Monitors vs headphones?

Headphones provide a certain type of sound, and a non-linear response, even in the best monitoring headphones. Listening volume can also influence the perceived balance far more with headphones than with loudspeakers, so even a small change in listening level will influence your mixing decisions.

There are some further more subtle things you’ll notice with headphone use. Number one is that the stereo image sounds different, with hardpanned sounds often sounding way too wide and reverbs becoming surprisingly dominant. Both will influence significant aspects of your balance. Next up, judging the levels of transient-heavy sounds such as snares and rims can be very tricky, and one will typically underestimate how loud they are in the mix. Finally, small pitch differences in low-frequency regions can be harder to judge on headphones.

With time, though, it’s perfectly possible to compensate for these aspects and achieve good mixes on headphones. What’s more, headphone listening helps you spot imperfections such as pops and clicks, left/right timing differences and phase issues.

Regular headphone users should also consider the various software options. One of the most powerful is Sonarworks Reference 3 Headphone, which applies a calibration curve to help deliver a more neutral sound. Also useful but much simpler is 112dB’s Redline Monitor. This provides a quick way to rebalance the mono/stereo blend and width to better imitate how loudspeakers sound. The most ambitious option is Waves Nx, which uses head tracking to adjust the headphone sonics.

Overall, it’s great to reference between both monitor speakers and headphones, so you can come up with a mix that works well on both.