Many of you have asked what headphones we use. These are the headphones that we use everyday and recommend: www.masteringexplained.com/recommendations/

This video is a hidden jem. I had no choice but to use headphones to mix and master, and before I leaned everything I did here I was having major issues getting my mixes to translate. Reverb that sounded huge when mixing sounded tiny when listening to my mix in a car or in the living room. Mixes would be all over the place. Even though I was used to my trusty hd280pro's I still kept making mixing decisions that weren't quite right. I'm now using a pair of open back dt990's, have correction and the goodhertz canopener plugin on my mix bus and it's a night and day difference. My mixes even translate to my phone it's actually kind of unreal. Even though I'm now in a situation where I can have a pair of monitors I still prefer using my new headphones with the crossfeed plugin over them. I've even tried an a/b comparison mastering a track using my studio monitors vs the good headphones setup and the headphone mix won out. It just translated better. Probably due to having very minimal room treatment and a small room.

Mastering for 17 years. Went from PMC IB1 with Hypex amps and Prism conversion to HD600 and sonarworks and Canopener with Lavry Black.

Thomas, I would highly appreciate if you could do a video referring to the CanOpener settings. There‘s not much material out there in conjunction with mastering. Thanks for your work!

tHIS CHANNEL IS PURE GOLD!!!

Just discovered this channel and it's gold - from a fellow mastering engineer trying to move to hesdphones :)

I also can confirm that this kind of setup works very well. In fact this is the way I‘ve been working for the last 25 years. Double checking on different sources like in the car, HiFi setup, and on my PSI monitors. Never had a problem or a bad feedback from a client. Thanks for making this clear and thanks for your information on this! All the best!

This is the best, most succinct explanation of this subject I've ever heard (and I've been around this subject a while)

Watched this at my studio. Then came home and watched it again to better grasp the information dense content. I appreciate the insight you gave me with your generous share. Instant sub. 👍

Excellent video. I especially love how you explain some very basic psychoacoustic concepts (that we often overlook and/or take for granted) in a simple way. Like many, am not doing audio production in an optimized room with accurate speakers. But now with this video (and a few others), I'm definitely going to set myself up with a proper headphone system as you've described. Thanks!... subscribing now :)

I'm on HD 600 using Acustica Sienna. Loving it. You should test Sienna.. 😃

I use the individual profile directly from sonarworks with can opener on sennheiser hd650 and they sound fab

Thank you for this! Will try the canopener for sure!

Such an informative video. I've always preferred headphones for mixing. With these tools that make it more ideal!

So far i was doing both, headphones and speakers in combo. But i will try this setup and see how it works, many thanks, great video

Outstanding video!!! Thank you for making and sharing this! I'm currently on a pair of HD600s with Sonarworks and Can Opener, as well. Love this setup so much; it sounds incredible!!

Very enlightening! I really need to try a crossfeed plugin. I correction always use.

Thanks for killing the myth of studio monitors! The concept of mastering on speakers is intuitively flawed. People mostly listen in headphones and rooms add LOTS of artifacts. The only "serious" room situation is the dance floor. I'm mastering on 50 euro COSS UR40. All the advantages mentioned. Transferability "translation" will never be accounted for other than listening in different setups anyway. Mastering is a "forced art" to me as a hobby musician. It's a killer of musical inspiration. Yet so important nowadays. Tack Thomas!

Since setting up the studio at home I have also used headphones for my mixes and masterings, I have some Audeze LCD-xs and they are wonderful, the only thing that worries me about this is the ear injuries from working so continuously with headphones, although I work with volumes very low.

Thank you for sharing your insights on this. I've just started to use headphone primarily instead of monitors and only using the monitors, while producing and my ears need a break.😊

Very useful video, the whole cross feed bit was new and the missing part in the puzzle for me, thx!

This really is the truth, headphones, are just like any other speaker, if you know them and know how something is supposed to sound in them, you can mix. My headphone mixes translate very well into my car and other systems

Mixing/Mastering - Apogee Symphony Desktop/Prism Lyra 1, Neve RNHP, HD600s, Sonarworks, and DearVRMix. May pick up Audeze LCD-X or HD 800s.

The video is very helpful! We just moved. Still a temporary place. There is no functional space to set up speaker monitors and treatment. I have a nice pair of Bayer high-impedance open back headphones and Sonarworks. Using a Behringer interface. Need to look into a headphone amplifier and a DA converter. Really appreciate the workable solution.

Thanks a lot you even explained better than legendary Andrew Scheps, thanks a lot, cant thank you enough, what if I am working out of the box like on an a Dawless computer setup, akai MPC standalone, how you gonna get with crossfeed left to right and vice versa. Thanks

Very helpful video ! And very pleasant voice and flow ! Definitely confirming what i ended up doing, due to impossibility of room treatment. TB Isone and Morphit, Beyerdynamic DT990 250ed, no crossfeed yet. Eye opener regarding stereo image drawbacks with headphones. You did not mention much the dynamics aspect of headphones. I realized that closed headphones are misleadingly minimizing the attacks. It's night and day compared with circumaural open heaphones. Personally, i love my Beyerdynamic DT990. Thanks a lot for this precious video. All the best !

Always quality content! Thanks!

I use head phones to do some final fine tuning on the low end and high end balance.

Helpful information. Thumbs up for the HD600's too!

Thank you for your great video (as always)! I myself am also using headphones for mixing and mastering. And the headphones that I trust are also the Sennheiser HD600. The problem with Stereo Image when using headphones is also my concern for a long time. Thanks for suggesting some Cross Feed plugins, I will try them out. Cheers!

Excellent video. I've been using Isone and am now going to try Canopener. I think the room designer in Isone makes the audio too vague. I like my AKG k712 pro (open) but due to circumstances am now switching to Beyerdynamic dt 700 pro x which sound pretty good for closed back headphones. Very detailed and punchy. Thanks and God bless.

I work with a Shure headphones and with monitors and subwoofer and all is correct. I forgot auratone behringer in mono to be safe. Thanks for your videos.

Thank you very much for this instructional video, your explanations are very understandable and logical, We know how difficult it is to normalize a home studio, even with the best speakers in the world, here comes into play the right headphones and plugins

Thank you for your in-depth explanation on how to get the best out of your headphone. Ive never heard of CanOpener, so Ill check it out... but I do use the Sonar Works reference software (SoundID) and it really does make a difference in my ATH-M30X.

Thank you for this video! There's a lot of useful information, well presented and explained. I'm looking forward to getting set up properly and hearing exactly what is going on in my monitoring using headphones.

Good one! i'll check out those HD600's. And I never thought about the headphones jack not being as good as an interface?..

Hey thanks a ton for this video! I'm been mainly mixing (and mastering I guess) my own music on headphones for years now and I always struggled with the stereo image and stuff, but this really helps! I've got CanOpener now and I feel it sounds very natural, which I hadn't expected :o

Yes, I don't have the luxury of a real studio set up and liked or not headphones are my only alternative to get a decent mix and mastering. I really appreciate the information shared. I'm currently using Waves CNx Studio Plugin for that purpose and so far it's working well. I will give a try to the one you mention from Good Hertz and I believe that I really need the Reference software you mention to get a more trusty feedback on my headphones. Thaks a lot!

Thank you for this video I came across it from watching your YT Short on the same topic. This is very interesting and insightful, cheers!

I'm really happy that I found your channel, very informative! Thank you :)

Det här var en väldigt bra tutorial, länge sen jag försökte göra slutmix och master själv, men hade tänkt att försöka mixa ljud och musik till en egen kortfilm som jag håller på med. Hörlurar känns som vägen framåt!

Thanks for information. Can you tell is it better to put Sonarworks Reference after or before CanOpener in Fx chain?

Very well explained, thank you! I usually have better results with headphones.

Thanks for this great video, really appreciated your perspective. To the negative comments I would just remind those people, you can mix on a set of soup tins as long as you know how they translate. Understanding how your speakers translate is key to everything. I used to use Yamaha NS10's. By the time I could hear the bass in those NS 10's in my studio, that amount of bass would blow my car down the street when I played the mix in the car. I tend to agree with everything you said. Perhaps one point though: I do plug right into the computer headphone output, why, because that is what every listener is going to do. Many thanks again, great work.

Thank you very much, this was very helpful!

I use the HD 600 all the time in conjunction with the SPL Phonitor 2

I'm loving this channel so much, it really differs from other content I found on this platform, it's straight to the point and full of useful information I haven't seen mentioned or explained this well anywhere else. May I ask you something? Do you put Can Opener before or after ID Reference? Cheers!

I'm glad I found this video and channel. Subscribed. 😁👍

thank you so much...very helpfull

thank you for doing this!

Thanks so much for this dose of clarity in the midst of so much noise. Really. If I could ask one question: what DAC/amp do you use with the HD600? For reference: I compose with virtual instruments, mostly jazz and orchestral samples, almost always acoustic instruments. I compose in a quiet bedroom with no acoustical treatment, so I'm the perfect use case for headphone mixing. I just want a flat, neutral representation of the music so I can make the right choices when composing and mixing -- I really don't care about "audiophile" this-or-that. Seriously, thank you again. You've done a great service for beginners like me.

Thank you this was so informative!!

Superintressant! Och lite glädjande nyheter på samma gång. Jag har under de senaste 7-8 åren ”trotsat” myten om att man måste mixa i högtalare och utgått i 9/10 fall från hörlurar. Min övertygelse är att mkt av det musik och ljudbehandling handlar om är hur dina öron kalibrerats över tid och också hur tränade öronen blir av kontinuerligt beslutsfattande. En ytterligare fördel med hörlurar (från mitt perspektiv) är förmågan att höra små små knäpp och liknande, som ibland faller bort i högtalarlyssning. Dock minns jag hur du under mastringen av mammas ”Love and Poetry” hörde ett knäpp utifrån kafferummet. Då blev jag imponerad och förstod att du hade koll :) slutligen har mitt arbetssätt blivit en vanesak, som så mkt annat, men när jag t.o.m fått komplimanger för mina mixar och även basbehandling av ledande mastringstekniker så måste det finnas i af ”ngt rätt” i det jag gör. Tack Thomas och kul detta! /E

i use headphones works perfect get full inside depth

Amazing info, you're the best. Much love guys, thank you 🙏🙏

Thank you for sharing!

You should check out the Audeze mm-500's! best investment ever for portable mixing and mastering engineers

Hello from Texas USA. Just found and subscribed to your channel. Thank you so very much!

Fantastic content. Thank you so much!

If you want a pair of Sennheiser 600s for less money, grab the Drop 6XX. They’re produced by Drop and manufactured by Sennheiser and they are basically the exact same headphone for a fraction of the cost!

Have you ever used NDH 30s? Just got a pair but waiting on an audio interface that can handle higher ohm phones (ndh30 are 120 ohm I believe). Also have you tried Slate Digital's vsx for room referencing? I've heard good things. It's on my wish list

I also have just about permanently switched over to headphones.I use a Phonitor headphone Dac with cross feed. The Phonitor has very good converters. I m also using Senheiser HD 600’s. I have found them to be quite flat. I did try Sonar works but I noticed it flattened the bass lower that it was on the graph before I added the calibration. Other words, when using the Sonar works calibration, there was actually less bass! You were mentioning you like more bass. Are you saying when you use the Sonar works calibration, it actually added some low end? I have a decent treated room & a pair of Pmc floor standing full range speakers for mastering. I have never seen your video & I thought it was interesting that we both have pretty much done the same idea with the same headphones. I did try Audeze LCD-X & they were bumped down in the low end & mids & hi end. I also tried a pair of Focal MG clear & they were pretty nice but just some what louder that the HD 600’s. My findings were that I could get the same results on my HD 600’s! I did this test with all three pairs of headphones going threw my Apogee DA. In my personal opinion I think both the Audeze & the Focal are a bit hyped by some people out there. I believe that using a good headphone Dac & converters with cross feed is the key! I stress this all the time when I talk with people asking if it’s possible to mix & master on headphones. I recommend getting the headphone Dac & crossfeed & a good DA! It all can be done you just need to get your brain to relearn the the process. I also favor a little more low end & hi end in my speakers when mastering in my room also. I prefer it that way because it causes me to make better judgment for translation for the low & hi frequencies on other play back devices. If I ever designed a pair of mastering speakers, they would have a bit more low & top end causing the engineer to cut the top & bottom to where it would translate in the real world hopefully.😊 My main question was did the Sonnar works actually add low end to your HD 600’s? It did not for my HD 600’s.

As a beginner i've been using in-ear headphones for a few months for mixing and mastering but recently got some studio headphones. The mix sounds completely different (not in a good way) so I will try some of the software you mentioned in the video. I also noticed that the Behringer monitor2usb interface has crossfeed built in without needing to use a plugin so I might get that.

Thank you so much !!!

Informative

The stereo field on headphones, as we perceive it, is never real. Our left hear cannot hear the right side. There are more issues also....On the other hand, having a properly treated room at home is virtually impossible. In the end, maybe headphones are the better solution, but one must know well the headphones. Thanks, nice video mate.

By 17:19 is that your canopener settings ? Why 45° and not 60° thx for answere :)

I use both headphones (Focal Clears + HifiMan Anandas) and studio monitors (Hedd Type 20) in a minimally treated room. The monitors are an infinitely better way to mix, for my kind of music, which is mostly techno and prog house. The biggest reason for that is one listens with one's body as much as one's ear. I can feel the low end slam in the cavity of my chest, which is something I just don't get over headphones. I've tried other high end headphones like Heddphones, Arya, HE100SE etc. it's just not the same.

Tone Boosters Isone 3 is now part of their collection of free legacy plugins.

This video came up at just the right time as i'm currently in the rabbit hole of finding the right headphone for this purpose. I'm looking at planar magnetic technology as it has become quite affordable these days. Emrah Celik recommends the Hifiman Ananda Nano in particular. Have you tested any Hifiman stuff?

hey thanks great vid! Is there a good tutorial anywhere for the correct way to use can opener? that would be super helpful

Hi, thanks for the tutorial! I'm trying to decide between HD600 and HD650 but I can't: I listened to both of them and they both need an EQ correction (the 600 has a peak in the treble, and the 650 has a dip in the treble, plus both of them need more bass). The HD600 was flatter, but a little bit grainy and my ear hurt a little from the high mid/treble boost. On the other hand, the HD650 was a little bit darker/muffled, and the lead voice got pushed back behind the band/instruments (I actually heard it on the HD600 as well, but it was more noticeable on the HD650). It would really help me to understand - what made you choose the HD600 over the HD650? Thanks!

Thanks

Is there a specific preset or settings on Can Opener that you recommend? Thanks for this helpful video

Thanks!

Yes! Bra video! Jag gör 90 % av mina mix och mastringsjobb medelst lurar också. Lätt moddade AKG 702 och jag använder NX mest. Har även Sonarworks och dSonic men NX känns bäst för mig. Jag testade Slate VSX i flera veckor men de kändes lite overkill och "otydliga". Jag ska referera till din video nästa gång en klient rynkar på näsan när jag svarar ärligt på frågan om min studioutrustning, ha ha.

Awesome video! I'm a headphone producer/mixer myself and your explanation makes total sense to me. Are the CanOpener settings that you showed your normal settings? Amount is on 125% and Angle on 45 degrees?

Thank you! ^-^

Great video. Have you tried headphone amp with built in crossfeed like SPL Phonitor or something similar? Thanks

just a word of caution with Sonarworks. I've got three calibrated headphones. Now the individual calibration is so different from the average that were I to use an average profile with those headphones it would mess up the sound quite a lot...to a varying degree... LCD 2 classic for instance the high end is a lot different. Sennheiser HD800 totally different than the average. Sennheiser HD25 is quite close to the average, though. BTW the HD800 sounded extreemly weird with the calibration ...I ended up using my own EQ, based on the measurement. With the LCD2 it was quite OK, with the HD25 it is extreemly good.

Great video - would love your thoughts on my system - I use Neumann NDH 20 Studio Headphones with dSoniq Realphones Pro (as this software includes a profile for the headphones as well as 3D spacial simulation using crossfeed, very similar to Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room). I plug the headphones into my PreSonus Studio 24c as thats's a portable digital interface that is powered via USB-C Interface).

Very good! - Two doubts: 1. Do I need Amplifiers if I use AudioFuse Interface (using HD 600)? - 2. Audeze headphone is a correct investment to upgrade from HD 600? Thanks for the Cross Feed suggestion.

Excellent advice, thank you. I am using HD600, recently with correction too. I will add the crossfeed, as you suggest. Are you using the stock cable? I use the cable for HD650, it is slightly crisper in the highs.

Great ❤ video.

I watched the all vedio. Very helpful. Thanks. But one question: Is there a specific settings for GoodHz Plugin to work correctly?

Super helpful video, thanks! One question though - when working on monitors it’s really important to work to calibrated sound levels.... how do you calibrate your listening level for cans?

Great video and insights. How do you work with the frequencies below the range that the HD600 suffers with? It seems to not be a good headphone for sub frequencies and yet, a lot of EDM works in the low end? I have seen some suggestions of using a spectral analyzer and headphones that can work in these lower frequencies - if you have to master EDM and work in the sub frequencies do you wear another pair of headphones or do you have techniques to deal with this? Headphones were always suggested for this traditionally to me due to the expense of treating a room in these lower frequencies - could you explain what you would do here? Thanks for your insights!

Greetings, thank you for this video, you have convinced me to purchase the HD600s. Question please: I am running Cubase Pro 11 with a Focusrite 8i6 , what connectivity do you use to the DAW for the Mytek ? TIA for any input

Do you have any experience of hardware crossfeed circuits like in the SPL headphone amps? It would make jumping between speakers and headphones much faster. Great info on this channel, glad I discovered it!

allow me to add another thing :) ... that I feel is important when using headphones: measure your ears!!! Seriously. I've been keeping my phone to my left ear when having phone conversations...My left ear is a lot more sensitive to that area of the frequency range... About 6-7 db ... but the other parts of the frequency range my left ear is "weaker" than the right ear, with about 2-3 db. I guess I thought my brain to perceive sound differently with my left ear, to be more focused on hearing human voice, and filtering out a bit from the rest of the frequency range :)

Great video. Do you think you can share your exact settings for Crossfeed. I am using Beyerdynamic 1990s and Acustica Audios Sienna reference and rooms.

Are you exited about Acustica Audios convolution headphone correction/speaker simulation "Sienna" that's in beta testing phase atm? The beta testers are (as usual) reporting "a revolution" when it comes to using headphones for professional mixing/mastering. And since Acusticas technical approach somewhat differs from what's in the market now, it certainly caught my eye! Or ears..

Can you please share what settings for cross feed amount and angle you use in Can Opener? The fact that there’s not 1 objectively best setting that it just comes set with frustrates me.

Have you ever tried the SLATE VSX?

sir which headphone can i use for mixing. i have tight budget. plz suggest me

What are your bass and treble settings? I use Can Opener with the exact settings you showed on the screen and Sonarworks last in the chain but wondering what are the extra corrections / tweaks you said you use since you tweaked it to sound like your professional studio

your mastering course link is broken, thank u for teaching ~

Thanks a lot for that video ! What do you think about the ADAM Headphones ? I have a pair of very small ADAM speakers, and the high end IMHO sounds great (pleasant but nonetheless natural) for the rather low price. Hence Headphones on that technology might be a good idea. -Michael

great video, do you recommend getting headphones with 250 or 600 ohm?

Cross Feed before sonarworks? Or after? :)