Headphones for Producing / Mixing

Hey!

I moved my Studio into a corner of our living room, because we need the old room for my wife’s work. Since then (January) I have problems with my mixes. They are extremely unbalanced, and everything I try with thinking I can work around it etc. didn’t work out and I am not able to add treatment to the room, as it is a corner in our living room.

So I think I will have to go the Headphones-route as using that can only be better then what I have now.

Any suggestions about what to get? I will wear them a lot, I will use them as only reference and I would like to stay unter 200€, if possible.

Thanks,

Jens

Sub-200 is fairly low for quality headphones. I highly recommend Audeze LCD-1 for a little bit more. I’ve been using them for months now and for long sessions (they’re very comfortable) after wanting something better than the usual Beyerdynamic/Sennheiser models etc etc. I would only ever change them out if I went down the drastically more expensive LCD X route. I should be getting commission for always recommending them on here haha. Anyway, check them out. I love them v much and maybe you will too.

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Under 200:

Closed back:

  • AKG K371
    (Don’t go DT770 if you want to make mixing decisions)

Open Back:

  • AKG K701, 702
  • Beyerdynamics DT890, 990

But imo if you are looking after accuracy you should consider the Sennheiser HD600, around 300.

At this price point I would mix in the K371 without thinking.

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Audio-Technica ATH-M50

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I use a pair of AKG 712 since 2014. Same pair. They’ve been in and out from the workshop a few times but they’re still doing strong.

However, I’m in the same situation as you @Uija and I came up with a compromise that works for me. I do all my main work on the headphones, but for final mixing, mastering and cross checking, I use a pair of Genelecs 8020D. However, living situations mean my space is only 90x40cm for practical music, so I’ve taken one of the closed shelfes and put all my gear there, all cables connected and ready to be hooked up in a few minutes.

So when it’s time for mixing, mastering and recording, I bring out the Genelecs and the SiX. I mount the SiX on a chair in the kitchen, put the Genelecs on the window shelf facing the open room. I’ve calibrated them to work in that space and learned how they operate, so I go to this exact same space every time. It’s not a studio, but there’e enough around to create some cushion and damping for the sound.

Once done, I put the stuff away again and it’s like nothing ever happened. I do this back and forth with my gear all the time. Sometimes, my desk is entirely clean (like now), sometimes, it’s filled with kits and sometimes, I occupy the kitchen, if only for a brief while (a few hours, a day at most).

Family tolerates it, since it’s always within a defined time and space, and it works because I’m 80% there already thanks to the AKGs, so I already know the mix is kind of going to work.

My oldest kids are even starting to take an interest in this stuff, so last time I did this, my son was around and asked about how mixing and such things work. Since I actually don’t know, I go by ear and can’t really tell him what I’m doing cause honestly, I’m not sure myself, that was a moment of Dad Guessing the likes of which ye has never seen. But it was a nice moment :slight_smile:

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Yeah, I ordered a pair of 712th myself. They are quite cheap (compared to release price) right now and spending 400+ isn’t an option currently.

I don’t really have a Place, where I could to that final mixing (maybe my bedroom might work). At the end, I do that as a hobby, and when it doesn’t break the car audio and is enjoyable on my iPad as well, I am quite happy :slight_smile:

Great to hear that you might inspire your son to be creative in that way too!

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