#98 - Mixing on speakers or headphones - which is better?

You might be an audiophile or a musician or have aspirations to record your own music one day and have aspirations to mix or record your own music one day.  Great!  So the questions that come up are often about how you're listening to music in order to make decisions about how the final stereo track will sound.  Do you want to buy the most expensive headphones?  Have the biggest speakers? Listen off your laptop computer?  

Well, the first thing I would suggest is joining a forum with audio engineers.  AES (Audio Engineering Society for example).  An audiophile forum is not the place to ask this question, but for some reason, audiophiles ask there.  I'm often surprised how little people who build great equipment understand the entire recording process.  It's very true that a great recording makes more difference than what format you listen on, but it's also true that a bad mix can ruin a great recording.

I've been a recording/mix engineer with a commercial facility for nearly 40 years. If you are doing this as a hobby, mix on what ever system makes you happy.  If you expect to get paid or sell your recordings, you'll probably learn to compromise your mixes so they play well on all systems...  large speakers, small boomboxes, over computers and (yes) on headphones. 

I mix on a variety of speakers and spend most of the time on average speakers at relatively low volumes, then check on bigger audiophile systems, small systems, over headphones and cars speakers for final tweaks.  Most important I find is not letting your ears get tired. 

Loud volumes can resonate the wrong frequencies and pound your ears to a pulp.  Even 15 minutes of resting your ears and going outside for fresh air can make a big difference.  You'll often find that the volumes have slowly escalated.  Also, I always check/compare with several recordings I've played hundreds of times over the years.  I often use my 'average' headphones early on to check for general left/right balance, hums, buzzes and other things.  Then I go back to the 'average' speakers.

Before I get too far, I'll put on other recordings that are similar, final tracks that I have played over the years and compare the bass, high end, stereo image, etc to bring the current mix into place.  Volume of vocals or lead instruments is really important here.  You may have noticed that loudness of vocals often differs from different genres (if you haven't, compare a high energy rock song to a track of jazz with vocals).

When I think I'm nearly done, I'll check on a bigger speaker system often in another room.  Then we rest.  If it's possible to keep the mix up overnight, that's been the best test.  Do I still like it the next day?  As a back up, I might do 3 mixes anyway - one with the lead instrument softer and louder than what I expect.  If I'm unsure of the bass, I'll do the same.  Sometimes, I might edit between mixes.

Headphones can be deceiving, especially expensive one.  They're fun, but have often been designed to do a few "unnatural" things that sound fantastic in headphones, but don't translate well to speakers.  I've used the same headphones (a pro-audio brand well known) for the last 25 years.   When I've been hired to work in other studios I always bring a pair of my own headphones where I'm more familiar with the sound than adjusting to a new room/speakers.   Comparing already mixed commercial tracks is invaluable when listening on an unfamiliar system.  

Of course, you can learn to adjust on any headphone or speaker system with LOTS of hours listening and plenty of mistakes.

So many talented musicians are recording at home because of the pandemic.  Many audiophiles want to dabble in recording.  We offer intern programs, workshops, classes and private lessons/evaluations in our studio or remotely if you're interested.  If you want more information contact me at support@bluecoastmusic.com   

Enjoy your music and have a great week!

Cookie Marenco