I am currently in the market for a new set of headphones because mine are fading out after many years of use and abuse. I will use them for mixing and mastering, so I want the truest sound. I don’t want anything exaggerated by the headphones and I am willing to pay the money for it. But of course, if you are an engineer or even a savvy producer or home musician, the first thing you are probably thinking is, Why the hell would you use headphones for mastering? And, you aren’t alone. I just read at least 5 pro blogs or expert forums that highly discouraged readers from using headphones when mastering. It isn’t that I don’t agree with the logic, like headphones don’t expose audio phase issues and don’t often give an accurate reflection of EQ (often tricking the engineer into unnecessarily reducing or increasing bass in the mix) but experts advising aspiring artists and producers against incorporating headphones into their mastering process need to get with the times.
Don’t get me wrong here, I will also use my studio monitors but what a lot of people don’t understand about the mastering process and probably why so few home studio recording artists do it well, is that you need to hear the music in most of the ways the listener will hear the music in order to deliver on their expectations. Today, that means headphones must be an essential component of your mastering regimen. I would hope that the reason for making headphones a part of this process is already glowingly apparent. It is a simple fact that with the immense growth of portable electronics, people aren’t listening to your music with a big amplifier and hi-fidelity speakers, so why would you only master that way.
Thanks to the massive penetration of the iPod and similar small MP3 players, most listeners have been using shitty ear buds for the past several years to listen to highly compressed audio. I am happy to see this situation is greatly improving as hi-fidelity light-weight headphones are making more of an appearance in workers’ cubicles, on trains, and in the coffee shop. Also, portable systems now have the storage space for larger less-compressed audio files. But, on the other end of the spectrum are the people who are opting to listen to music straight from the audio speakers on their smart phones, tablets, and laptops. I see it regularly now where someone is carrying their iPhone and listening to the audio via the 3 mm on-board speaker.
I think it is safe to say that even though the audio on these small devices is much better than it was just a short time ago thanks to some great engineering breakthroughs from companies like Bose, who specialize in making small sound sources sound huge, the end result is still far from the home stereo you probably had taking up a whole wall of your apartment in the 90’s. There just aren’t a lot of audiophiles in the general listening public these days. Today’s equivalent of quality home listening is a stereo docking station for portable devices, which is comparable to the fairly good quality book shelf systems that become popular space-savers in the late 90’s and early 00’s.
It is worth noting that the sophistication of the electronics encased in your portable device is probably superior to anything you had on a rack in the 90’s. When jacked into a respectable amp and set of speakers I’ll put the sound quality of the latest Sony Digital Walkman up against almost any home stereo of the 90’s and it won’t even be a fight. It is truly amazing the sound that can come out of these tiny machines when they can be exploited to their potential. On my original point however, that’s not how they will be used. They will nearly always be heard either through headphones, a docking station, or via the aux input on a car stereo.
Car stereo … I almost forgot to talk about that one. It just goes to stress the point that if you are mastering, you will benefit from monitoring your product in ALL of these environments. While car stereos can sound terrific, they will sound very different than your studio setup. Road and tire noise can have very similar frequencies to the bass in your recording and if the bass is mushy and too low versus having some punch, it can disappear in a car even though in the studio it may have sounded god-like. Newer cars are tighter and better insulated against exterior noise but a lot of your younger listeners won’t be in a new car.
The good news is you shouldn’t have to spend hours and hours monitoring your work in all these ways. Typically, if you can get a master that sounds very good on your monitors, a set of headphones, and your standard-issue computer speakers, it will sound good almost anywhere else. If you want added reassurance though, I highly recommend doing a quick pass, like fast forwarding between a few of your key tracks and critically listening (with maybe some comparison with a favorite artist of yours) for a minute or two using the following:
- Studio monitors
- Studio headphones
- Light-weight consumer headphones
- Ear buds
- Car stereo
- Audio docking station or shelf system
- Portable device on-board speakers
Lastly, if you like a particular set of headphones for their trueness of sound, I’d love to hear your recommendations. Again, I am looking for clarity and accuracy.
