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Confused...

I have a question for you guys about sound with other speakers.
My ears are really confused, I bought a pair of Senn's HD 600's and using it with a focusrite Scar II. It's been about a month and the senn's are really starting to "open" up.
The trouble I am having is I was so used to my shitty computer monitors that were hardly effective and now..I am hearing a more flat response with audio using the senn's. Now, when I listen to music that I produce through those shitty speakers I am getting a much different response. It almost seems like there are some channels that are pushed back in the mix,yet...when listening to other audio devices I get a mixed response. Some good and some wtf?!
I mean..on my headphones it sounds freakin great...but any other device it just doesn't sound like I want it to
So, my questions is, how are producers out there able to make their music same the sound on any system,whether good or bad?

Howdy! No worries, I go trough same thing now also, will take you more then 1 month to learn your new toys, depends on how much you gonna use them. Anyway a tip I heard/read about is to check your mix on crappy sound systems too, if will sound good on those ones will pretty much sound good on everything xD.

Re: Confused...

quote:

Originally posted by scorpradio I have a question for you guys about sound with other speakers. My ears are really confused, I bought a pair of Senn's HD 600's and using it with a focusrite Scar II. It's been about a month and the senn's are really starting to "open" up. The trouble I am having is I was so used to my shitty computer monitors that were hardly effective and now..I am hearing a more flat response with audio using the senn's. Now, when I listen to music that I produce through those shitty speakers I am getting a much different response. It almost seems like there are some channels that are pushed back in the mix,yet...when listening to other audio devices I get a mixed response. Some good and some wtf?! I mean..on my headphones it sounds freakin great...but any other device it just doesn't sound like I want it to So, my questions is, how are producers out there able to make their music same the sound on any system,whether good or bad?

ugh

hard to make sense of that post really. Its seems like you have a translation problem

You need to use monitors or headphones that translate well to other audio systems. To me, it doesnt really matter how monitors/headphones sound as long as they translate well

So if your sennys sound really nice or whatever, but the music sounds shit on most other systems then theres not much point using them imo

Either that or learn to mix on the sennys so that your music will sound good elsewhere - this could take some time

Listen to reference tracks through your Sennheisers to help you "learn" how they should sound.

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Listen to reference tracks through your Sennheisers to help you "learn" how they should sound.

Wisdom

Whenever you buy high quality equipment, it'll always sound weird for a while because your ears have gotten used to the different sound yet. When I bought my Technics headphones, I was honestly thinking they sounded like crap compared to my $10 earbuds...it just takes some time for adjustment really.

Thanks for the replies all and great pieces of advice.
I guess my biggest concern is the same reason I ended up buying headphones. And I am in the same boat Clay...I have very thin walls in a condo/townhouse. But, the real reason I got them was an incident where I "thought" I had a solid mix down then a friend turned me on to his flat response monitors and I was utterly devastated at how horrible the mix truly was. So, I upgraded...but now it has me wondering, if I am using such highly rated headphones and my mixes still sound like shit on other speakers..how do I really know?
I think I am going to throw up a mix on the promo board to get some feedback on this re"mix" of a remix I did. I liked the flow of the piece and wanted to go back in and redo it. Maybe I am just adjusting..perhaps this mix is a solid one...I don't know.
At the same time, Cry does make a good point at reference tracks which I hadn't thought of. Seems like that's the next step.

quote:

Originally posted by scorpradio At the same time, Cry does make a good point at reference tracks which I hadn't thought of. Seems like that's the next step.

It would be the same deal if you bought a $5k pair of monitors and used them in a treated room.

Until you know how they respond you won't get a good mix on them.

quote:

Originally posted by scorpradio Thanks for the replies all and great pieces of advice. I guess my biggest concern is the same reason I ended up buying headphones. And I am in the same boat Clay...I have very thin walls in a condo/townhouse. But, the real reason I got them was an incident where I "thought" I had a solid mix down then a friend turned me on to his flat response monitors and I was utterly devastated at how horrible the mix truly was. So, I upgraded...but now it has me wondering, if I am using such highly rated headphones and my mixes still sound like shit on other speakers..how do I really know? I think I am going to throw up a mix on the promo board to get some feedback on this re"mix" of a remix I did. I liked the flow of the piece and wanted to go back in and redo it. Maybe I am just adjusting..perhaps this mix is a solid one...I don't know. At the same time, Cry does make a good point at reference tracks which I hadn't thought of. Seems like that's the next step.

the trick is checking your mix on a few other sources, never just rely on one single source

Re: Confused...

quote:

Originally posted by scorpradio The trouble I am having is I was so used to my shitty computer monitors t

Your ears deserve better than shitty computer monitors. Bin them and forget you ever had them!

quote:

Originally posted by evo8 the trick is checking your mix on a few other sources, never just rely on one single source

That is the thing Evo, I have been doing just that. I check on my Ipod,my car,computer,friends monitors and ironically my t.v.(which oddly enough is the best resulting sound) All are producing somewhat different responses.
I guess I am just wondering what is the CORRECT way of hearing it because each outlet produces something different (or at least produces elements that are not noticeable on other sources)
Granted, the headphones are more of a flat response vs. HiFi so I naturally expect the flat response to be more...accurate

This is the crux of any monitoring setup; you have a few issues.....

The first is that you have a translation issues, and by that I mean your current monitoring medium (headphones) for one reason or another* does not you make a mix that translates to other systems.

The second, and why I put the *, is either that you haven't got to know your headphones well enough or they just don't suit your personal perception of sound (you own hearing curve, how you brain works, the shape of your ears etc) to to the point where you're able to balance a mix on them which results in varied translation result.

When I say they don't suit you, I've never been able to find a pair of headphones that have enabled me to mix with complete confidence on just them alone. I know there's guys on here that can do it, but it's just never gelled with me to the point I could ever confidently rely on the mix I get.

For me headphones, have always been a secondary reference. When I have to mix on them, I basically know that I'm doing a rough mix - the stereo image isn't going to be perfect, the EQ is only going to be ballpark and the levels will need fine tuning for when I can use my monitors.

Cryo's point about using reference track you already know inside out is a stellar advice. Pick a few different things that quite varied structure, and it's always good to pick a track that has your idea aesthetic (i.e. from a producer that you love the sound of).

Tricky. It has to sound good on the studio headphones, but not "perfect", in the sense that it will only sound that good on the headphones themselves. Try not to be too surgical with your mixing, allow imperfections, but still adhere to normal mixing technique and practice.

Make a render, send it to other producers who KNOW what sounds good and have solid monitoring setup, get their feedback and start making your adjustments. It will take weeks or months. You want something that sounds well mixed and musical, but not something that only sounds good in your headphones.

Don't be afraid to saturate different sounds, the right amalgam gets you a warm sounding mix, which is exactly what you want. Another trick is to create main elements that you want to punch through the mix, instead of cramming tons of different stuff, create layers to make it punch through.

Lastly, you're at a psychoacoustic cross-roads. Do your recreational listening of club/dance music on your headphones, spend lots of time doing that, over time your brain will start to understand how the headphones sound, and will automatically compensate or adjust during your mixing/production session.

Getting to know the way your headphones sound isn't always a conscious awareness or observation like "Oh, that frequency stands out more than this one" or "this frequency range sounds like this compared to this other reference", much of it is subconscious, and the only way to take advantage of that assimilating into your workflow is through time.

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