Headphones

[IanR]

I have a pair of them KRK 8400s.  They do the trick for me.  They were about $150 aussie dollars.

[T.C. Elliott]

Agreed. Never. NEVER mix on headphones.

Use them for premixes or to arrange/mount your song, but always mix on open air.

Like all general rules of thumb, not using headphones to mix is a good idea. But you know what? LOTS of people use headphones to mix these days. I've a friend in (or near) London that used a broken set of headphones in which only one speaker worked to mix a song and it was GREAT!!!  Better than I could do. Is that the "right" way or the "best" way of doing it? Nope. But never say never.

I have a mixing set now because sometimes the family is up and I have to do a lot of mixing, or I'm traveling and need to be able to do trims, cuts, fades etc which can all be done with headphones. But guess what? I can add reverb, do level repair and add effects on headphones, then check on my monitors later to do a final adjustment and not suffer one bit. Or I can mix on my monitors then check the mix on the headphones for a new perspective before printing the track to check on my car radio or on the home system. There are so many advantages to using headphones that I HATE it when people say "NEVER mix with headphones."

Let us agree that it isn't a good idea to use headphones as our sole mixing medium unless that is the only viable option. I can wholly agree with that sentiment.

[na_th_an]

I also do premixes using headphones but I always find the right time to be able to open the loudspeakers for final adjustments.

If you mix in headphones you mix will probably sound trebly and weak in punch and the lower end. You can hear bass way better in headphones than in open air.

Of course the only rule when crafting music is that there's no rules, but I think people should be aware that music going directly from the device to the ear without the real space between you and a loudspeaker full of air is not "natural", and that it's a good idea at least check your songs in open air for final adjustments.

Most of the time you'll find in awe how your song, which sounded great on your superb headphones, sounds weak and thin on your car. That's something to avoid So even if you are completely unable to use good loudspeakers for mixing (you don't need to bast off you ears, speaking-level volume is great for mixing) - you should always burn your latest creation and test it in someone's else's Hi-Fi, a cheap car sound system, or even your old CRT TV, notice what's wrong, then return to your equipment and try to find a compromise.

[T.C. Elliott]

I agree.

[bflat81]

A good lynk where you can find different headphones compared :
http://www.sonicsense.com/blog/headphone-shootouts/headphone-comparisons-by-price-point

I chose the superlux hd 668, very good sounding and they cost about 19 euros on thomann.de ...
My next picks would be:
KRK KNS-6400
Sennheiser HD 25-1 ll

[fenderbender]

What a minefield
for starters I always mix on headphones -cos me sound system speakers(sorry my studio monitors )
are just ordinary-
I use a pair of Superlux HD681 (recommended by The Rev.)
As cheap as chips as the fella said and I give them a double thumbs up.

[ODH]

What a minefield
for starters I always mix on headphones -cos me sound system speakers(sorry my studio monitors )
are just ordinary-

Likewise.  I always try to check the mix on actual speakers, trouble is they're only my PC speakers (decent enough in themselves) which have a separate subwoofer with it's own level control, so you're never sure if it's right.  I'll also try to audition in the car and on an iPod doc or two to check there's no obvious howlers.  Best to get as broad a range of sources as possible, but it's the headphones are the main reference for me.

In the modern world the accessibility to the means of music production has far outstripped peoples' access to studios & decent monitors, so cans is the best many of us can get.  When I win the lottery I'll have the best studio money can buy, just wait.

I have a pair of AKG K240 mkII's for recording and mixing which I'm happy with.  Those Superlux's get good reviews though and are apparently made in the same factory as the AKG's (and bits of them look suspiciously like them too).  Good buy, by the looks...

[chip]

Last night I mixed down three tracks that had been recorded using my AKG K271 mk11 for reference. I then did the mixdown on the monitors, I got that as best I could? then put the phones back on and the difference was very apparent. More bass for a start off, very different to what I conjured up with just the phones before the monitor mix. But I do think phones have their place and, I think that I could get away with just using phones if I had to. For one, they are very convenient and two, they are quiet. Perhaps I should try one with and one without , master the song and see what the real difference is.

[leighelse]

I have a couple of pair of lightweight open ear Panasonic headphones I use for listening to music. One has a five metre cable which lets me move around the room. The other pair is acoustically similar, but has a really short cable. I always check mixes on these; they're good with mids and highs, although I'm well aware they lack any substance at the bottom end.

But for recording I have two pair of Philips wireless headphones. These are not bluetooth, and they have no latency. They do roll off a lot of the highs, but I don't find that a disadvantage: they're less tiring to listen to. They're closed ear phones, but very comfortable. The base station will charge one pair at a time, and a charge lasts about twelve hours of use. If I'm doing a session with someone else it's useful to have two pair.

The brilliant thing about these Philips headphones is that they're wireless. I realise that's obvious, but it's incredibly freeing to have one fewer cable to worry about. No tangles!

I do always mix on speakers, and make a lot of use of the BR1600's speaker modelling. I'm sure it's not perfect, but it does give me some good reference points.

[Mike Huntingford]

I have been through a bunch of studio headphones.  I finally settled on Sennheiser HD 280 Pro - I purchased several.

http://www.proaudiostar.com/sennheiser-hd280-pro-headphones.html?utm_source=Google_Shopping&gclid=Cj0KEQiAvNrBBRDe3IOwzLn6_O4BEiQAmbK-DlgYLmbFeS1BmfA0-u8pLPCxYUzDUllnfc4uZH4az3oaAv2l8P8HAQ

This link has an included video - if interested.

Mike