Probably a mix of both is best, but I'm just curious how many of you favor one over the other?
I've been a headphone mixer for years, probably because I was first learning to mix as a teenager secretly staying up past my bedtime to work on this stuff instead of the math homework I never finished. I feel most like I can *really* hear what a mix is like through a decent pair of headphones.
I know other people are exactly the opposite - bluermutt once told me he absolutely hates to mix on headphones, that it feels claustrophobic.
To be honest it's only been in the last few years that I've come to appreciate working on things with speakers in mind - it's been fun to explore.
What about y'all?
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Electronic Music discussion: Headphones vs Monitors
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Written October 28 2010
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My best work is from headphones. Seems to add a certain level of control for me that monitor speakers just dont give me. Also ive got kids and do alot of my stuff at night. Gotta be quiet, so headphones do the trick.
I like headphones for most stuff. I like to use speakers to get relative levels right, but for everything else I use headphones.
Headphones offer too much detail. A part can be very quiet, but still clearly audible over headphones, whereas over speakers the lack of detail makes parts that are too quiet disappear. Right now I'm using a nice headphones + mediocre speakers theory. Get the relative levels right with the mediocre speakers, and tweak the rest of the sound with headphones. I got a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50 recently. They're really nice.  For casual listening, movies and such I like speakers. For critical listening I go back to headphones. Also, for stuff with big bass I use headphones, since I don't have huge speakers or a sub. Totally with you on the nice headphones + mediocre speakers theory. While I'd eventually like to invest in a pair of really nice studio monitors, I've been just fine rocking a mediocre pair because I'm so comfortable mixing on headphones. I wonder if I would feel differently after spending a significant amount of time with really great speakers though?
This is interesting...I use monitors for most of my mixing. I agree with feeling a little claustrophobic. For casual listening and quick checks on the mix, headphones are awesome. But focusing on sound detail, or any kind of critical listening for too long in the cans drives me nuts.
oh, btw...I have the KRK VXT6 monitors and Sennheiser HD280 'pro' headphones. So maybe that might have something to do with my preference. If I get that krk sub, I think I will be even less inclined to get really nice headphones. Short story version.
Monitors are for mixing. Headphones are for stereo placement. both is the right answer. Whatever works for you is real answer. I find heaphones are too harsh to be accurate for my music. If I mix in headphones. I winde up taming the sound so much cause it sounds like it's clipping to me.. then it sounds all pussy once I hear it played back. I little context jib jab.... Lots of you "laptop" types tend to like the clippy poppy sounds anyway .. so you might never notice. djugel said: "Lots of you "laptop" types" Lets be nice, bud! For me it depends on the time. Late at night it's headphones. All the other time it's basically speakers.
i can judge levels far more easy on speakers. Plus i'm really scared working with headphones when doing stuff in reaktor or Max/MSP. A couple of times, i was shocked with a blast of high volume noise, because of some patching error. For everything spacial – stay away from headphones. when making music i prefer speakers over headphones.
i need to hear the sounds in and about a room. although funnily enough most of my music listening is done on headphones while walking about. I use speakers primarily - and check on headphones because they show up weird/unwanted panning
i like headphones, i've got these: link
there's something wrong about working with headphones, like a phantom center missing hence i'm using a plugin like this one link to combat the claustrophoby bluermutt seems to be aware of for »composing« i  headphones because they help me to immerse, zone out and dive into soundyeah i'm always switching back and forth. i'll notice something in the mix on monitors and check it by switching to headphones. headphones generally help me to work on details, whereas monitors tend to help give a real impression of the mix.
I might be the only person here who’s blown an enormous amount of money on both. They can both get you where you need to go, so long as you find the right stuff for you.
Mediocre headphones have a hole in the middle of the soundstage, which drives me nuts. Some lack impact, which prompts me to crank certain percussive noises to compensate. That style might suite djugel though. Every dynamic coil style headphone (which is what most are) I’ve ever known of has a bump around 7 or 8 kHz. If it’s too pronounced, it can prompt overly dark mixes. Some models, like the HD600s, are too veiled to sculpt detail with. They just absorb subtle changes. Dynamics are hard to accurately depict. The higher end your speakers or headphones are, the easier it is to parse out loud and quite sounds. That can lead to what I think eyesnine has experienced. It’s important to decide what kind of listening, and what kind of playback equipment you’re mixing for. Commercial music is mixed with no dynamic range, sense of depth, or subtlety. That makes it easy to follow even on shitty car speakers, while driving on a highway. Sound snobbery has prompted me to lean in the opposite direction. I don’t care if crappy speakers miss huge chunks of what I’ve done, because I’d rather not compromise the illusion of 3 dimensions in my mixes. By the way, I just sold my AKG K1000s to get these Audeze LCD-2s: link As of now, they’re the best headphones I’ve ever heard – expensive as hell by most standards, but a bargain given their performance. Even out of my portable amp they’re shockingly good. i do all of my recording and about 70% of my mixing with my ultrasone headphones.
they only thing i don't really trust them for is bass, when it sounds just right in the headphones it's always too loud through speakers. so i usually try to get it as close as i can with headphones and then make sure nothing nasty is poking out with speakers. and when it comes speakers, i like to shop it around a bit....cars, old hi-fis, boomboxes, earbuds, and sometimes the stereo system at the bar i work at (when no one is there). I pretty much agree with what everyons saying. I depend on monitors for mix, eq and compression. I have my good jbls for a flat listen, then I A/B my old paper cone fishers that bring out the mids (good for checking vocal placement) and have a cheap low end so I can tell if things are getting too muddy / boomy quickly.
I've had too many pairs of nice headphones fall apart on me so I just stick to cheap ones now (Philips SHP2500). The nice thing about a $30 pair is that you can get a few so when your working on vocals or with other musicians you can all have the same listening experience. Also the cord is long (like almost 10') and sturdy, the volume control right on the headphone cord is ace, use it so much.IMHO: on monitors, if they're too small don't waste money on them, they won't have the right low frequency responce. Get something with ideally as close to 8" or larger low freq driver. I just use headphones to check the details, clicks at the end of samples and the like. Otherwise, I find they're hell for mixing, judging bass levels, panning (I find binaural audio makes level panning judgement difficult).
Like a lot of electronic folks, I started using headphones and initially found it difficult to transition to monitors, but my mixes quickly improves once I did. Page 1 | 2
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