Do you you mix with cans (or plan too?).. worth a read…
I always mix with my headphones mainly because a) my computer speakers are just about as bad as you can get as far as getting a “flat” sound out of them, and b) i have absolutely 0 space to fit new ones on my desk ![]()
Good article tho for looking at the pros and cons.
I’m really not a big fan of mixing on headphones at all. A while back I didn’t have any monitors so was forced to use headphones to mix. My mixes never translated the way I wanted, and I was making mistakes because my ears weren’t perceiving everything properly. I honestly though I was just doing a bad job, and it had nothing to do with my monitoring, but colleagues of mine kept telling me it was the headphones. I finally bit the bullet and bought some small (4" woofer) monitors. All the issues this article addresses magically disappeared. My mixes sounded the way they should, because I was listening to them the way I should. Mind you I was living in a tiny apartment with neighbors, and all the other complications you can think of. So I really can’t advise anyone to mix on headphones if given the choice. I honestly only ever use them now like any other producer/engineer, as a reference.
In my opinion, better to save for decent monitors than blow a bunch of money on expensive headphones.
Oh and another thing, for the sake of doing better work and ear fatigue, mix at lower volumes. Your neighbors and ears will be grateful (while making mixing easier than at horrendously loud volumes).
I’m in the position of only being able to mix with headphones, as well. I recently moved to another country, so I couldn’t really bring a lot with me, and I’m in no position financially to buy some decent monitors. At the moment, I’m mixing with Audio-Technica ATH-M50s, and I have yet to have any problems with making decent sounding mixes. Are they as good as professional mixes? Not so much, but I think that’s more due to me still learning about mixing and mastering.
Point being, I think mixing with headphones is acceptable, certainly not ideal (but everyone agrees with that), just so long as you mix at a low volume (probably lower than you think) and test it out in as many different headphones and speakers as you can. That list should at least include: good headphones, iPhone earbuds, laptop speakers, and if possible include some kind of sound system (go to a friend’s house and hook it up to what they use for TV and movies if that’s the only option) and a car stereo (again, ride with a friend and play it in their car if you don’t have one).
Only in high quality headphones for me.
everything in that article can be related to mixing in general.
be familiar with what you’re mixing on, and watch you don’t damage your hearing with excessive spl.