Slate Audio VSX - Don't Buy Unless!
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2023
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As an early adopter of VSX, I was skeptical but desperate to improve my mixes and masters. After completing the online Berklee College of Music Masters Certificate “Producing Music with Pro Tools”, I realized that I couldn’t hear some things through my monitoring system that my professors were pointing out in my mix submissions. I ended up re-doing a lot of assignments in the mixing and mastering courses, sometimes just implementing their suggestions but still not hearing what they were hearing. Before the classes I had designed and built a studio in my basement, and I spent a lot of time submitting my room design for free acoustic evaluation, and a lot of money on acoustic treatment, measuring speaker placement, and using Soundworks room correction. I should have spent money on an acoustic designer as well. Even with a 9 foot ceiling in my basement(which is higher than most) I still have low end room nodes that I need to eliminate(if possible). Now my room isn’t terrible sounding, but after using VSX for the last couple of years I know what I was missing. So now I only use my monitoring system for composing, and only VSX for making mix and mastering decisions. If you can ensure that your mix room is designed, treated and measured for acoustic accuracy, and you can afford something like the ATC mid monitors in the VSX Archon room($22k list price), then I suppose VSX isn’t for you. But for me, until that point if ever I’ll continue to use the VSX system and make better and faster mix decisions. And without having to run around my house and car trying to figure out why my mix doesn’t translate! When mixing with VSX, it’s almost always one and done. I know it sounds impossible, but it’s not a gimmick. PS. I do not work for Steven Slate, but I wish I did!
i can second that, got my VSX recently. God, it shows u the low end like nothing. But now i realized for the first time, i need to upgrade my tracking gear, since i can hear the issues. VSX is definitely a worthy investment. With VSX, you can benchmark your dream studio acoustics the other way around.
(Given that the rooms/ speakers in VSX are to be trusted) VSX has indicated to me, very emphatically, that my recorded tracks are very...very poor.
These paid reviews are the reasons I never got close to Slate Digital products.
@@cashtransfercompany3639how u know these r paid reviews?
Thanks for this comment, I’m def gonna invest in vsx and I’m looking forward to the time it’s gonna save me in getting good mixes 😊
We don’t appreciate and thank enough, how lucky we are for having people like you sharing your experience.
It’s like having a private teacher in front of your sofa, anytime you need it.
Amazing !!!
Thanks a lot Barry and
Best of the wishes for your CZcams project!
Thanks for the follow up Barry, after a looooong time considering buying these I think I'll finally buy them today. The reviews are just overwhelmingly positive anywhere I searched, and it is perfect for my situation currently.
Thanks Barry. Exactly the info I needed. I'm ordering mine today.
Great video man. You have so much experience and I value your honesty and independence. Thank you
Man, I absolutely love mine. I hate that I love them so much. I don’t even have the extra rooms. I mixed an album for a client this year while traveling on a tour bus. It came out really well, and while I still do the car test, I don’t really need to anymore. They are great.
I’ve had mine for around a year and love them.
I have the latest one and I love it. I currently don't have a proper room with speakers and they are working better than anything else I used before, including Waves NX, Acustica Sienna and SonarWorks with Audeze LCD-X and Senheiser HD600. It is great not having to do a car test and other environments. I can just switch these around on the VSX
Agree on going for Platinum edition straight away. Next step is to support 'Atmos mixing for streaming services' in these headphones to avoid the ridiculous $40k speaker setup that no one else will ever listen to your mixes on :)
I love them so far. My mix/master partners seem to think I’m giving them same/better projects so I’m happy for the transition. Makes me take more breaks too. I still use my AKG open backs for comfort and have monitors but they basically just for general listening at this point. Thanks 🖤🐓🤙🏽
I have some and they have made a HUGE difference in mixing!
The multiple rooms are great references for different things. Slate room mix cube is great for leveling vocals, Mike Dean great for the low end just for examples. So I do bounce around the different rooms, especially later in a mix.
I primarily use my speakers for 90% of the mix, but my room is treated well and very flat. By saying that and the fact that I do use VSX, I’d say it’s just another example of VSX being a great tool and product.
Beginning Headphone Mixer with 7 pairs of HPhones to start. After many reviews from various youtube users of VSX Platinum, I have purchased them awaiting arrival of the Essential System to start. This is a tool to achieve "Great Starts" in the very Subjective Art of Mix & Mastering of Music. I will report back as soon as I know of WHAT to say to describe what I learned and remember of sound design a couple of years ago 2020. This stuff is not easy to do and know what of it until you DO IT. My journey is 7 years of basic finding information to continue from ZERO. Thanks for the offering to chime in.
Thanks Barry, i may give a try...cheers
Owned them since founders edition, and I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed with version 1 or 2 of the software, so I did'nt use them much. The emulations got much better with version 3 and with version 4 released recently, they nailed it. Well worth the money.
Nice, thanks.
agree Version 4.0 is the Software these Headphones should have been released with in the first place ... the difference is insane
Yea these are gold. I had it when it first came out. Can’t believe it’s not getting more recognition
How much was they when they first came out?
compared to the Audio Technica mx50s? mixing wise
I've had them since the first (founder edition) came out, I love them, they replaced my very expensive Denon, I'm thinking of getting another one for backup, but they still look like new, the cable is the only thing i can say that could be better, it picks up touch noise and interference from a power supply...
Purchased mine , can’t wait for them to be delivered
Is vsx good? Do u recommand?
LOVE the Slate VSX headphones!
Such a great purchase for me personally. I have a room that will never sound right due the the unusual shape of it. I did treat the walls as best I could and have good Adam monitors. But at the end of the day I just couldn't get mixes even close to where they should be. As soon as I got these, my very first new track I mixed exactly as I wanted. I even went back and fixed stuff in other projects. I mainly use the Archon room midfields andfind I'm getting things right almost straight away.
Trinnov.
I've wanted them for a while now and I'm waiting so that I can get the platinum. I'm greedy like that! 😊
I just bought a pair, just getting used to them, I have a pretty good ear and I have to admit, these are the real deal. I didn’t get the platinum version but I wish I had. I may return mine and get the platinum pair. Well worth the money, if you’re serious about your audio
I have a reasonably decent room for a home studio (home theatre space converted to mix room), decent monitors (ADAM) and a lot of experience in pro studios, including NRG, Paramount, and other LA studios. All that said, the Slate Headphones are one of the best investments I have ever made. This really works. I use them as a verification of mixes and I think you will get your mixes to translate better using them.
I have the platinum version, and I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting so far. My room is decent, but with VSX I can hear details I'm missing in my monitors. And having multiple speaker setups to check on is awesome! I'm looking forward to downloading version 4.0.
They are the best headphones to mix on hands down!
I had a pair a few years back, honestly I found it to be a huge rabbit hole of too many options. Even found the ear sizing part of it when setting up was a challenge to find where I landed. I sent them back and have no regrets.
Thanks for your awesome review! I have a decent treated studio with decent monitors (Adam T8V's). I'd like to buy these to do a car test or do a club test to get a realistic idea of what my track will do in these kind of environments. I'm only wondering on what kind of level are these in comparison to what I hear in my room and I'm talking about the high end studio's inside of the software. Is it going to sound better than what I have in my room because the room emulations have beter acoustic treatment and more expensive monitors? Like what can I expect. Could you say your own studio with your monitors is comparible to one of these studio rooms in terms of quality?
btw i bought VSX recently after watching your video, and yes they are as great as advertised..
i have core pack. And i only stick to steven slate room. That it self made my mixes much better, specially when done on the near fields mono. Now which other rooms could be an upgrade to what i am doing, then only its worth investing that extra $200. Otherwise i am happy with just one room.
Hey BArry - hope you;re well. I know we're all still reeling from the Waves betrayal, but how do these compare with using a set of good 'phones with the Waves NX rooms or the transition check in SoundID Reference?
Thanks, Barry. I am looking for a a pair of studio headphones for mixing. Your opinion on these Slate Audio VSX headphones is appreciated.
Thank you for this
Hi and thanks for the review! I have a question or maybe more of an advice. I'm 64 years old and have no tinitus or other damage on my ears.
But still, my hearing can't of course not be as when I was young. When I mix on regular headphones I've noticed a fatigue in the higher registers.
I mix with very low volumes but probably need more pauses. My question is, if I buy these and I really need a good listening environment at home,
should I be concerned about using these phones most of the time? I avoid phones at the moment and just mix on my Genelecs 8030 when the house is empty. Maybe these phones affect the hearing differently from other phones? I'm planning to keep my ears good as long as possible. Thanks!
Love mine has helped me big time
One of the best gear purchases I’ve ever made. At the end of the day your mileage varies based on your willingness to spend time with them (which is applicable to any piece of gear…)
For travel purposes alone being able to do comparisons in multiple environments is insane. Also fantastic for reality checks in the studio.
When you buy the headphones does it come with software? Or is the plugin sold separately? I live in an apartment and Im wanting to mix as a freelancer. I feel VSX would be a great choice.
someone has already compared it with vsx or waves nx or realphones? what is the difference What is The Best and why?
Thanks for 2 great videos. I just got mine Sunday.
I ordered mine after watching your video, you are always very honest, so I knew they must be great.
I saw the title and thought oh no haha
I cannot believe how good they sound. I’m still getting used to it.
Only thing is I’m not sure I’m bouncing the track down properly. Seems to be lots quieter then my
Pre vsx mixes. Does anyone have any advice ?
Did you deactivate the VSX plugin *before* you bounce your track? That's crucial - otherwise the plugin will alter your master. And you should of course use a proper limiter at the end of your mastering chain.
Ha! I was a little worried when I saw the title. I don’t know if you remember me, but I left a comment on one of your videos that you need to try VSX. You replied you would if Slate would send you some, so I screen captured our exchange in the comments and sent it to Slate. That’s how positive my impressions were of this.
I have been using some old JBL4410s with a Halfler amp as midfields and Event ASP8s as nearfields. My room acoustics aren’t bad but certainly not perfect. I did get IK Multimedia’s ARC3 and that helped. However, it wasn’t till I got VSX that I was really able to properly adjust low frequencies. Even with ARC3 enabled I wasn’t hearing bass well and my mixes had too much bottom end. VSX helped tremendously there and so I use it a lot to check what’s going on in the low end. Maybe I’ll get a sub someday, but VSX is working great for me for this. In fact, this helped me learn (the hard way) that one of my favorite kits in a popular drum VI just had WAY too much low end on the kick drum!
Also, Steven Slate is indeed a brilliant marketer but the man is a hard worker. You don’t get that successful if you are not. The VSX software is continually being improved and they now have a systemwide capability for Mac with Windows in the works. On top of it, there is a topic over at Gearspace and Steven regularly participates and listens to and takes all feedback with remarkable humility and an open mind and I think that’s a big reason why his products are so good. He’s very willing to take criticism and truly listen to the end user. Might as well mention he has that cool beard, too!
Anyway, yeah… VSX is the real deal!! Thanks for this update, Barry!
P.S.: See if AudioScape will give you a commission. Thanks to one of your videos I have an AudioScape 76F headed my way on a UPS truck. Should get here next week. Enjoy your weekend!
I remember your original comment, and you will love AudioScape!
@@BarryJohns Yep. You turned me on to them. Hey… buy it right and buy it ONCE. 😉👍
I wonder, if you have knowledge about it, how the Slate VSX is compared to any Waves NX (Waves Virtual Mix Room, Abbey Road Studio 3 etc) ?
Barry, so they are intended for mixing and not for mastering? Thanks!
I bought the essentials version because money was tight, then over time I got the other rooms.
I would say like Barry, buy the Platinum version if you can. Any new room that gets released gets added to your account for free. Essentials owners have to buy to add every single time, but you can upgrade to Platinum by buying the bundled expansions.
In addition to what Barry's covered, VSX introduced a Systemwide app, similar to what SonarWorks have, this is really good for listening to your references off Spotify or Apple Music, or CZcams. In fact it's really improved my experience of audio engineering tutorial.
VSX 4.0 is simply amazing, they improved all the rooms, and your can always go back to the previous version right there in the app/plugin.
Can I plug them into my Presonus mic pre? Studio 24c?
You should do a comparison with dSONIQ Realphones. It's a similar sort of thing except they don't use proprietary headphones - they have custom profiles for most of the headphone models in existence. I've been using it for about 6 months and I feel similarly to the way you do about Slate VSX. It works amazing. It's also way cheaper.
THANKS BARRY. Your opinion is always greatly appreciated. Personally, i don't buy this whole "subjective" view to sound quality. There are superior sounding products/gear. And experienced professionals know this, and why their opinion should be highly valued. The big challenge is getting high quality sound within one's budget.
Can u mix in the program its self
I use em I love em !
I bought the 2nd release with the metal band. I have tried them on and off since then. Here's my honest thoughts. The marketing drives me nuts! They were the greatest thing ever when they were released... but they have needed multiple revisions and many major software upgrades. It was an un-finished product when it was released and marketed as the "holy grail" of headphones. I have found them to be far from that. They do not compete at all with the headphones they emulate when those models are driven properly. A good pair of balanced Planar Magnetics driven with a decent amp/dac will give a much more realistic, open, and dynamic mixing experience... In my opinion this helps dramatically with mixing decisions. With the VSX I am almost always straining to hear what impact it has on the mix... and the ear fatigue is real. I can work 4-5 times longer with real planar magnetics and a decent dac/amp combo, without out ear fatigue. Compared to poorly placed speaker placements and room treatments, and less then average headphones.. The VSX´s will definitely fill the gap. For travelling and needing a halfway decent mixing environment on a laptop.. the closed backs and the software are good enough. But not excellent. Can they be used successfully.. yes. Are they optimal. No, not in my opinion. I will keep my pair of VSX and see how they develop. But up to now.. I have not found much use for them. I get all the info I need from my monitors and planar magnetics.
Give Sienna a try - works with many existing headphones and I founds it was just as good when I compared it. Plus bare in mind that if the headphones break there are no spares - you have to buy it all again. They feel cheap. I sent mine back and haven’t looked back. I also feel the rooms - why so many? It’s a bit of a marketing ploy.
They are now much more solid but if they break no you dont have to buy again. Slate customer service is the best. Worry not.
My audio interface isn't always with me. I'm wondering if anyone has tried using these on a standard PC sound output and heard any difference?
Is this the same as realphones?
Most people either don't have the budget and/or know-how for a properly treated room, so yeah. This is basically for everyone.
I wish I would have saw this before I bought essential 😅 but I work for guitar center so I got them for a really good price
After watching your original video on these, as well as a few others, I pulled the trigger and bought VSX Platinum.
I have a pair of HEDD Audio Type 30 studio monitors in a semi well treated room and they sound amazing - I hear things in these speakers I’ve never heard in music I’ve been listening to for 30+ years.
Enter VSX. I heard things in a project I’ve been mixing that I never heard in my mains. Mostly slight adjustments in level or EQ that were needed. 45 minutes in I was a believer.
wow, OK now thats a statement
How do you rate the headphones if you are just using them to listen to music and no software? Do they sound really good when not using the plugin emulations?
No, they are intentionally flat.
I was only able to use the headphones for less than a year, and they snapped. Never once did I miss treat them, or be aggressive with them. Cheap plastic. tbh. Nitpick of them feeling sturdier is an understatement, because I can't use my vsx headphones anymore. 400 dollars gone. But I do like using the software that comes with the headphones, just can't use the headphones I bought with the software. Kinda not cool imo. I have 6 other pairs of random headphones I have owned for over 5 years. They are still in tact. Huge design flaw
Hi on a side note how did you blur your background? Obs?
It’s a plug-in in Final Cut Pro.
@@BarryJohns ty
Well, VSX is something that should be in all home studios. It's really a game changer, a tool that you can trust. It needs some time to get used to, but when you are, it helps a lot! Especially since the new 4.0 version is out. 🔥
Question Barry; would these be more for someone who does not have good monitors and a mid tier to high-end set of headphones or is it geared towards someone who does not have access to those things? I wonder about this, because when people, aside from other mixers, listen to our mixes, they will not be in a studio setting, so the translation aspect would no longer be valid. I apologize in advance if I am misunderstanding or confusing the product and your assessment.
he literally covers who it's for throughout the video lol and how is the translation aspect invalid? You NEED your mixes to translate to different systems because like you said not everyone is going to be in a studio setting. That's EXACTLY why your mixes MUST translate. If they only sound good in your room you're in a world of trouble.
@@thesoundmajors9858 Correct I heard that part, but my question remains is should someone use it to see if their mix translates into a different studio which would make no sense, because every room is different and the end consumer is not in a studio, therefore it would seem the age old car test, AV and possibly a bluetooth speaker test may be more practical. P.S. You do not have to use large caps when typing, because my eyes are functional and I can read with comprehension fairly well. I understand the nature of social media, but let us try to keep the discussion civil and with a sense of positive decorum as we all are trying to obtain additional knowledge regarding this craft.
You're supposed to use a reference track that obviously translates when mixing so you have an idea of what you're aiming for.
The phone/boombox/club/car emulations are in there so it's not just other studios.
@@locotek Thanks for your reply as that makes perfect sense. I already use a reference track(s) for the genre that I am working with at that time, but what you said regarding the software is very helpful. I was curious to see if it was something I needed to look further into with my current setup. My room is treated, although not perfect I'm sure, but I do have good monitors and headphones, but of course every little bit helps. Since I believe Barry mentioned there is a demo, I may have to give it a spin and see what shakes out. Thanks again.
@PurpleMusicProductions I have solid monitors (kali in8s w.sonarworks), but the next upgrade in that direction would be insane room treatment, big Genelec or Neumann (or that range)
Where vsx saves me is it turns that move into something that would be egotistical instead of practical. I can reference in amazing rooms and get excellent translation. This is why I consider VSX to be essential, it's saving me absurd money and cut all of the gas for bigger/pricier speakers.
I don't get why we have to use Slate headphones? Why can't we just use our own headphones? I already have really nice sennheiser 800s, they are amazing. can I use the plugin with these or I have to use the slate ones???
Because Slate is specially modeled after various mixing spaces, your headphone can’t do that.
Vsx is great. Don't sleep on the SUV for checking if bass overshadows kick thump and the boombox. If you know, you know.
VSX rock.
Slate is no joke. I started with a Raven like 15 years ago it seems. It and it’s software was so impressive I started using their plug-ins. Now I don’t buy plug-ins every month lol. Now VSX comes and Slate did it again. Changed my studio multiple times for the better. Take my money.
You should do a demo
That’s not doable.
Your video could be the reason why I purchase this product, but yesterday I saw a video in which it was said that the build quality of the headphones was very bad, the plastic holding the ear cups would easily break. That keeps me from buying these right away …
I mentioned that in my first video. Valid concerns.
I have come to expect straight talk from this channel.
The click bait title "Don't Buy Unless!" is unfortunate.
You should have named it "Slate Audio VSX - Still Impressed!"
You got straight talk brother, but I hear you.
I’m sorry these are worth the money. The results on what you can do with these are all over the slate audio Facebook group with people posting their mixes with the results they got from these.
Didn’t watch the video did ya😂
@@BarryJohns😂
I appreciate the info, but please stop with the clickbait I almost skipped your video
This video sucks….
Didn't slate sell up?
For this plugins, to SSL. Not the hardware.