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They're here and they're on my head. They sound nice and flat. Boy, they're hot on my ears. That will remind me to take regular breaks, if only to cool down. I'm trying out different reference mixes I'm familiar with to get used to them.

I'm using my MacBook Pro audio output A/B against my AudioBox USB headphone out. So far I haven't heard a difference – this seems odd. I'll give it more time.

One thing I'm struck by is how nothing gets in anything else's way, aurally. It's all there, even in the mixes I did before this using only SOL ear buds! I guess the Senns will be good enough for a novice like me.

Comments

pcrecord Wed, 04/09/2014 - 10:13

It is to be expected that a full size headphone will sound better than a earbud. But as for mixing, I'm more interested in a fair audio representation than a good sound. In fact, good sound makes me run in fear ;) I want a monitoring system that shows me the defects of my mix so I can address them right away. If my monitoring system makes everything sound good I'm screwed because I want my mix to sound good everywhere, not just in my studio.

In any case, it's been said thousands of times, headphones are not the best for mixing, mainly because the stereo image is very different from speakers.
But what ever you use, you need to get use to it. Play your favorite songs a lot and try to make your mix sound approach them...

anonymous Wed, 04/09/2014 - 11:13

pcrecord, post: 413521, member: 46460 wrote:
In any case, it's been said thousands of times, headphones are not the best for mixing, mainly because the stereo image is very different from speakers.
But what ever you use, you need to get use to it. Play your favorite songs a lot and try to make your mix sound approach them...

Agreed. It's definitely going to take some time, and a lot of A/B'ing between the cans and various playback systems/speakers, before you reach the point where your mixes will somewhat transparently translate to other systems.

In the meantime, may I suggest that you begin saving for a decent pair of nearfields? ... you don't need to break the bank and head directly for Genelec or Dynaudio country, there are more than a few decent monitors that sit far below that price range.

b1j Mon, 04/14/2014 - 22:29

DonnyThompson, post: 413522, member: 46114 wrote: Agreed. It's definitely going to take some time, and a lot of A/B'ing between the cans and various playback systems/speakers, before you reach the point where your mixes will somewhat transparently translate to other systems.

In the meantime, may I suggest that you begin saving for a decent pair of nearfields? ... you don't need to break the bank and head directly for Genelec or Dynaudio country, there are more than a few decent monitors that sit far below that price range.

Donny, good suggestion on the near-fields. The thing is, I also need a room with the right treatments and that is not so easy to come by as the price of a pair of monitors. For now, I'll keep dreaming, and limping along with the headphones. Good thing I'm an amateur.