A must read.How to get the max from ur hearing equipment!
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J-botByte-MixerMember
Since: Dec 04, 2007
May 12, 2009 01:07 pm Well, kinda interesting, but research like that I tend to take with a grain of salt. For one thing, not all human heads are perfectly shaped, (take me for instance, one of my eyes is very slightly "off", and my left ear has some scarring material behind it from highschool)
They're using a dummyhead to position the headphones, take the readings, and measuring the sound as perceived by the "test subject" That's kinda like an "ideal" situation.
Problem is, in the real world, we're all shaped different, and there's no guarantee the headphones are going to sit still while you move around and mix, or that they're even the same distance from each ear. And honestly, EQing the signal like that for the headphones is a lot like adjusting an EQ to "tame" your room. It doesn't always work like you expect.
The guy's actually asking people to send him their personal experiences and graphs, probably so he can continue with the experiment.
EQing can do some good in certain situations, and is useful in mixing, but in a less than ideal situation or room, I think EQing or "taming" the room first would end up doing more damage than good to the mix itself, because at that point you're actually taking in even more variables and potential flaws. Also, a study like that is focusing on the monitoring aspect, and doesn't take into account the type of room and recording situation that the sounds are actually coming from.
Acoustically treat the room first. Use the headphones for sketching ideas, and maybe for a "rough" mix/idea if they're good enough for that, but in the end your mix can only be as good as the room your mixing in, and the quality of the monitoring chain. And even before that, the core sounds/recordings you get are only going be as good as the room and the mic allow them to be.
Personally, I never bought into the idea of taming your room/headphones with EQ settings. You work with what you have, test it on different set ups, and then go back and adjust accordingly. The better acoustic treatment you have, the less testing you generally have to do.
I'm surprised Massive hasn't jumped on this one yet.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
May 12, 2009 07:45 pm Massive will eat this alive.
i got some pretty decent head phones, and for me, i just couldnt do a mix as good with them a opposed to monitors.
May 12, 2009 07:48 pm Quote:
I'm surprised Massive hasn't jumped on this one yet.
Eh, the greatest, most accurate (on paper) headphones in the world are pretty useless for anything other than - well, wearing headphones. You can't make an accurate mix, you can't contextualize the low end, you can't hear phase relationships, etc., etc., etc.
Nice for "fooling around," nice for zeroing in on anomalies (I use cans a lot when I'm doing restoration work just to isolate my ears from outside sounds) and the like.
But EQ a set of headphones until they're perfectly flat. Then have a glass of water (which will swell your face slightly) or get a haircut (which will remove mass between the cans and your ears) or put them on early in the day - or EQ them when they're brand new and the tension strap is a little tighter than normal - or wear them for a while so the foam heats up a bit from your body heat - or anything else you can think of that might make even a half-millimeter distance change -- And all that "flat EQ" work is out the window.
Headphones are headphones. There are good ones, there are crappy ones, there are all sorts in between.
Take two really popular cans - Sony 7506's and Grado SR225's. I have both here. I can play with an EQ on them all day and there is no way in hell I'm going to make the Sony's sound like the Grado's. Not gonna happen, no way, no how. I can probably make the Grado's 'more anemic' to sound more like the 7506's, but it still won't sound "the same" as the 7506's. Just like you can't EQ a monitor to actually be "more accurate."
If you ever bought a puppy, you'll notice that the purveyors of the store will pretty much say "get the one that's the cutest" -- With headphones, just get ones that you think sound the best.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
May 12, 2009 08:58 pm "Quote"
But EQ a set of headphones until they're perfectly flat. Then have a glass of water (which will swell your face slightly) or get a haircut (which will remove mass between the cans and your ears) or put them on early in the day - or EQ them when they're brand new and the tension strap is a little tighter than normal - or wear them for a while so the foam heats up a bit from your body heat - or anything else you can think of........
you forgot to mention to take out ear plugs first.
the glass of water i dont need though, my head is swelled quite enough.
Tinstrydegiv me gearMember
Since: Jan 29, 2009
May 13, 2009 08:37 am Guidance on clean guitars in the mixing section. seems as though nobody's checking out that thread.
cmon guys!a kid has worked real hard on that thing.at least giv it a listen!
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
May 13, 2009 06:01 pm I try to listen when I can. Also, many people here put tons of work into the music and get very little replies.
When I post a mix and ask for comments it's usually the same few folks that reply to it (new ones here and there). Those are the folks I usually put as a priority when they post songs.
In short, you get what you give. Not directed at you in particular, but just a general rule really.
