Best headphones for mixing?

  • warzone (nov 5-9) signup begins in...

Ys Man

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 21
Get @Dusty B some wired ATH-M50X, I have and use those.
i hear good things about these and would like a pair at some point
In my opinion headphones are great for recording and making beats but I would never use them to mix anything musically with them. You might as well mix your music with house speakers.
speakers stereo GIF by Onkyo USA
:unsure::unsure:

Quick answer...there are NO headphones worth mixing on exclusively. BUT if you must take that route I recommend the HD 6XX from drop.com.
Andrew Scheps would disagree
Got a Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (80 ohm). Especially the mids and highs are really crisp and detailed, so it takes a little time to get used to them. But because of the details, unwanted sounds and frequencies are easily audible.

I've also got a couple of these very cheap sony headphones:

They're not great for mixing, sound horribly muddy, but as a reference for most lo-fi audio devices they're bang on.

And for mixing I usually use my monitors and headphones to create a stereo image.
I have the dt770 and for me they are great for Rock and live music as you say the higher details is amazing, but lack in bass movement too much for hip hop/rap which is why i want the M50x,
What's up, folks. Dusty B here, aka Dusty Blender, aka Ol' Dirty, aka Chubby White, aka Smelly Balls, aka The Less Attractive Rick Rubin, aka Croc Feet, aka Crocs n Sox. Who the fuck is Dusty B?

Quick question. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 400 headphones. They're pretty good with a great low end, but I'm noticing that the mids sound a bit muddy and the highs not quite as high when I listen elsewhere. I also have a cheap pair of wireless ANCs that I use outside of music production. But I think I need to get another 'pro' pair to use when finalizing my mix, thinking I can use the Sennheiser's and another pair to get things sounding pretty good across all devices.

I need to get a pair of monitors eventually, but I mostly make beats late at night when my wife and kids are sleeping.
i mix solely on headphones (im no expert) and would suggest any mid range professional monitoring headphones can be good in the right hands, you just need to know how they sound, but the biggest tool will be some cheap earbuds to check mixes on much like studios with ns10s, its what most people will listen on and will show up any big problems you have
 

unaufadox

ILLIEN
aka Chubby White
Hilarious

My Sennheiser HDD650s have never ever lied to me. I do use them as a tool in my mixing arsenal (headphones, stereo monitors and mono mixcube) but in terms of transparency and letting me know all of the details of what I am hearing, nothing has compared.

I have a set of Sennheiser HD25s too which are a different conversation entirely. They are a...I am travelling so, let me get something which blocks outside noise and has nice bass reproduction but, they are not a mixing tool. More of a thing to check I have not gone too crazy with bass, if anything.
 

Dusty B

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 37
Hilarious

My Sennheiser HDD650s have never ever lied to me. I do use them as a tool in my mixing arsenal (headphones, stereo monitors and mono mixcube) but in terms of transparency and letting me know all of the details of what I am hearing, nothing has compared.

I have a set of Sennheiser HD25s too which are a different conversation entirely. They are a...I am travelling so, let me get something which blocks outside noise and has nice bass reproduction but, they are not a mixing tool. More of a thing to check I have not gone too crazy with bass, if anything.
Thanks man. I ended up getting a pair of Audio-Technica M20X for that. I also use them during the day when just listening to music and working too. The 650s look dope, I'll have to put those on the wishlist though given the price haha.

After this post, I've been using a combo of my Sennheiser 400HD & AT M20X and then listening on my various home audio set ups (TV sound bar, surround system in my basement, been listening in the car while driving my kids to school haha) and seems to be highlighting mix issues for me. Would be great to have one set up so I don't have to listen on so many devices, but I presume what I'm doing is probably the case for most folks like me who do this as a hobby and don't have a professional sound proof room/studio etc.
 

unaufadox

ILLIEN
Sennheiser 400HD & AT M20X
I’ve not heard either of these so this advice could be warped by bias ☺️ but, one of the best monitors I have is an Avantone mixcube. Just one so, mono.

When everything can be heard on that i know I’m good. I hear the true level of a vocal, without the trickery of the stereo widening effects or even just normal stereo..:it can sometimes make u think something is sitting quite in a mix when it’s actually fine.

It’s really mid rangey so when i first got it i felt like shit I’m not sure about this. But now, its invaluable. It allows me to get kicks and bass right for a phone. I find I’m boosting 80-150Hz on kicks sometimes and they sound great on my iphone 6 with a busted speaker. Which is an achievement haha.
 

Dusty B

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 37
I’ve not heard either of these so this advice could be warped by bias ☺️ but, one of the best monitors I have is an Avantone mixcube. Just one so, mono.

When everything can be heard on that i know I’m good. I hear the true level of a vocal, without the trickery of the stereo widening effects or even just normal stereo..:it can sometimes make u think something is sitting quite in a mix when it’s actually fine.

It’s really mid rangey so when i first got it i felt like shit I’m not sure about this. But now, its invaluable. It allows me to get kicks and bass right for a phone. I find I’m boosting 80-150Hz on kicks sometimes and they sound great on my iphone 6 with a busted speaker. Which is an achievement haha.
That's actually an interesting approach to have one great monitor and mix in mono.
 

Dusty B

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 37
This is the point of Slate VSX



I'm strongly considering it once I get my new computer.
Not a bad price if they're all they're cracked up to be. Might have to consider down the road. I need to get an actual full size midi keyboard first haha.

I just realized my Sennheiser HD400 Pro headphones came with a trial of dearVR Mix. Going to try that tonight while wrapping up this beat I've been working on.

The beat I'm hoping to wrap up tonight is on the back of your thread btw about sampling popular songs... with Halloween I decided to flip Thriller to be unrecognizable lol wish me luck.
 

unaufadox

ILLIEN
That's actually an interesting approach to have one great monitor and mix in mono.
Haha yea @Iron Keys aint wrong. Midrange is the most sensitive range we humans hear so it’s mostly all about that. Has some good depth without sub, and a touch of tops without being bright. It’s a tool to be used in conjunction with something...maybe your headphones....but it’s a risk dude. Worth knowing the option though
 

unaufadox

ILLIEN
Not a bad price if they're all they're cracked up to be. Might have to consider down the road. I need to get an actual full size midi keyboard first haha.

I just realized my Sennheiser HD400 Pro headphones came with a trial of dearVR Mix. Going to try that tonight while wrapping up this beat I've been working on.

The beat I'm hoping to wrap up tonight is on the back of your thread btw about sampling popular songs... with Halloween I decided to flip Thriller to be unrecognizable lol wish me luck.
Good luck man I’m interested in how it turns out and how it sounds on other speakers particularly the car. I’ve heard about this tech...good and bad you know the internet never tried it myself
 

Dusty B

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 37
Good luck man I’m interested in how it turns out and how it sounds on other speakers particularly the car. I’ve heard about this tech...good and bad you know the internet never tried it myself
I got HoRNet VHS on sale for $1 recently. It's not perfect but it has helped to identify some mix issues and has reduced the rounds of tweaks I need to make after listening on other set ups. I'll see how it compares to dearVR on my next beat.
 
Top