 distinct processes you need to apply to headphones to be able to mix with them:

1) Fix the extreme stereo image of the headphones so it matches the natural stereo image of speakers in the open. This involves monoizing bass frequencies and introducing some left-right cross over.

2) Fix the frequency response of the headphones in order to get a flatter response for better “translation” of your mixes. This involves measuring the headphones and compensating with EQ and phase alignment.

Isone and CanOpener performs the former (1).
Morphit and ARC performs the latter (2).
Realphones and VHS perform both.

3) Finally, there is a 3rd, optional function that some software may perform that emulates the frequency response of various speakers (such as Genelecs or NS-10s) for “virtual monitoring”. ARC, Realphones, and SonarWorks all provide this option. But it is better in theory than practice, and it’s best to bypass it because it’s not like listening through the emulated speakers organically at all, and just sounds like a miked recording of a speaker as heard through your speakers.

When it comes to headphone correction, less is more. Just try to get the stereo image and EQ profile right. It will still sound like your headphones, but with the obstacles to informed mixing removed. If you try to emulate open “space” or other speakers, it’s just going to make your headphones sounds worse, and cloud your mix decisions.

[Funky40]

i -the thread starter- ended up with realphones. Thanks to this thread, it seemed the best option for me.
I don´t get that much use out of it. less than expected. But my time invested could have been more i guess.

Thanks for your recent input @jamcat !
Thats a nice input.

i might get me slate VSX at some point in time. it´s still on sale. But i´m broke for now.
maybe next years BF around.

[jamcat]

Here's one that's been overlooked:

Blue Cat Re-Head https://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_ReHead


(Didn't dig it, BTW)

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

i use Toneboosters Morphit then Isone. I have done this for years. My mixes translate better than in years past. I feel pretty confident when I mix something that it will sound reasonably the same across different systems.

I see Toneboosters don’t sell Isone anymore. What does it do that Morphit doesn’t?

You can get Isone for free with the V3 stuff. Unsupported but great for now. Isone simulates listening environment. Different speakers in different rooms. Nothing specific but real helpful in seeing how your mix will translate across systems.

[Igro]

i -the thread starter- ended up with realphones. Thanks to this thread, it seemed the best option for me.
I don´t get that much use out of it. less than expected. But my time invested could have been more i guess.

When I got Realphones, I couldn't 100% understand how to use it.

I make some techno and such. And I have Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro. It is very boring sounding headphones for my style of music. They lack this bass "oomph" and power by default for that music. I would never listen to music with them. Not that are not a good quality headphones (they are), but their default frequency response is kinda meh. So when I did music with them, I always tended to increase the bass with the DAW equalizers. But the final mixdown sounded very boomy and bassy on consumer grade Hi-Fi systems and in the car.

So in Realphones, you can choose the Balanced or Harman preset. Then load a few tunes that you know VERY well into your DAW. And then adjust the amount of that preset (the slider on the top) to your liking. That probably wouldn't be enough. Go to Advance settings and adjust the bass and treble. In other words, try to make those tunes to sound exactly how you think they should. And save that preset. From now on, make your own music with that preset.

[jamcat]

Here’s another headphones spatializer



https://wavearts.com/products/plugins/panorama-7

[jamcat]

Goodhertz is having their Pi Day sale for the next 8 days. 31% off all plugins, including CanOpener Studio.

CanOpener Studio objectively provides the most transparent stereo imaging correction for headphones available. It’s a bit pricey, but 31% off brings it down to earth and more in-line with the competition. So now is the time to get it, if you’re going to. And if you’re reading this thread, you probably should.

After trying everything out there, this is the one I went with. It doesn't try to do anything fancy. It just makes your headphones disappear.

https://goodhertz.com/canopener-studio/

[andymcbain]

Big fan of Can Opener here. Turns my HD650s into a very useful mixing tool.

[robisme]

I have can opener. But I feel overwhelmed with the numerous options. What is the most neutral setting?

[MattLeschuck]

I have can opener. But I feel overwhelmed with the numerous options. What is the most neutral setting?

The “mix engineer” preset is a good starting point. I run that into Morphit.

[jamcat]

I use it in default.

[robisme]

Do you insert morphit then can opener, or can opener then morphit ? (if there is a difference)

[Reghzar]

I actually prefer the dearVR's

[jamcat]

Do you insert morphit then can opener, or can opener then morphit ? (if there is a difference)

There really isn't a difference, but here is what Goodhertz says:

What order should CanOpener be placed in the processing chain?

Ideally, CanOpener would be placed last in the processing chain on the master channel. If you’re not using CanOpener’s built-in dither, the processing order matters less, but CanOpener should still be near the end. If you are using a headphone EQ correction plugin that uses different profiles for the left & right channel, CanOpener should be placed in front of it.

(N.B. You might be wondering: Why doesn’t the processing order matter that much? The answer: CanOpener is a linear processor — it’s the same reason why 2 + 3 = 5 and 3 + 2 = 5.)