Mixing on Headphones
It’s an unwritten rule that music producers should ideally be using speakers to monitor their mix, as headphones don’t give a realistic soundstage and can fatigue your ears quickly. However, in some cases mixing on headphones is actually better than using monitors.
In this video, Audio Plugin Deals (Affiliate Link) explains when is the right time to use your headphones for mixing. They emphasize that headphones can be a powerful tool for checking details and making critical decisions during the mixing process. However, they also warn against relying solely on headphones for mixing, as the lack of speaker crosstalk and room acoustics can lead to an inaccurate representation of the mix. To learn more about how to use headphones effectively in your mixing process, check out the mixroom quick start tutorial offered by Audio Plugin Deals.
To be blunt, many musicians make the mistake of mixing on great speakers but in rooms with very poor acoustics. This leads to bad EQ choices and inaccurate low end. In this kind of situation, using decent headphones will result in a much more accurate mix as it takes the room out of the equation completely. Buying a good set of cans can also be considerably cheaper than an equivalent set of monitors, so budget-conscious producers should consider using just headphones when starting out.
