Mixing with headphone calibration software like Sonarworks has helped me a ton with my mixes! Now I can mix with headphones like a pro! Leaving the environment of giant commercial studios to travel the world and mix on headphones came with limitations. The combination of Sonarworks & Audio Hijack has helped me to overcome those limitations.
More Than Just Mixing… Referencing!
So before you just purchase Sonarworks and throw it in your DAW, you have to think about how it will affect your reference mixes. When I use reference mixes I need to be able to move between my reference and my mix quickly. This is one of the reasons why I don’t like importing my references into my DAW.
Most people just throw Sonarworks onto their track and start mixing. That’s a bad idea. Let me tell you why below…
Watch Video Below:
Headphone Calibration Software Combo
So you see that the combination of Sonarworks headphone calibration software and Audio Hijack is an extremely powerful tool. Audio Hijack has saved my life in the digital realm. By applying yet another analog mindset in a digital world (like I teach in Mix Hacking), I’m able to get creative with how I handle my audio tasks in the box.
In the end, it is all about retaining clarity in your mix decisions. I won’t lie to you, I love mixing on big speakers in professionally treated rooms. Sonarworks has given me and every engineer working on headphones an advantage.
Don’t Forget Your Mixing Mindset
Do you remember that one time that I set out to mix a song, arrived at my destination, opened up my laptop, and forgot my headphone adapter?! Instead of being defeated, I pulled out my Apple Earbuds and mixed away.
By the end of the day, I had a mix that was about 80-85% of the way there. Why am I telling you this? Because I don’t want you to be discouraged if you don’t have the “right tools” yet! That last percentage of my mix came together with ease once I used my Sonarworks, Sennheiser HD650, and Audio Hijack combo.
That last percentage of my mix came together with ease once I used my Sonarworks, Sennheiser HD650, and Audio Hijack combo! If you can afford to scoop these up, I recommend them as a worth upgrade. If you can’t afford to grab them right now then don’t let that stop you from making great music TODAY!
Here is the video below where I mixed the song on my Apple Earbuds.
Do you like mixing on headphones on speakers? Do you own a pair of high fidelity headphones that could benefit from Sonarworks?