[Le Dechaine]

Thanks a lot homer! Hehe

*In the subject* Well the K701's and the ER's are tempting!

*Not in the subject* For now i'm gonna go for closed headphones, for recording, producing, maybe DJ'ing, like HD-280's or V6's.
(Well, if you know about better closed monitoring headphones tell me hehe but i'm surely gonna go for the HD-280's)

 

[neilvg]

So how many of you guys giving advice on 'flat' headphones have done a lot of mixing/monitoring?

My advice: choose a pair of headphones with which you are very comfortable. You should know the signature of this headphone, know what certain recordings sound like, how these certain recordings also sound on other good/familiar systems (speakers, car, etc...), and how you like them to sound. Once you are completely familiar with this given headphone (assuming it doesn't sound like tin), you are ready to use it for monitoring and mixing purposes.

Lastly, use a comparison track that has the tonality and attributes you are looking for. Mix and monitor the new mix with the intention of trying to mimick some of those attributes. Eventually you won't need the comparison recording.

It doesn't matter how neutral your headphones are for mixing or even mastering!
This is largely misunderstood. Your ears and mind need to be trained.

Additionally, headphones tend to be good with applications such as editing, panning, eq'ing, etc... Speakers are good for checking the phase, soundstaging, depth of field, naturalness of tone, etc... Although I use headphones to make sure I haven't mixed a given recording with too much sibilance.

I find the HE90/HEV90 to be quite good as I am very familiar with its sound, and know what a good recording should sound like with this system. The ER4S is also a good choice. HD6X0 are used in recording studio's the world over...

...Having said all this, I will admit that it is here where clarity, transparency, etc... etc... the big 'audiophile' terms we speak of the most, can really help. However, like I stated before, get really really used to your headphones (and speakers) first.
I have never heard a headphone or speaker without some form of noticable coloration or 'signature'. Even those 'without a signature' have this as a signature... hear it!

Neil

 

[Le Dechaine]

Hehe thanks a lot for this advice neilvg

 

[silverrain]

Sony V6/7506 -- like the pro-mixers use. You hear everything.

 

[silverrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Le Déchaîné /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, i'm about to buy either the V6's or the HD-280's, so i'm choosing between the HD-280's, which seem to have not enough lows and highs, and the V6's, which seem to have not enough mids... ?

The V6 has good mids -- no problem.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

My advice: choose a pair of headphones with which you are very comfortable. You should know the signature of this headphone, know what certain recordings sound like, how these certain recordings also sound on other good/familiar systems (speakers, car, etc...), and how you like them to sound. Once you are completely familiar with this given headphone (assuming it doesn't sound like tin), you are ready to use it for monitoring and mixing purposes.

Man, I've been thinking of something just like this for the longest time! You expressed my thoughts precisely.

Concerning the V6, many, many people at various times have said that it has incredibly bright, preaky treble that puts even a Grado to shame. I suppose this might be good for some kind of monitoring purpose, however.

 

[ssingh0]

Quote:

HD6X0 are used in recording studio's the world over...

studio's use speakers for monitoring, no?

 

[feckn_eejit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironbut /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree. If you are in fact using headphones for mastering recordings you are NOT looking for a neutral sound. If you've ever done any mastering, the final product needs to sound a good as posable to your target audience, not to you. That's why studios usually don't have audiophile sounding monitors. This is called translation. Translation tries to find a happy medium for the playback conditions it will see in the real world. This means car audio, Bose home theater set-ups, and mid-fi stereos like you get at Best Buy or Circuit City. If your looking for headphones to analyze gear, I would think that a phone like the Stax SRX mk3 would be a good choice since that is what they were designed for. Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but I seem to recall that they were designed for Mercedes in sound proofing and noise analysis. And they were continued to be produced for designers of audio gear, sonar, medical and other sensitive sound experiments.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH. I hate how Yamaha NS10s sound, but I can't count the number of times I've seen them in studios... my fav studio monitors I've heard so far are Genelec 1030As, and for the more budged concious, Mackie HR824s. OTOH, something that sounds great on the Genelecs will sound great on my home hi-fi, but not so hot in the car or on a mid-fi system, so it is about compromise.

neilvg makes great points about everything being relative... when I used to mix in the small 24-track analog studio I used to get to play in, I'd calibrate my ears by listening to tracks I want my mix to sound like on the HR824s, then mix, then I'd sanity check it with the SR-X/MK3s (with far inferior gear than I get to hear with them now...), then I'd burn it, take it to a boom box, take it to the car, see if anything is blatantly horrible... if not, called it good enough for my purposes

OTOH, do you want to get as close as is humanly possible to knowing what your gear sounds like?

If your gear is highly transparent, want to get as close as is humanly possible to knowing what your source material really sounds like?

There can be only one...
Stax SR-X/MK3.

The end.

edit: oh yeah, bring really expensive balanced gear to drive them.

 

[intlplby]

truth is that you should mix with the medium you plan on having the music on.... most likely speakers......

headphones should only be used if you can afford to put together an acoustically treated room, in which case i'd use k1000s to get the best approximation of speakers....

 

[neilvg]

Certainly speakers are the primary monitoring device. Headphones are used specifically to alter various parts of a mix, and therefore used more for certain mixing applications. I would only ever monitor with a headphone purely if I was in a room with say, a drumkit, and I wanted to hear how it was sounding but didn't have the benefit of an isolated room. I would use some IEM's and block out as much of the external 'non-mic'd' sound as possible hearing as much of the signal as possible.

Generally this can be useful for tracking (recording) purposes, and therefore monitoring in this circumstance. But in general, yes speakers are used for this.
Quote:

Originally Posted by neilvg HD6X0 are used in recording studio's the world over...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssingh0 studio's use speakers for monitoring, no?

The two are not exclusive. By saying that studio's always have a pair of HD6X0's around (and not literally always), it doesn't mean they use them very often, or for their main mixing or monitoring purposes. They have their place though.

Neil

 

[nightfire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Le Déchaîné /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm, well, I live in Quebec (Canada), so 80$ US + Shipping = Near 150$ CAN i guess! (not to mention that i live in a lost town somewhere ) Haha @ the C-Clamp HD-280 smiley (Edit: Well, HD-280's really look like that finally haha, nice smiley btw)

Salut Le Déchaîné, et tlm..

Here's another vote for the ER4s. The only real problem I find with them is the top bit of air is missing as they roll off at ~16khz.

You get used to it and it's very relaxing for classical. But for mastering there's a part of the program you'll be missing.

 

[Le Dechaine]

Heya! 'resurrecting an old thread to tell you that my own HD-280 Pro's are on my head! I've been listening to music for ~3 hours, but let me say that this pair of headphones really surprised me in the first seconds of listening, the deepness of.. well, everything, the acoustic depth of these headphones is astonishing! I had never heard anything better than my HD-477's, and never thought the difference in depth would be as blatant as this!

In short, all i can say is "wow". I'm amazed by Sennheiser.. once again!

As said on many forums, the lows are really there, really deep and perceptible. If you like bass, you'll love the HD-280's! I'm currently listening to electronic music, and overall, comparing to HD-477's, the kicks aren't as present (and the bass is inexistant in HD-477's compared to these, so yeah, 'sounds weird for now), and the highs (10khz+) aren't as present too. I *know* there is an emphasis on midrange with these HD-280's, but i know that these have a *long* burn-in time too, so let's hear if this will change, if so i'll let you know!

For now:

Thanks a lot for all your help, see you soon!

PS: My friend tried them, he's jealous and now wants a pair of HD-280 Pro's too