Quote:
Originally Posted by Eager2Know  I got a small question
I have seen Engineers use monitor headphones to "(p)recheck" their mix. What's the deal with that? Is it useful? Or to put it in other words, what can be "checked" with it? Stereomix?
If it's a good idea to do so, which headphone models would you consider buying? I've heard AKG has some good monitor headphones, is there another brand?
Cheers,
Eager2know |
Not sure if you meant studio mixing or live sound mixing. I will assume that you meant studio mixing.
The reason I mention this is because there are some other reasons why you would see a live sound engineer use headphones during a gig.
Many people like to check the mix by using headphones; there are several good reasons for this. Firstly, any room where mixing is being done will have some effect on what you are hearing, therefore the use of headphones will let you hear the mix without the room sound included.
Another good reason is to check the stereo imaging of the mix.
When we listen to the mix in front of a pair of speakers sound from the left speaker reaches the right ear and vice versa so it can confuse our perception a little. The use of headphones provides 100% separation between the left and right channels.
Checking the mix through headphones can be very helpful, and more often than not you will find yourself-noticing things that were not sitting quite right in the mix.
Checking for distortion, pops and clicks etc, all become more noticeable when using headphones. There are no rules that say you cant mix entirely on headphones but you need to be careful because bass response will vary a lot depending on how they fit your head. It is very important that you know your headphones well, this will tell you a lot about how your mix will sound when played elsewhere.
Hope this helps
Tommy