Mastering with headphones?

[ThunderBulb]

Is audio mastering with headphones a good approach to finishing off a song or a record?

 

[MentalString]

Quality is relative.

The more reference sources you have, the more accurate you'll be able to balance the mix.

 

[Musicdude747]

If you have learned how your mixes translate to the world using them, the of course, yes.

 

[Ordinary-Citizen]

No headphones are "good" for mixing a song. Some are usable if you get to know them very well and you'd still need to cross-reference your mix on other speakers. Audio mastering with a pair of cans is nearly impossible. It'll never turn out the way you want it to.

 

[Spinmeister]

No headphones are "good" for mixing a song. Some are usable if you get to know them very well and you'd still need to cross-reference your mix on other speakers. Audio mastering with a pair of cans is nearly impossible. It'll never turn out the way you want it to.

In an ideal recording utopian world, I respectfully disagree. If you learn how other commercial music sounds on headphones you can mix very well on them. Also, headphones take the acoustic room treatment problems away completely.

 

[FlatLecture]

One of the issues with headphone mixing is you can't move your head around to hear the different aspects of the mix as you do with professional studio monitors. I don't even rely on one set of pro audio monitors. I typically go back and forth between two sets of hi-fi speakers and headphones.

 

[EddieTheBunny]

Steven Slate Audio VSX. Hands down.

 

[Hunter Delevingne]

There's no wrong or right. Just what you like.

 

[Minimum Reputation]

If you have spent years learning the bias of your headphones, then sure, you can use them to mix. But then, that would be true using any number of professional headphones. The important factor would be the number of years you've spent learning how they color your sound. But if you've not spent years, working with your headphones on hundreds of mixes, then exclusively using any set of headphones is always a shot in the dark.