Mixing With Headphones? Watch this...

I wish the neighbor's kids would choose headphones. 😬

Do I mix music no, did i watch the whole thing yes

I love how you really take your time with these videos and especially when speaking to the people watching. Some Youtubers it feels like all they do is rush and you can't understand a single word they say because they speak at like 100 miles an hour. I love the fact that when you make these videos you really speak with your audience And you speak to us like we're friends.

I am mixing/producing /mastering all the time . the BEST way to cover all bases is mix for one (I usually start with my vehicle sound system) if it sounds great on that, I listen on cheap headphones, Bluetooth ear buds then just on a smartphone speaker. I listen for distortion or muddy sounding parts. I find the most offending segments where distortion is worst, then go back and tweak, EQ, drive, input, output - whatever it takes to smooth out the worst parts. once it sounds good on whichever sound system or device it sounded worst with , i re-listen on all devices/sound systems again. I keep doing this process until all systems sound good. it's a balancing act because if you get it sounding great on, say, ear buds, then go back to the car sound system , it might not be good on that now. so, I need to adjust things differently . sometimes inverting phase on just left or right channel does wonders (turn on stereo link first usually on your mixing console) otherwise I invert phase on each channel individually to see what works. in addition to the Pan control, inverting phase can sound like a pan adjustment because of the separation of frequencies . well , that's how I approach the final mix. then I know it sounds good on the most common listener devices.

I’ve gotten very good sounding mixes using just Bluetooth headphones. It all comes down to referencing your levels with another mix, and knowing the sound space you’re working in. I do big sweeping moves on monitors and more fine tuned adjustment when listening on headphones

Your thumbnail shows two classic recording/mixing studio monitor products you never once mention: Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro high impedance headphones, and KRK Rokit 5 self-powered monitor speakers. Both modestly priced, both have flattish-response curves, both widely used for decades by the audio mixing and engineering communities. Your intended market appears to be those with tens of thousands of dollars to spend outfitting their mixing room. Impedance mismatch? j/k. Your choice, but my guess is most of the youtube audience won't be in the market for such high-end gear. And I question just how much of a difference adding one or two zeros to your monitor budget makes? Many highly regarded albums were recorded and mixed using lower-end headphones (such as the DT-770 600 ohms) and monitors. One thing we do agree upon, to keep the mixing equipment chain analog, as much as possible.

Headphones - for taking a deep dive into your work and nitpicking and perfecting everything (choose the best headphones you can have) Speakers - to listen to the finished product to hear how most would hear it (so i decent mid range would be fine) My take on this

Dude. Your info is so on point. And this came at the right time for me. I'm in the market for studio headphones. And I know very little and I'm learning. So this was perfect to help my search. I would love to see a video from you on your top choices for studio headphones. And to hear what headphones are best for what work is being done.

Kyle, your no nonsense, concise explanations are VERY appreciated! This presentation is a great example. Gotta say, you have helped and encouraged me on my journey to becoming better at crafting mixes with more understanding of the fundamentals. No doubt, others share the same measure of gratitude. Kudo's to you, and please keep 'em coming!

Ouah, this is the Chanel I was looking for since long time. Big thanks and you and explained subjects are amazing.

Just a brilliant and nicely put together video. One of the best I've seen on this subject and it helped me a lot. Thanks!

Just 8 years ago, it was really looked down upon it seemed to do mixing on headphones in a lot of audio engineer circles I was trying to pick up tips from. They were stingy with the tips but more than abundant with criticisms for rookies. You are doing a great thing releasing such useful information for free. It sets you apart from the arrogant people who think they know everything but have little to bring to the table. You know your stuff and share it abundantly. Appreciate what you do. I usually will borrow from reference mixes from the 90’s and 2000’s. I don’t really see myself as capable of hitting the audio standard of loudness and dynamics that is expected out of music these days, and my hearing and ear for it isn’t that great. One thing I will say is a very serious and bad risk for new people mixing on headphones is hearing damage. Take breaks regularly, don’t mix on high volumes, etc etc. 😁 and of course have fun. Do what you can and then move on. You can cover more ground that way. Also, garbage in is garbage out. Trying to force sounds that don’t work in a mix by using mixing techniques is a lot less effective that carefully choosing the sounds you use or setting realistic expectations for what kinds of dynamics and quality you can get out of a mix with the sounds you are working with. Don’t set yourself up in a feedback loop of microtweaking every parameter and throwing on compressors, limiters, eqs, etc. less is more in a lot of ways. Your fader and your channel EQ can often be a very effective way to dial in your mix, don’t mess with dynamics until later. Anyway, those are just things that will make a difference to any new guys out there trying to get basic tips.

Another great video, Kyle. Very well done!

Dude, the tip about importing a track for reference opened my eyes, the whole video was worth it for that!

Great video! Cool explained! I'm just learning a lot from your videos man🤘

lol my method is simple. Use headphones to mix and have a reference track, check how mix is sounding in car, check how mix is sounding on other headphones, check how mix is sounding in another car, check how mix is sounding through my phone, check how mix is sounding on speakers, all in no particular order, then adjust accordingly and repeat until I’m sick of my project. Great video my man, hopefully I’ll be able to cut down on some of this process of mine in the near future haha.

Thank you for the class!

I love my Neumann NDH-30 which you showed in the beginning it was one of the best Investments I did after buying a nice pair of the A5X. Never had such good translating mixes :)

Amazing explanations, thank you for this video!

Thank you for this. I needed someone to make a no-nonsense straight to the point video about this man.