Why the headphones I use matter more than ever
The way I work evolved a lot over the last two decades...
I no longer need a big studio to record an album, just as I no longer need a big control room to edit, mix and even master. As a mixing engineer working in both studio and live environments, I have to be able to do almost anything audio while on the road.
And although it sounds straightforward (just grab a pair of headphones and a laptop, add an audio interface and you’re done, right?)—it comes with a unique set of challenges. One of these is choosing the right headphones to get the job done.
There are three key factors I take into account: fidelity, imaging, and robustness.
Fidelity means lowest linear and non-linear distortion possible—specifically what I care about the most is even frequency response and precision on transients. Good headphones are like a magnifying glass compared to speakers. Excellent headphones are more like a variable zoom microscope—and frankly, there are quite many models to choose from.
But most of the time, it all comes at a big cost: imaging.
We all know Spatial Audio is taking off big time, and stereo will eventually become legacy. It's extremely inconvenient to travel around the globe with a set of 7.1.4 speakers. And even if you do—you’d better double-check your immersive mix on headphones anyway. Translation to binaural is crucial for 99% of the audience.
That means I need not only good imaging for stereo, but outstanding imaging to handle immersive audio. This plus fidelity limits my choices to just a handful of products—which all happen to be both: extremely expensive and… fragile!
And that’s my third point: Even the best headphones are useless if broken.
I need headphones built to last, so I always had to sacrifice quality over durability. It used to be a “pick any two” decision to make… until the X1!
OLLO Audio has changed the game—now I have it all.
Photos and words by: Patryk Tyzla
