Some people mix with headphones due to noise or budget issues. Another reason to mix on headphones is that headphones/earbuds are becoming the dominant consumer playback option, so mixes need to sound good on speakers and headphones. But regardless of why you mix on headphones, let’s explore how to come as close as possible to the experience of mixing on speakers in a sweet acoustic space.
Comfort Starts with the Headphones
Circumaural headphones surround and cover your ears without actually resting on the ear surface, and if they are a closed-back design, they will isolate you from ambient noise. When tracking, closed-back designs are less likely to “bleed” the sound you’re hearing into microphones. However, they’re not always ideal for extended mixing sessions. Engineers often prefer supra-aural headphones that rest on top of your ears. They’re usually lighter than circumaural headphones, and their design minimizes heat and sweat buildup.
Closed-back vs. open-back headphones (fig. 1). Compared to a closed outside surface, open-back headphones have a vented outside surface. This creates a more natural-sounding, speaker-like soundstage.
These different headphone designs justify having two sets of headphones — circumaural with a closed back for tracking and supra-aural with an open-back design for mixing. Even better, alternate between the two while mixing to obtain different perspectives on your mix. This is like how the “big studios” of yesteryear would switch among different sets of speakers as a reality check. If you’re concerned about budget, then prioritize the open-back headphones. Headphones used for tracking sometimes have short life spans (due to being dropped, having cables stepped on, etc.).
Why the Headphone Amplifier Matters
Headphones require less power than speakers but still need clean and sufficient power. An audio interface headphone amp designed for quick monitoring may not allow some headphones to reach their full potential. But driving quality headphones from a dedicated headphone amp can deliver the clean, low-distortion sound that makes mixing more enjoyable.
Different headphones have different technical requirements. When using multiple sets of headphones, the most universally applicable headphone amp design uses a low output impedance that can deliver a reasonable amount of current. The AKG HP4E (fig. 2) is a good choice, as is Mackie’s HM-800 8-channel headphone amp.
How to Avoid “Headroom Claustrophobia”
Mixing with headphones can sometimes feel claustrophobic. Instead of speakers that interact with a room’s space and air, headphones put close-up sound directly into your ear canals. But now we have the next best option — virtual control room plug-ins that make headphone mixing more satisfying. These plug-ins use binaural technology to capture a studio control room’s speakers and spatial environment for conventional stereo headphones.
Waves’ control room emulation plug-ins include Abbey Road Studio 3 (fig. 3 below), Nashville’s Ocean Way Studios, New York’s Germano Studios (formerly the Hit Factory), engineer Chris Lord-Alge’s personal mix room, and a control room based on Waves’ facilities that emphasizes surround emulation as well as stereo.
The plug-ins also include EQ compensation curves to create a flat headphone response for around 270 different headphone models. Although unsupported headphones may not have a flat frequency response, this doesn’t affect the spatial processing.
Steven Slate Audio’s VSX bundles combine room, environment, and headphone emulation software (fig. 4) with a set of custom headphones. This eliminates the variables associated with using different headphones. Flat response emulations are also included.
The Waves and Slate virtual rooms emulate the high-end monitor speakers found in these studios. With quality headphones, the effect is surprisingly realistic. The first time I tried room emulation on headphones, I was sitting in front of my speakers and was momentarily fooled into thinking that’s what I was hearing.
For those who like to monitor in multiple contexts and try different reality checks, room emulations are a dream come true. The same is true when collaborating. If your partner uses the same studio emulation plug-in and headphones, then you’ll both be hearing the same thing when you mix. However, if you prefer to learn a consistent monitoring setup, then choose a room emulation and stick with it — while still having the option to do occasional reality checks with other emulations.
A Final Comment on Comfort
The final aspect of comfort is mixing at a comfortable — and safe — listening level. It’s fun to turn up the volume, but hearing damage relates to exposure time as well as level. If you mix at a rational level and then turn the volume up loud for a final check, then you’ll probably be okay. But mixing on headphones for extended periods at elevated levels can be detrimental to your hearing in the long term.
The consensus used to be that mixing on headphones couldn’t produce a mix that translated well to speakers. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case — and now, you can even do extended mixing sessions in comfort.
(This excerpt is from the Sweetwater Publishing E-book Max Your Mix!, reprinted with permission from the author.)