Hi TA,

I have been planning to buy the Yamaha HS80M monitors for quite sometime now.I have been in fact saving for it.But recently my friend suggested me to buy a pair of awesome semi open cans like Beyerdynamic DT 880 pro's or AKG-k702's along with a decent headphone amp.When i asked him it would be pretty silly mixing on cans,he wished me good luck on getting the room treated right,especially with a small budget.

Then i have realized how difficult(and goddamn expensive ) it is to treat your room(after going through the net).I live in a third world country and the materials etc are not so readily available,even if you want to build your own diffusers/absorbers.

I have a few questions for you guys:

1.)Any experience using Near-field monitors without room treatment??

2.)Whats your experience working with semi open cans? have you completely mixed(not mastered) your track on cans?

3.)Suppose you were in my situation and you just have 400$-450$ to spend on monitors/cans...what would you do?

4.)Any experience with building bass traps/diffusers using common place materials??(rugs,blankets,thermocols,cardboard boxes..etc )


And i am just starting out.I am no professional.But i do have hope(and a pair of good ears ) that i might make some good tracks. Please advice

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Get the monitors... Yes room treatment makes a difference, but you lose a lot of perspective mixing from just headphones.

I'm using a pair of angelease second gen monitors, near field, in an untreated room. You've heard my productions, they're not great but not terrible. I feel just fine producing with out room treatment of any kind at this point, my friend is actually a really decent producer, creating some VERY awesome music (dnb) that has amazing dynamic range in an untreated room.

As far as cans, I had to mix with them for quite sometime and it really sucked, and everything was muddy. I was talking to a washed up "dj and producer" at some club the other night and he said he produces his entire tracks using headphones and then turns on the monitors and does his mixing there. He said it was "cool to see what you made" after plugging the monitors. He was an asshole egotistical commercial "dj and producer" though, so I didnt really care for what he had to say. But it was an interesting idea non the less.

So yeah, in my limited experience, working with a pair of decent monitors in an untreated room has been just fine. I am just aware of how they are positioned and the angles they are facing in congruence to where I am sitting. I hated using headphones for the time I had to, but even from time to time I still do, to more clearly here certain things.

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Both solutions will have compromises, although truly spectacular mixes can be had from headphones.

The key to any monitoring system is learning it, and also referencing your mix results against other tracks, and on other systems.

If you have the budget for HS80s, perhaps choose something like a pair of JBL LSR2325Ps instead which will cause less bass issues in an untreated room, but also a set of AKG K240's to reference and check bass levels on.

I use a set of HS80s in a large untreated room and the lack of treatment really is an issue, but I recently bought some AKG headphones and it really allows me to tidy up the mix afterwards. I still prefer getting the majority of the mix down on the monitors though.

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ive been mixing 90% on headphones lately, not full-proof yet though, with enough practice and learning them, i think it can be done. it takes a while though to learn, at least for me. akg 271mk2s.

I've also been mixing 90% on headphones. I use Sennheiser Hd 280 Pro, and AKG 701's, I've been doing so because I can't trust the sound in my untreated room at all, and worst yet, I don't know if I trust my speakers either, I have Event SP8's, and I used to think they sounded great but, lately I always feel like I should be putting an eq on them, and I don't think that should be so.

I'm stuck however, I live at a friends house and I can't stick anything to the walls, so I make do with what I've got. I just don't know if I should get new speakers or not. Anyways, to the OP, I always mix in headphones and I am always putting to much bass in my tracks, then I go play it elsewhere and I notice it, so I learn to compensate for it, but, I still don't trust the cans. Either pair that is.

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Thanks for the replies guys !

But none of you have even tried for cheaper alternatives for bass traps?...i mean if you live in US of A i am pretty sure you'll be able to make your own traps as raw mats are easily available....right???...or am i missing something here???


I guess this has left me even more confused but nevertheless ill take into account all your experiences for now.

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I just bought the same monitors last week. You won't be disappointed, don't go with anything else.

Monitors > headphones

Get a spectral analyzer.

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi change your avatar for fucks sake.

quote:

Originally posted by MSZ ive been mixing 90% on headphones lately, not full-proof yet though, with enough practice and learning them, i think it can be done. it takes a while though to learn, at least for me. akg 271mk2s.

Same here, headphones mostly.
Just check once in a while on the moniters, but my mixes are said to be nice and punchy and clear.

Sony MDR-7506's

If you cant get your acoustics right then you might get yourself into more trouble than with just headphones.

I have the HSM80s and the DT880 headphones and I would recommend both very highly. I'm in a similar situation - untreated room. But, I also do most of my mixing at night and have a 4-yo sleeping in the next room, so headphones have become a necessity for me. Quite honestly, I think that my mixes improved since relying more on my cans over the past 4 years, but I'm not sure if it's because I rely on both the headphones and my monitors (which I use during the day), or because I've learned to trust my headphone mixes more than my monitors. Anyway, getting around to my point, I think that, despite common convention, a lot of people do mix primarily on headphones and in many cases (e.g., bad room) is probably a better option.

OK, I'll go sit quietly in the corner now and wait for RANN to chew me a new one.

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I just bought the Yamaha HS80m's as you're planning to and I own the Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones. I'm in an untreated room (for now) and as I mentioned the Yamaha's sound AMAZING. Amazon also had them for $250 each which was the best price I saw.

For me, the issue of getting monitors wasn't directly related to the mixdown stage. I'm very new to production and have a lot to learn, but there's an extreme confidence factor that's gained for me, from knowing I'm hearing exactly what I'm producing.

Sure, I may have to do a final check on my headphones, but for me, even my fantastic sounding headphones fatigue my ears rather quickly. Plus, I'm much more concerned about volume levels with headphones of course, which leads to a lot of break up in work flow and sometimes a genuine waste of "inspiration time."

Knowing I'm picking the correct sample or making the correct synth adjustment without having to constantly A/B between my crap hi-fi speakers, and headphones, is a lifesaver. It's enabling me to get on with composition with a good bit less self doubt (and a lot less ear damage paranoia!)

Last edited by on Jan-15-2012 at 18:15