Headphones

[harrystainer]

I currently have the ESI Juli@ connected inside my computer. It doesn't have a headphone output connector and basically, my question is this - what can I do to be able to use headphones? I would simply like to be able to mix at night and not use my monitors which would annoy my neighbours.

I don't use a mixer and the soundcard output goes directly to my monitors.

It has 2 line ins and 2 line outs, MIDI I/O, S/PDIF I/O.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks. :wink:

[Tomer=Trance]

better to buy a small mixer. its realy not recomended to control your monitor volume by digital means,lowering it digitaly means losing resolution plus,with a mixer you will be able to connect your headphones.

[Merlot]

if you are going to get headphones, go with the sony 7506's. Flat, responsive, and great if you plan on mixing in headphones.

[harrystainer]

Ok thanks for your comments 8)

[jasedee]

Yeah....either a mixer or one of these devices like Mackie Big Knob, or Presonus central station.

[Tomer=Trance]

if you want a good passive device which wont colorize your sound but wont cost you tons try suzy.
balanced,xlr or pl headphones out aswell analog volume control...
http://www.synthax.com/synSUZY.html
i

[MADSTATION]

Like Merlot said, the sony 7506's are great!
That's what I use and I really love them.

[tranzash]

hey guys, I use Sony mdr-7506 too. Very good, really recomend it.

[harrystainer]

Seems like the Sony 7506's are coming highly recommended. They are quite expensive from UK stores (?149.99) but I suppose it might be an idea to invest in a decent pair. I've always thought don't buy second best you might aswell get the best you can. Will look into buying some soon.

Cheers guys

[Tomer=Trance]

Akg offer good headphones for decent prices.

[tranzash]

Harry, I bought the 7506 for $100.00? Why do you have a different price?
The frequency response of 7506 range from 10hz to 20khz.

[harrystainer]

http://www.dv247.com/invt/9005

looks like they are cheaper in the US. $100 would mean they would be about ?50 which is already 1/3 of the price :o

Thanks for the info! :)

[Gopal]

Its hard to go past the AKG K240 studios for the money and they are so bloody comfortable to wear. Also, certified flat response.

As for the sonys going down to 10 hz. LMAO!!!! at -how many dBs?

I can't hear below 25hz and I'll bet none of you can either :lol:

[jasedee]

The AKG K240's are budget headphones.....mine are cactus and they never left the studio.

I would recommend a pair of Beyer headphones. Solid

[matsa]

Jase, the AKG K240's were built to the exact specifications given to AKG by Deustche Rundfunk (German Radio) as their de-facto cans to be used when recording live orchestra gigs. Can't understand why they don't sound any good in your studio. What's your desk?

But beware anyone who's interested in a pair cos they are 600 ohms impedance. Trying to use these out of a soundcard would be like trying to light a truck's headlamp on a couple of Duracells.

As for the quality, I run them out of my mixer on a balanced system and they sound better than my genelecs used to. Not because my gennys weren't any good, they were great.

[jasedee]

Jase, the AKG K240's were built to the exact specifications given to AKG by Deustche Rundfunk (German Radio) as their de-facto cans to be used when recording live orchestra gigs. Can't understand why they don't sound any good in your studio. What's your desk?
Never said they didnt sound good, they are just not built to last. I am very careful with my gear and they are broke. I run the headphones from a Rolls headphone amp, from a stereo output from my MOTU 2408mkIII. No mixer involved.

[Fasttracker]

Gopal , it's not because you can't hear below 25hz that it's not a good thing that the headphones produce frequencies below that.
I read a book and it explains why the wide range of frequencies is important.
They did some tests with sounds and stuff where they compared the sounds with the frequencies below 20 hz and above 22 khz to the same sounds without those frequencies and there was an audible difference.
The theory was : tho we can't hear those frequencies , they have an effect on the frequencies we can hear , they slightly change them , so if we remove those frequencies , the sounds change.
Not that i'll ever be able to hear the difference , but hey , i ain't no mixing or mastering engineer you know.
Greetz...

[Tomer=Trance]

in addition leaving sub bass freq untreated (or untrimed for that matter) the lower end of your mix can sound moody because of these.

i usualy trim everything below 25-30 hz dou to the fact that i cant monitor them,rather be safe then sorry i say.

another question how exacly do you guys treat the lower end of your mix?

[matsa]

Jase, you're right there. they are a bit flimsy especially where the cable goes in the cans. I double wrap it around the frame to avoid yanking it out.

Tomer I never trim out the bottom like you do, but I'm gonna try it now. getting a great bass sound is worth its own thread - or messageboard even!

[harrystainer]

Yeh I agree - could someone post some tutorials / guides on how to EQ frequencies properly? I would find it helpful as I usually mix by ear and it would be useful to know how to do it properly

[jasedee]

The thing you gotta remember is that you need to leave enough space (in the frequency spectrum) for each instrument. Say you have a guitar, maybe you should take out some of the lower frequencies to leave space for other bassier instruments.

There is a rough guide of EQ on different sources, I will try to dig it up.

[Tomer=Trance]

i belive mixing is something you learn from expirience same with mastering maybe,books will teach you the basics but will never make you a complete "mixing enginier",mixing 200 tracks and facing different diffeculties and problems will :D

[Fasttracker]

I stumbled upon this great step-by-step tutorial on how to mix a pop song and found it most informative.
You definitely got to check this out if you haven't allready.
Greetz...

http://www.audiomelody.com/Tutorials/MixingIntroduction.htm

[matsa]

I really enjoyed reading those mate. 8)

[Fasttracker]

Always glad to provide some usefull information :D
Greetz...