The Avantone Mixphones are poised to be a fairly controversial product. Many engineers may chide you for attempting to do any serious mixing and tweaking of your sounds with headphones on. For every naysayer, however, it is now getting increasingly more common to find audio professionals who swear by working with a good set of reference headphones. The Avantone Mixphones fire a shot squarely across the bow of that debate. Here's what our many engineers think:
Comfort is Key
Some may find it odd to talk about the fit and finish first, but anyone who has tried to work with a set of headphones for an extended period of time knows how important the physical design is. The Avantone MP1s are an incredibly comfortable fit. I had absolutely no problem wearing the Avantones for a few hours. They were snug, but not tight enough to cause ear pain. The MP1s were tight enough to feel like they weren’t going anywhere, but not so tight as to cause physical ear fatigue.
Does it Blend?
Of course the elephant in the room that needed to be addressed right away was, “can you accurately mix with these?” I’m happy to say that mixing with the MP1s is definitely possible. The three-way toggle switch allows you to cycle between stereo, mix, and mono mode. The ‘mix’ mode focuses the mid-range to sound more like the Avantone Mixcube monitors. The ‘mix’ mode was neutral enough on the lows and highs to make me feel very confident that time mixing with the MP1s is time well spent.
The Build
The MP1s are absolutely rock solid. These headphones feel extremely durable. The two included headphone cables connect with a screw jack which defeats the chance of the cable accidentally coming out. The cables themselves feel extremely sturdy and well made, particularly at the ends where many headphone cables tend to fray over time.
Conclusion
At this price point, it’s kind of hard to beat the MP1s. The verdict may be out whether or not you personally believe that doing a full on mix with headphones on is possible—but we can tell you that you absolutely won’t be wasting your time getting work done with the MP1s on your ears. They’re an absolute steal.
The Avantone Pro MP-1 MixPhones Multi-Mode Reference Headphones with Vari-Voice come in 2 different colors: Creme and Black.
Order your Avantone Pro MP-1 Mixphones Today!
