I just upgraded to Sennheiser Headphones after a simple review that Datsik gave about them. I had to start somewhere with professional grade headphones right?

I'd like to know which headphones you utilise when producing and how you came around to that choice of headphones.

At 1/16/15 03:09 PM, Vii wrote: I just upgraded to Sennheiser Headphones after a simple review that Datsik gave about them. I had to start somewhere with professional grade headphones right?

I hear the HD's are awesome. Hope I'll get to listen through them one day.

I'd like to know which headphones you utilise when producing and how you came around to that choice of headphones.

Sony MDR-XB500 for about 3 years now. I had a lot of money to blow, and I didn't look into it any further than Amazon reviews. They're pretty awesome, but I feel like I had better options.

good equipment doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to mix properly

At 1/16/15 06:30 PM, Sequenced wrote: good equipment doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to mix properly

I'd have to disagree with you mate. You can't hear all the elements in a soundtrack with a basic £20 headset. Secondly, how will you ever learn to mix properly if all you can hear is compressed sound? Without that crisp clear feeling, you'd surely have a hard time learning anything.

I'd be producing on earbuds if that were the case.

At 1/16/15 07:23 PM, Vii wrote:

At 1/16/15 06:30 PM, Sequenced wrote: good equipment doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to mix properly

I'd have to disagree with you mate. You can't hear all the elements in a soundtrack with a basic £20 headset. Secondly, how will you ever learn to mix properly if all you can hear is compressed sound? Without that crisp clear feeling, you'd surely have a hard time learning anything.

I'd be producing on earbuds if that were the case.

.. i still mix on my $20 headset.

https://soundcloud.com/rezziegrounds/sneaky/s-pQVuW

i prove my point.

At 1/16/15 06:44 PM, minicrops1 wrote:

Sony MDR-XB500 for about 3 years now. I had a lot of money to blow, and I didn't look into it any further than Amazon reviews. They're pretty awesome, but I feel like I had better options.

Wouldn't the "extra bass" not be good for mixing? What you hear differs from what others hear.

Lol I produce with Apple headphones. My parents haven't agreed to get me one :P

I've had that same notion for while. But if you produce heavy bass music; your general bass audience will be likely to have some intense music apparatus that can handle it.

All the teenagers these days seem to just buy Beats by Der .-.

At 1/16/15 07:27 PM, Sequenced wrote:

At 1/16/15 07:23 PM, Vii wrote:

At 1/16/15 06:30 PM, Sequenced wrote: good equipment doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to mix properly

I'd have to disagree with you mate. You can't hear all the elements in a soundtrack with a basic £20 headset. Secondly, how will you ever learn to mix properly if all you can hear is compressed sound? Without that crisp clear feeling, you'd surely have a hard time learning anything.

I'd be producing on earbuds if that were the case.

.. i still mix on my $20 headset.

https://soundcloud.com/rezziegrounds/sneaky/s-pQVuW

i prove my point.

Wait until you try some audiophile headphones; it will completely change your world. I honesly can't even listen to anything I produced back then.

At 1/16/15 07:31 PM, Vii wrote:
Wait until you try some audiophile headphones; it will completely change your world. I honesly can't even listen to anything I produced back then.

dude i've been doing this for over 10 years. i got studio monitors and audio technica headphones, just too lazy to switch em up everytime i have an idea in my head.

all you need is a frame of reference.

Sony MDR-XB500 for about 3 years now. I had a lot of money to blow, and I didn't look into it any further than Amazon reviews. They're pretty awesome, but I feel like I had better options.

The only reason I didn't go with Sony was because it felt generic in relation to other headphones (Much like buying Beats by Der). Although who am I to criticise headphones by their brand cx (Never tried Beats). How are they on confort? I had a Sony MDR-7505 and they were awful after and hour. I can't live without over the ear headphones anymore.

At 1/16/15 07:32 PM, Sequenced wrote: dude i've been doing this for over 10 years. i got studio monitors and audio technica headphones, just too lazy to switch em up everytime i have an idea in my head.

all you need is a frame of reference.

well i've been doing this for over 100 years and i've only ever used beats by dre cause they're heaps good ayy

At 1/16/15 07:40 PM, midimachine wrote: A

well i've been doing this for over 100 years and i've only ever used beats by dre cause they're heaps good ayy

oh dayum u soiled me their m80

gj
20/10

would fuck

I'm using AKG K 240 MK II as references. Pretty cheap (~$80-100 if you find them on a periodic sale), and I like the sound. But as mentioned before, it's more important that you learn the sound of your gear and compensate in your mixes.

Someone with a fully decked out studio can still produce bad mixes if they don't know what they're doing.

At 1/16/15 08:04 PM, DavidOrr wrote:

Someone with a fully decked out studio can still produce bad mixes if they don't know what they're doing.

ty

pls take my babies

At 1/16/15 06:44 PM, minicrops1 wrote: Wouldn't the "extra bass" not be good for mixing? What you hear differs from what others hear.

You're right. They're probably not very good mixing headphones, but they're great for listening to music.

Y'all mondaytofridayers need to embrace the holy light of our lord and saviour: the middle ground perspective.

Can you mix on shit gear?
Yuuuep.

Can you mix well on shit gear?
Well enough for most projects but you need a lot of practice and reference.

Can you mix AS good on shit gear as you can on that sweet Bling-bling?

Neewp.
You can't hear the full extent of the stereo field (then again, go out and buy some quality studio monitor speakers for that one) or the very fine details.

-----

Congrats on them headphones, OP. They'll surely serve you quite well in your musical endeavours (plus it's really nice to have some quality cans to lay back and listen to some tunes with).

I just got done sending back a pair of AKG 550s (bless Amazon for their return policy).

Loved the clarity. Loved the neutral frequency response. But after 1-2 hours my ears started to hurt every single time (they had a spike in the treble area that caused them to ultimately be too harsh for me.)

I used to use a pair of MDR XD-200, which are dogged around by everyone as being pure shit, yet to my ears they had a very balanced frequency output.

Currently in the market for a new pair myself. Gonna go down to the music store in a few days to try out some Sennheisers. I hear they're generally "warm", as in, not harsh or grating.
Maybe I can find a model that isn't too bass heavy (Bass, ew).

I have HD 25 1II 70ohm (some much variants) and i choose them because
1. They were said to be "neutral".
2. I got a good deal.
3. My marshall headphones broke exactly 1 year and one day after i got them , warranty was 1 year... +1pt for planned obsolescence conspiracy :D

I can't tell if they are neutral etc, but i definitely see (hear) an improvment from the marshalls.
More details, more frequencies, but the high are a bit ear piercing and stereo sense isn't that great.
Not that the marshall weren't good, but they weren't good for me.
Now i can spot errors much easier.

Anyway, I think if you know the good and bad of your gear, with several ref tracks, you can always compensate especially when EQ ing.

At 1/16/15 10:04 PM, LunyAlex wrote: Y'all mondaytofridayers need to embrace the holy light of our lord and saviour: the middle ground perspective.

Can you mix on shit gear?
Yuuuep.

Can you mix well on shit gear?
Well enough for most projects but you need a lot of practice and reference.

Can you mix AS good on shit gear as you can on that sweet Bling-bling?

Neewp.
You can't hear the full extent of the stereo field (then again, go out and buy some quality studio monitor speakers for that one) or the very fine details.

-----

Absolutely -- but I will add one thing. There is something to be said for working on sub-par equipment, as it will force you to adapt in ways you might otherwise not have to, making you a better mixer because of it. There is a good parallel to performance as well; periodically practicing on poor instruments forces you to improve your control (and subsequently your technique) by adjusting to the shortcomings of the instrument. When the time comes for you to play on that 9 foot Steinway, or that Stradivari, you'll have superior control over someone who was practicing on those instruments all along.

A good musician makes good gear sound great; a great musician makes bad gear sound great.

Case in point: Listen to any of the Bach Brandenburg concertos in MIDI format; they may not have the sparkle of a live performance, but they still sound pretty damn great.

At 1/16/15 03:09 PM, Vii wrote: I just upgraded to Sennheiser Headphones after a simple review that Datsik gave about them. I had to start somewhere with professional grade headphones right?

I'd like to know which headphones you utilise when producing and how you came around to that choice of headphones.

I'm using a pair of Sennheisers myself. Got them more than half a year ago. Still adore the sound they produce.

Funny enough, they were considerably 'entry-level' for a pair of Sennheisers; about £20 off Argos, but hey. It does the job well, so I can't complain.

At 1/17/15 12:28 AM, DavidOrr wrote: A good musician makes good gear sound great; a great musician makes bad gear sound great.

So honestly, hats off to all those who are mixing with broken headphones and falling-apart computers. Or, those who have started off by doing so. You know who you are.

Case in point: Listen to any of the Bach Brandenburg concertos in MIDI format; they may not have the sparkle of a live performance, but they still sound pretty damn great.

Oi oi. Big up for this one.

My Shure SRH440 headphones died a while ago, but I've been using my new Sennheiser HD 280 Pro since a day or two. Totally worth the buck.

I am a cheap and poor bastard and i got a Sennheiser 201 HD. I thing this are one of the best headphones i have ever had. Sure, it is not a pro level headphones, but for 20-25$ bucks they are worth every buck. It stepped up my myxing game a lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i9Qwc5jC_A&list=PL01699955C38B3C8C

At 1/17/15 01:17 PM, Lich wrote:

I'm looking to invest around £3500 this year in audio hardware and acoustic pane;s (including my new PC in the price which will set me back £2000 on it's own since I'm also using it for VM Lab work at the same time) so once I get a better external interface (independent from the internal RME or MOTU ASIO card(s) I'm looking at getting for my new build) I am looking at getting a pair of Beyerdynamic DT Closed headphones for those late night sessions when the neighbors and anyone around in the house is sleeping haha. The DT 250 Closed Backs seem pretty damn good for their affordable price point so I may angle for them.

Even with a remaining budget of £1500, you should have plenty of cash to get proper acoustic treatment in your room (assuming it's not gigantic), as well as a nice set of headphones and/or monitors. Awesome!

You don't really want to be mixing on closed back headphones -- they're more for tracking. Even though open back headphones do leak some sound, you'll go deaf long before you wake up any neighbor with the sound leaking from the cans. Unless your walls are literally made of tissue paper -- in which case I think you have more pressing matters to deal with :).

If you're concerned about bothering someone in the same room, then it could be an issue -- say, in a college dorm environment. Open back DO leak some sound, and if someone is sitting near/next to you, they'd hear it. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry at all. Regardless, you'd be better off mixing on headphones that were meant for mixing, even if at lower volumes.

At 1/17/15 02:59 PM, Lich wrote:

Acoustics-wise, I'm abit leery of sticking panels onto the walls since I'm renting but I have came across some Free-Standing Acostic & Bass Panels from GIKacousticswhich look pretty nice and I don't mind spending the £££ on the £220 per pair (after VAT) price tag. I have everything set up in what used to be the dining room but is now slowly converting into my studio with every bit I purchase!

Unless you get very heavy material, you can hang a panel on a single 20 lb wall hanger using picture wire. My panels weigh 7 or 8 pounds each (using OC Fiberglass 703 material). I've got my bass traps standing on the floor in the corners. It's a bit makeshift, but it works very well -- and I have a grand total of 3 (small) holes in my wall. Unless you are forbidden for putting up any picture hangers, you should be able to hang the panels right on the wall without issue. Just don't get any material that's too heavy. The guys at GIK can certainly help you with that -- they're very friendly!

I'm using a pair of Sennheisers myself. Got them more than half a year ago. Still adore the sound they produce.

Funny enough, they were considerably 'entry-level' for a pair of Sennheisers; about £20 off Argos, but hey. It does the job well, so I can't complain.

I went for the Sennheiser 600 HD (£220). I won't know if they're a rip or not until I try other studio headphones. i really enjoy how the outer shell of the headphones are practically speakers (not sure if the people around me enjoy it though). At the moment these headphones also give stable sound for that equivocal headphone dilemma (when what you hear differs from what everyone else hears with their headphones/speakers/earbuds).

I used to use these 40$ Koss titanium headphones from Radio Shack, back in the day. It was a good line-out representation of what I was recording, good treble and just enough bass. I went through at least 3 pairs thanks to shit wires, but the consistency in sound reproduction, from raw audio to post production was totally worth it.

A bunch of Radio Shacks are closing up this March, big sales on whatever flawed dribble's left... and now the press is talking bankruptcy, though the employees knew that over a month ago :\

I listen to pretty much all my audio through a pair of Sennheiser HD 650 headphones. I bought them after reading a headphone round-up from Sound On Sound magazine which pretty much declared them the best mixing headphones you can get. Even when saying that they still mentioned that they have a pretty mellow treble response and they found they tended to overmix the treble when using them.

I guess my point is to know the characteristics and limitations of your equipment and to realise the effect of your mixing decisions. Once you know that then it really shouldn't matter what equipment you're using. If you can make your mixes sound as good as everything else through the same speakers/headphones, then it shouldn't matter.

Being able to hear is over rated. I produce the superior way by using frequency analysers and stare at the waveform.

At 1/30/15 07:46 AM, rrbwmusic wrote: I sometimes mix with just my eyes.

Probably bad practice but no ones complaining.

Sounds painful

I use my precious Sennheiser HD650, combined with my Dac Magic plus DAC/amp. The combination of phones and DAC/amp shouldn't be overlooked! Don't blow lots of money on fancy headphones and use them with a shitty integrated soundcard (not saying none of them can suffice, but a lot just plain suck).

Also, make sure the combo works. My HD650's sound waaaay to bass heavy with my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, which is an otherwise great DAC/amp for the money (and I think it would work really nicely with another pair of more neutral headphones)!