Log in
Log in
Forgot your password ?
or
Create an account
or
Log in using a Facebook account
NotificationsNo new notification
< Back to Getting Started
Enlarge
Getting Started
Thematic Forums
Getting Started
Actu 245 245
Articles 589 589
Media 4,583 4,6k
Tutorials
Forums 1,253 1,3k

Thread To listen to a mix: Speakers or Headphones?

  • 4 replies
  • 5 participants
  • 538 views
  • 0 follower
1 To listen to a mix: Speakers or Headphones?
Hi,
After recording and mixing a whole song, with instruments, effects, etc... What should be the proper way to hear the outcome of the mix and from which of those ways should I determine if the outcome turned out good? My speakers (good ones) or my headphone set (good one too).
I mean, many times I hear the outcome of a mix that I made and it sounds different in the headphone than in the speakers. Which of those two should I take as most important? The sound on speakers or the sound on the headphones? I KNOW that listening to the sound in speakers incudes hearing the sound resonance in the room and also what you hear depends on where are you standing between both speakers, and the separation between them, and all that stuff. With that, I would say the sound that I should take as more important is the one I hear on the headphone set, because is more accurate. But then I think that most of the people that will hear the song won't be using headphones... So I don't really know...
I would like to know what you think...
Thanx once again for all the help I've received from people on the forum!
CHEERZ!

DB
2
I would say that the most important is neither of those two. I listen to my mixes on a boom box, as many car stereos as I can, and my home stereo to decide if they're any good or not. After all, it's how they sound on the consumer grade stuff that counts in the end......
The Axeman (##(===> Cuts From My New Blues CD
3
I do most of my mixes with my headphones initially, and then swap to monitors for finishing touches and checks. Level issues sometimes come out when you're doing stereo mixes as opposed all mono and I personally can't hear them as accurately through headphones alone.

As Axeman said, after I think I have a good mix, I burn a cd and play mine in various locations.
1. On the computer through my computer speakers.
2. On my portable cd player through headphones
3. The boombox in my bathroom
4. My home stereo
5. My Car stereo.

I just make notes each time, and then go back to my mix. Also, a mentor of mine once suggested listening to your mix at really low volumes to see if you can hear level issues.

Finally, I also try to critically listen to my favorite albums through my monitors and mixing headphones. After a few albums and mixes you kind of get the feel of where your levels are.

Justin
4
hey dvbrun,whats up man?
I ususally use my headphones for the first little bit of the mixing process, getting levels accurate and stuff like that. I always use my monitors when doing a final mixdown.
A lot of times tunes do sound really good through headphones, but keep in mind that headphones exagerate the stereo spectrum and if you only use headphones, your mix may come out sounding flat on speakers.
Hope this helps,
Later,
Bones.
5
Well i think u should listen to your mixes on your monitor's or speakers.because u can then clear the sound,and since speakers are more clear and can produce more sound than "headphones" it better to listen first on the monitors speakers than,have a second look on the "headphones"...

well thats' my point of view...