Hello fellow audiosex users,


A few days ago I bought a decent producing headphone (Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 ohm) so I can produce at night as well. Now I do also have a pair of monitors(KRK Rokit Rp6 G2).

I used to produce only with my monitors, but now I am starting to use the headphones as well. The problem is, that every piece of music I make sounds way different in the headphones.
For example: I made a sound that has a lot of mid-high / high frequenties which sounds great on the headphones, but when I want to play it back on my monitors it sounds a bit filtered, dull.

I have my monitors set to 0 db on HF (highpass) and volume, so I don't really know what could be the issue.

Edit: So I also tried to play a reference track and there it sounds good on both.

 

A friend of mine has KRK Rokit Rp5 G3, no high frequency at all. the track seems lowpassed

 

The KRK RP6 G2 are pretty much accurate speakers according to the specs:49Hz to 20kHz ±1.5dB Depending on the style of music, you could do full mixes on these easy.

I'd do my rough mixes on the headphones then fine tune them with the KRK speakers.Plug a spectrum analyser in your master out and that should give you a fair idea of frequency response.

 

The ONLY way to mix, IMHO, is to check your mix/sounds on:
1. Your monitor speakers
2. You beyerdynamics
3. A set of headphones you'd listen music on (Bose, Beats, etc.)

You will find that it sounds different in each, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Then, check your mix with the Beyerdynamic Virtual Studio plugin on your master and Sample Magic A/B using either one or the three methods I mentioned above. You can compare your mix to other reference tracks, and hear your mix in different settings with the Beyerdyanmic plugin (Car, Big Venue...) as well as listen to the reference tracks in these settings and hear how yours compares.

Theoretically, you should be able to mix your stuff on your speakers or headphones only and have that translate well to any system, but often you will find that the speakers and mixing headphones will always sound pristine and a lot of information is lost when you listen to your track on other systems. Therefore it is REALLY important to check your mix in as many different ways as possible on the fly. Eventually, and this is specially true if you play live often, you should hopefully come to a track of yours that sounds great on your Rokits and any other system you listen on (albeit different in each), and kills it live too. That should become your reference track for the future, because after all, you were the one that mixed it and know what it is you did so well so that you can emulate the result if you wish to do so.

This is all to say, it doesn't really matter if you feel your Rokits sound 'lowpassed' or 'dull', no need to change them. You should think they just sound different, not better or worse (that's the beauty about mixing, it doesn't matter if you have the worst speakers on earth, the point is you want it to sound decent on them). And the method I described should pretty much be a foolproof way to ensure that your mix and/or master sounds great anywhere and holds its own versus other tracks you consider to be great.

 

that is the thing you're supposed to listen to your mixes on different audio equipment they're not all going to sound the same but you have to you have to give and take and compromise a little of this little of that like on headphones the base could sound good but then when you put on your monitors and find your sweet spot the base could be too much bass

 

You will develop a close relationship with your monitors. Listen to FLAC/uncompressed reference tracks (Depeche Mode, Jeff Buckley, what ever...) and learn how elements and instruments sound merged in the mix through the monitors. Compare that with your headphones too. A relationship must develop with both phones and monitors. Your room can play tricks on your ears as well. Also, open-backed headphones will have a different effect.

+1 on listening on multiple sources to strengthen your relationship and trust in your monitors.

I have 2 sets of monitors through a D-Box, and a little set of Logitech Z120 speakers plugged into headphone out as well as AKG702 for mixing.

What works is Professionally mixed, uncompressed tracks and MULTITRACKS(stems), that you're using to compare and reference everything from your instrument tracks to individual busses to entire mix. And yeah, Magic A/B (vst fx) and Melda mCompare really aids you with ease of comparison.

 

That's kinda fishy, because even Dynaudio or EVE, brands which are aiming for the expensive line of studio monitors doesn't mention ±1.5dB in their specs, usually around ±3dB. Thanks KRK, i'll stick to German or French quality for eternity.

Regarding OP's problem, pfc1990 summed it up pretty well.

 

good thread.
This was something that had me chasing my tale for a while too.
I got really frustrated when I'd take a finished track around to my mates place only to find it sounded like crap (to me anyway) on his LG mini hifi system.
Now one of my favourite things to do is throw a few mixes on a flash drive and head round to my his place with a notebook and have a listen without my DAW distracting me.

 

Thanks for the great advice everyone!

I didn't know that Beyerdynamic made a mix-reference plugin. I checked it out, and it sure helps to see what I lose on other systems. I will try to force myself to bounce little pieces of audio and play it back on another system (laptop / car / headphone / monitors ) etc. One thing I really like with mixing with headphones is the accurate bass.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with my monitors, because when I try to playback a template with a good mix, it sounds good on all systems. Perhaps I need to go back and take a good look at how it has been processed.