Those of us who live in apartments or with room mates sadly can’t blast music as loud as possible through PA/monitors every time we want to mix.
I do most of my mixing and set creation with headphones on… so much that I bought some AKG’s solely for this purpose.. my hdj2000’s were clearly not designed for extended wearing.
I’ve found that as the night goes on I’m turning my headphone amp louder and louder. The next day my ears will seriously hurt even though my chest has been untouched by the bump of bass.
Thats a cool idea. But does it work?? I couldnt see this idea actually improving the listening experience or ‘loudness’ of music. In regards to production don’t you want to be listening to exactly what the person listening to your production is going to hear.
I can’t help it… a set starts to flow and I just wan’t it to be louder, It seems like I’m chasing the chest thump that never comes.
I have kind of small ears that aren’t very flat.. for my ears circumaural (cups that go against your skull around your ears) are much more comfortable than the hdj2k on ear style.
I suppose it doesn’t help that my AKGs are reference headphones… flat by nature.
Anyways… if these units come to market I’ll let you guys know how they work… you all seem skeptical
Well I think that’s the idea… if you are producing or practicing a mix that you’re going to play in the club, the listener will experience the pressure differential in their chest cavity. I think it could actually be beneficial… I’ve been to many shows where a familiar mix from a podcast sounds like dubstep (complete shit) through the club pa system.
I did the same thing with my DJ headphones. Since I switched to my Hifi ones for home mixing, Beyerdynamic DT990s, I don’t feel the need to go any louder. It’s kinda like the DJ headphones (I had a few different types before) were designed to be used in a relatively loud environment and at higher volume. Good Hifi headphones just seem to work better at lower levels.
Also, starting at a relatively low level also means less fatigue. When you listen to loud music for a while, your ears kinda blend out parts of it. That’s when you start to turn up the volume to compensate, but that’s exactly the wrong thing to do.
I think the main difference is closed ear vs open ear design… dj headphones trade “staging” for sound isolation. It really is necessary to have two sets of headphones. Anyways… Jimbob, geographically you’re in a position to go check this little dyson award winner out. Report back
Agreed, I have open-ear Sennheiser 598’s for recording at home and walking around, and closed-ear Sony DJ 700’s for performing live (not that i would particularly recommend them, I got them solely because future shop had them on sale for $100 and i needed a new pair of DJ headphones on short notice, my next pair will be different as the hinges on these things are known for failing after a matter of months with any decent amount of use).
You should REALLY train yourself to cue at a low level.
Put both your cups on your ears to listen to the track properly if you are looking for something in the track specifically.
If its just beat matching, one ear and put it soft. You just need to hear the kick…thats it.
I have always made a concious effort to keep the volume in my ear phones low.
So many times I have come to the booth and plug my phones in to have it scare the living shit outta me…instant FULL VOLUME!
Learnt to check that level first now too.
I tend to mix IN the headphones these days…as I am doing much more mashing and layering, but still have that phobia of me jamming and boucing to the music in my headphones…but its dead on the floor.
