Commodore Remix

Not sure how many people here mix with headphones (I think I remember Chris saying that he does), but here's a really useful article I found (sorry if it's been posted before):

http://www.headwize.com/articles/lxh2mix_art.htm

Ever since I moved house, I have been getting consistently crappy mixes due to just not being able to get used to the acoustics in the room where my gear is stored (and I visit once a week to make music ).

I'm now going to invest in a decent pair of headphones, so any personal recommendations or experiences would be greatly appreciated

I'm looking for clarity, flat response and comfort (pretty much in that order)... Anyone?

Thanks in advance.

Tonka

Aaaaarrrgghhhhh!!! CONFUSED.COM

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_ar ... hones.html

I have AKG K 240DF Studio Monitor headphones, and they fully meet all of your requirements. It comes for about 80 EUR+. The design is semi open. The frequency response is said to be ultra flat, AKG advertises it as "*the* reference headphones for radio studios". I have it since xmas and I'm very happy with it.

They're not that good for Hi-Fi listening pleasure though. It's much like monitor speakers sound compared to hi-fi speakers: less unz, and it feels no remorse in exposing flaws in your mix. So I guess it's exactly what you're looking for.

Aditionally, they're comfortable, and sturdy worksmanship. They're still in one piece under conditions where Sennheisers would prolly fall apart.

I've always liked my Beyerdynamic DT770s, but they overstate the bass a bit... they do allow you to hear the detail very well.

Chris

When the planets are aligned and I actually do record/remix something I use my Sennheiser HD 433 headphones.

It all comes down to, not wanting to drive my wife crazy with repeating loops and beats which can last anywhere from 2hours to 12 hours.

I am personally in the "Studio Monitor" camp and have a couple of Alesis MKII Active speakers which are fine for me

I sometime listen to my final mixes on headphones but I personally cannot actually produce the music and final mix using those.

Unfortuntely as with much in music it is down to personal taste and what you are confortable with! I mean very few of us have a professional recording studio in our back yard so use whatever you are happy with and just burn the result to a CD and play it on your HiFI like I do

Sennheiser HD-250 II (Larsec bought his after me... )

But... all of my "serious audio projects" I check with:

1. Sennheiser HD-250 II
2. Genelec 1029 Monitors
3. 20 year old JVC PC-30 5W radio.
4. Laptop mono speaker
5. SAAB9-5 car audio.

And... which of these are the best check for me? Can you guess?

Answer:>The SAAB, since all "too quiet" sounds will completely disappear in the engine noise. The same effect can be found when playing a remix on extremely low volumes.<end of answer. (Select to read)

I rely on my Event 20/20 studio monitors (a real bargain),
I mix on them 24/7 and know them very well, so I
only check my mixes on my home stereo with selfmade Mivoc speakers.
In fact I'm not really with this headwize article - headphones are no way better for mixing than speakers, they're just an alternative for people who haven't the possibility to set up a proper mixing situation for whatever reason. That does not mean that you can't do decent mixes with them but you really really have to get used to them.

I still do think that mixing with headphones is like swimming without arms.

DHS wrote:I still do think that mixing with headphones is like swimming without arms.

Now that's a quote right there! You should get some T-Shirts made up mate!

I'm using AKG K240, it's a classic. But using only headphones isn't good solution in mixing. There won't be any problems filling spectrum and panorama. But it's causing problems with volume proportions on each track in mix.

DHS wrote:I still do think that mixing with headphones is like swimming without arms.

It's a question of what you're used to: if you know your equipment intimately, then it's fine. Although obviously if I had a studio and soundproofing, I'd want big f*ck off monitors too But I can swim quite nicely with my headphones, thanks.

Chris

Chris Abbott wrote:

DHS wrote:I still do think that mixing with headphones is like swimming without arms.

It's a question of what you're used to: if you know your equipment intimately, then it's fine. Although obviously if I had a studio and soundproofing, I'd want big f*ck off monitors too But I can swim quite nicely with my headphones, thanks.

Chris

Hmmm... That's basically my problem right now. Most of my music listening is done in the car on my way to work, but after that I guess it's headphones late at night. I think I've just lost that 'acoustic memory' of how the music should sound on my old faithful monitors. I have lost that 'intimacy'...

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions (although I'm still completely confused) That said, 2 of you have prompted me to try out the AKG's, and other forums are citing these as having a decent flat response, so I will be taking a close look (or should I say listen) at these for starters

Tonka

AKG 240DF here, same as LMan. Have them for more than 2 years and they really rock! They are true, and that's important...

Pex `Mahoney` Tufvesson wrote: Sennheiser HD-250 II

Same here. They're nice in every aspect, except the ones I've got which have a trashy right-speaker(I hate it when that happens, and it only happens when I buy from Musikbörsen for some reason)