I am going to buy some headphones, as I can't have big monitors in my house. If you think that there are some really good quiet monitors available, that would also absolutely be helpful.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What are the flattest mixing headphones?
- Thread starter EliasA
- Start date
I would recommend correction software like sonar works. Otherwise most every HP is much less flat than even mid-level monitors. I will also bring up the Harmann curve which many HP designers follow. This suggests that flat speakers are not heard as flat in a room and an H curve emulates how they are heard in the room.
Interesting. Every software (dearVR MIX, VSX) I have looked at got a lot of hate. But people have also had great experiences with them.
Without software: Audeze LCD-MX4 is probably the flattest commercially available pair.
With software: VSX in HD Linear 2 mode.
With software: VSX in HD Linear 2 mode.
They are quite polarizing. There's naturally tolerances in how well the calibration files work because headphones have a tolerance to their FR and the calibration files are based around averages. Some of these companies offer the ability to get an individually tuned HP which seems to me to be a premium option with much flatter performance. Honestly I work with HD400 Pros and 840As and I feel like my mixes with sonarworks on my HD400s specifically translate much better.
This is why VSX is the only “complete” solution on the market for this kind of thing. It only works with their headphones, and each release of the headphones has a specific calibration file that you load within the plugin.
I suppose it depends on where you look, but as an example; Here's the latest Gearspace thread on VSX, which is the fourth version of these threads, each of which has had thousands of posts with the majority of them being overwhelmingly positive. Invalid Link Removed
Even though I liked them less, you can find similar praise for Sienna, dearVR, Sonarworks, etc. The question to ask is whether the negative reviewers actually used the product for any length of time, or were they just saying "mixing on headphones is lame" or "anything that's an emulation can't be good" which, in fairness to your comment, I have seen a bit of across the internet.
I think most people can have acutal speaker monitors in their homes. Nearfield monitors really don't need to be turned up much to be effective. Though headphones are good to have anyways.
If you want the flattest (closest to the Harman curve) headphones for a good price, you should get the Philips Fidelio X2HR. Anything better will also be considerably more expensive. Beyerdynamics are very popular as well. I have a pair of DT990 pros. They're very nice, but not nearly as flat as the Philips. If you have more money, Sennheiser HD650 are nice, but require a very good headphone amp to be run well. The Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX are more affordable and even more flat, but you might not be able to find them in any stores that you usually buy from.
As for Studio Speakers, Adam Audio is probably the greatest bang for the buck ever. T8V gives you all the bass response you need, eliminating the need for a subwoofer completely. The T7V could also work, if you don't really mix much lower than 40hz (the low E on a bass guitar). Anyhing smaller would require a subwoofer for accurate bass mixing.
If you want the flattest (closest to the Harman curve) headphones for a good price, you should get the Philips Fidelio X2HR. Anything better will also be considerably more expensive. Beyerdynamics are very popular as well. I have a pair of DT990 pros. They're very nice, but not nearly as flat as the Philips. If you have more money, Sennheiser HD650 are nice, but require a very good headphone amp to be run well. The Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX are more affordable and even more flat, but you might not be able to find them in any stores that you usually buy from.
As for Studio Speakers, Adam Audio is probably the greatest bang for the buck ever. T8V gives you all the bass response you need, eliminating the need for a subwoofer completely. The T7V could also work, if you don't really mix much lower than 40hz (the low E on a bass guitar). Anyhing smaller would require a subwoofer for accurate bass mixing.
Last edited:
I hate mixing on headphones, but for $300 I'm going to give the VSX Essentials version a try. I'm going to be working in a couple AirBnBs for a few months this summer, and while I'm bringing small nearfields and a small sub, I have no idea what kind of rooms I'll be in, how much noise I can really make, etc. If these things work as well as reported seems like a winner for this scenario.
Not flat but I love AKG K240. There’s a reason they’ve been around for over 45 years.
I recently got the Slate VSX Essentials, and so far, I'm pleased. I've only worked on one song so far, but I've gotten better results (i.e. the mix translates well across multiple systems) than I have in the past using Sony MDR-7506s. I know there are better headphones out there than the 7506s to compare against the Slates, but for the money, VSX wasn't a bad option for me. I think the key is picking a single environment in the software to use as your primary monitoring, and once you think you have things dialed in, check against some of the other envinronments. It really has helped me to get a better grip on the lows and mids.
I found this to be a very informative comparison video:
I boiled my options down to a few of the choices he had that were in a similar price range and eventually decided on the Slates, based on other reviews as well.
I found this to be a very informative comparison video:
I boiled my options down to a few of the choices he had that were in a similar price range and eventually decided on the Slates, based on other reviews as well.
I just used HD-6XX open back and a HiFi Man Sundara that I tuned with Sonar Works with my own deviation from my monitors. What's even equally important is a crossfeed plugin. I use Can Opener but I also use the one from my Qudelix USB DACs DSP firmware
Good to hear. I plan on trying them. I too have mixed on my 7506's in a pinch at times(hotel rooms, etc), and I've even mixed on my HD25s, and while you can certainly get used to anything and how they translate out there if this makes it a little easier/more consistent/etc than I'm down. As I say I foresee having to work on headphones a bunch in the coming months during a "nomadic" phase.
My studio build was north of $50K before buying a single piece of gear, is fully treated, sounds great, has multiple monitoring options, and despite all of that I do 95% of mixing on VSX these days. I only use my monitors for final checks and even then I don't make the adjustments on them, and instead switch back to VSX.
I'd agree with this approach. A downside to VSX, particularly if you have the full version plus the Mike Dean expansion, is that you can be overwhelmed by choice. These days I treat the Yellow Matter midfields (profile 1, HRTF B) as my primary monitor. That said, I do my initial mix balance on Mike Dean nears, sub/lows checks on Mike Dean fars, decay times on Steven nears, and overall mix balance and a sort of "chaos" check on the Indy club. Once all of those are working I do a process that I call "taking the mix on tour" where I, relatively quickly, go through every room and speaker combination in VSX just to see if anything weird pops out at me. At that point it usually doesn't, but it's a good sanity check.
Now that's quite a review! I too have a treated studio, sounds killer (plus I've been working in it for almost 20 years so let's just say I'm used to it) - my intent is to get these for working remote, but we will see--maybe they'll become my primary!
+1 on the "taking the mix on tour" once it's mostly dialed in.
I use the Sonoma Studio nears as my primary, and I'll sanity check the mids on the Steven's Studio Auratone to make sure I can discern the kick and bass. Spot on about the club -- if your low-end is out of hand, it will definitely show up there. I also like the SUV. It's got the same crank-the-bass-to-eleven sound that my wife prefers in our car.
I was fully prepared for the VSX thing to be all hype, but it's been very confidence-boosting. I've also found that they aren't very fatiguing, unlike the 7506s, which eventually get to me on the top end.
I have both the sensheiser hd600 and the beyerdynamic dt770 80 ohm. The hd600 definitely needs a good headphone amp. The dt770 80 ohm also needs one, depending on what I an using them with. If I am using my GK 500 legacy without a headphone amplifier they both pop every time I hit the string. My ampeg pedal thing doesn't need the amp.
Neither have booming bass but they sound good. The sensheiser is open back so bass is less but you can around you and they can hear what you're doing. They are balanced if boombass isn't a thing.
Dt770 pro 80 ohm is closed back, better bass but definitely has a high presence with the other instruments.
I'm not a professional but just put this out there.
Neither have booming bass but they sound good. The sensheiser is open back so bass is less but you can around you and they can hear what you're doing. They are balanced if boombass isn't a thing.
Dt770 pro 80 ohm is closed back, better bass but definitely has a high presence with the other instruments.
I'm not a professional but just put this out there.
