okay, this is one of those things that seems very obvious but probably have some sort of easy logical refutation
So lets say I am mixing on headphones. Okay, there r some inherent issues there of course. So for the moment lets IGNORE the stereo field type issues and just focus on the EQ issues
Why cant I simply find out the EQ curve of the 'phones and then go put in the opposite EQ in my master FX just while im mixing?
Wouldnt that at least put me closer ot the truth?
Thanks, JJ
If you could get an accurate picture of the eq curve of your headphones, dunno how you would do it accurately?.. Or you could just get https://store.sonarworks.com/collections/headphone-calibration/products/sonarworks-reference-3-headphone-plugin and be done with it. (this works well in the HD650’s i have) or you can send them to get your own H-phones calibrated… (like you are trying to achieve manually)
well i wasnt thinking of anything super microscopically accurate. I was thinking of more or less looking up the response on a manufacturers website. Say it had a mild bump at 1.6khz…then we take out a bit of 1.6khz etc
Give it a shot and see how the mix translates, don’t forget to post your results 
No. Because there’s more going on there than the curve, even excluding imaging problems.
I have Ultimate Ear E-11’s. They’re $1300 headphones for lack of a better term. They’re as accurate as an IEM will get, and they’re easily flatter than a pair of Senheisers or Focals. I could probably learn to mix on these, because of the extensive degree of detail, and because I’m pretty good at mixing, but that’s just not what they’re for. Its just not the best tool for the job.
I had the curve adjusted on the right ear because I accidentally shot myself in the head back in 2007 and have some hearing loss in one ear. The curve helps compensate for the stupidity of a handgun accident, and it helps make things more audible, but it doesn’t actually make a better translation.
Yeah…go for it Jon…you don’t have much to loose by trying 
haha, gee thanks
and glad youre still with us lol
I think you win the award for getting the most frustrated during mixing.
I will +1 the Sonarworks plug. Picked it up not long ago and if your phones are in their list (which you can determine on their site before you commit) it will be helpful for sure. Will give you a closer reproduction of a generic near-field experience. Yes, not a full substitute for the real deal but for those who are constrained to be on phones a lot, not at all a bad approach.
No guns though ok! I just have tinnitus like a F*cker… never managed to eq that out!
“Bring me the asians?” lol. WTF?
Brandon Drury (the Recording Review guy) took his frustration in a different direction. Your post reminded me of this infamous clip we’re all too familiar with lol
yeah I noticed there seems to be 4-5 of these type plug ins out there. WavesNX and others
I’ve experimented with this one as well, but it’s a lot more fiddly to use. To get the most out of it, one needs a camera placed quite precisely that is then calibrated/co-registered with your head position so that it can “see” where your head is turning and adjust the sound accordingly. I don’t have a cam on my music rig and never have gotten around to borrowing my wife’s to check it out… The Sonarworks plug is much simpler, just drop it on the master-out as the very last thing (and be sure to de-activate it before mixdown). YMMV as the saying goes…
Preacher said “Bring me the agents.” The other guy misheard him. Pretty funny stuff.
Yeah I have tinnitus all the time. I don’t notice it any more. I thought it would have a huge impact on my mixing skills , but so far no-one’s commented on strange eq choices on my mixes. A lot of other stuff might be wrong, but I’m not overdoing higher fq’s as you might imagine. I think it comes down to comparing to reference tracks. If it sounds like your comparable favourites you’re OK. That applies to any monitors or headphones. I’m not sure if a 100% flat response is essential. After all, its not just the eq but also the dynamic response which defines monitors or headphones.
One thing that is causing a lot of my mixing problems is that my below 150 Hz decisions in the studio are not translating to the real world. My monitors don’t go down very far (5 inch speakers) and the subwoofer is still on my whish list. I own a couple of headphones. Best sounding are my AKG 702 's, but they lack definition in the lower fq’s… I have some cheap cans (Presonus something) that I bought as a spare to track that do go way down to about 30 Hz. I found out they’re useful to hear what’s going on in the lower regions (just forget about the upper fq’s). But despite my insights in lower eq’s, my decisions are still not translating very well. To put it frankly: I’m guessing… What to do?
Any-one got any ideas? My worry is that if I cash out for a subwoofer my relatively small room and insufficiently effective bass traps will be the limiting factor.
I must admit that so far I haven’t been very serious about comparing to familiar songs of others. Maybe I should just put in some time.
I have this same problem, although it starts for me in the 300 Hz range. My Achilles’ Heel for sure… I think a sub is what I need as well…
yes i had these issues too and a sub helped out big time! (i have the Focal CMS, its great) Also either ARC 2 or Sonarworks , id be stuffed without it!!. And finally a reference track.
I used to guess too often too…What fixed my issue is below.