I am going to be buying one or the other. The only reason i would get headphones would be because they are cheaper. Will the mixes come out messed up if that was all i used?
Studio Monitors vs. Headphones
- Thread starter AshesOfTheWake
- Start date
lolzgreg
Cereal Shipping Sneapster
If you have a poorly shaped/treated room, you're better off with high quality headphones. Your room needs to be symmetrical and bass/reflective trapped in order to give accurate mixing results with speakers such as monitors. If you use phones and get used to em, you can do very well, but it will leave you guessing a bit in the bass region of the mix. I would recommend checking all mixes with your car stereo. It will do you a world of good.
I mostly agree with you Greg, but I think it's less of a problem if you don't have overly bassy monitors, cuz it's the excessive low energy that really causes problems with the room. Honestly, although I've never worked with a pair of semi-open cans, I really hate mixing on headphones, I feel like I lose all perspective and it's very claustrophobic - for awhile I used a $100 pair of Creative Labs multimedia speakers that I think I knew pretty goddamn well, and was never surprised by mixes/tones I got with them when listening to other systems (and then I used my Audio Technica ATH M50's for more subtle adjustments, especially to panning).
I used to mix a lot on headphones, and once I got used to them, mixes seemed to translate fairly well for the most part. The most noticeable issue would be a boomy bottom end when I listened on other systems. Over time I started to notice it seemed hard to get the relationship between transient stuff and sustainy stuff, like drums and bass right. I moved to some Adam A7's last year, and I think they were worth every penny. You can get by with headphones, but if you can afford proper monitors, I would say that is the way to go.
Joematthews
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- Dec 15, 2007
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I say monitors and set aside 50 dollars/ 30 quid for 4 thick rockwool slabs and some material. Dew it.
Joe
Joe
Depends on your budget though; if you've only got ~$300 US, honestly I'd go for a pair of Bose Companion 2's (great multimedia speakers), Auralex Mopads, and some bass traps, as well as a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 cans, and those two once you learn 'em should do you good! (see my testimonial above)
Joematthews
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Uncle Junior
Member
Buy monitors, headphones suck, beacuse you don't get the real sound picture through them.
Save some cash and go for monitors dude....I recommend Genelec or Mackie.
Save some cash and go for monitors dude....I recommend Genelec or Mackie.
Yes I know, they're dick holes for their "absurd prices and pompous attitudes" marketing strategy which works wonders on easily impressed rich people, but from all I've read the Companion 2's are pretty much the best multimedia speakers out there! (and I wouldn't want a 2.1 multimedia system, I've never heard one in my life that wasn't overly bassy and loose)
Joematthews
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I agree on the 2.1 thing.
Bose annoy me with their awesomez boze technologiez as well. Its called porting motherfucker get over it. You could be right about those speakers though
Bose annoy me with their awesomez boze technologiez as well. Its called porting motherfucker get over it. You could be right about those speakers though
Kazrog
Kazrog, Inc.
You get a lot more for your money with headphones. I've got a pair of AKG K702s and they sound amazing, much better than most monitors in the budget/project studio range.
Yea I'd take a $100 dollar pair of headphones over $1000 monitors in an untreated room.
I use a combination of headphones and monitors when mixing but I still trust the headphones more since my room is fairly untreated. Of course nothing is ever finalized until it passes the car test
Forceps
John - Spiralcove
+1
It is not natural to get the sound straight into your ears. When you listen to sound in general, you get a combination of the original source + refelections and the left channel also reaches your right ear. So be carefull when mixing with headphones... Better give your room some treatment.
Or use something like this:
http://www.ohl.to/about-audio/audio-softwares/crossfeed-and-eq
http://www.refinedaudiometrics.com/products-hdphx.shtml
http://www.112db.com/redline/monitor/
The second link is freeware, I read a review of the last one, and that was a great one. Haven't tested either of them btw.
Jevil
Pro Evolution Fucker
Amazing, I was just about to open a thread like this cause one hour ago my Sennheriser all-life superb headphones died.
My monitors at home are shit ($100 Creative as Marcus), I'm used to headphones at home, even though in studio (that don't now own but use free) I have 3 pairs of differents monitors but I get better results with my headphones + car audio system...
and now...what fucking headphones should I buy??
My monitors at home are shit ($100 Creative as Marcus), I'm used to headphones at home, even though in studio (that don't now own but use free) I have 3 pairs of differents monitors but I get better results with my headphones + car audio system...
and now...what fucking headphones should I buy??
PhilTheBeard
"The Beard"
P-E
Munchkin
Get Audio Technica ATH M-50 headphones dudes. I tried 'em out and they're great, Marcus could tell you more about 'em though, he owns a pair.
Sickan
¯\(°_o)/¯
I prefer my calibrated M-Audio BX8a (monitors) over my AKG K271 Studio (headphones), you don't get the same punch from headphones.
MetalJonesy
more metal, more booze!!!
i never mix on headphones ever, only use em to edit, quantize, tweak levels maybe for late at night.
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