In Ear Phones

[SubRivers]

Just wondering how people approach listening when changing the low end EQ significantly can be done with slight repositioning of the earpiece

Thinking from a reference perspective -Latest buds are sounding great but I can change the EQ so wondering about using them to judge mixes

[cosmicdolphin]

Earbuds are literally designed to colour the sound and make everything “fun” to listen to, not accurate. They’re handy for checking how something translates to consumer gear, but using them as a primary reference tool is just asking for trouble IMHO.

I work on APS speakers as my mains, an Avantone MixCube for mono checks, an old boombox for real-world vibe testing, Slate VSX headphones for environment translation and mixing at unsociable hours, and a crappy call centre headset for a lo-fi checks. The point is to use a variety of tools that reveal what’s actually going on in your mix as each of them will tell you something different. You also need to learn what each of them is telling you.

For example, on an Avantone Mixcube, if it sounds bass light, it's not just a case of turning up the bass to compensate as that will likely sound too bass heavy on things like earbuds and main monitors. It's actually a lower mid issue and you might have to get rid of some of the real low bass and bring the lower mids more into play to compensate. When it sounds acceptable across all of them then you know it's going to translate properly when it leaves your studio.

Sometimes if I'm out of the house I'll check a mix on my Galaxy Buds which I've set up a custom EQ for using their hearing test type App. Maybe once you are used to them for casual listening with your own EQ preferences, then you'll be able to figure out what they are telling you ( I.e my buds will make it more obvious if I have too much sub or too much harshness on the top end ) but if you’re trying to judge mixes on buds in the absolute sense then I feel that you’re fighting a losing battle because there are too many variables.

Mark

[SubRivers]

Thanks - you've confirmed my suspicions.
I have genelecs and slate vsx plus various decent headphones so wasn't considering them to do any heavy lifting when mixing.

Seeing as they make things sound great once you've positioned them to taste, then I guess one use for them is as a sanity check reference, i.e. if your track is sounding anything less than great listening on buds then the mixdown has a problem.

It's sort of the opposite of using my phone's crappy speaker to check mixes against a reference track - nothing will sound great on them but if your mix stands out as extra crappy you have a problem