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Helix sounds dull through my studio monitors but great on headphones


davidderekmoss
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I am having a frustrating time with my Helix. I have a set of Rokit KRK headphones  and my patches sound great through these headphones - lots of clarity/detail in the amp modelling etc. 

When I hook up my studio monitors - Rokit 6 KRK's - the resulting sound has far more less clarity/and sounds a bit dull to my ears. Anyone else had similar problems, I have looked on the forum and most people have the opposite problem ie Helix sounds great through monitors but bad through headphones. Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated. 

 

 

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What headphones? Many headphones have really hyped bass and treble response (the classic smiley-face EQ), so that prerecorded music sounds good, but they are misleading when used for monitoring.

 

Basically, you need to use your monitors when setting up your tones. Whether or not the tones translate to the headphones is somewhat irrelevant. They might sound OK or they might not.

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thanks for this. They are KRK's KNS 6400 - I think they are meant to be monitoring headphones, but everything does sound amazing through them. 

 

I am sure the amp modelling looses its clarity through the monitors and sounds dull to start off with. Same with my JTV variax guitar, sounds great through the headphones, dull /lacking clarity/definition through the monitors - very annoying as both the Helix and the variax sound great through headphones. 

 

Could the monitors just be rubbish and dull sounding to start off with? If I got an FRFR speaker would this sound more like my headphones? 

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What about the sound of the monitors simply playing recorded music? If they even sound dull in this case, i would think about a bad construction or a broken tweeter.

Are there any switchable EQ-presets on the monitors?

If headphones and monitors have different characteristics and you dial in a patch using one of them, it will not be sound the same as the other one.

 

 

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thanks for this. Recorded music sounds pretty flat but ok to my ears. I am only using one of the monitors (L), as the R speaker has a problem with the tweeter - the tweeter is pushed in as I accidentally melted it with my lamp! Do you think the fact I am only using one of the speakers would dull the sound? All my patches are mono so I thought would be ok. 

 

Yes there is a HF level adjust. I am also using the 1/4 inch jack rather than the XLR input. 

 

 

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i don't know the monitors, but using just one with a mono patch should'nt change sound to dullness.

Some reviews of the speakers say nothing about dullness or a lack of high frequencies.

 

First i would check the Input. The 1/4" jack of the speaker  is designed as balanced input, wich of the Helix outputs do you use? The Helix 1/4" outputs are unbalanced, so it would be better to use a adapter cable 1/4" (Helix) to RCA (speaker) or just a XLR cable.

If this point is done i would play around with LF and HF level on the speaker trying to come close to the headphones sound.

 

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16 hours ago, davidderekmoss said:

thanks for this. They are KRK's KNS 6400 - I think they are meant to be monitoring headphones, but everything does sound amazing through them. 

 

I am sure the amp modelling looses its clarity through the monitors and sounds dull to start off with. Same with my JTV variax guitar, sounds great through the headphones, dull /lacking clarity/definition through the monitors - very annoying as both the Helix and the variax sound great through headphones. 

 

Could the monitors just be rubbish and dull sounding to start off with? If I got an FRFR speaker would this sound more like my headphones? 

 

I'm not familiar with the monitors or headphones you mention,  but what I can tell you is,  ANY time you change monitoring methods, your sound is gonna change to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the circumstances. At least half your tone is dependent upon what you're listening through. Getting everything sounding "just right" through one source, then switching to another is often a problem, and continuity from one to the next is hard to achieve, even when all the components in question are top shelf stuff. We're batting acoustic physics... and in the end, physics wins every time, lol. ;)

 

With headphones, highs can often be more pronounced, as they're right on top of your ears... try sticking your head right up against your monitors, and you'll likely hear some shrillness that's not there when you back off to a normal listening distance. Room acoustics and volume will factor in as well...if your monitors are in a "dead" room (carpeting, upholstered furniture, etc...I have this problem, actually), some "dullness" can be expected vs. you're headphones, where there's nothing to suck up the treble before it hits your ears. 

 

In short, it's tough to keep any one patch sounding the same through multiple sources... nearly impossible, I'd argue. To that end, I resorted long ago to having separate banks of patches for different uses...monitors, headphones, and live use. After the initial grunt work, it's far easier in the long run... otherwise you'll be constantly tweaking patches back and forth depending on your needs of the moment. 

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Put either Hells Bells or virtually anything by Gershwin on a mono signal to test your speaker. Then put it on both a mono signal and a stereo signal for your cans.  Headphones can be deceptive little buggers.

As most have said previously, it's best to balance and tweak monitors prior to headphones.  With the right EQ balance, you can make most speakers sound pretty darn good, but every room is different.

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Cheers guys for all the great comments/pointers - very helpful. I've actually got used to the speaker sound now, I think my headphones really emphasise the high frequencies and as they are much closer to my ear there is more 'sound definition' - but monitors are all good now. I also connected them via the XLR output, nit sure if it made much difference but I am happy with the sound.  Anyone played blues gigs using a Helix? I'm thinking of giving it a go in the blues band I'm in.

 

Cheers 

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