Studio headphones are created to reproduce sound as precisely as possible. They are used for audio recording and mixing. The precision allows sound professionals to discover and correct audio faults. It also assists them in obtaining the greatest audio mix for the final recording.
You’re obviously wondering that all headphones are designed to reproduce realistic sound. But that’s not totally correct. If it hasn’t clarified things for you, you should keep reading.
What Are Studio Headphones?
Let’s start by understanding what we mean when we talk about studio headphones.
Studio headphones are the sort of headphones that are commonly used in recording studios. They are the headphones that the sound engineer and music producer use, although musicians also wear them when recording songs.
Studio headphones are not the same as conventional headphones for listening to music. Perhaps the most noticeable change is the precision with which sound is reproduced.
Studio headphones faithfully reproduce the performance or recording without any embellishment. Call it precise, pure, or raw. But you get the point. With studio headphones, you’ll be able to hear the performance just as it was recorded.
Related Post: How to Choose Studio Headphones
Why Do Studio Headphones Need Such Accuracy?
The answer leads us directly to the objective of studio headphones, which is:
Mixing
When you mix audio, you will join recorded sounds to create the final output. As a result, altering the volumes of individual tracks may be necessary. Alternatively, determining the best balance between each element in the mix within the stereo sound field.
When mixing audio, it’s critical to be able to hear everything on each track in its original form. You won’t obtain the desired outcome if your headphones distort the audio, like normal headphones do. So, while using standard headphones, you’re hearing an altered version of the recording rather than the original.
As a result, studio headphones with a flat frequency response are required for mixing. This means that all frequencies will have equal significance. As a result, a dominating frequency conceals or obscures nothing.
Hearing the original recordings allows you to correctly analyze the recording, allowing you to optimize the quality and effect of the mix.
Monitoring
Monitoring in music production is listening for problems in the performance. A fault might be a performer who hits the wrong note. Alternatively, it might be an undesirable noise.
Because studio headphones have a flatter frequency response, you will hear everything. This is due to the fact that they will duplicate all of the sounds picked up by the microphone, including any faults.
And this is critical since it is the purpose of monitoring. Specifically, to listen to the audio attentively in order to remove quality flaws and stray noises.
When recording, you may experience a variety of noise concerns. And these are the kinds of sounds you don’t want on your finished product. So you don’t want headphones that cover them up.
Here are some examples of annoying sounds you could hear while recording:
- Studio headphones can assist adjust speaker or microphone location and settings, reducing feedback.
- A performer brushing up to the microphone will cause an undesirable sound to be recorded: Studio headphones will catch up on this, allowing you to correct the performer’s posture.
- Squeaks and creaks from the equipment: If you use conventional headphones, you may miss these.
- You don’t want crackling sounds generated by broken wires or connections on your recording. However, studio headphones will assist you in detecting them and resolving the issue.
- Interference from other devices: Perhaps someone forgot to turn off their cell phone. Interference with other electrical equipment may result, which studio headphones will detect.
- Ground loops or other electrical faults can generate humming or buzzing noises that are often too low to notice without studio headphones.
Recording
You’ve probably observed musicians wearing headphones in the studio. They aren’t wearing them to listen to their favorite radio show while working.
As a result, when overdubbing, which is the approach employed for the majority of current music recordings, performers in the recording studio use headphones.
As an example, consider a vocalist who is recording their vocals. They’ll hear a pre-recorded tape of the instruments that will be used in the final mix. As a result, they’ll sing to that recording rather than the live instruments.
They might also be hearing a click track, which is a recording that helps a performer keep time with a pre-recorded track and is also played through headphones.
It’s obvious that playing pre-recorded or click tunes over speakers is pointless. You’d hear those tracks on your recording if you did. That is something you do not desire.
That’s when closed-back studio headphones come in handy. They make it possible for the performer to hear the pre-recorded and click tracks. They do, however, keep such tracks from seeping into the recording.
Similarly, such headphones shut out annoying outside sounds. As a result, the performer hears only the background and click tracks and can concentrate on their performance.
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50X are popular closed-back studio headphones for recording. They’re highly rated, yet they’re not expensive, making them excellent for home studios.
Do regular headphones accurately reproduce sound?
No, not really. Of course, a good set of normal headphones will provide you with an excellent sound experience. But it doesn’t guarantee they’re telling you the truth. Most conventional headphones, you see, are designed to generate attractive sounds. However, such lovely sounds aren’t always accurate to the original performance.
Regular headphones use a little artistic license to provide consumer-friendly sounds. Regular headphones do this by enhancing certain frequencies, such as the bass and treble. What you wind up with is a more bassy sound than you would hear with normal headphones.
Of course, the enhanced bass provided by your standard headphones may sound fantastic. However, the enhanced bass may not have been there in the original recording.
As a result, what you hear with conventional headphones may be of high quality and appealing to the ear. However, it is not a faithful replica of the original audio.
Studio headphones, on the other hand, do not favor one frequency over another. That is, their frequency response is flatter. That is, you will hear noises that are faithful to the source. You’ll also hear sounds that you wouldn’t hear with normal headphones.
Because boosting portions of the frequency spectrum might result in the concealment of others. The next section will explain why this is not desired for studio headphones.
Can You Listen to Music with Studio Headphones?
If you enjoy bass, you should generally avoid using studio headphones for regular music listening.
As previously stated, conventional headphones alter the frequency range. Typically, this is towards the low end, specifically the bass. This is because such changes give a recording a warmer tone. As a result, it is more attractive to the majority of music listeners.
Studio headphones don’t have it since they don’t change the frequency range.
Listening to music using studio headphones will provide a totally distinct sound. To be honest, it’s unlikely to be as enjoyable as listening to music using ordinary headphones.
However, just because it is different from what you are used to does not imply that it is a terrible thing. So, experiment with studio headphones.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of the function of studio headphones. They are used for audio recording, monitoring, and mixing. The flatness of their frequency spectrum allows for precise sound reproduction. This covers all noises, including ones you don’t want on the final product.
This is critical in music production since you need to hear warts and all sounds to completely maximize the finished outcome.