The Self-Recording Band Podcast: Mixing on headphones
We recently joined Benedict and co-host Manel Espinosa Binger on a recent episode of The Self-Recording Band Podcast, a show dedicated to helping DIY musicians create professional-sounding records. diving deep into the world of self-recording, mixing, and production.
Rok shared his journey of starting OLLO and why he felt the need to create a new kind of studio headphone. His story began when he became a father to twins. Mixing on speakers was no longer an option with babies around, so he turned to headphones - but he quickly realized that finding a good pair for mixing was no easy task.
The Challenge of Mixing on Headphones
For those used to mixing on speakers, headphones present a unique challenge. Speakers provide a tactile experience—you feel the bass in your chest, the vibrations through the room. Headphones strip that away, making it harder to judge balance, depth, and stereo imaging.
Rok's struggle to find headphones that translated well to other listening environments led him down a rabbit hole of research. He experimented with different designs, learned about tactile transducers (subwoofers that add physical vibrations), and eventually developed the OLLO Audio headphones, designed to give mixing engineers an accurate and reliable tool for working in any environment.
Why Quality Headphones Matter
This conversation highlights an important truth: the right gear can make or break your creative process. Investing in a well-designed pair of headphones—whether OLLO or another trusted brand—can provide a more reliable and inspiring mixing experience.
So if you’re serious about making music, it might be time to consider whether your gear is holding you back—or pushing you forward.
From a Garage to a Global Brand: The Story of OLLO Audio
Most great ideas start with curiosity. For OLLO Audio, it began with a simple yet ambitious question: how do you bring the immersive sound of a studio environment into a headphone experience? That journey led to not just a company but a revolution in how musicians and engineers approach mixing.
The Birth of OLLO Audio
Before OLLO became a recognized name in the world of professional audio, its founder, Rok, was experimenting with tactile transducers—silent devices that push vibrations directly into materials rather than into the air. The idea was to recreate the feel of a studio’s deep, immersive sound at high volumes but in a personal, headphone-like format. While that initial experiment didn’t perform as expected, it led to a crucial discovery: learning how sound behaves in headphones versus speakers.
That curiosity soon evolved into a hands-on project—building headphones for personal use, testing, and refining them. Friends started asking for their own pairs, and before long, what started as a passion project in a garage became a full-fledged business. One year later, OLLO Audio was born.
Built for Engineers, Designed for Durability
From the very first prototypes, OLLO’s approach was about more than just great sound. The earliest models, handcrafted in Rok’s father’s garage, were built with nuts, bolts, and whatever tools were available. That hands-on, exploratory mindset became a defining philosophy: headphones should be durable, fully repairable, and made to last.
This is why every OLLO model today is designed with replaceable parts, making them some of the most sustainable and long-lasting headphones on the market. In fact, OLLO is so confident in their durability that they offer a five-year warranty.
More Than Just Sound – Aesthetic and Sustainability
It’s not just about how they sound—it’s about how they feel and how they’re made. OLLO headphones avoid plastic as much as possible, using metal and wood to create a design that’s both visually striking and built for longevity. Easy to dismantle, easy to repair—ensuring that every pair can stand the test of time.
The Meaning Behind the Name
Ever wondered what OLLO stands for? It’s actually a combination of the names of Rok’s twin sons—Oliver and Lev. When looking for a brand name, he wanted something that was easy to pronounce worldwide, visually appealing, and carried personal meaning. Thus, OLLO was born.
The Future of OLLO
From a garage-built prototype to a global brand trusted by professionals, OLLO Audio has stayed true to its roots—creating high-quality, sustainable, and repairable headphones that redefine how we experience sound. The journey that started with a question continues to push boundaries, proving that passion, experimentation, and craftsmanship can lead to something truly extraordinary.
Headphones vs. Monitors: Which Is Better for Mixing?
The eternal debate among engineers—should you mix on headphones or speakers? The answer, as always, is: it depends.
For those working in well-treated studios with high-end monitors, speakers provide a natural sense of space and depth. But for many, an untreated room can introduce unwanted reflections and inaccuracies. That’s where headphones come in—they remove the room from the equation, allowing for precise detail and consistency.
Many engineers, like Manel, rely heavily on headphones for up to 80% of their mixing work, only switching to monitors for final checks. This workflow allows them to mix reliably no matter where they are—whether in a home studio, on the road, or in a less-than-perfect acoustic environment.
The best solution? A combination of both. Use headphones for accuracy, but check on speakers to ensure a mix translates well in different listening environments.
The Difference Between Standard and Professional Headphones
A common question is: why invest in high-end headphones when standard ones seem to do the job? The answer is simple—professional headphones are built for accuracy, reliability, and longevity.
Unlike consumer-grade headphones, which are mass-produced with loose quality control (often just a pass/fail test to ensure they produce sound), professional headphones undergo meticulous tuning and testing. Two pairs of consumer headphones, even of the same model, can sound noticeably different. This inconsistency makes them unsuitable for professional work, where precision is everything.
Trust and Reliability in Professional Audio
For an audio engineer, trusting your equipment is crucial. A professional headphone must provide a consistent, unaltered reference. If your headphones introduce even slight inaccuracies, your entire mix could translate poorly on other systems. Beyond sound quality, durability is another key factor. A professional-grade headset must withstand daily use, travel, and the occasional accident—whether it's being sat on, yanked by a cable, or even stolen.
The Role of Customer Support in Professional Gear
One often-overlooked aspect of professional headphones is the support behind them. When deadlines are tight and you’re on the road, you can’t afford to be left without functional gear. Consumer models are widely available, but high-end headphones require specialized service and parts. Having access to immediate repairs, spare parts, or even replacement units can be the difference between meeting a deadline or missing an opportunity.
Beyond Frequency Response: What Makes a Great Headphone?
Many assume that a flat frequency response is the ultimate goal for a professional headphone. While it's important, it's not the only factor. Even if two different models measure similarly flat, their performance can still differ dramatically.
Much like studio monitors in a treated room, the quality of sound isn’t just about frequency balance—it’s about clarity, distortion control, and transient response. A well-designed headphone ensures that sound remains clean, with minimal distortion and accurate transient reproduction. The way the air moves within the earcup, how reflections are managed, and even how tightly the headphones seal against your ears all contribute to the final sound experience.
For example, wearing glasses can create a tiny gap between the earpads and your head, which drastically reduces bass response. Similarly, shifting the position of headphones even slightly can alter how high frequencies are perceived. These details are why high-end headphones focus on consistency, precision, and optimized acoustics beyond just having a 'flat' tuning.
Why Do High-Quality Headphones Cost What They Do?
High-quality materials, craftsmanship, and attention to detail naturally raise production costs. While mass-market brands can rely on economies of scale, boutique companies take a different approach. By keeping operations small and specialized, they optimize every step of the process—from design to assembly, quality control, and customer support.
In the case of OLLO, the combination of premium materials like wood and metal, handcrafted assembly, and European-based production results in a product that is both high-end and affordable within its class. Unlike mass-market brands, where cost-cutting leads to compromises, OLLO balances quality and price through careful optimization.
At the end of the day, a $500 professional headphone might seem expensive—but when you factor in durability, performance, and long-term reliability, it’s an investment that pays off in precision and trust. By prioritizing accuracy and quality over flashy marketing trends, boutique manufacturers create tools that professionals can rely on for years.
The Challenge of Consistency and Calibration
Even among high-end headphones, minor variations exist between units due to production tolerances. This is why calibration tools like Sonarworks exist—not to 'enhance' sound, but to ensure consistency. Sonarworks corrects these tolerances, ensuring your headphones deliver a neutral, reliable response. Even after calibration, tolerances of up to 3dB can remain, which demonstrates how significant these natural deviations are.
Why It All Matters
For professionals, high-quality headphones are not a luxury—they are a necessity. The ability to trust what you hear, rely on durable materials, and access proper support ensures that your workflow remains uninterrupted. Investing in professional headphones means investing in accuracy, efficiency, and longevity, all of which directly impact the quality of your work.
Whether you're mixing in a studio or producing on the road, having the right tools can make all the difference. And when sound is your business, compromise is not an option.
The Challenges of Mixing on Headphones
Many engineers, especially those working in home studios, rely heavily on headphones. One of the key benefits is that headphones remove the room from the equation, providing a reliable monitoring system unaffected by acoustics. However, there are challenges too.
One of the biggest issues is the lack of crosstalk—on speakers, even hard-panned sounds are heard by both ears due to natural reflections and blending in the room. On headphones, left and right are entirely isolated, creating a different stereo image. This can lead to common mixing mistakes, such as making center-panned elements (like kick, snare, and vocals) too loud because the separation is so distinct that side-panned elements feel quieter than they actually are.
Another challenge is low-end perception. When mixing on speakers, especially with a subwoofer, you can feel the bass frequencies physically. On headphones, that sensation is lost, which can make balancing low-end elements more difficult.
The Advantages of Mixing on Headphones
Despite the challenges, there are plenty of reasons why engineers choose to mix primarily on headphones. For one, they provide unmatched detail and clarity, making it easier to fine-tune panning effects and subtle reverb tails. When traveling or working in untreated rooms, headphones offer a consistent monitoring environment, ensuring that mixes remain reliable across different setups.
There are also tools available to help compensate for headphone-specific issues. Some software solutions simulate crosstalk and room acoustics, making the headphone mixing experience feel more like a speaker setup. Additionally, a trained ear can learn to recognize and compensate for headphone limitations over time.
The Real Goal: Translation Across Systems
At the end of the day, the goal isn’t to achieve a perfect mix—because that’s impossible. Every playback system, whether it’s a pair of high-end studio monitors, a car stereo, or a cheap Bluetooth speaker, will sound different. The real challenge is creating a mix that translates well across multiple systems.
That’s why experienced engineers constantly check their mixes on different devices, whether it’s headphones, speakers, or even a phone’s built-in speaker. The key is to ensure that no essential elements—like bass depth, vocal clarity, or stereo width—are completely lost, no matter where the mix is played.
So, should you mix on headphones or speakers? The answer isn’t black and white. Ideally, a combination of both will provide the most balanced results. But with the right approach, headphone mixing can be just as effective as working on speakers—if not more so in certain situations.
The Evolving Landscape of Audio Mixing: Speakers, Headphones, and Translation
As audio engineers, we all know the constant balancing act between gear and the actual sound we’re crafting. The pursuit of a perfect mix often leads us down a rabbit hole of better speakers, more accurate rooms, or the latest headphones. But in the end, the essence of the music remains the same: How does it make the listener feel? Whether it’s on high-end speakers, earbuds, or in the car, the goal is always to translate that emotional vibe, that connection to the listener, no matter the device.
When it comes to mixing, most of us have a preferred setup—be it headphones or speakers. But one thing becomes clear: it’s not just about the gear you use, it’s about understanding the environment in which you’re mixing. Translation is a key term in this discussion. Translation refers to how well your mix carries across different listening systems and environments. Some engineers swear by their personal setup, mixing exclusively in a room with speakers they know inside out, refusing to trust unfamiliar spaces, no matter how calibrated the gear may be.
But what is translation? It’s about ensuring that the emotional response you want your listeners to have stays consistent across different mediums. Your mix may sound dramatically different on headphones than on speakers, but the feeling—the vibe—should remain the same. This emotional through-line is what makes a song resonate, regardless of whether it’s being played on a high-fidelity system or a cheap pair of earbuds. The listener won’t notice the technical differences; they’ll only care whether they connect with the song or not.
For many engineers, mixing on unfamiliar speakers or in a different room can be nerve-wracking. Even a minor change in your environment, like switching desks or adjusting speaker placement, can make you second-guess your decisions. This is where headphones can offer a sense of control. They remove the complexities of room acoustics and speaker translation, offering a more predictable, consistent listening experience. But even with headphones, there’s always the question: What’s the best way to use them?
Some engineers lean into tools like Sonarworks, Waves NX, or RealPhones for room emulation and calibration. These tools can simulate how your mix would sound in various environments, giving you a better sense of how it might translate when played back through different systems. For instance, the X1 headphones, an evolution of the S4 and S5 models, are specifically designed with personal audio monitoring in mind, offering built-in calibration options and room emulation through RealPhones software. This makes it easier than ever to simulate how your mix might sound in different spaces, with customizable target curves for a variety of listening environments.
But is it necessary? Not for everyone. Some engineers prefer to skip these tools, trusting their personal setups to deliver the most accurate results. For others, it’s about experimenting and finding what works best for them, even if it means stepping outside the comfort zone. With the X1, you have the option of mixing with or without additional calibration, letting you stay true to your own methods while taking advantage of the latest advancements in headphone technology.
Ultimately, the conversation about translation, headphones, and speakers boils down to one simple truth: It’s all about confidence in your decisions. Whether you're working with trusted speakers in your well-known space or experimenting with headphones and calibration software, the key is trusting the gear and the process to deliver the emotional response you’re aiming for. Because at the end of the day, the real question isn’t how your mix sounds, it’s how it makes the listener feel.
Whether you choose to embrace the latest tech or stick to your tried-and-true methods, the goal remains the same: to create music that resonates with people, no matter where or how they’re listening.