# Which should I trust?



## Bunford (Oct 22, 2012)

I've a pair of Sennheiser HD205 (budget to mid ish end headphones) and a set of 120W surround sound 5.1 speakers.

The headphones sound great for listening to music, are well worn in and the speaker are great for watching movies and playing games.

However, when it comes to mixing and production, which should I trust more? I'm working on something at the moment and it sounds great in my headphones, a really rich, full, clear sound. However, switch to my 5.1 speakers and it sounds a bit muffled, perhaps too reverb-y etc and the clarity disappears somewhat.

Which should I trust more?


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## RiffWraith (Oct 22, 2012)

TBH, neither.


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## Bunford (Oct 22, 2012)

RiffWraith @ Mon 22 Oct said:


> TBH, neither.



It's why I put trust "more" on the last question. If it was an option I'd buy high end monitors, but unfortunately that's a no-goer so have to do with what I have for now!


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## José Herring (Oct 22, 2012)

Imo, if it doesn't sound good on crap monitors, there's still work to do. Compare your mix with other music that was professionally done.

The only problem with mixing on crappy systems is there's usually not enough sonic information to fix whatever the problem is. It would be like trying to do a painting by candle light.

Good speakers don't cost that much. You can get used ones that will do the job. You obviously have a stereo, so pick up some used NS10s or something. They're not good, but have lead to really stellar mixes and are still used by most engineers I know.


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## rickholets (Oct 22, 2012)

Looks like you are getting some good advice about upgrading your listening hardware. Don't forget the room has a lot to do with it as well.

That being said, my answer to your specific question would be: Use your surround system as a reference, but mix on the headphones. When it sounds good on both you know you are close. Keep in mind that headphones often don't reveal your low end very well. This is why having a nice, boomy consumer level system can be useful, as you have discovered.


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## JohnG (Oct 22, 2012)

Durning the first audition I ever had for a feature film, the music supervisor played my music back through a Fisher Price child's sound system, in mono, saying that "if it sounds good on this, it sounds good on anything."

Which I think puts me in Jose's camp.


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## Guy Bacos (Oct 23, 2012)

Agree with John. I have very cheap monitors, and no doubt there would be some great advantages in having quality monitors and I'd surely have more enjoyment, however, one thing I like about keeping my cheap monitors is, if it sounds good on these, it will sound 10X better on good monitors.


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## gsilbers (Oct 23, 2012)

thats all fine and dandy until the playback is in a place were there is a big bass


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## Guy Bacos (Oct 23, 2012)

You have to know what works best for you. It also depends on the style of music you do.


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## JohnG (Oct 23, 2012)

gsilbers and Guy are both right, but let's not lose Jose's key point. Certainly if it sounds weak on crappy speakers, it may actually be weak. But it's very hard to fix such problems without a good monitoring system (including proper bass).

Monitoring is the least-invested-in part of the chain and it's really important to improve one's mixes. One can only go so far with weak monitoring. At least get some super headphones -- AKG or Sennheiser high-end ones are better than third-rate speakers.

But no headphones are going to give you sub-bass info, so it's not perfect. Plus I find that mixing in headphones causes me to push things more toward the center than I should, and generally causes other problems.


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## leafInTheWind (Oct 23, 2012)

Guy, may I ask what kind of monitors you use?


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## mark812 (Oct 23, 2012)

JohnG @ Tue Oct 23 said:


> But no headphones are going to give you sub-bass info, so it's not perfect. Plus I find that mixing in headphones causes me to push things more toward the center than I should, and generally causes other problems.



Using Toneboosters Isone or Redline Monitor can help with that problem. I had the same troubles when I was using 7506s..


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## Guy Bacos (Oct 23, 2012)

leafInTheWind @ Tue Oct 23 said:


> Guy, may I ask what kind of monitors you use?



I'm using a pair of Yourkville studio monitor YSM1. I paid them something like $250./pair about 15 years ago or more, the 90s version, . My ears have adapted to them very well and I think you can't put a price tag on that, so I'm happy with them.


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## leafInTheWind (Oct 23, 2012)

Thanks Guy


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## germancomponist (Oct 23, 2012)

JohnG @ Tue Oct 23 said:


> gsilbers and Guy are both right, but let's not lose Jose's key point. Certainly if it sounds weak on crappy speakers, it may actually be weak. But it's very hard to fix such problems without a good monitoring system (including proper bass).
> 
> Monitoring is the least-invested-in part of the chain and it's really important to improve one's mixes. One can only go so far with weak monitoring. At least get some super headphones -- AKG or Sennheiser high-end ones are better than third-rate speakers.
> 
> But no headphones are going to give you sub-bass info, so it's not perfect. Plus I find that mixing in headphones causes me to push things more toward the center than I should, and generally causes other problems.



+1

One can only mix frequencies what one can listen to. If a mix sounds good on small monitors, it does not mean that the mix is also really good. ...


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## RiffWraith (Oct 23, 2012)

Here is a good article on speakers. It's not the be all end all of speaker info, and it's more a review than anything else, but definitely worth a read.

http://trustmeimascientist.com/2012/02/06/auratone-avantone-behritone-review/ (http://trustmeimascientist.com/2012/02/ ... ne-review/)


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