Why don’t headphones sound good?

toddwh50

toddwh50

Member
Overall I’ve been pretty happy with my AX8 after about 8 months. Playing live has been a challenge because I'm playing with another guitar player who is not only great, but he has an amazing tube rig (Bogner Goldfinger, a great amp, plus a very well structured pedal board. But I'm getting there.

Where I've had less luck is in practicing late at night through headphones.

I have the AX8 plugged into a cheap little 4 channel Behringer mixer using the headphone out into AKG K270 studio quality headphones.

I would think this would be okay but I cannot get it to sound good.

Is this like due to the mixer? The model of headphones, or just inherent limitations of using headphones for guitar?

I've always hoped I could practice with my "live" patches and not maintain separate patches for the headphones. That doesn't seem possible.
 
I would say the mixer, I have AKG K271's and they sound very good with the AX8. I usually have them plugged into a Steinberg UR22 audio interface but occasionally I'll use a dual male 1/4" TS to female 1/4" TRS Y-cable with the AX8 OUT 1 L and R and they sound just as good.
 
Could be the mixer - I play through headphones exclusively (via my pc/audio interface) and it sounds incredible. Generally guitars through headphones aren’t ever going to sound as good as they do “in the room,” but that’s also true when you mic up the world’s best amps and cabs and then listen to them in an isolated environment through cans. Hence all the production tricks (like double/quad tracking, panning, compression, etc.) we all use to try to get a recorded guitar to sound as good as a live one.
 
toddwh50 said:
Overall I’ve been pretty happy with my AX8 after about 8 months. Playing live has been a challenge because I'm playing with another guitar player who is not only great, but he has an amazing tube rig (Bogner Goldfinger, a great amp, plus a very well structured pedal board. But I'm getting there.

Where I've had less luck is in practicing late at night through headphones.

I have the AX8 plugged into a cheap little 4 channel Behringer mixer using the headphone out into AKG K270 studio quality headphones.

I would think this would be okay but I cannot get it to sound good.

Is this like due to the mixer? The model of headphones, or just inherent limitations of using headphones for guitar?

I've always hoped I could practice with my "live" patches and not maintain separate patches for the headphones. That doesn't seem possible.
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What about it “doesn’t sound good”?
 
DriftingAwayDoom said:
Could be the mixer - I play through headphones exclusively (via my pc/audio interface) and it sounds incredible. Generally guitars through headphones aren’t ever going to sound as good as they do “in the room,” but that’s also true when you mic up the world’s best amps and cabs and then listen to them in an isolated environment through cans. Hence all the production tricks (like double/quad tracking, panning, compression, etc.) we all use to try to get a recorded guitar to sound as good as a live one.
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+1. Even real amps mic'd up dry through headphones can sound a bit lacking. Choice of IR's makes big difference too, especially with headphones when the tone is right up in your grille. A bit of room or ambient reverb can help liven things up a bit and add some spacial depth.
 
Typically, gigging presets designed for loud volume don’t sound great at low volume and presets designed at low volume don’t sound good at gig volume. Fletcher Munson Curve at work.
 
I have a few steps but not killer IMHO MAckie 1202VLZ3. Headphones sound killer here............May be the mixer, maybe not though. I am using DT 770 Pro 250 ohms.

Also I must add, I do not play out much, mostly record so my presets are not staggering loud. AS bishop pointed out.
 
I dial in my presets at loud levels. But I also run my headphones fairly loud (probably louder than I should). It's not as good as blasting my Adam A7s, but it it's definitely fine. I use BD DT990
 
The sound is thin, distorted sounds are bad (not sure how to put into words).

I do believe the quality issue is partly due to Fletcher Munson, but will try another headphone amp too.

I do need some sort of mixer capability so I can practice along with tracks.
 
Any chance you have "Cab modeling" disabled or no IR in the chain going to whatever output your using? If so that's your issue. Otherwise, any Behringer mixer should sound fine (they're surely not great quality mixers but fine for something like that!) and your headphones are top-notch. I don't use my AX8 through headphones, but I use my Atomic Ampli-firebox thru headphones much less$ than Akg270's and it kicks ass, so I'm sure my AX8 would, as the Ax8 is just as awesome sounding as someone knows how to set it up. Best of luck, Eric

p.s. if the cab/ir thing mentioned really isn't your problem (but I suspect it is) , the only other thing that I could think of is you're listening to your monitoring signal along with your live signal and they're out of phase. You can only listen to 1 at a time. I've heard others have this problem using Logic incorrectly . Good luck!
 
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High volume, low volume, IRs with PA, power amp through guitar cab, direct recording, headphones, studio monitors, tone for a mix, tone for playing by yourself in your practice room... Each of these has their own requirements for sounding "good". I want to meet the player who is able to dial in one preset that sounds just right in all of these settings.

IMO, it can't be done.

My suggestion: If your tone is right for the band/recording situation you're in, then just leave it. Or copy it to another preset and adjust it to the best of your ability. I think the latter is your best bet and gives you an opportunity to understand tweaks that can be helpful in the future.

Headphones don't allow for ambient, reflective sound waves to come back to your ears. You only hear the source. The ambience has to be synthesized with delays and reverbs. These imperfections are easier to hide in a mix. On their own, they can sound very lacking.

Good luck
 
I've tried a own few sets of headphones from different brands. The best for Guitar applications has been DT880. The mids are super smooth and guitars sound really great. The presets also sound really great FOH.
I shortlisted DT880 based on recommendations from Yek and Austin Buddy and couldn't be happier.
 
rlennyr said:
I've tried a own few sets of headphones from different brands. The best for Guitar applications has been DT880. The mids are super smooth and guitars sound really great. The presets also sound really great FOH.
I shortlisted DT880 based on recommendations from Yek and Austin Buddy and couldn't be happier.
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I use the DT880 for a long time now and still happy, indeed an good choice.
 
stratavarious said:
What ohm version of the DT880?
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Not sure what version @rlennyr and @Darryl are using, but I've got the 250ohm version I agree with what they both said about the DT880's. I absolutely love mine and find that presets translate pretty well. Keep in mind that they are semi-open so you do get noise bleeding in (and out for others in the room). Also, you can listen to music on phones, etc., but you likely will not get enough volume due to the high ohm. They really are for studio-type use and not causal listening.
 
I just use my gigging presets at home to practice our set. They are a little dark sounding cause I don’t have them up at 100 dB’s but it’s all good.
 
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