What's the best headphones for mixing/mastering in 2022

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by Havana, May 9, 2022.

  1. GodHimSelf

    GodHimSelf Platinum Record

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    HD650 + Sienna (Correction for HD650 and use the bianural function) or Sonarworks Reference.
    Translates very well.

    Curious about the Shure.

    EDIT: I have double answered, and the same result. Talking about consistency :rofl:
     
  2. M McB

    M McB Producer

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    Hd-650 & TB Morphit is fucking perfecto man. Can't go wrong
     
  3. Zenarcist

    Zenarcist Audiosexual

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    Try adding a bit of CanOpener (45-50° angle)
     
  4. M McB

    M McB Producer

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    I shall!
     
  5. Zenarcist

    Zenarcist Audiosexual

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    There is a mix engineer preset, so just play with the angle until it approximates your speakers..
     
  6. M McB

    M McB Producer

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    Yeah I remember watching some old Paul Third videos recommending that preset
     
  7. HammerTiMe

    HammerTiMe Producer

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    If your room isn't being treated properly, and the $50k+ investment hasn't been made, plus at least 3.5-5k of high quality mid range speakers, your best bet is to go for high quality headphones. All time. Mistakes made with low to mid range quality monitors and untreated room are huge and disastrous and will never allow you to get a decent mix. There will always be glaring mistakes. Instead mistakes on headphones will still exist but they will be much less serious and hardly detectable to the average listener. Therefore headphones are always the better and clever option for low budgets.
     
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  8. D____R

    D____R Kapellmeister

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    "Treating" your room is the biggest con in the industry. I'd say the majority of the top albums these days aren't mixed in laboratories.
     
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  9. Gyorgy Ligeti

    Gyorgy Ligeti Rock Star

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    Technically yes. The best solution are still monitors, but headphones are the best alternative. In my opinion, the point is the ears. If you know how to mix well and you know your headphones well, their strengths and weaknesses, you can achieve extraordinary results.
     
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  10. Zenarcist

    Zenarcist Audiosexual

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    You need monitors for some things but a lot of the work can be done on headphones.
     
  11. Gyorgy Ligeti

    Gyorgy Ligeti Rock Star

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    Absolutely. And also most of the mixes are pretty unbalanced. It is precisely because they are unbalanced that they are so interesting and beautiful.
     
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  12. ziked

    ziked Producer

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    What exactly are you paying for--objectively, 'clarity' is bullcrap and chasing the flattest response is a fool's errand--when it comes to $300+ headphones that isn't true in more affordable cans like sony mdr 7506 or audio-technica m40x? I don't have the cash to put their claims to the test, but I've built a small collection of more affordable Sony, Audio-Technica, AKG's, Sennheiser's that have yet to cause me a problem. I try to be open minded but I just don't see what I'm missing by not blindly paying $500 for seemingly over the top claims.
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2022
  13. Hi!

    Hi! Guest

    :wink: Far from perfect and uncomfortable after a few hours but once you learn them they get the job done.
     
  14. RachProko

    RachProko Producer

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    I personally believe that the concept of mixing in a meticulously acoustically treated studios is becoming a past stage. How are people listening to music nowadays? Right! I think about 80% or more are listening to music using low budget earbuds on there mobile phone! How is your meticulously treated room going to compensate/translate to that? Right! You don't have to. Because whatever mix you com up with? It will always sound as good or awful as it will always do on those earbuds!

    And if we're talking about 'room'? Do you think you can mix a recording that was done in a stadium in your treated studio? If so, then why would you think that it would be impossible to make a good mix of your room on my headphones?

    Andrew Scheps does most of his mixing on cheap Sony MDR-7506 headphones. It works for him.

    In the end it's all about the ability to translate from one medium to another. And for me it becomes more and more obviously that you really don't need an expensive acoustically treated studio to do this.
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2022
  15. runa_forceful

    runa_forceful Ultrasonic

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  16. jack1958

    jack1958 Ultrasonic

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    I`ll agree with Mr. Scheps. Sony MDR V6 here.
    Frequency Range 5 Hz ~ 30 kHz. Just love the sound. No correction software.
    I`ll use them since the 80`s. My old ones broke a few months ago. Shot a used one in excellent shape on ebay for 60 €
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2022
  17. Sylenth.Will.Fall

    Sylenth.Will.Fall Audiosexual

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    What's the best headphones for mixing/mastering in 2022?


    It got me thinking. Have headphones got to the stage where the amount you have to spend to buy the same quality as 3 or 4 years ago gone up to the point of spending the same now buys you an inferior product?

    Meaning to buy the best headphone for 600 back in 2019 now buys you crap because the expense to produce the same quality has gone up exponentially?

    I have no idea of the answer though just something that I wondered, and if that IS the case then maybe it is better to search around Amazon for an older model that has been reduced because of a newer one that has superseded it.
     
  18. Lieglein

    Lieglein Audiosexual

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    Yes, this pretty much is all correct. My statement was flawed. :shalom:
    I just didn't knew the things I know by now. :invision:
     
  19. D____R

    D____R Kapellmeister

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    Perfect example of someone who has enough years of experience with certain gear that he has complete control over all the little quirks and supposed flaws and how to work with and/or around them. A good advert for not constantly buying "better" gear and spending time perfecting your knowledge of what you already have.
     
  20. RachProko

    RachProko Producer

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    There hasn't been a huge development in the headphones area the past 20 years or so? Most good headphones have been around for 10-15 years or so without huge modifications. Think about Sennheiser HD-600, Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro, AKG-7 series. These have been around for ages and are still going strong!

    For me it's all a matter of taste and necessity. If you want people to use headphones in a recording studio you surely wouldn't want them to use an 'open' headphone, like the ones mentioned above! But for mixing I prefer open systems!

    I think the newer brands are somewhat hyped, probably just because they are new and are expected to be better than what is older. Like Audeze? Don't get me wrong they sound good but I'm really not that impressed. The only thing that really impressed me was the heavy weight and how uncomfortable they are to wear. I just can't deal with wearing those for more than an hour or so!

    I personally still like to use the Sennheiser HD-600. I can wear this for a day and wont get tired of it. In fact, I sometimes notice that I'm still wearing it while I haven't even been listening to music for a while. :) It's fairly neutral and has a flat response. Whenever I put these on my head it always kinda feels like 'home'. :)
     
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