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Hear your music as it really sounds

30.05.2011
In the recording studio, producers and engineers listen to their mixes through many different types of speakers, hoping to find a happy place where the music sounds the best it can, in as many listening situations as possible. For many home studios (like mine, for instance) space and budgetary limitations can make this difficult.

Folks wanting to mix on the road, or after the kids go to bed, face even greater challenges and generally rely solely on their headphones. Many headphones, however are designed to deliver pleasing sound--not necessarily accurate sound. When looking for a set of reference monitors, either headphone or powered speakers, you really want something offering a wide, natural frequency response to help expose--not cover up--the true sound of your recordings.

At Macworld Expo this year I ran into some interesting and affordable equipment designed to help with these tasks and I've finally had the chance to check them out.

, makers of powered studio monitors ranging from $300 to $5000 a pair, now offer headphones designed to provide a similar natural frequency response to their studio monitors. The $150 KRK KNS-8400 monitoring headphones feature memory foam earcups, making them comfortable for long sessions while offering up to 30dB of noise isolation. The headphones come with a removable 8.2-foot cable with an 1/8-inch miniplug. A 1/4-inch screw-on adapter is also included, as is a 29-inch extension cable with inline volume controls.

Listening to my mixes on these headphones was a real ear-opening experience. I soon realized that the headphones I was using were heavy on the low end and a little overdriven. And while I could mix songs to sound good on these headphones, I was often dissatisfied when I listened to the songs in other locations. With the KRKs I was able to hear more of the high end without the bass turning to mush.

But even if you have a great set of monitoring headphones, you're still stuck with a single reference point. With its new , Focusrite aims to help both mobile mixers and home recorders on a budget hear their music on 10 different virtual reference monitors (VRM)--ranging from low-end desktop computer speakers to flat screen TV speakers to incredibly expensive monitors used in high-end studios around the world--all from their laptop. Using the included software, you can also choose from three environments to listen in--living room, bedroom, and professional studio.