Why I'm Returning My Slate VSX Headphones

I've lived with the Slate VSX Headphones for over a week now, working with them every day. So here is my final verdict.
As much as I fully stand by my initial review, and these headphones ARE game changing and sound fantastic... they're not for me! I'm taking advantage of Slates' 30-day money back guarantee and getting a refund.
Watch the video to hear about my experience and find out why.
Adam Fiasco
www.adam-fiasco.com

[@olivaric]

What I'm hearing is you're a professional, you have pro gear, you mix in a pro environment, and you know how to get what you're looking for from your studio. From watching a few other videos what I'm getting is these are really more for folks like me that are in the hobbyist/prosumer category where we have some decent gear mixed in with a less than ideal mixing environment. I have a couple of Mackies and some desktop speakers I use for mixing, but it's in my home office so not an ideal environment by any means. I'll often find myself carving or boosting frequencies that I can visually see in my EQ but can't hear the changes until I go to other rooms. I think I'm going to give these a 30 day try and see if they can highlight room variations enough so I don't find myself spending hours testing on various systems only to find that when I go to the car it sounds like garbage!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

This is pretty much it exactly! I wasn’t really getting the benefit from mixing on these vs in my own room. Sure I could learn them but I don’t really need to! For anyone who travels about a lot or has a less than ideal monitoring environment though these would be absolutely incredible and a no brainer!

[@RealMattKiefer]

Tha voakulls sounded a bit too muddeh

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Funny guy 😂👍🏼

[@eliaszerano3510]

@@adamfiascoVEVO I love your accent

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@eliaszerano3510 haha thanks - at least someone does 🙄😂

[@eliaszerano3510]

@@adamfiascoVEVO :D there are more than me yay :D slainte

[@prodigalson21]

@@eliaszerano3510 Slainte is an Irish word. This guy is British.

[@craigreeves5465]

I found that the vehicles were way too bright. For instance, the electric car was way brighter than my car. So what I did was turn the Low-highs and highs all the way down in the electric car and now it translates perfectly to my car. A big tip is if you, for instance, feel like things are too muddy, it might be because the rooms are too bright. You can use the EQ settings to adjust to your liking.

[@xinnor2790]

Thank you for this video. I was thinking about my current mix issues and pondering the VSX. What I have kinda works for me. It’s a bad room acoustically but I know it after 9 years. I’ve sworn off all new software and hardware for over a year. I already have so much that I don’t know how to use to its fullest. I guess I’m going to stick with the plan.

[@aro7975]

I think you already have a system that works for you. Like everyone, pushing to get items that may get a better mix is always on the cards. At least you tried them anyway. Your room seems to be treated fairly well too. I'd say these would be great for people that don't have any treatment, or decent speakers.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Completely agree. My situation is unique and they just didn’t add anything really. But for 90% of home studios they’ll be great.

[@jaimemonroyofficial]

@@adamfiascoVEVO Specially for musicians like me that travels a lot. I never have an acoustically treated in every step.

[@robertquinn9490]

Thank you for this review..appreciate the honesty!!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Welcome dude. I think they’re definitely worth trying and coming to your own conclusion though!

[@iseeu-fp9po]

Thank you for your honest review and thoughts! Now, I know that you already covered this in your video, but I'm hoping you would expand a little bit on this; for someone like me who don't have access to a treated room and because of neighbours can only mix on headphones, would it still make sense to get these, granted I do take the time to learn them in and out? See, I'm just looking for the best possible alternative to mixing on monitors in order to get something that ultimately will translate to other systems and I have really been looking for something like this. Is it possible to achieve the same or at least similar results with this type of setup compared to a great room and monitors? Thanks.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Thanks for commenting. Yes I do believe that if you don’t have a treated room then these are probably the best alternative.

[@scottfindley1345]

Yes, 100%

[@cyorkgo]

What a great, honest review! Thank you!

[@edenbillysimpson]

Very useful review! 🙏👊

[@allowambeBOWWAMB]

I mix with headset only since the kid sleeps in the next room , and the acoustics are terrible here. I do have rokit monitors which I turned on low to hear if I was far off. I also have an actual Tesla which I checked the mix in. I can happily say that the mix sounded almost the same in the "SUV" setting as in the actual car, and the "linear" sounds exactly like my sennheiser HD595 before I switched pads and ruined them (it sounded more bass heavy and muddy post change). So I don't have to run back and forth, maybe do a final check in the car. I don't have a boombox either so that's useful. However, I am still a bit worried that the "club" setting is too kind. I remember that clubs has more reflections than I hear in that algoritm.

[@1rcproductions]

Great, honest review. Thanks.

[@psybursonic]

I also have the Focal 6 Be’s and a sub in a treated room. I’ve been using VSX for a week, and I’m really impressed. My mixes on speakers already translated well, and I plan to keep using my Focals primarily but VSX seems to help me catch things that would have slipped by or taken me more time and fresh perspective to hear. It’s a time saver tool for me. My only real criticism is in room emulations I don’t fully trust the stereo image (headphone emulations are fine though). I do wish I had these before I had good speakers and a treated room. And for me, they’re more useful than a flat set of headphones for mix checking.

[@iamdjsyko]

useful comment for a prospective buyer, thanks. Wondering if you can confirm they have a linear setting which isn't simulating anything and is just giving a really neutral sound? I think the rooms are probably for testing after using that mode?

[@psybursonic]

@@iamdjsyko It models headphones, and the "HD Linear 2" is very neutral sounding. I would not say the rooms are for testing, I spend most of my VSX time on the Archon midfields, it's very balanced and I prefer that to the neutral headphone sound. But sometimes if I have stuff panned really wide and switch to headhones I'll realize I might have gone a little too far for headphone translation. My only complaint about VSX is compared to my Focal monitors, the transient detail isn't there. It's not bad, but the Focal's are just way better.. So I tend to use VSX for balance checking and when I'm doing compression or other dynamics processing make sure to be on my monitors.

[@KeithCopeland778]

I appreciate your honest assessment! I was never considering getting these.

[@mojomediamusic]

Funny to hear the first bad review. I absolutely love the VSX headphones and software. It's a wild experience mixing through them.

[@jvz773]

Appreciate your honest take. Thanks 🙏

[@usmcyounggun6879]

Hey man, Thanks for the perspective

[@SoniqSounds]

I was so used to sonar works and my mixes were translating amazing. Slate vsx didn't provide me any edge over sonar works reference. I have returned them as well.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I get it man. At the end of the day translation is 100% the aim of the game when mixing. I was hoping VSX would provide a valuable reference for me to tweak my mixes when nearing the end. But every time I listened on them I didn’t want to change anything so made no sense to keep them.

[@eddysel10]

Thanks, very useful review 👍🏽

[@ivanpetrov1371]

Honest review is the best review , thanks !

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Welcome dude. I definitely think they’re worth a try though. If I didn’t work exclusively in my room these would be the perfect solution!

[@CRXYTV]

By any chance did you burn them in? I've heard your suppose to listen to music through them for like a hour or something

[@crystalclearmedia3554]

Yup Spot on sir. I've come to the same conclusion ..

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Did you try them too?

[@joshuabenjamin2093]

great review, really fair comments man

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Thanks for watching man. Appreciate ya

[@victorvalena4630]

Has anyone used these in Flat mode? I more into thinking this migh work for me as I record into headphones a-lot for tracking myself, acoustic guitar etc.. I not into the speakers or room modeling. But I have heard really good review about "Flat mode" . Like if you do a mix in Flat mode and move to you speakers, It's not a big mess..Any feedback helps. Cheers and thanks.

[@tobiasjone]

I prefer HD600 with Toneboosters Morphit and Canopener. I’ve tried Sonarworks, which I really disliked, and VSX, which was good, but that combo is the closest thing to working on my IB1s in a treated room.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I’ve never had a pair of HD600 but I did notice this particular model sounded insanely flat on VSX - not too dissimilar to VSX on its own.

[@united100]

just as I thought ,Thanks for this review !!!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

No problem man, happy to help. I would definitey recommend trying them for yourself, but if like me, you have a well treated room and you’re already happy with your mixes, then they MIGHT not be worth hanging onto.

[@ChrisM541]

I wonder if the newer models recently released are better?

[@sebastianvalientemusic9235]

Very fair review. Thanks!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

No problem thanks for watching. I really wanted to like but unfortunately they’re just not for me.

[@sebastianvalientemusic9235]

@@adamfiascoVEVO Totally makes sense given your setup and room. I've been solely mixing m50x's for the past 2 years or so and for me personally, having these headphones is a huge step up. So for me, it makes sense to stick with! Although, I think ultimately, having the setup you do is the ideal scenario (ie. amazing monitors and a treated room) but that's just my opinion!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@sebastianvalientemusic9235 100% agree man. The VSX are definitely gonna be a game changer for many!!

[@1337murk]

I was using abby road studio 3 plug in along with sonarworks and hd800s. I found sonarworks was better to calibrate the headphones to work better with ars3 room/speaker emulation. I'm looking at these now because I have a subpac, and although I like using it with the hd800 without sonarworks or ars3, I don't feel it fits with those (doesn't seem to be a way to reliably use it alongside that config). So my plan is to use vsx with the subpac while mixing, and hd800 + subpac for mastering. Does anyone here have any experience using the vsx along with a subpac? I really hope it fits better within that set up than it did with the prior, as sonarworks is late to set their software up to use with the subpac, hence I have to run another output seperately to the subpac minus sonarworks/ars3 vsts which isn't the one.

[@1337murk]

@@RecoveringGuitarEnthusiast If you read my previous comment, I already have a subpac. But thank you anyway, and it's cool bro, I only have vsx now too :) Great combo. VSX + SubPac = my mixing set up and HD800s + SubPac is my mastering set up

[@RecoveringGuitarEnthusiast]

@@1337murk Thanks, it's the thought that counts. Kind Regards, 👍 🙏 Maximum Respect, and Peace ~ Loo 👊 😎

[@ErikBiskopst]

Have you tried dSoniq`s Realphones? They have a DT 770 profile and offer 40 days trial. I found the VSX uncomfy, so I use more Realphones. Would be interested how you think they translate.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Hey Eric. I haven’t tried these. Maybe sometime in the future but for now VSX just confirmed to me that I’m really happy with my current room and monitoring setup and VSX didn’t really offer much extra for me. So for now I’m gonna stick with what I’ve got. If I was on the road or travelling a lot VSX or something like Realphones would undoubtedly be a lifesaver.

[@scottfindley1345]

seems like youve got a pretty reasonable setup (focals are ace) and what appears to be a properly treated room acoustically speaking.. Ithink these guys are aimed at a sligtly different market - people with terminally horrible rooms / monitors / or those without the ability to bump it into the night without bothering a nightmare neighbor :) sounds like you got sorted out but I would throw in a reccomendation for the waves equivelent (nX plugins) which also do head tracking and will work with whatever headphones you bring to table, unless you use something fairly obscure, they've got eq profiles for all the usual suspects and for me its been absolutely amazing.. I am such a fan of these systems. What they have revealed to me is that my monitor and room are shit - I suppose I already knew that - but there was all kinds of stuff particularly in the low / low mids that I can now properly balance and carve out space for, and my mixes sound 1000% better on any speaker, everything just kind of translates perfectly now. #1 best money Ive spent on any studio tool in many years. Thank you for the honest review! Refreshing to see someone not pull any punches.

[@crazyfluteplayer6216]

Thank you for your review. I was just thinking of getta pair.. am put off now..

[@MalcolmRobbins]

How is it mixing with the DT770 as I cannot sue monitors as my home studio is to small and neighbours to close

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I mentioned this in the video and clarified in a few comments... I’m not mixing with the 770s, nor would I want to. I’m using them exclusively for tracking. The reason I invested in the VSX was to see if they offered any benefit for me while mixing.

[@iuihlutuk]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6WxfKmgitOtY68 ...mixed with DT770 Pro 80 Ohms on a cheap Behringer UM2

[@cholkymilkmirage4984]

Hmm so I mix on headphones. AKGk44s and I want my mixes better. Cant really do the speaker thing cause it’s all at home. I was just hoping to get a good pair of headphones to mix on. It’s either this or I get Audio-Technica m50x and also sonar works. What do you think would be the best option? I’ve been mixing religiously fir the last 7 months and these AKGheadphones have gotten me so far.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Given your situation I would give the Slate VSX strong consideration

[@cholkymilkmirage4984]

@@adamfiascoVEVO dope thanks man.

[@frequency_sequencer]

i have been in sales for a pro audio company from Denmark and looking at the construction of the vsx all i can say is there is probably a 90 percent profit margin... dt 770 pro with Dear vr monitor into Sonarworks is really good

[@user-qc1ou5pv4m]

nice one, Adam 👏

[@citytonightproductions]

Well said good sir, I echo your comments. Sent mine back after 2 weeks. Was hoping to elevate my mixes but wasn’t worth the $$$. Found them to be an endless rabbit hole, you may get a great mix in Akron but then switch to NRG and it goes south. Or vice versa. I was happy with my mixes already and really hoped this would be some added magic but sadly didn’t happen. Just added frustration really.

[@MrClarkio]

Pardon my possible ignorance, but, isn't that kind of the point of them? The different rooms let you hear your mix across different settings and therefore either let you focus your mix to a particular platform or get a "best across all worlds" mix. Not trying to argue rather I'm intrigued by these (i also currently use 770s) and trying to understand why and how they don't work for some people. I'm kind of concerned by the fact the poster said when they played them back without the plugin they hated them.

[@citytonightproductions]

@@MrClarkio it’s more a matter of they lead you down a rabbit hole with too many room options, it’s better to learn your own room or your own headphones and save your money. There’s actually a really great plugin I tried and purchased called acustica sienna rooms. You use your own headphones and it’s much better than VSX in my opinion now that I’ve used both. It’s about $100 too, way cheaper

[@iamjiroe]

@@MrClarkio because it’s pointless to learn so many rooms, you’re much better off grabbing one room (say your room) and treating the space. Going from room to room in those headphones will get you confused and making decisiones that contradict each other

[@trusso11783]

@@iamjiroe What confuses me is that all of these real rooms produce great sounding recordings. Why would the Slate version give bad results using those same room characteristics?

[@iamjiroe]

@@trusso11783 these rooms produce great records if you know the room. Meaning you’ll have to work w it for a while and get to know it well.

[@kiko5972]

I don't have any room treatment for mixing n stuff so should I buy these then? it would be worth investing on VSX headphones?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Definitely

[@AdamSpade]

My first thought “Sounds like more work learning different virtual rooms to me.” And I’m not exactly rushing to get software attached to my headphones and every other piece of gear that I own.

[@tobiasjone]

Exactly. Mastering involves learning a single hi res system, like the back of your hand, and knowing how that will translate to other systems further down the food chain.

[@KeithHutchinsonYT]

Which 770 headphones are u using? Thx

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

DT770 80 ohms. I’m using them exclusively for tracking though. I mix on monitors.

[@jacobfield4848]

Would there be any point in buying these simply to "listen to music", movies, podcast rather than to mix?

[@oinkooink]

Absolutely not, no.

[@beornthebear.8220]

I don't really understand how I could get good detail out of 37 ohm headphones.

[@frankwalders]

Your 'guilty' look is really funny.

[@Micouniverse]

@slate audio Guessing you are using a concept like Altiverb and Kemper do, so here is just a tiny idea: Giving people with already treated rooms software at hand to make impulse responses and make them being usable with your vsx. Maybe it world be an idea to make impulse responses of your room. So that you could take the room that you are familiar with, with you on the road.

[@Micouniverse]

@ I would just offer to you only, as you seem to be a heart full person everyone would be pleased to be with. You seem to be one of a kind.😍 😘 You can go outside and play now.

[@Micouniverse]

@ So the blame is on me. I misunderstood.😬 Sorry. 🖖🏽🍀

[@Micouniverse]

@ It was my fault. I am a non native English speaker. And I could have thought of a good intention first instead of a joking one. Thank You Very Much - communication - sometimes difficult💫 but a joy when it comes to meeting good ones at last. So, - my "Sorry" and my "Thank you" are true 🍀🖖🏼

[@seamajorseven]

when I mix first on these my highs are all weird when switching back to focal SM9s. I only have issues mixing low end in studio, I think they do help for that but not the highs. I kinda want to return them but My favorite emulation is honestly the club speakers 😂. Immediately reveals crappy highs and lows

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Haha I get what you mean. For me it wasn’t the highs it was low mids! They sounded really scooped in the emulations which is why I think the mix sounded a bit muddy when switching to my monitors

[@seamajorseven]

@@adamfiascoVEVO I agree on the scooped that’s probably why my highs were messed up too haha. I just don’t think these headphones can top any focals in a decent room. I just ordered focal clear pros , too late to return VSX but I think as another listening option I’ll keep it.

[@jonhickmanmusic]

If someone has a super well treated room , that they know back to front, then I guess VSX is a step backwards. I'm on my own mission to decide to get these or not. My mixes translate well enough, except bass. My room will never solve this as its too small (despite treatment). Can't find any headphones that translate bass well, do you think these do? Cheers.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Sure. They’re worth a try!

[@ogbeadenikhan1106]

Use the phones ur used to and get a subpac for the lows. Problem solved.

[@Bechs87]

Mate, are You sure, You rendered final mix without VSX plugin on master?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

😂😂 I am sure, yes. Tbh I think with this whole review and video I was just super early getting the VSX but 100% stand by my review at the time. I would however like to try it again. I hear there’s been a bunch of really amazing updates that would very likely change my mind on this!

[@Bechs87]

@@adamfiascoVEVO I'd love to see that re-review someday! 😃Have a good day!

[@djcolinturnbull]

Hi! Thanks for this review! This is what I was thinking.. But I would suggest.. forget the 770’s. They are not really suited for mixing. Try the Neumans! They are fantastic. I have the 770’s also. No comparison . The neumanns are super accurate! Regards!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Totally agree. Except I’m not using the 770s for mixing they’re purely for tracking! I’m going to continue mixing on my Focal Solo 6 Be’s

[@djcolinturnbull]

@@adamfiascoVEVO ahh.. I misunderstood. I don’t mix on headphones either! Reference and fine detail mixing I use the neumanns. They are made to “somewhat” replicate the imaging of stereo monitors.. and I find changes do translate very well.

[@dodo13500]

@@djcolinturnbull What model are you using?

[@djcolinturnbull]

@@dodo13500 Neumann NDH-20. en-de.neumann.com/ndh-20

[@dodo13500]

@@djcolinturnbull Thank you!

[@greymatter800]

Thank you for the honest opinion!

[@kylemitas2334]

Hey Adam, If you haven't retuned them yet I'd be prepared to purchase them if possible?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Hey Kyle. Are you in the UK?

[@kylemitas2334]

@@adamfiascoVEVO I wish, to be honest I'm having trouble getting them in/into my country (South Africa). Which I fully understand is not a priority nor is there high enough demand. Not even from their own website am I able to purchase them. Thanks for the review though. Love your content

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@kylemitas2334 that sucks man. I mean I could sell them to you but I’m about to get a full refund. So it would cost you a lot to get them including shipping. Probably be beat just buying them new?!

[@kylemitas2334]

@@adamfiascoVEVO Very true, thanks though man. Appreciate it.

[@alexanderburrell-mixengine1149]

Had mine for a week but going to live with them for a while, I currently work at home with OLLO S4x and sonarworks with Abby rd studio 3 with NX, it’s to early to say until I get used to them and try a proper mix in the environments/rooms etc then listen at the studio on my Adam A77x but first impressions are as a basic head phone in linear the OLLO with sonarworks alone blows them out the park, just a better bigger more realistic sound the VSX cans feel and sound cheap in comparison but as I said I am going to give them time, they were bought for me as a gift so it’s not like I am out of pocket and have time to adapt but failing that I will move them on Just my first impressions and opinion Thanks for your honesty if they are not for you then go with what you feel comfortable mixing with

[@BurningBushPedagogy]

You are an amazing human, thank you is understatement. You cant understand why I say a huge thank you.

[@stupidusername38]

glad i saw this video, as SXPro seemed to be the only audio company in the UK that kept getting these in stock. Knowing that they won't honour the Slate guarantee means i'll be shopping elsewhere for a pair. Scan list them but they are always out of stock. Thomann also keep stating in stock in a few days but never have them.

[@sxproaudio]

Hi - we have posted a reply to Adam just now so please refer to that, but be aware we ARE offering the 30-day returns policy on VSX! We weren't aware that Slate had the 30-day policy on this product at launch and once Adam brought this to our attention, we rectified the situation immediately! We do have stock of VSX and I would be very happy to offer you a pair along with the promised 30-day returns policy in the event that you simply don't want to keep them. Although, Adam is one of only two customers so far to have returned them for this reason so the chances are you'll love them!

[@stupidusername38]

@@sxproaudio thanks for that, I'm still in the market for these so I'll bear you in mind. At the moment it's a toss up between you and Thomann

[@sxproaudio]

@@stupidusername38 Sure! Drop us an email ([e-mail]) and i'll be happy to make sure you are well taken care of!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@stupidusername38 I do recommend SX Pro dude I’ve dealt with them a ton of times and they’ve been nothing but helpful. There were issues when I wanted to return my VSX and I had to go through Slate which was frustrating, but now SXPro have ironed that out I would jump on it!

[@stupidusername38]

@@adamfiascoVEVO thanks Adam. At the moment Thomann are advertising them at £438 significantly cheaper than SX

[@Lamarro]

i really liked your review and you participaed in making me buy the VSX and try it. Got them Yesterday xD Anyways just came here to say im BLOWN AWAY but only because of Version 4.0 of the Software. That was truly a "WTF" Moment and i couldnt wrap my head around how these Headphones arent all over the Place until i tried Version 3.0. 3.0 vs. 4.0 isnt even apples to apples anymore. I HIGHLY recommend you give it another go! Cheers!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Really appreciate this comment. I think they have come on a LONG way since that initial release which my review was based on. 100% on my radar to try again!

[@paulwoaert]

What do you think of the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro ?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I’ve never used these. I do have a couple of pairs of DT770s that I use exclusively for tracking. I love them for this, they’re comfortable to wear and have brilliant isolation for recording. The 770s are very bright though so some people may not like that and it also means they’re not ideal when it comes to mixing, although I do still find them a useful reference.

[@paulwoaert]

@@adamfiascoVEVO The only problem with the DT 770 is that they are closed, so no more feeling of pressure on the ears on long listening, they are also heavier than the Dt 990 pro. And I feel that the sound is more natural, less sounded than the 770.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@paulwoaert yeah, I wouldn’t recommend the 770s for anything other than tracking. I only use headphones while tracking hence why I went for the closed back 770s. For mixing and general listening the 990s will likely be better suited.

[@dismalfist]

Very valuable review thank you, and likewise for the comments below of real-world experiences. Had wondered if it'd just be a too-good-to-be-true magic wand of a thing, but good on Slate for honouring the return even if the UK distributor mucked you about. Getting back into the hobby after 15-odd years away, wondered if there'd been any revolutions in home mixing. Turns out still nothing beats a treated room and talent!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Thanks for watching!! If I'm honest I'd love to have another listen to VSX now as it's undergone some pretty big revisions since it was first released! By all accounts there are some huge improvements in the rooms, the ear profiles making a big difference and the new rooms too! Could have been a case of the first Founders Edition not quite been 'there'

[@steveharrisonmusic]

Watched both your videos on these and was interested to see what you thought! I love slate products but these just seem unnecessary, better to put that £480 towards room treatment or a great set of monitors! This was a product that nobody really asked for I think!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Thanks a lot for watching. I agree on room treatment. £480 can go a loooong way especially if you build your own. I still think it’s gonna be a useful product for so many though - I do truly believe that. I get them. I just don’t get enough of a benefit to justify the price tags.

[@AndyGeroldMusic]

Thx for the review!

[@acustichenry]

But this one is more for people that they can’t prep the room like the apartment and you did this video almost a year ago now they have the new update

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Yep totally true. Anyone that doesn’t have a well treated room, these will be invaluable (as I said in the video). Also there have been new updates to VSX I haven’t had chance to hear so it could be much better now. I hope it is, I love the tech!!

[@RobTackettCovers]

I really think these headphones are for people who just don't have a proper mix room...I think if someone already has a room acoustically designed for mixing, then they've got the real deal...just an opinion...thanks for the video, and hope you and yours are doing great!

[@stevedangmusic]

I would think these would be better for checking mixes not actually mixing in these environments.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I think if you learnt the rooms you could totally mix on them! But checking mixes is exactly what I was hoping to use them for - get the mix going on my monitors and then these give me that extra 10-20%…. But when I had them I wasn’t getting that. I totally appreciate I had them mega early though and if they have had some updates and new rooms etc then I’m open to giving them another shot at some point in the future!

[@medstone3409]

I have mixed feelings about Slate VSX. The bass in the emulations seems to be totally overpowering (in the reference tracks, not mine). It may sounds cool and exciting, but I can't believe that studio monitors have such an overly bassy sound in recording studios. In addition, the speaker balance within a given simulation seems strange, because when switching from small near-field speakers that can sound as if they somehow had sub-bass, we suddenly get even more bass. Totally weird thing. In the meantime, out of curiosity, I checked Realphones 2.0, which I was skeptical about, especially after spending a lot of money on VSX, but I must say that after listening to their emulations, it sounds much more realistic. I recommend checking it out. After a long time of comparing Slate VSX vs Realphones vs my KRK 5, I'm considering returning the VSX.

[@toddkreuzburg4162]

Slate and other gear makers are masters of getting you to buy stuff you don't need. Slate is especially great at marketing.

[@erwinbenjamins9101]

I understand you. If you have a well treated room, and a great monitoring, you probably don't need these phones. I am a professional musician, and a semipro producer. Bought these phones, and they are by far the best monitoring I ever had. And surely less then your monitoring is. These phones costed me about 500 dollars. I am pretty confident that is less then I would have to pay for treating my room and buying decent speakers. I think there are lots of people that might find these phones helpfull, as you said in this video. That might make the title of your video a bit misleading for some people. Apppreciate your honest professional opinion!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

For sure dude totally agree with you and as I said in the video I truly believe these will help and be an amazing tool for soooo many people. But right now, just not for me and that’s the reason I’m sending them back - so I don’t think the title is misleading in the slightest. I sent them back because they don’t work for me but acknowledge other people might have different needs and so they’d be perfect. I encourage everyone who’s interested to try them out and come to their own conclusion.

[@erwinbenjamins9101]

@@adamfiascoVEVO When I saw the title of your video I assumed you thought something wrong with these phones (and I know: assumption is the mother of all f***-ups ;-) ). But after watching I realized that is not your conclusion at all. So the title mislead me. I do not mean at all that you are misleading people. Keep up the good work!

[@fishnetproductions1617]

My experience with VSX was really similar and my sentiments about them are pretty much the same as yours and I eluded to this in the review I did of them on my channel. I think they're great! They sound like rooms with speakers and give a good representation of them. But it honestly doesn't solve any issues. I think people will find that it's not the speakers or the rooms that are the roadblocks to good mixes. It's really quite simple when you think about it...Let's say the VSX headphones sound 100% like NRG studios and not even the owner could tell the difference. Well, it doesn't matter much. Take the average person mixing in their home studio and take them and the song they're mixing to the real NRG studios. They very likely won't all of a sudden become a world-class mixing engineer just because they are mixing in a different environment. The only reason I am not returning mine is that I think they can be used just as reference points. Like, something I can swap back and forth with my main monitors and my HD650s just to get a different perspective.

[@skeletonmodel]

I haven’t tried them. Am Interested though the hardware issues keep me from getting them. I agree with most, but: in my room, it’s really hard to mix anything below 100. It becomes a blur. I know I’m not going to ‘know what to do’ with these, but ‘hear what I do’. And that ofcourse would be positive

[@JohnSmith-pn2vl]

thats nonsense! of course it's the room, any person put in a good room will improve their mixing dramatically. when you are eqing against a room mode, it's a useless fight that will never end well.

[@oinkooink]

Fair point. But the Platinum package here in the southern hemisphere costs nearly a THOUSAND dollars. Which is a massive amount of coin to spend on something that's going to be a casual reference as opposed to a serious hard core mixing solution. I had to suck it and see so bought the whole thing. But I want to refund it on the 30 day money back. But the dealer here says no...because it's a health and safety issue with headphones. Utterly insane.

[@dkrecording3324]

I m getting one

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Cool. I’m sure you’ll find it very useful 🤘🏼

[@dkrecording3324]

@@adamfiascoVEVO I know that you are pro with lots of experience so it might not work for you. But I live in apartment should I get one?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@dkrecording3324 I think it’s definitely worth trying given your circumstances. But ultimately only you can decide if it suits you or not.

[@dkrecording3324]

@@adamfiascoVEVO thx

[@thomasyoung5680]

Respect, brother. VSX works Great for me. I LOVE THEM THEY ARE A COMING INNOVATION

[@user-qc1ou5pv4m]

I thought u were a science teacher🤯

[@FalkomMusic]

If they were open, I think they would work the right way.

[@stestetsonmusic]

Just out of interest when you have speakers in a room already why would you buy headphones to make it sound like you have speakers in the room?

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Good question. Because these headphones supposedly emulate specific speakers in specific rooms, for example, NS10s in NRG. The speakers and the room can have massive impact on what you hear.

[@stestetsonmusic]

@@adamfiascoVEVO I thought that but here is something I learned from a Top producer I have worked with because I was asking these same questions to him. He said doesn’t matter what headphones you use listen to other music in that genre and see how good music well mixed sounds on them and always through out the process use tracks as references if you do that it shouldnt matter what you are wearing you will get a better mix.. headphones will never be ideal full stop but if its all you have its totally viable I think

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@stestetsonmusic I think it depends on the headphones in question tbh. Yes you can mix on headphones, I wouldn’t want to for lots of reasons but one thing I did like about VSX is that they didn’t sound like headphones.... they genuinely do sound like speakers in a room, which for mixing I think is super useful. They just didn’t offer me any benefit over my speakers in my room.

[@stestetsonmusic]

@@adamfiascoVEVO technology certainly advancing fast now I’m more interested now in the development of ai speakers that can map your room when they bring this tech to monitors that will be amazing for home studios

[@Jukau]

well you are not the target group in my eyes its the people without a treated room with sensitive neighbours who can only mix on headphones..and correct on speakers

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Yep. Totally right dude. I was hoping that it might have added an extra valuable reference - that would have made them worth keeping for me. But as I didn’t want to change anything in the mixes after mixing on speakers and then switching to these it just didn’t make sense to keep them. However as I said in the video, for many I imagine they being invaluable.

[@lambcast]

Ok, so you mixed on your Focals, cross referenced in VSX and found translation so the VSX system works... you can keep getting up and going to your car, checking on boom boxes and going to a club to check your Focal work, but the rest of us will trust VSX provides a reference checker to our Focal work. You're going to be working on something and going to wish you had those VSX reference rooms because there always come a point where you'll want to have an idea how something is going to sound elsewhere... VSX is not going to improve anyone's mixing skills but it will allow you to have an idea how well what you're doing translate to how the general public who don't have your focals will hear your work. Good luck.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Not exactly because as I said in the video... I mixed on the VSX and didn’t like how it translated. Then mixed on the Focals and found it translated perfectly on VSX as well as everywhere else...to the point where I didn’t want to change anything. So pointless me keeping the VSX, hence the reason why I let go of them. As ever YMMV and if it happens in the future that I miss them or wish I had them, I’ll just buy them again lol. But right now, they’re not adding anything for me.

[@achook9474]

@@adamfiascoVEVO From what I understand did you mix with the headphones in I think HD linear? Or did you use a one of studio rooms? The reason I ask is because I thought that you was to mix with the HD linear and then check your mix after with the rooms like the club or studio. Which is how the original poster here stated they was to be used.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@achook9474 No I mixed using the NRG NS10.

[@achook9474]

@@adamfiascoVEVO oh ok, gotcha ya. Maybe do a follow up video letting people know the way I thought they was to be used. Because 99% don’t have good headphones let alone multiple different references to use and that these headphones allow for that. I get why your not using them as sending them back you have multiple references already and know your headphones. Also if you still have them trying mixing with the HD linear and see if their better then your headphones now you might get the 10% your looking for just a Suggestion. Anyways thanks for read my comment not many youtubers actually no that stuff anymore. And for that I will subscribe.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@achook9474 I don’t like mixing on headphones. These were different given that the rooms sound like actual rooms. But like I’ve said they don’t really offer any added value for me. Sure I could learn the rooms but still no added value. Hence why I returned them. If they work for you then that’s awesome. 🙂

[@iamdjsyko]

youre not supoosed to choose a weird room for the mixdown. Set to linear for a true response, then test that it translates to different spaces and sound with only pleasant nuances between. If you tried to find a room that made it sound nicer with no changes to the mix then in fact you got the inverted result in your final mix, the thing you were hearing more of is now too quiet. At least thats what I've been told. I havent bought them yet...

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Not true at all - loads of amazing mixes have been done in those ‘weird rooms’. They’re sonically incredible spaces but regardless you’ll still have to learn the room when mixing. Just like you’d have to learn the phones if you were mixing on headphones.

[@iamdjsyko]

@@adamfiascoVEVO ok interesting. Thought you said they're crap lol

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@iamdjsyko clearly didn’t watch the video then… 🙄🤦🏼‍♂️

[@iamdjsyko]

@@adamfiascoVEVO definitely did. And the title is pretty clear you're returning them because you don't like them and then you described how they made all your mixdowns worse

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@iamdjsyko yeah there’s quite a lot more detail to it than just that though 😂

[@suffpapst]

Nice slang! So you are saying they dont translate. Thanks for the information. I dont see any need to go away from traditional headphones. All these promisses, hahaha

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

It’s not as black and white as that - and it’s important that it’s understood in context. They didn’t translate FOR ME. Now if I spent weeks/months learning the rooms I’m 100% I could get them to translate, but the point is, my own speakers in my own room translate perfectly, and this was confirmed by VSX as there’s nothing I wanted to change after hearing mixes I’ve done in my room. That’s the reason I got no added value from VSX.... not because ‘they don’t translate’

[@suffpapst]

@@adamfiascoVEVO It is always important to give a diplomatic answer. Personally, I don't see why some company like Slate shall easily outperform manufacturers which make headpones for decades (same thing for the mic). And if the low mids are weak, I cannot mix either. Why should I learn some famous room? This is a joke already. Better to learn the own room.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@suffpapst hmm it depends. If you have a great well treated room, then yes I’d always rather invest in some great speakers and learn that. But if you don’t have a great room you’re always gonna be fighting an uphill battle... and something like this would make a hella lot more sense.

[@TheNathanMac]

Nx from waves is cheaper and works with the headphones you use

[@michaelyolch79]

Here's the thing. Thousands of epic records have been made for decades without these headphones. So...

[@oinkooink]

They basically target the home studio desperado who can't quite make his music as great as the music he loves. It's that person who they target. I know coz I was one of them. They dangle a fool proof solution to crappy mixes and fools take the bait. They sell a dream to dreamers. Home studio desperados don't make epic records, generally.

[@michaelyolch79]

@@oinkooink You are 100% correct. Any shiny trinket that makes people believe their crap will sound legendary. What do you expect from a pile of sheep who still believe the only mic you should EVER use on a guitar cab is an SM57. Please don't get me started. HAHA!

[@Amanet13]

Yea I don’t think I’d like that virtual thing to my headphones neither

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

It takes some getting used to but I do think it is a great tool for people who don’t have a great room with high end monitors.

[@tedmcdowell8423]

Someone on gearslutz commented this regarding your video. He is responding to the fact that your VSX mixes didn't translate. What do you think? "There could be different reasons for that. - They are not familiar enough with the sound of the simulated rooms to confidently mix with them - They jumped around between simulations too much and confused their ears/brain and couldn't make accurate mixing decisions Many people will be buying VSX just as a referencing tool. Returning the VSX because one mix that they did translated well on the VSX simulated rooms, doesn't make any sense to me. It's like saying "This product worked as advertised. I am returning it!" If their mixing decisions in their room with their speakers were so consistently spot on and translated perfectly every time, why even bother to try the VSX? Why wouldn't the same mixing decisions that they make with speakers, work when mixing in VSX if they can tell what translates and doesn't translate in VSX? Why return the VSX and replace it with second pair of DT770s, when they are not good for mixing, or referencing, even when calibrated? That is why I am questioning their logic and reasoning."

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

It’s a fair comment. So I needed a second pair of headphones for tracking and I love 770s for that. However before buying another pair I decided to try VSX and see if they also helped my mixes. The reason my mix didn’t translate I think is pretty much entirely because I wasn’t used to the ‘room’. However if I could mix on my Focals and then IMPROVE my mixes on VSX then it would’ve been worth keeping them. But when I mixed on my Focals and then flicked to VSX there wasn’t anything I wanted to change. So for that reason it wasn’t worth keeping the VSX. So I returned them and I’m now buying a second pair of 770s for tracking.

[@LaidbackSounds]

@@adamfiascoVEVO looks like you have a pretty good room and mixing habits then, pretty dope, congrats. I know a friend of mine as well he reasonably treated his room and measured it and he got fantastic results with the accuracy of his room (sometimes it s a bit of luck too to have the perfect room shape etc). in this case yes your review is pretty accurate but other people might note as you said it is not the case of a lot of ppl and its where vsx excel :)

[@neilhampson]

Saved me 400 quid. Cheers mate.

[@unphazd5137]

lol

[@theatifband]

Actually any headphone in the world cannot translate the sound stage that monitors give. I have NDH20 which are fabulous but I know my music would be heard on regular consumer headphones. Our anatomy and the physics of headphones just cannot replicate monitors. Especially mixing on them. When we are done we can problem reference on them- as you did and found them accurate. Also Slate is just emulating the reality- it is very close but it is not the same. You need some seasoned ear and a little tweaking of 5-10% to get there. Same goes with SL-1 Mic; the end-user cannot tell the difference.

[@alexk7244]

I tried it for a week and I’m not impressed…Actually I’m a fan of SS products, but this is not in this list. first at all the headphones are uncomfortable compared with other popular brands. Second the plug-in is limited and the new rooms are very expensive and the result is not much different then with other emulators in the market. finally it’s very uncomfortable to switch headphones if you want to listen something else then your DAW.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

If I'm completely honest, I'd love to try this VSX again now! It seems to have undergone some pretty drastic changes since the Founders Edition which is what I reviewed here.

[@andivax]

Verum 1

[@AV-wz2pv]

Why would you wanna simulate that room at NRG lol. That room sounds like shit in real life just imagine how it sound on headphones trying to emulate it.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

😂😂 tbh I’ve never had the pleasure of working in NRG. So getting an insight to how it sounds was pretty cool. Tbh I thought it sounded ok and there have been plenty of phenomenal records mixed out of there 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@benhunter5896]

bro dont get me wrong, I just upvoted and subbed, but if youre using dt770 then that figures, i find these worst pair of headphones ever 😢

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

I don’t use them for mixing - far too bright for that. I’d prefer a pair of open back headphones for this. However for tracking I love the 770s - they have great isolation and are comfortable!

[@benhunter5896]

@@adamfiascoVEVO fair enough, guess it depends on the genre, VSX for electronic bass music like UKG for example works very well and I am getting these soon, DT770s fails big time imho

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@benhunter5896 for tracking my primary concerns are isolation and comfort. These do those two things well for me! Mixing I do on my monitors.

[@HumanBeingWithFeelings]

Finally an honest review of the VSX that is not affected by Slate's marketing team. It's so difficult to find useful honest non-sponsored reviews. thank you!

[@hailnarii4239]

Knew it was some negative heads out there 😂

[@chrissneider7550]

oh well, 99% of users listen to music from Spotify and Apple Music with the earbuds that come with their phones and in general the music they listen to is pure garbage. It won't matter to them what monitors you used or if you recorded it in the best studio in the world, as long as the song is played on the radio and they tell them it's the best in the world they will consume it. The point is that if you listen to for example the song 'Despacito' which has billions of views on youtube, it is literally garbage sound if you listen to it in a good studio. The point is not so much how good you make your songs sound but how much people like them. Make a song that is pure garbage with a poopy sound but people like it and you've succeeded! just sayin'...

[@Danefrak]

I've seen you copy paste this exact thing on reddit

[@beesting6135]

They break too much

[@jesseflores6904]

lol after a week... this is bollocks

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Lol ok bud. Your opinion is the right one 🙄😂

[@GregoryStephenSchumacher]

OMG. The DT770 is the worst headphone I've ever had. They suck. That's my opinion. lol.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Lol. They have great isolation and sound fine (if a bit hyped in the highs). Great for tracking. That’s my opinion ;)

[@oinkooink]

Absolutely 100% gimmick. Always was. Always will be.

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Fundamentally disagree with this - I do think they have their use and are a great option for many people. They just didn’t really offer anything for me. Maybe that will change in the future.

[@oinkooink]

@@adamfiascoVEVO You've got a leg in each paddock mate

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@oinkooink not really - as I said in the video (if you’ve watched it?) I think they do a really good job, the technology is sound and will help a huge amount of people. But they just didn’t offer anything extra to me in my individual circumstance - hence why I took advantage of their return policy.

[@oinkooink]

@@adamfiascoVEVO To be fair I was being a bit harsh. I actually got VSX a week or two ago. I don't have a good room. Can't trust it whatsoever. I've nearly completed one re-mix and it is pretty drastic how much improvement I got. I've heard things in my tracks I've not heard before. I can hear and dial in compression settings better, can make way, way better eq decisions, can much better hear reverb etc. So, just like you said, they will work for some people. Especially people like me who had questionable monitoring accuracy. They weren't of benefit to you because you have a trustworthy monitoring setup. I wish I did! Until then, looks like VSX. EDIT: Mind you...you did say in your final verdict: "I hated it. I really, really didn't like it...way too much low mids...the vocals sounded muddy...I buried the backing vocals...there was too much reverb...I just didn't like the mix". So. If this product is actually good and useful (just not useful for you)...why didn't you get a good mix? Are you saying VSX is useful only for utter plonkers who have typical spare bedroom monitoring? If the product is good, surely you'd have got a good mix. So I think something's up here. You say they aren't useful "for you" but would be useful for maybe 90% of others. Are you talking about the weekend warrior spare bedroom plonkers? So in other words are you saying that VSX is rubbish? It would stand to reason to assume that (though you try to paper over that by saying VSX is good but just "not for you"...thereby giving VSX a pass) in actual fact VSX is not good. Are you saying that I'm a plonker? I'm not a plonker. If you can mix...and if VSX is a good product and useful...and it works and it's accurate...why couldn't you get a good mix? Do you see my logic here?

[@BIG_PASTA]

@@oinkooink what made you go from calling them a gimmick to buying them? I'm genuinely curious. And how do you feel about them now three moths later? Looking to pick up a pair bc I'm in a very shitty room at the moment.

[@dre3809]

Personally I believe your mistake was thinking you could get any better than a treated room and Focals. That’s pretty unbeatable even with headphones. I know a producer that did Alicia Keys album at her home in New York and he worked for Sony and was gonna take his speakers but they were an over kill and a friend let him borrow the Solo 6 B’s and he loved them so much that he kept them and did her whole album with them. They are serious stuff. My situation is I have those but my room is close to the worse untreated room ever created and I’ve never been able to take full advantage of them. I perhaps can benefit from these. Although I love those 770’s! Cheers!

[@dre3809]

Also, would you say these cans are useful without the software? Thanks for the honest video!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

Fair point. I mean the focal solos are stunning monitors but by no means are they super high end. My opinion is that monitors are a very personal thing and you have to find a solution that works for you. As it turns out the focals work super well for me. The VSX was great but would’ve required learning a bunch of new rooms and monitors. If I was travelling then it’s totally worth the time investment but I only ever work out of my studio so at the time felt like it wasn’t really needed. Still a great product though and I think it’s probably even better now than it was when I first tried it!

[@dre3809]

@@adamfiascoVEVO your opinion is a great one! :) I agree with everything you said actually! One more thing I would like to ask. Do you think that if you take the software out of the equation, meaning using it as is, that one could benefit from this headphone for mixing or should one consider anything else like the Shure SRH1840, or Neumann’s? Thanks again! You have a really cool set up!

[@adamfiascoVEVO]

@@dre3809 sure I mean they are great headphones in their own right but where they really shine and come to life is with the software so I don’t see why you would get them to use without the software - there are loads other options that do that within that same budget.

[@dre3809]

@@adamfiascoVEVO thanks so much man! I figured it was a stupid question and the answer was obvious but I figured I just ask anyway lol Thanks again!

[@user-qc1ou5pv4m]

nice one, Adam 👏