Screener headphones?

[Casey H]

and really referencing against existing commercially successful stuff (whether it be production music from big libraries that is super high quality) or tv spots on Youtube, or commercially available songs on iTunes etc matters a whole lot more than what exactly you are listening on.

You can always make good decisions when you compare.

Not so much if you just listen to your piece in a vacuum.

The most important point made here. Thanks Andy.
It's so much more important to compare your mixes on any headphones to commercial mixes, especially in the "a la" area, than to try to predict or concern yourself with what a screener or A&R person will be using.

Casey

[Len911]

one other thing, the consensus seems to be that open back are better for mixing and listening.

[mojobone]

one other thing, the consensus seems to be that open back are better for mixing and listening.

Right, Len. The open-back ATH M70s are more accurate, and a little more comfortable for long-term listening. If you don't use microphones, and you can't use nearfield or midfield studio monitors for mixing duties, they're a better choice. If you're working on planes or trains, have a look at Bose noise-canceling phones or buds.

[mojobone]

A note about the Sonys; I started out on MDR7506s, they're the standard for DJs, and it turns out there's a reason they don't have as much low end. They're used for cueing tracks in loud clubs with bangin' subs, so they're more potent in the mids and top. To Andy's point, you can use just about anything if you AB with a target track.

[DannyWeber]

Without getting too involved with what tends to be a touchy, gear-slutty subject.. listen from 19:06 to 21:00 to this guy who has been a TV/Film composer for a long time and teaches at Berklee. BTW, the whole video is extraordinary IMO too. One of the best I’ve seen about Production Music.

I hope it helps someone.. especially those of us on extremely tight budgets!


Writing for Libraries: Music Composition Tips from Mark Cross | ASCAP | Music for Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMOOs5WLPww


Dan

[funsongs]

A note about the Sonys; I started out on MDR7506s, they're the standard for DJs, and it turns out there's a reason they don't have as much low end. They're used for cueing tracks in loud clubs with bangin' subs, so they're more potent in the mids and top. To Andy's point, you can use just about anything if you AB with a target track.

Apparently they're also good for picking up transmissions from the Vega system in deep space - cause those are what Jodie Foster's character in CONTACT was using when she made her big discovery. That makes them Alien-Friendly.
DJs IN SPACE?!

[Len911]

Buy a pair of cans from Sonarworks that are pre calibrated with their reference software. Then they will be flat and your mixes should translate better regardless of the playback device

I downloaded the trial version, and am,was,thinking about buying not only the software,but also a pair of the calibrated headphones. So I was curious about what filtering they use for correction.

Sonarworks solution implements cutting edge Finite Impulse Response (FIR)
filter technology.

https://www.sonarworks.com/whitepaper

fir filters. https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/fi ... udio-23400

video at the bottom for sound samples, http://www.audiomasterclass.com/newslet ... snare-drum

It seems a fir filter is a linear phase filter, with the ups and downs that are associated with that type of filter.

Casually listening on my AKG m271, and flipping between engaged and bypass, there is a difference, and I am only using the profile file for generic m271, though I'm wondering if I would be better off maybe just buying better mixing headphones.
In a perfect world right? I'm leaning more toward better mixing headphones and reference tracks from already mixed cd's.

[MBantle]

From what I read the majority of mastering engineers use the Sennheiser HD 650. They are open headphones (so take that into account) but from what I hear they are considered the 'NS 10s' of headphones (in terms of translatability - is it a word? ).
Cheers,
Matt

[Len911]

From what I read the majority of mastering engineers use the Sennheiser HD 650. They are open headphones (so take that into account) but from what I hear they are considered the 'NS 10s' of headphones (in terms of translatability - is it a word? ).
Cheers,
Matt

Since my last post,I bought a pair of headphones for mixing, I've had them a few months now, and am pleased with them. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x ... iscussions

they also have the massdrop version of the Sennheiser HD650 fwiw https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx

I was leaning toward the Akg k7xxx, however I figured with the price difference between the Akg k7xxx and the Sennheiser hd6xx, $50, I could also buy their Akg 240 version, but then decided not, I mean I already have the Akg k271 closed backs,

but for what I need in a reference headphones is an un-hyped, non-photoshopped sound and the differences aren't that great once you reach a certain point imo.

[stansongman]

It's probably best to check your mix through multiple outputs - headphones, PC speakers, even built-in output from your laptop. I'm guessing there's got to be listening going on in vehicles during commuting too. One engineer I cut demos with in Nashville used to check the mix through PC and car speakers, since A&R folks in Nashville do a lot of listening in their cars. The other thing is that mp3s don't sound the same as WAV/AIFF files, so it's good to do your checks with the mp3 versions of your mixes. Things like reverb seem to be more prominent with mp3s (at least to my ears), so I try to listen and tweak so that the mix sounds good everywhere.