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As a newbie I have no delusions about my engineerings skills. I know it will take time, money and lots of effort to learn the basics of engineering. While I have no doubt that I will eventually find myself sucked into the "what's the best monitor" wars - right now I just need to get sound out of my 828mk3 / iMac / DP5 system.

Will a decent pair of headphones do the trick in the short-term (thinking Grado 325's) - even if they are not ideal? I'm coming from a performance / composition perspective - so I have no doubt that the finer points of mixing and mastering will be lost on me for years to come. So while I can appreciate that great near-field monitors are required long-term, I have to wonder if they are required at the start?

The sub-plot here is that I failed to plan my budget appropriately. I need to save money for a new MBP, hard-drive, mic's, cables, near-field monitors, etc, etc. So I'm looking for ways to get started without needing to re-finance the house. Thanks in advance for you comments & advice.

cheers,

Jed

Monitors aren't required to compose and track, but it's quite difficult to mix using headphones alone. I'd venture to say that even the cheapest monitors will serve you better during mixdown. Perhaps you can find something used?

Headphones are great for mix Quality Control Review, as spurious noises and distortions sometimes pop out to the ears. As an exclusive monitor source, cans leave a lot to be desired. On the other hand, I've done a few well-received mixes over the years on headphones, so don't despair if this is your only viable approach.

My mixing with headphones tips

- Use plenty of headphones! at various stages (like EQing, mixing in reverbs etc) swap your main pair with any other pairs you can get your hands on, easpecially ones you are used to like say ipod earbuds etc

- Use lots of reference material you know well. A/B between albums you know well and your mix.

- Reference with previous mixes you have done with monitors. Even open old projects and bounce down various instruments (ie bass) in isolation using a final mix setting as per when you were using monitors ... then add them to you current headphone project and use them as references.

- Take plenty of breaks, rest your ears

A big problem mixing with headphones is that with the sound entering the ear canal directly you have no way to tell if you have phase issues or phase shifting with parts...Some headphones also create a false sense of bass and highs.

Referencing your mix with headphones is great...hell even reference with ear buds, just to see how your mix translates on something average listeners use...

The biggest problem I think is your ears themselves. Critical listening in such isolation as headphones will cause ear fatigue very quickly...Not to mention the level at wich your mixing. 85dB max in an open room...headphones are a different story altogether...Be very careful!

Check your headphone mixes in mono.

That'll help you find some phaseseseses problems.

Not blasphemy, but if I were you, I would start with a pair of budget near field monitors instead of the headphones. You mentioned Grado SR-325s - those are about $300. For the same money, you can get a pair of Active Alesis M1 near field monitors. The Alesis are not the top shelf near fields, but they are extremely good for the money, and I think you will be happier in the long run. I use Ultrasone headphones from time-to-time to mix when I can't get too loud, but it is always a compromise. I have Event ASP8s, but even so, I would rather have an inexpensive pair of near fields like the Alesis as opposed to having to use headphones all the time.

325 is a good headphone (in a hifi way)....but i wouldnt use them for music making.
they can be a bit bright and the bass is kind of weird,and they tend to break up if you turn it up at all. i have found trilogy bass parts or even thick pads or Vdrums are just too bass heavy even at reasonable volumes .the company i work for sells them and i wouldn't buy them at even 50%.
the 325 retail is about $300 .
for tracking I prefer a sony 7506(not great but they last and they can handle volume)and they only cost $99.
I prefer doing as little w/ headphones as possible and don't trust them at alll for mix purposes .
KG