Is using Headphones for Audio Editing a good idea?

MadMaverick wrote on 1/13/2014, 1:49 AM

Is using headphones for audio editing a good idea or a bad idea?

I've heard that it's a bad idea sense very few people listen to a video while wearing headphones.

I like to edit late at night when there's no distractions, but if I do audio editing, then my speakers could easily wake up my family.

Are there any kind of headphones that can kinda replicate the sound of my computer speakers?

I use a pair of wireless enclosed Radioshack headphones for watching TV at night. They work great for watching movies, but they have a low hissing sound to them, and just all around sound different from my speakers. I also have a pair of Marshmellow headphones that are nice and loud and go inside your ears, which I use mainly for music.

So what do you do? Do you use headphones for editing? If so, what kind?

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Comments

mdindestin wrote on 1/15/2014, 12:15 AM

Love my 7506s.

Byron K wrote on 1/15/2014, 12:39 AM

7506 headphones are great industry standard headphones (I have a pair also) but to me are a little bright. You can get good rough mixes through headphones but unless the mix will be played back only thru your headphones you must play the mix back thru different consumer components that you think your media will be played on.

Grazie wrote on 1/15/2014, 12:43 AM

Not only am I a Plug-In Gannet, but after reading all these tantalizing, seductive and "other" cans, I could quickly add Can Gannet too! - I have to keep telling myself "You've got your Sennies, now STOP!" - I think the mention of $1,000 will be the cure I needed to hear . . .

Trouble is, I've also got a supplier that will always have very "keen" prices for moi . . . . .

Grazie

deusx wrote on 1/15/2014, 1:35 AM

When did Sony headphones become the standard? I've always found them to be too harsh and too bright. No way that's a standard of any reliable kind.

I still use 20 year old Sennheisers, HD 250. Very flat, designed with mixing in mind.
AKG 240s are good too, but not as flat, they do add some flavor of their own.

Mix with those then check with speakers and if it sounds OK you're done. Not much point in obsessing about it. No matter what you do it will sound like crap to most people since these days iPhone speaker is considered high quality.

wwjd wrote on 1/15/2014, 9:38 AM

so, I'm more audio guy (studio engineering, some post mixing, recording artist, audiophile type) and would never recommend COMPLETING a mix in headphones..... UNLESS, one was very used to the specific headphones, figured out what to do to get proper mixes out of them. It can be done, but speakers are so much more real world.

But, should be easy to start, and manage a lot of the mix thru cans until ready for final mix and master.

also, frequency spectrum analyzer graphs are your friend.

R0cky wrote on 1/15/2014, 10:57 AM

I have the VRM box which I use with my laptop. It has one other feature that I really like and that is the wheel hardware volume control. I can quick and easy turn up the volume when I need to rather than futz around with the mouse.

rocky

VidMus wrote on 1/15/2014, 11:32 AM

Mixing with headphones is the ONLY option for me!

My computer room is very small with poor acoustics. My speakers are not good quality either.

Even if I had the best studio monitors, this room would make them sound bad!

It all really depends on the environment one is working in that determines headphones for mix or not.

I am using Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones. Nice clean and natural sound. They do have a major poor quality - flimsy headband!

Maybe someday I can afford to get some really good studio monitor speakers and work on the room acoustics and no longer need to use headphones but with my being on disability that will be quite a while.

richard-amirault wrote on 1/15/2014, 12:13 PM

They do have a major poor quality - flimsy headband!

Don't have any experience with those .. but back in the day when I was a DJ on a college radio station ... I went thru about four different models of Koss headphones because the headband broke on each of them. Finally went to the AKG 141 and that never happened again.

Geoff_Wood wrote on 1/15/2014, 1:59 PM

You really ought to give the Audio Technica ATH-M50 a try !

geoff