These are all challenges that must be considered when establishing the stereo image on headphones. Additionally, center-panned mix elements sound like they’re out in front of us on a pair of monitors, while they sound like they’re in between our ears on headphones.

The stereo field sounds markedly wider on headphones than it does on a pair of studio monitors because the left and right channels are literally sitting on each side of our head. Stereo imaging is another major issue mixing with headphones presents. Again, this is something that has the potential to make or a break a mix if you’re compensating or making choices that won’t translate well to other speakers. What you will hear, however, is an openness you wouldn’t otherwise get with a narrower frequency range. It isn’t uncommon to see a rating of 5 Hz – 35 kHz, even though human ears aren’t capable of hearing that far up or down. Many headphones also have an extreme frequency response.

RELATED: Best Headphones for Music Production.

Plug headphones into monitor