Advice on Studio Monitors or Studio Headphones

K

KHZR

New member
Hello,
It is my 18th birthday on Friday so I will be getting some money. I currently don't have anything 'decent' to monitor my beats on. I haven't been making beats for that long so I am looking for something to buy to help clean up my mixes. I was looking at Studio Headphones because I live in a semi-detached house and my room is right next to their bedroom. The 2 pairs of headphones that I came across were Audio Technica ATH-M50 and Sony MDR 7506. Does anyone own a pair of these headphones, if so, what do you think of them? Also, what would you recommend me buying? A pair of Studio Headphones or Studio Monitors. I don't know what my budget is but I would probably say the maximum amount I could spend is £250 ($420).
 
everyone is going to say monitors... b/c they give u the truest sound...
But they dnt have the living situations that u do... so do what u need to ...
 
Focusrite DSP 24 with virtual room technology and a set of dt-880 pros are about as good as it gets for budget mixing in headphones. Jump over and check out the virtual room on there website its made to check your headphone mixes in various studio and other enviroments. I can get a mix damn close off them before jumping onto monitors.
 
Solacerodgers said:
Focusrite DSP 24 with virtual room technology and a set of dt-880 pros are about as good as it gets for budget mixing in headphones. Jump over and check out the virtual room on there website its made to check your headphone mixes in various studio and other enviroments. I can get a mix damn close off them before jumping onto monitors.
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Thanks for the info, I'll have a look into these products now.
 
that focusrite vrm looks serious... do u own one of these...
If so how do you like it... i tried the demo on the site.. in it def sold me...
Might have to put some money to the side to cop one of these...
 
Spaceman_Ant said:
that focusrite vrm looks serious... do u own one of these...
.
Click to expand...
Been on my shelf for years. Used it the first week. Does not work at all in my opinion. Others might beg to differ.


For the OP:
Get a pair of Beyerdynamics DT 770 PRO 80 OHM.
Seems your situation or budget does not fit monitors so the DT770 is a good call.
Decent to mix on, closed so they do not leak even if you play them heavy (waking up people). Also great for vocal recordings as they are really closed. A very good low/mid priced all-round set if you have only one.

In the long run you should go for monitors but not until you can spend 1500 USD at least IMO. You will also need to take room treatment into consideration.
 
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Heyclown said:
Been on my shelf for years. Used it the first week. Does not work at all in my opinion. Others might beg to differ.

For the OP. Get a pair of Beyerdynamics DT 770 PRO 80 OHM.
Seems your situation or budget does not fit monitors so the DT770 is a good call.
Decent to mix on, closed so they do not leak even if you play them heavy (waking up people). Also great for vocal recordings as they are really closed. Allround set if you have only one.

In the long run you should go for monitors but not until you can spend 1500 USD at least IMO. You will also need to take room treatment into consideration.
Click to expand...

Thanks for contributing your opinion on the products that were mentioned before. I have had a look at the DT 770s and they look really nice. I will definitely consider buying them because they are in my price range.
 
Yes I own the focusrite box its my go to when I use my laptop or am on the road the vrt takes a min to set up correctly and yes either DT 770 or the 880s I own several pairs of both and they have been. My go to for years.
 
I was recently in the same position as you, I did a lot of research on which were the best headphones to mix on, it eventually came down to the ATH-M50's or the Sennheiser 380HD's. I went with the 380HD's. Both have a decent bass response. One of the problems when it comes to mixing on headphones is none of the signal from the left speakers reach your right ears, and vice versa, confusing the stereo image, and due to the acoustics of headphones and how they sit on your ears, gives you a somewhat distorted bass response.

I did a few weeks of mixes on the headphones and to be honest, I needed to keep adjusting my mix when I heard it in the car, or on my PC speakers, or on the iPod. To be honest, when mixing on headphones it's really hard to know what you're getting. It sounds good on the phones, but crap everywhere else.

I then moved into a new place last week with a bigger room and more space and decided to invest in some monitors. For my price range and what was available in my country I got a pair of the new generation 3 KRK Rokit 6's. From the research I've done these were a huge step up from the previous G2's. I did a mix this weekend, and sent it to my producer friend, and he says my mixes now sound 10x better (I didn't tell him I'm now using monitors), and what's awesome is the mixes sound good in the car, on the iPod, and on my 2 pairs of reference headphones. Note this is without any room treatment yet.

To be honest, use your studio headphones for reference, not for mixing. If you can't, you'll need to run out to your car and test the mix there. What I've found to be the gold standard of your mix sounding good, is if the mix sounds good on your iPod headphones. Have a track you like the sound of on your iPod, then export your mixdown to the iPod as well. And compare the two. If the sound you're going for and your mixdown start to sound quite similar, you're heading in the right direction.

Good luck :)
 
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