Post by Autumn on Oct 6, 2006 8:14:27 GMT -6
Just found this out the other day, thought it was pretty interesting.
Why you can’t mix a track with headphones
"I spent some time at ‘studio timw’ with some friends who were pretty new to the music producing scene. Soon enough, the question of why I mixed with monitors as opposed to just headphones came up. This question has actually become somewhat a legend in the music scene, especially amongst those who are just starting out, as well as those who have a fair amount of experience.
Firstly, let me clarify that headphones are not useless and are valuable tools. They help critical listening for noises, pops and clicking – many of which are often not audible on monitors. They also bring to surface sonic flaws on individual tracks and/or mixes, as well as provide ‘monitoring’ when tracking, where true monitors would cause unnecessary leakage. And that pretty much sums it all up.
You may have noticed I left out the use of headphones in mixing. True, but that is because headphones are simply dreadful mixing tools. In fact, headphones are pretty much useless tools for any tonal or EQ change decisions. Reaching this stage, my friends explained how using headphones would remove any problems with room acoustics, and thus should make track mixes much more consistent. However, we know that audio-engineering is full of clear-cut theoretical techniques that often turn out to be the no-good way to handle things. Undoubtedly, headphones remove problems with room acoustics, but if you think about it, they actually place your ears in two separate, tiny rooms, which surfaces two main problems:
1: Distance and Isolation:
When you use headphones, your frequency response changes because your ears are so close to the drivers. Thus, bass and mid-range waves become distorted. Your stereo imaging also becomes distorted because each ear is separated from the other.
Seeing that my friends were slightly unsure of what I was trying to explain, I pulled out my Korg RADIAS, and tweaked up a patch through headphones, allowing my friends to decide what they considered sounded good. I played the patch again, but this time through my monitors, and we all agreed that the patch sounded awful. In fact, at least 90% of the time you will hear a distinct difference in sound. The example above was used with a simple patch; imagine you were working with an entire mix. Actually, try it yourself – make a mix with only monitors, and then again with only headphones. The headphone mix will definitely always sound completely off.
2: Different ears on the same headphones:
We’ve already established that imaging and response is distorted when using headphones, but it doesn’t stop here. Each set of ears hears differently. This is because one’s cilia (the ear part responsible for distinguishing frequency vibrations) is exclusive to that individual. This point is really important – because it means that a single song, when listened to through the same headphones, will sound different to each person. If you felt understanding mixes using monitors was tough, imagine the complications with headphones.
Now you’re probably wondering if there is a difference using monitors, and there is. When you use headphones, you hear a “personalized-response” effect, which is emphasized because of the closeness of headphone drivers with your ears. When using monitors, the room helps balance the sound’s frequency-response, allowing production of a more consistent sound to each person who listens. On the other hand, headphones are typically touching your ears, and so there isn’t a room to help balance frequency-responses.
It’s actually quite simple – headphones complete their appropriate tasks effectively, but are restricted to these tasks. You wouldn’t use a hammer to unscrew a bolt right? So don’t use headphones when mixing, and get yourself a set of monitors!"
Why you can’t mix a track with headphones
"I spent some time at ‘studio timw’ with some friends who were pretty new to the music producing scene. Soon enough, the question of why I mixed with monitors as opposed to just headphones came up. This question has actually become somewhat a legend in the music scene, especially amongst those who are just starting out, as well as those who have a fair amount of experience.
Firstly, let me clarify that headphones are not useless and are valuable tools. They help critical listening for noises, pops and clicking – many of which are often not audible on monitors. They also bring to surface sonic flaws on individual tracks and/or mixes, as well as provide ‘monitoring’ when tracking, where true monitors would cause unnecessary leakage. And that pretty much sums it all up.
You may have noticed I left out the use of headphones in mixing. True, but that is because headphones are simply dreadful mixing tools. In fact, headphones are pretty much useless tools for any tonal or EQ change decisions. Reaching this stage, my friends explained how using headphones would remove any problems with room acoustics, and thus should make track mixes much more consistent. However, we know that audio-engineering is full of clear-cut theoretical techniques that often turn out to be the no-good way to handle things. Undoubtedly, headphones remove problems with room acoustics, but if you think about it, they actually place your ears in two separate, tiny rooms, which surfaces two main problems:
1: Distance and Isolation:
When you use headphones, your frequency response changes because your ears are so close to the drivers. Thus, bass and mid-range waves become distorted. Your stereo imaging also becomes distorted because each ear is separated from the other.
Seeing that my friends were slightly unsure of what I was trying to explain, I pulled out my Korg RADIAS, and tweaked up a patch through headphones, allowing my friends to decide what they considered sounded good. I played the patch again, but this time through my monitors, and we all agreed that the patch sounded awful. In fact, at least 90% of the time you will hear a distinct difference in sound. The example above was used with a simple patch; imagine you were working with an entire mix. Actually, try it yourself – make a mix with only monitors, and then again with only headphones. The headphone mix will definitely always sound completely off.
2: Different ears on the same headphones:
We’ve already established that imaging and response is distorted when using headphones, but it doesn’t stop here. Each set of ears hears differently. This is because one’s cilia (the ear part responsible for distinguishing frequency vibrations) is exclusive to that individual. This point is really important – because it means that a single song, when listened to through the same headphones, will sound different to each person. If you felt understanding mixes using monitors was tough, imagine the complications with headphones.
Now you’re probably wondering if there is a difference using monitors, and there is. When you use headphones, you hear a “personalized-response” effect, which is emphasized because of the closeness of headphone drivers with your ears. When using monitors, the room helps balance the sound’s frequency-response, allowing production of a more consistent sound to each person who listens. On the other hand, headphones are typically touching your ears, and so there isn’t a room to help balance frequency-responses.
It’s actually quite simple – headphones complete their appropriate tasks effectively, but are restricted to these tasks. You wouldn’t use a hammer to unscrew a bolt right? So don’t use headphones when mixing, and get yourself a set of monitors!"