Headphones v's Monitors

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lchayler
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Headphones v's Monitors

Post by lchayler » Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:03 am

Hello all. A question that is baffling me!

My current audio set up is a pair of krk Rokit5's and a Scarlett 8i6 audio interface. Sounds great. when i listen to my mixes through the monitors things sound good. I also have a pair of headphones which are Sennheiser hd419's. Nothing fancy as these are actually what i use for general music listening. When i listen to my mix through these, it sounds totally different and to the point that the mix doesn't really sound that good. Now i hardly use the phones but my question is, Should i be paying more attention to the sound from the monitors or the sound out the headphones?

Cheers.

dubxile
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by dubxile » Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:14 am

I always burn to cd and check mix in car cd player, home sound system or any other device. then go back and change things i notice. after awhile you will learn how it should sound on your monitors.

SilverNeedle
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by SilverNeedle » Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:43 pm

neither a tip or a trick

lchayler
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by lchayler » Sun Apr 07, 2013 2:19 pm

My bad im new to the forum so finding my feet. Have my post moved to the correct forum if you want :)

yur2die4
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by yur2die4 » Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:56 pm

Yeah, I agree with dub. Listen all over the place. Speakers against your ear don't account for the real world. And monitors are great for detail, but also great for comparing to other music.

But in the real world, you'll be amazed by how all kinds of speakers sound. They will guide you towards finding your balance.

Honestly, I'm still a beginner so, it is just some perspective to consider :)

myxomat0515
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by myxomat0515 » Thu Apr 11, 2013 12:06 am

Definitely the headphones! Especially since your ears are already tuned in to how music sounds on them. I've gone through a few pairs of KRKs. They are good for the price, but they are still low end monitors (at least the Rokits), and they do color the sound. When it comes time to do your mixes and masters, compare your mixes to others on the headphones, and like the others said, as many other reference speakers as you have access to.

infernal.machine
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by infernal.machine » Thu Apr 11, 2013 12:13 am

You should think about who will be listening to your music and how they will be listening to it.

If your target audience uses laptop speakers and ipod headphones.. make sure the mix sounds good on these devices.

If your target audience is a crowd in a stadium.. make sure the mix sounds good on the fattest speakers you can get your hands on.

If your target audience is yourself, just use your monitors and enjoy yourself.

antarktika
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by antarktika » Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:41 am

I use Rokit 5's as well, and they are going to be missing the lower bass frequencies, and hyping the audible ones, from my experience, I always check the bass using my headphones, because Rokit 5's in particular don't reproduce that area particularly well.

djcyph
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by djcyph » Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:13 pm

dont trust one over the other...your goal should be to make it sound good on everything...like everyone said, test everywhere.

H20nly
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Re: Headphones v's Monitors

Post by H20nly » Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:22 pm

djcyph wrote:dont trust one over the other...your goal should be to make it sound good on everything...like everyone said, test everywhere.
agreed...


BUT... be fair with yourself. laptop speakers and earbuds (for example) will only make anyone's music sound so good... especially if there's bass involved. it's good to use other more well known music as a point of reference on those test systems too.

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