Elektron-Users

Try the Grado igrado.Very impressive sound, slightly uncomfy depending on cranium

yeah I'm a big advocate for the AKG 271's as well.

I use those as my referance headphones when I can't use my monitors (when its too late since I'm in a apartment).

My monitors are KRK 6's.

For the most part they work really well when going between both... I don't find a huge difference when referring to my monitors, or my headphones.. I never get that shock treatment your talking about..


BUT... and I put a but there.. because... I think it's really important to check lots of different scenarios when your mastering your final tracks.

Just cause it's sounds awesome in your referencing headphones and your monitors, does'nt mean it's gonna sound awesome on stock apple earbuds.

And really... if your trying to get your music out there, the majority of people are going to listen to it on consumer headphones or earbuds... and sometimes there is a big difference, so it's always good to listen to it everywhere and take notes.

If I'm mastering my final track, I do work on it, put it on my ipod, listen to it in the car, on a home stereo, everywhere, to see the difference, and try to filter out bad frequencies to make it sound it's best on all platforms.


But if your looking for headphones, I highly recommend the AKG's.

Can't go wrong with akg stuff. I recommend the 240s. They have a character of being flat and neutral which is what you need in a production set-up.

The trick isn't the headphones or monitor set-up, it's you being accustomed to how they sound and you knowing your system. Also keep a pair of standard ipod headphones around to compare your mixes since they're trash, but they're the most neutral headphones, and translate well for real world purposes.

Exp: send wav mix file to semi modern ipod, with the eq off, listen at medium to low volumes, and a minute or two at full blast to make sure there's no distortion or it doesn't sound muddled. Try to see if you could spot your pans, depth or subtle effect nuances, that the average listener won't catch etc etc. If you could, and your ok with the sound of the mix on all your systems, proceed to mastering or w/e it is you do after mixing

Hi, I got the K271 and the K701. Both very good but in my opinion the 701 deliver more detail and a much better bass response. When I was using the 271 i often had problems with the upper bass frequencies being to loud when listening through speakers later.. but maybe that's just me.

Another difference is that the 271 are turned off when u take them off while the 701 have to be turned off externally (by soundcard/mixer) which is really annoying when you are used to the 271.

dubathonic wrote:
I spent a few hours developing a pattern through my 'phones, fine-tuning it carefully until it sounded fantastic...only to get home and run it it through the monitors to find it utterly stale, flat, imbalanced and uninspiring.

If I'm not mistaken, listening through headphones is *not* the way to go when it comes to mixing. Regardless, one builds their experience on various audio systems and eventually knows what to expect, so what you encountered can only be a good thing.

I got a pair of Sennheiser HD650. The very best there is. If you absolutely positively got to hear every frequency in the mix... accept no substitutes..

Seriously though, give them a go, they're good.

I can vouch for AKG 240's...

I like my AKG K141 mk2s.

Get quite a difference from my monitors but then they're crap so if it sounds good on both I know I am in the right ball park. Then check it on the iphone and in-ear sennheisers and I know if there is something that needs fixing or not.

never want to part with my AKG701's

thay bran wrote:
Try the Grado igrado.Very impressive sound, slightly uncomfy depending on cranium

I wouldnt... Id go for the sr60/sr80 over these in a heartbeat.

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys

The trick isn't the headphones or monitor set-up, it's you being accustomed to how they sound and you knowing your system.
I don't doubt this is true...the work of many hours over many days in the studio. Probably a whole other discussion could center on how people have approached this.

If I'm not mistaken, listening through headphones is *not* the way to go when it comes to mixing.
Again absolutely true, no argument here. I think the key issue I am trying to address is: Can you find headphones that deliver a reasonable facsimile of what you hear through your monitors, so that when you get back to your studio, you need to make minor adjustments only, not start over?

Looking forward to checking out a number of the specific headphone sets mentioned above