depends what you consider decent, and how your opinion gets swayed along the way to spending your money. i started out thinking the absolute most expensive monitors i would get would be m-audio bx8's which cost $600. now i'm looking at atc's costing about ten times that and my only worry is whether they'll be good enough. the point is, if you have a definite set budget and you're sure about it, then monitors are a good thing to have sooner rather than later. all the digital stuff you buy now will be outdated in 6 months. monitors don't change that quickly, and when they do, the old ones are still fine. mixing on headphones is no fun from my experience. they're tiring not only on your eardrums, but the rest of your ear too, as they tend to be heavy (if they're any good). that's all besides the fact that relying solely on headphones for a mix isn't a good idea to begin with. i like using them as a real world reference, and for delicate panning movements, but for some reason mixes done entirely on headphone don't translate very well to speakers. that's my opinion anyway. on the other hand, if you want to slowly but surely build a studio full of truely beautiful equipment, with no money wasted on anything less than the best gear along the way, then by all means toil away on headphones until you have enough for what you reeeeeally want.

hey, its all a learning experience- I agree with jimbo, use what you got- when you are ready to take it to the next level, though, there is a lotta good advice in these forums on what monitors to get- ask and ye shall receive! (seek and ye shall find?)

You can use anything that reproduces audio to do your mix on but the final results you get are more than likely only going be as good as the playback source you used to mix on. Don't let that stop you, but at the same time keep your expectations realistic. Mixing on headphones vs speakers are two very different things.

Just be sure to check the mix on as many different systems as you can, take notes, then go back and tweak the mix. Do this several times and surely you'll start to get a mix that translates better.

Go ahead and mix on the phones. After all we aren't talking about world peace here.. it's just audio. No one's gonna get hurt. Only the audio suffers.

Good monitors are one of the most important parts of your recording chain. They are also one of the most contested. This is due in part, to the different enviornments they are used in. What may sound great in one room may sound like sh*t in another. Room treatments, size and positioning can all play a part in the equation. Nearfields are supposd to help remedy this situation but in reality have not done much to alleviate it. There are other variables also, such as what is used to power the monitors, what kind of music is being produced, and personal preferences / shortcomings / strengths in terms of hearing ability.

The search for good monitors is one of the most difficult and time consuming parts of equipment choice for your studio. Read all you can, listen to different sets of monitors, decide for yourself what you need / want to hear and then try them out in your room..

Kurt Foster

i used to do just what your saying mixxing only in phones then mixing down and listne ing to them on difrant sterios and edint the mix accoudingly, untill i got so hed up by it that i went out and bought monitors(a six month prosses) now i mix down and listen to it on difrant sterios and fix things accordingly, only now i dont have to wash the sweat off between takes. my bottom line not mutch has changed for me but for a desent pair of head phones 100-200 usd and for the monitors that i setled on 400 usd.

Cedar Flat Fats wrote: Go ahead and mix on the phones. After all we aren't talking about world peace here.. it's just audio. No one's gonna get hurt. Only the audio suffers.

Kurt Foster

lets not forget bil and teds exealnt adventure, the wild stalions will bring an end to war

im no expert its just my experiance.
frank

Personally, I feel mixing on headphones is a BIG no-no! Panning especially seems to get over emphasized. The levels end up strange too.

The only headphones I found worked were the AKG K1000's. I recommend them highly!

Get monitors as soon as you can manage.. but don't go for crap just to get them fast.

[quote=by]Just be sure to check the mix on as many different systems as you can, quote]

do you mean hook up other sets of speakers or take the mixed song that i did on my phones elswere to other monitors???

but thanks a bunch for all of this input.. i am new to all of this and i love the fact that the learning Amazingly!! does not stop... Thanks a bunch guys..

[quote=odog][quote=by]Just be sure to check the mix on as many different systems as you can, quote]

I said..
do you mean hook up other sets of speakers or take the mixed song that i did on my phones elswere to other monitors???

quote]

he said to take your mix to that you made with your headphone to other stereos to listen to them take notes on what needs to be changed change it, repeat.

Personally, I feel mixing on headphones is a BIG no-no! Panning especially seems to get over emphasized. The levels end up strange too.

:cry: but--but it sounds so good!

It's true, I wish there was some other way. I'm saving up for KRK V4 Powered Studio Monitors, http://www.zzounds.com/item--KRKV4 I think they'll do the trick and give me the brutishly honest truth about my mixing.

odog,

I know I'm going out on a limb here and a lot of people disagree, but I dont think theres anything wrong mixing on headphones if you know what your doing. I know an engineer who has several songs on billboard right now and guess what, he uses senheisser hd600 headphones to mix on. Yes they are more expensive then many monitors, but when you figure in the cost of a top quality amp the headphones are cheaper and better.

People who are always bashing headphones simply dont understand acoustics. THere are always delays and crossover distortions hapening with speakers that distort the accuracy of sound. Also a psychoacoustic principle called head-related-transfer-functions means that headphones are inherently more accurate.

Anyways, you shouldnt feel bad about "mixing in the cans" Many people who are in the know prefer it

buttertooth

thanks for the advice..

so do u prefer me to invest in a headphone amp??
do they help that much??