Speakers for home mixing

Vintage65

Vintage65 said:

Has anybody tried the Neumann NDH 30 or Sennheiser HD 490 Pro headphones? They share the same driver and are supposed to be tuned for mixing and mastering.

So, curiosity killed the cat and I'm sitting here with the HD 490 Pro on my head! Super comfy, with a short 1.8m one-sided cable that can be connected on either side. My long-time headphones are the Sennheiser HD600 and these new ones are more efficient (louder), have better bass, and a slightly bigger soundstage. There is also nice separation with a clear sound. The 490 Pro comes with two different sets of machine washable ear pads for producing and mixing.

colourofsound

This maybe an unpopular opinion and not something I would do if I was getting back into mixing at any sort of professional level, but I ditched my monitors and went straight to headphones when I moved house and my main room was so small and uneven that any loudspeaker monitoring would be a nightmare.

I think there is a lot to be said for getting something high end (I use HD600s), learning their limitations (eg, HD600s start to gradually high pass as high as 100hz, so you have to be wary of boosting bass in your mix to compensate) rather than buying loudspeakers, moving your room around, hanging blankets etc etc.

A set of open backs like HD600s along with your closed back DT770s + a bluetooth speaker and phone speaker to check mono/grot box translations would be a pretty good start.

I also always head out to the car to check my mixes; if anyone actually buys stuff you mix you want it to sound good on an iPhone speaker, bluetooth speakers, on IEMs (airpods mainly!) and on car stereos.

Vintage65

colourofsound said:

This maybe an unpopular opinion and not something I would do if I was getting back into mixing at any sort of professional level, but I ditched my monitors and went straight to headphones when I moved house and my main room was so small and uneven that any loudspeaker monitoring would be a nightmare.

I think there is a lot to be said for getting something high end (I use HD600s), learning their limitations (eg, HD600s start to gradually high pass as high as 100hz, so you have to be wary of boosting bass in your mix to compensate) rather than buying loudspeakers, moving your room around, hanging blankets etc etc.

A set of open backs like HD600s along with your closed back DT770s + a bluetooth speaker and phone speaker to check mono/grot box translations would be a pretty good start.

I also always head out to the car to check my mixes; if anyone actually buys stuff you mix you want it to sound good on an iPhone speaker, bluetooth speakers, on IEMs (airpods mainly!) and on car stereos.

I agree, closed-back headphones are not the best for mixing, and speakers in a bad room are worse than a decent pair of neutral sounding open-backs.

stickyfiddle

minor update from my end. I bought some DT 990s (open backed) which are ace. So I’ll start with those plus x-ref with a Marshall Bluetooth, Sonos, my fancy “listening speakers”, AirPods, car stereo, work laptop, iPhone etc. 

I’m determined to get a forum challenge song finished this weekend so I’ll have something to work on! 

theatreanchor

Have a look at the Adam A7x

dindude

I’ve got the DT700 pro x and they’re really good for closed back - I use headphones to keep the peace late at night so open backs are a no no for me.

I’ve taken delivery of the Kali LP-UNF monitors, haven’t had long with them but compared to my Eris Studio 4’s they are definite step up.

The Eris are loud and big sounding but the Kali’s make them sound like mini PA speakers and it confirmed what my ears were telling me that there’s a lot of congestion in the bass / lower mids. The Kali’s are nicely revealing and neutral and no need for a sub despite the relatively tiny size. Not the best looking, but better in the flesh than in the pictures. 

Vintage65

theatreanchor said:

Have a look at the Adam A7x

Nice speakers if you have the right room for them. Even 5" speakers sound muddy in my mostly untreated workspace if I turn the volume up, and TBH if I produced anything decent I'd sent it to my mate Dave who mixes into an all analogue Mix Bus.

Vintage65

stickyfiddle said:

minor update from my end. I bought some DT 990s (open backed) which are ace. So I’ll start with those plus x-ref with a Marshall Bluetooth, Sonos, my fancy “listening speakers”, AirPods, car stereo, work laptop, iPhone etc. 

I’m determined to get a forum challenge song finished this weekend so I’ll have something to work on! 

Take some time to learn the headphones properly and listen to lots of reference tracks.

dindude

dindude said:

I’ve got the DT700 pro x and they’re really good for closed back - I use headphones to keep the peace late at night so open backs are a no no for me.

I’ve taken delivery of the Kali LP-UNF monitors, haven’t had long with them but compared to my Eris Studio 4’s they are definite step up.

The Eris are loud and big sounding but the Kali’s make them sound like mini PA speakers and it confirmed what my ears were telling me that there’s a lot of congestion in the bass / lower mids. The Kali’s are nicely revealing and neutral and no need for a sub despite the relatively tiny size. Not the best looking, but better in the flesh than in the pictures. 

Quoting myself to update for anyone interested, after a fair bit more listening and adjusting (not sure whether these things are genuine break in or ears becoming accustomed) but the Kali’s are really impressive. Does that thing that good monitors do that with the right quality source material they sound epic, an enjoyable hi fi experience as well as using as monitors. £300 well spent.