Could somebody explain what can go wrong if you mix with headphones instead=
of speakers?
I managed to get a demo of some headphones on Saturday, and ended up buying=
a pair of Sony MDR 7506s. It was hard to compare them because although the=
y had about 15 different pairs of other brands set up for demos, I had to a=
sk them to open up the box to test some Sony's, and they didn't want to unw=
rap the plactic off the cord, so it was all very awkward.
I get the impression that they don't feel people need to test that model, t=
hey should already know what they're like, and for people in the industry i=
t's probably true.
Because they weren't plugged into the switch thing like the others I couldn=
't switch between them quickly to compare, or even be sure the sound levels=
were the same. But I got the impression that the isolation was similar to =
the Sennheiser HD 280 Pros and others that have been mentioned in this thre=
ad, and that I could hear more detail on my test recording. I was initally =
concerned that they didn't fit over my ears, but they seemed ok once I got =
the knack of getting them on.
I had been hoping for more isolation, but this will be good enough. I used =
them on the train this morning and was happy with the results except when t=
he doors were beeping as they closed. I suspect in-ear monitors would be mu=
ch better, but I think I'd find them awkward getting on and off, and I occa=
sionally want to share them, so not practical.
Thanks for your advice everyone.
Peter Shute
From: =
.com] On Behalf Of robin_parmar_sound
Sent: Monday, 14 May 2012 4:28 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Headphones
Ema wrote: "Never use headphones for mixing though."
Way back when I was trained as a recording engineer the mantra was the same=
. But then everyone listened on home or car stereo, film sound was generall=
y stereo, and the Walkman was a newfangled thing.
Now that (almost) everyone listens on headphones, it makes a lot more sense=
to mix that way. Although film sound should be mixed in a proper suite, th=
e likes of which most of us don't own and so must rent.
On a pragmatic point, it is a lot easier to buy a good set of headphones an=
d hear what you are mixing. It costs a lot more to buy a good set of speake=
rs, and takes much more effort to tune a listening room so that it is no lo=
nger a detrimental factor. I can hear at least an octave lower on my cans t=
han on my near-field monitors. And since I don't have an isolated mix studi=
o, the clarity of the cans is much better too.
-- Robin Parmar
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