Headphones for mixing Question & Studio Monitors

gigawatt

gigawatt

Experienced
If you have to use your headphones for mixing which would you prefer, a set brighter than your studio monitors, or darker with more bass?
 
Preferably the same; flat-response/studio reference headphones. IMO their main job is to take room reflections and "air" out of the equation and give the truest representation of the music. If the treble or bass is enhanced, compensations will be made that will affect the end result. A mix that is adjusted to an accentuated frequency or range will usually only sound the way it should when it's played on a system with the same type of frequency adjustment.
 
Sonofiam said:
Preferably the same; flat-response/studio reference headphones. IMO their main job is to take room reflections and "air" out of the equation and give the truest representation of the music. If the treble or bass is enhanced, compensations will be made that will affect the end result. A mix that is adjusted to an accentuated frequency or range will usually only sound the way it should when it's played on a system with the same type of frequency adjustment.
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GotMetalBoy said:
I agree with @Sonofiam but I use the Pink Noise Mixing technique, so I don't have as many issues because I'm mixing to a reference.
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OK yes I get all that but if you had no choice in the matter (i.e. like me when my roommate is asleep), I have either the AKG K7xx (bright, present) or the Blue Mix-Fi's (a little on the dark side) which would you prefer to mix after with your studio monitors? or which would be easier to correct?
 
gigawatt said:
OK yes I get all that but if you had no choice in the matter (i.e. like me when my roommate is asleep), I have either the AKG K7xx (bright, present) or the Blue Mix-Fi's (a little on the dark side) which would you prefer to mix after with your studio monitors? or which would be easier to correct?
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I would go for the dark side because a bright mix usually sounds better than a dull dark mix. I don't trust my ears, so I always listen to reference material to compare too. The Pink Noise Mixing technique has really helped me and I also apply the same technique to EQing.
 
gigawatt said:
OK yes I get all that but if you had no choice in the matter (i.e. like me when my roommate is asleep), I have either the AKG K7xx (bright, present) or the Blue Mix-Fi's (a little on the dark side) which would you prefer to mix after with your studio monitors? or which would be easier to correct?
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Sorry, didn't know those were your options. I use AKG K271's and I find them to be quite flat. Compared to my stereo they would probably seem more bright/present but compared to my monitors, they are pretty close.

I suppose if I were to choose between bright or dark, I would choose bright. IMO it would be better for the mix to sound like it needs a bit more top end than sound thin because of a lack of bottom end.
 
Take the NS-10 approach: check out which headphones your audience is most likely to use, and just CHECK your mixes on those.

Hard second question but I will bite. Given the choice, I'd probably rather mix on a system that was too dark, since many playback systems over hype the low end anyway -- assuming all other things are equal (which they would not be....).
 
As with most things, it looks like two schools of thought or philosophies (of which it looks like I'm in the minority again!).

Sounds like your best option is going to be to mix the same project using each set of headphones then play the results through the same stereo/device and see which you prefer.
 
My experience is - I can mix with headphones but I have to finish it with speakers. Especially in the bass region. Headphones have cheated me too many times.
 
Another thing I often use headphones for (except this afternoon, roomy gone, daddy play loud!) is tweaking the Axe Fx III. I was wondering which way would be easiest to correct when I go back to monitors?
 
I've never used expensive headphones before but the biggest issue I've encountered mixing with headphones is that you can hear a lot more detail, so I find it hard to adjust compressor settings because they never translate well to speakers. I can get the overall frequency response of my mix pretty solid with headphones, especially using the pink noise mixing method but I feel like I have to over exaggerate nuances like the attack on drums, so they still stand out on speakers.
 
I often use headphones for tweaking the Axe Fx III cuz it can get annoying to people nearby. I was wondering which way, bright cans or warm cans would be easiest to correct when I go back to monitors?
 
The Synth Block can be used as a Pink Noise generator.

Here's a good video that explains the Pink Noise Mixing method. I use the same concept to adjust EQ, so instead of adjusting tracks, adjust frequency bands. I also use this method to adjust the level of my presets, so they all sound balanced together and if I want a preset to stand out, I add 3dB to 6dB.

 
Sonofiam said:
Preferably the same; flat-response/studio reference headphones. IMO their main job is to take room reflections and "air" out of the equation and give the truest representation of the music.
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That would be great! If they existed. Even these cans below only received 4 out of 5 stars: I wouldn't use cans for a final mix or mastering, only for getting close then use speakers for the rest. I'm in a situation though where I can't always use speakers cuz I'm in an apartment, also have a roommate that sleeps a lot :rolleyes:. Sometimes I use cans to tweak the Axe III as it can be annoying to others, and was wondering which one's will be easier to compinsate for when I go back to speakers; Bright, or Warm with slightly emphasized bass? Thanks for your input. :)
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GotMetalBoy said:
The Synth Block can be used as a Pink Noise generator.

Here's a good video that explains the Pink Noise Mixing method. I use the same concept to adjust EQ, so instead of adjusting tracks, adjust frequency bands. I also use this method to adjust the level of my presets, so they all sound balanced together and if I want a preset to stand out, I add 3dB to 6dB.

Click to expand...


That looks very interesting, I'll be sure to take a look at it :).
 
gigawatt said:
If you have to use your headphones for mixing which would you prefer, a set brighter than your studio monitors, or darker with more bass?
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Sennheiser 650's give a fairly accurate bass rendition. In headphone mixes bass will be your culprit. Given time of learning your headphones, monitors and your mix you can produce perfectly awesome mixes with phones. When I convert to monitors rarely do I have to tweak much.
 
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