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Headphones for Mixing - Subjective Impressions


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Posted

It's what you're used to. Starting with ENG and assorted location video work back in '93, I've had my head in a pair of Sony 7506s. 20 plus years. I can mix quite well in them. I know them very well.

 

 

 

People hate them by and large and because of that they shouldn't use them. But for me they're home. I can get my panning, depth/verb level and corresponding timbre of said ambience right, my bass, mid and highs proportionate, overall balance. Automation of nuanced levels...

 

 

 

I know them.

 

 

 

I guess one should choose what they like, then get to know them with hours upon hours of making choices and verifying those choices.

 

 

 

Rinse and repeat forever according to the 10,000 hour rule.

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Posted

Hey Lee, good advice as usual and always glad when you get a chance to stop by. Sorry I've wasted your song critiquing talents, I've been doing final versions of the music posted on YouTube.

 

Regarding headphones, as per the usual, I've gone a little nuts lately... :) I figure with so many people listening on headphones, that's the way to go. So now I listen to mixes over six different headphones before signing off - KRK, AKG, Beats, Audio-Technica, Philips, and Ultrasone. If it sounds okay on all of them, I'm good to go.

 

I still listen at really, really low levels in the final stages of mixing to hear what's happening in the midrange because of course, you're not really going to hear the lows and highs all that well. Then I listen at higher levels and if the lows and highs fall into place, I'm happy.

Posted
Hey Lee, good advice as usual and always glad when you get a chance to stop by. Sorry I've wasted your song critiquing talents, I've been doing final versions of the music posted on YouTube.

 

Regarding headphones, as per the usual, I've gone a little nuts lately... :) I figure with so many people listening on headphones, that's the way to go. So now I listen to mixes over six different headphones before signing off - KRK, AKG, Beats, Audio-Technica, Philips, and Ultrasone. If it sounds okay on all of them, I'm good to go.

 

I still listen at really, really low levels in the final stages of mixing to hear what's happening in the midrange because of course, you're not really going to hear the lows and highs all that well. Then I listen at higher levels and if the lows and highs fall into place, I'm happy.

 

Beats and Ultrasones? Wow... talk about different ends of the spectrum! Making a mix sound good on both of those would be a real challenge IMO!

 

Maybe "good" isn't the right word - I probably should have said "balanced." ;)

  • 1 year later...
  • Members
Posted

Argh - took me two days to find this thread again. Maybe worthy of a sticky?

 

Anyways I'm sitting here listening to my Audio Technica ATH-ANC29 with the noise canceling off and finding them too bass heavy ("untight"?) for serious listening but hey, whatcha want for 30 bux LOL? I never did get a chance to use them for my original need (rough live stereo mix in the same room as the subs :( ) but suspect they would work OK for that - my passive high-isolation phones don't isolate bass well enough.

 

Anyways thought I'd order up some BeyerDynamic DTX 910's for more serious listening and possible studio mixing. They're cheaply made at $39 but supposed to sound neutral?

 

And the big question - what albums/tunes do youse guys use to "audition" headphones and monitors? And to "calibrate" your ears before a mixing session?

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Posted
And the big question - what albums/tunes do youse guys use to "audition" headphones and monitors? And to "calibrate" your ears before a mixing session?[/Quote]Knock, knock - is this thing on? ;)

 

Anyways thought I'd order up some BeyerDynamic DTX 910's for more serious listening and possible studio mixing. They're cheaply made at $39 but supposed to sound neutral?]
I'm pretty happy with them - it would be easy to mix too bass and treble heavy on them as they are pretty damned neutral. I've checked them out with a bunch of 12 string stuff and some un-remastered Beatles (that Hofner bass is hard to get definition out of). They sure are "open", probably useless for tracking but I have my Direct Sound EX-25's for that.
  • Members
Posted
And the big question - what albums/tunes do youse guys use to "audition" headphones and monitors? And to "calibrate" your ears before a mixing session?

 

I use recordings I worked on in big studios with great monitors, because I know exactly what the source material sounded like.

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