Re: [microsound] {OT} Headphones....

[ndk <ndkent@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > But for monitoring/reference listening, I would NEVER use any pair of
> 
> > headphones though.. imho, it just isn't working. Nothing beats a nice pair
> > of nearfields, especially during a mixdown of mastering-session..
> 
> it's true. for something you plan to release, it's unwise to mix on
> headphones only. headphones do odd things to bass response and the
> stereo field. for mixing, you want to really hear what's going on
> accurately, clinically.

Though just like monitors there is quite a range of quality in
headphones. I'd never trust any sole output for something critical
(unless circumstances are very unusual, like something site and gear
specific and you have access to the site or gear).

>From my attempts to mix with just quality headphones, I do agree there
is an issue with the balance of bass levels. I'm not sure I could
attribute that to channel phase problems that could conceivably be
audible in the open air but not with the channels pretty much isolated
in headphones, but one may very well expose phase problems that ought to
be corrected when using monitors. 

On the other hand, issue of the stereo space can easily be overlooked
with just using nearfields. One can get some idea of the stereo space
from nearfields ut ine can just as easily go on their way and ignore the
stereo field or even worse perhaps mix something that sounds "wrong" or
haphazard in headphones. I can also spot when wearing headphones many
mixes made from multitracks that were never monitored with anything
giving a quality stereo response and they can be characterized by a flat
or muddled stereo space.

> i seem to remember "composer" phillip glass (gaah! ...can't even bring
> myself to say his name) releasing material mixed "for walkman use only"

Ummm some missing context might help. Glass was doing that in the
imediate pre-CD era where the formats were mass duplicated retail
cassette and LP. Both needed some help in terms of reproduction. It
seems quite reasonable that the bulk of cassette buyers wanted material
for walkman listening and its commendable that he's care enough to make
that experience, with its often cheap headphones and general poor
quality of commercial american tape duplication optimized. I don't have
an actual Glass cassette release handy to quote the wording but I don't
remember it as saying "for walkman use only", I suspect it said
something more along the lines of "special mix optimized for walkman®
use" and I'm sure he took advantage of spreading his material more
interestingly in the stereo space. 

> I don't want to start a flame war, and Mr. Glass certainly doesn't need anyone
> to defend him, but I consider "Metamorphosis Two" from _Solo Piano_ to be one of
> the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.  _Koyaanisqatsi_ changed my
> life when I first saw it over a decade ago, and after seeing his ensemble
> perform the score live with the film last year, my fiance and I were in tears.
> 

As for seeing him live, I have and one does get the sense of
definitiveness (and I was part of a TV performance once when I was just
a couple feet in back of him doing my part as the on-camera audience so
it was weird that I saw mostly the back of his head but I also had some
feeling of his POV of the keys). Still to be honest its clear that he
rightly does not give himeself his own most demanding material as I'd
consider him effective but not superb as a performer on his own work,
but of couse if you add his ensemble with some of its members spending
decades performing the works one does have a thoroughly effective team.
As a solo performer its a quite strange experience in that I get the
feeling he's working at it and struggling a bit, so in one sense it
humanizes the work but perhaps in another I got the feeling its a little
bit taxing for him to play it without mistakes so that doesn't leave the
same room for a more interpreted performance while on the other hand the
majority of his music really isn't imho that suited for a broadly
expressive performance to begin with.

It does bring up issues of actually performing your material yourself
and the interesting and perhaps very fruitful situation of having a
skilled performer perform the music rather than say the common default
today of programming software to do the "performing".

nicholas kent

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