Mixing on Headphones: Love it, hate it? 🎧

[mixyguy2]

I NEVER mix in cans. I avoid cans at every possible opportunity as they provide a very false sense of reality.

That depends on what one's "reality" is. Not everyone listens to music primary on speakers, but rather headphones/ear buds, so mixing to that perspective could be in fact better (I never listen on headphones/ear buds for just listening pleasure, so I admit I didn't get that or allow for that at first).

Headphones can also be good at picking up things you might not pick up on speakers, as you're much "closer" to the music. It can at least be a worthwhile alternative perspective.

[Benedict]

I NEVER mix in cans. I avoid cans at every possible opportunity as they provide a very false sense of reality.

That depends on what one's "reality" is. Not everyone listens to music primary on speakers, but rather headphones/ear buds, so mixing to that perspective could be in fact better (I never listen on headphones/ear buds for just listening pleasure, so I admit I didn't get that or allow for that at first).

Headphones can also be good at picking up things you might not pick up on speakers, as you're much "closer" to the music. It can at least be a worthwhile alternative perspective.

ie a false reality. If you would not hear it on a good set of speakers, it is not a thing to concern over. Matter of fact, it is part of the Scene & Story of the Song. Hearing and 'fixing' what does not need changing is false action. QED Cans = false reality. Perfect monitoring is a false ideal itself

and mixing on bubz coz peeps uze budz is again a false argument. Checking on yer, UE Boom and budz is valid but that was in the vid

[zerocrossing]

I've been mixing on Beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro 2's for a while now, but I admit that they don't translate that well to other systems. So for their Black Friday sale, Steven Slate was offering their full system for $350 ($250 if you only want a few room emulations). I picked it up and I have to say I'm impressed. I just finished a remix-remaster of some music that I'd done specifically for the (sh!tty) Oculus headphones... or maybe they're just speakers that hang near your ears? Anyway, it was very useful to preview it in other "rooms," and the "Steven Slate car" sounds remarkably like my wife's car. I've listened to it on a number of systems and nothing really jumped out at me as sounding off, though of course each system is going to sound different.

[_leras]

I've been mixing on Beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro 2's for a while now, but I admit that they don't translate that well to other systems.

I use an oratory EQ correction curve with my dt1990 and find them to be great. They have a sparkly 8k bump and the EQ just gives a perfect room curve which translates really well.

[_leras]

I think it's definitely possible to mix and even master on headphones if you have to. Checking across multiple systems with different speakers is still essential though.

My studio monitors sometimes suffer from being too detailed, and I can sometimes hear some sound fairly clearly on them, that is buried on other less detailed systems.

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

@Benedict
Thanks for listening and your opinion. Bubbles was a real honest effort and was mixed on the above headphone system. They aren't the best headphones and my limited knowledge plays a part as well....but.....compared to cheap speakers in an untreated room I find my mixes translate across systems better with headphones.

[mixyguy2]

ie a false reality. If you would not hear it on a good set of speakers, it is not a thing to concern over. Matter of fact,

That's not a matter of fact at all, but rather personal opinion and viewpoint and utterly false for the many people who listen primary on ear buds/etc.

and mixing on bubz coz peeps uze budz is again a false argument.

Even when translated into actual English, that makes no sense whatsoever.

[_leras]

Mixes definitely need to be checked on speakers. A mix should play well anywhere.

[mixyguy2]

Mixes definitely need to be checked on speakers. A mix should play well anywhere.

I would flip that and say mixes should be checked on headphones (i.e., primarily speakers)...but again, it depends on the intended audience. What sounds best to people listening on home speakers won't necessarily to people on headphones/ear buds, or in a car, or..............and that all said, IMO if something is well mixed it should sound fine anywhere, though it may vary depending on the way it's being listened to.

[_leras]

I would flip that and say mixes should be checked on headphones (i.e., primarily speakers)...but again, it depends on the intended audience. What sounds best to people listening on home speakers won't necessarily to people on headphones/ear buds, or in a car, or..............and that all said, IMO if something is well mixed it should sound fine anywhere, though it may vary depending on the way it's being listened to.

Well yes, but the threads about mixing on headphones. I'm just saying always sanity check.

Lots of rooms, speaker and earphones can have huge dips or peaks, enough to make an element sound out of place.

Some speakers (or headphones) will highlight an issue that other miss, others will flatter the sound and make it sound better than it might really be.

Always check, and try and have a number of 'trusted' things you can check mixes on. (And/or a trusted mastering engineer)

[pta]

I would flip that and say mixes should be checked on headphones (i.e., primarily speakers)...but again, it depends on the intended audience. What sounds best to people listening on home speakers won't necessarily to people on headphones/ear buds, or in a car, or..............and that all said, IMO if something is well mixed it should sound fine anywhere, though it may vary depending on the way it's being listened to.

Well yes, but the threads about mixing on headphones. I'm just saying always sanity check.

Lots of rooms, speaker and earphones can have huge dips or peaks, enough to make an element sound out of place.

Some speakers (or headphones) will highlight an issue that other miss, others will flatter the sound and make it sound better than it might really be.

Always check, and try and have a number of 'trusted' things you can check mixes on. (And/or a trusted mastering engineer)

I absolutely love this answer. It is, in essence, what I heard from a mixing engineer I knew time and time again: have a set of trusted things (that cheap boom box, those crappy headphones, earbuds, "hifi" speakers, studio monitors and a flat-ish studio headphones) that you found and battle-tested to have a good overlap (or how to say it): for example, he knew that if he made a good sounding mix in the studio and switch to that cheap boom box and cross-checks on that crappy headphones + in his car and it still sounds good, it will translate acceptably on other systems. It is never ideal, but the trick, according to his life-time experience, was in the symbiosis of his workflow and the set of tools he found useful and stick to it, A/B early, don't push it, give you ears a good rest, come back the other day and have a good "first" listen. There are no magic formulas

[djanthonyw]

I never use headphones or earbuds. Hate the feeling of anything covering or in my ears. They're good for ear fatigue though. I always listen and mix on Dynaudio studio monitors for the past 25 years now.

[cryophonik]

I use both headphones and a 2.1 Genelec system, probably in about even proportions. But, I take it even further and check my mixes on multiple sets of headphones. I use my trusty AKG K701s for the majority of my work (aside from monitors) simply because they're super comfortable for those long and very late sessions when I'm working on a new song. These are my go-to headphones for listening to reference tracks and for the production phase and I know their "sound" backward and forward. When it comes to mixing and mastering, I rely on my monitors a lot more, but also spend a lot of time using my VSX headphones, and check them on my K701s, BeyerDynamic DT880s, and cheaper AKG K240s. I also just upgraded my VSX to the new Immersion One headphones, but they won't be shipping for a few more weeks.

Just curious, are any of you using headphone correction systems, like SonarWorks, Neumann RIME, Waves NX, CanOpener, etc.? I'm considering the SonarWorks system, especially now that it integrates with my Apollos and on sale.

[Cavey Arrgh]

Does anyone else refuse listen to mixes on phones and laptops out of principle? Ie, if people are going to listen on speakers that bad, they deserve a bad listening experience? :-p

[_leras]

Does anyone else refuse listen to mixes on phones and laptops out of principle? Ie, if people are going to listen on speakers that bad, they deserve a bad listening experience? :-p

Does that help your mixes?

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