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headphones

Neumann unveil their first-ever headphones

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Neumann headphones
Neumann NDH 20 Headphones

Neumann is well known for their microphones, but have never built headphones in the past. That has changed as they just revealed their first ever headphones – the NDH 20.

The headphones are foldable. Neumann uses new technology for maximum sensitivity and low distortion. The design is completed with a headband that is adjustable and made out of steel. The total price for the headphones is currently $500 which includes a cloth bag and two cords.

Key Takeaways:

  • The new headphone by Neumann has a closed-back and foldable design and it is essential for users who are studio-based who track and mix on headphones.
  • The headphones are different from the KH studio monitors because the manufacturers wanted to achieve high acoustic isolation and a neutral tone suited to reference monitoring.
  • The headphone has maximum sensitivity because it uses new 38 mm moving coil drivers with neodymium magnets along with an impressive flat frequency in the range 5Hz to 30KHz.

“Given that headphones are effectively ‘microphones in reverse’, it seems odd that mic legends Neumann had never manufactured any… until they announced the NDH20.”

Read more: https://www.soundonsound.com/news/neumann-unveil-their-first-ever-headphones

Is Getting A Good Mix Using Headphones Possible?

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Most professional mixing is done on speakers or monitors. However, sometimes it’s not always possible to mix that way and one is forced to use headphones.

The question is, is it possible to get a good mix using headphones only?
Yes, and no. Headphones are great for listening for specific mistakes in the mix, such as pops, breath, or inconsistencies one may miss while listening through speakers.
That said, they do have many negatives which make them the last option for mixing. However, it is possible to get a decent mix on headphones as long as you have another way to listen to the mix to check the sound before mastering.

Key Takeaways:

  • Headphones can be a necessary evil for producers, working overnight, near to sleeping families.
  • Establishing a reference point is vital to getting a good mix, this includes any set of speakers, even with headphones.
  • Headphones do have the upside of being useful for catching clicks, pops and inconsistencies, likely missed when listening with speakers only.

“You have a tendency to turn them up, which can lead to some quick ear fatigue, again limiting your ability to mix for long periods.

Read more: http://bobbyowsinskiblog.com/2017/05/31/mix-headphones/

Studio Headphones Being The Most Powerful Recording Tool

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Piano keyboard with headphones for music
Did you know that studio headphones can represent one of the most powerful tools you can have for home recording?
I know this sort of flies in the face of the traditional recording advice, which says that listening to audio through loudspeakers – so that the audio comes through the air – is the best way to mix. In fact some of the old wisdom says “never mix with headphones.” And if we all had perfect acoustic listening spaces, that would be decent advice.
But in home studios, we almost NEVER have ideal acoustical spaces in which to listen to our recorded audio so that it sounds accurate to our ears when we listen through monitor speakers. So headphones offer us a way to sort of offset the negative distortions that a poor listening room can have on our recordings.
Of course, headphones can distort the audio in their own way. So if you approach your final audio edits and mixes with this in mind – and also listen to test mixes in other environments (in the car, on the home stereo, etc.), you can be much closer to an accurate and “portable” (will sound good played on any system) final product.
One other way in which headphones can provide us with superior audio is when editing voiceover recordings. Music can easily mask little noises and imperfections in vocal recordings, such as p-pops, mouth noises, and background sounds like hiss, computer hum, etc. And even without music to hide these things, it can still be quite difficult to hear them with just speakers. Headphones brings these things front-and-center, allowing you to clean up your vocal nicely.
Here’s what Graham has to say about this in an article by The Recording Revolution.
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Some Tips On Setting Up Your Home Studio With Reaper

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PreSonus iTwo Complete Recording Kit
Presonus iTwo Hardware/Software Recording Kit

I received an email from a reader today asking me several questions about setting up a home studio. The reader wanted to know if these questions were covered in our course, The Newbies Guide To Audio Recording Awesomeness 2: Pro Recording With Reaper.
I decided to answer his questions in an email reply. That way he wouldn’t have to pay for the course :-). Plus, some of his questions were not specifically addressed in the course, so it was better just to address his questions one by one. Then I thought lots of other people might benefit from these answer, so I’m putting the entire Q&A in this post.
Here are the questions he asked:
I just purchased Reaper, and I have been messing around with it a bit. I have a couple questions, and I am wondering if your video series covers these:

  1. When I am recording vocals to a guitar track, do your videos explain how to split the headphones between the singer and the person working the program?
  2. Do your videos cover how to best record acoustic guitars?
  3. In addition to the speakers that came with the computer, I have two powered Roland studio speakers. Does your video tell how to add speakers to a system?
  4. I have a Presonus iTwo Studio, but when I plug the headphones into the jack on the iTwo, I get no sound at all. I have to plug into the speaker system via an RCA jack, and that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Here is my response and my answers:
Let me take your questions one by one. They are pretty specific, but to answer the question regarding whether the current Reaper course shows these things, I’d have to say it does not cover them all. However, some of these have been addressed in articles I’ve written – and those are free :). Let’s see if I can at least get you pointed in the right direction:
1. When I am recording vocals to a guitar track, do your videos explain how to split the headphones between the singer and the person working the program?
I’m not sure I understand exactly what you’re asking here. The course DOES show you how to record vocals to a guitar track. The assumption is that you would be both the performer AND the person working the program, but if there are two folks involved, the process is very simple: just get a headphone splitter. I got one at Radio Shack for a couple of bucks. First, plug the single 1/4-inch pin on the splitter into your interface’s “headphone” jack. Then, plug one set of headphones into one of the two output jacks in the splitter and the other set into the other jack. Give one set to the person recording the vocal and the other set to the person working Reaper. This is how I ALWAYS do it when I’m recording another person.
2. Do your videos cover how to best record acoustic guitars?
Actually, they do. Here is one article on the site: Tips For Recording Acoustic Guitar. I give a few paragraphs on my tips, and then link to an article about recording acoustic guitars from another author. Personally, I use a small-diaphragm condenser (Shure SM-81, in my case) pointed at about the 12th fret about 8 inches from the neck. Here is an article I wrote about using that mic to record guitar: Acoustic Guitar Mic. There is more detail in the other articles.
3. In addition to the speakers that came with the computer, I have two powered Roland studio speakers. Does your video tell how to add speakers to a system?
I honestly don’t remember, but I don’t think so. In either case, here is what I do. I have a small mixer for listening only – NOT for recording – so my interface “outputs” go into this mixer. I also have the computer’s own speakers hooked up to the mixer as well, though that channel is usually all the way down/off. My speakers, which are powered speakers like yours, are connected directly to the output of my mixer (which is a Mackie 1202VLZ, BTW).
4. I have a Presonus iTwo Studio, but when I plug the headphones into the jack on the iTwo, I get no sound at all. I have to plug into the speaker system via an RCA jack, and that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
This is actually addressed in the course (though not specifically about the iTwo – I can’t cover all interface units out there :-P) – but something is clearly wrong with your setup. Assuming you use a Windows computer, go into Audio Devices (via Control Panel) and make sure Windows shows your iTwo as an available playback device. If it doesn’t, THAT is your problem. You need to install the drivers for it (probably came with a disc?). If you do see it as an available device, set it as the default device. Then go into Reaper preferences and choose Audio, then Devices. Make sure you select “ASIO” and your iTwo as the audio device. Once all that is done, make sure the little knob over the headphone jack on the iTwo is turned up. I know that sounds silly, but stuff like that happens to me all the time. If you do all of that, things should work.
I hope this helps!
Cheers,
Ken