Loolarge
even dont compose with headphones only …
not true. get proper ones instead. alot of people buy 400$ speakers and 10$ headphones and then wonder why they screw up when composing/mixing with headphones. You need to know the equipment you use. My headphones did cost more than my speakers and it works very well for me. 
thats exactly the problem. they sound too good. either you say then : “hey, please listen only with 200$ headpgones to my song” or you manage to make it sound good on every loudspeaker. daftpunk for example are mastering with a gettoblaster.
not true not true 
headphones should never be used as reference - only as help for stereo-based effect - but you should target your sounds to sound better on speakers (of course good quality speakers and headphones are must).
Headphones may deceive you, it is not a problem of sound quality but perception.
Very quiet reverb will be barely hearable on speakers while it will sound perfect on headphones.
BTW, good headphones may cost $500 rather than $200 
But nevertheless most people will hear it on speakers so therefore target your music to sound better on speakers.
I mix with headphones and master with:
2 different types of headphones
3 sets of speakers (mid range stereo, high end stereo, car speakers)
About headphones … very misleading. What can sound perfectly clear on your headphones can sound like muffled garbage on speakers. It’s rather maddening actually 
You’re probably best to make it sound good on speakers first then tweak it slightly on your headphones.
the point is that you need to know your headphones, for example how they respond to bass-frequencies, and if you know how a “generally-good” bass sounds on your headphones, you can make your bass sound exactly like that, even if it does not sound actually cool.
this means :
I listen to good d&b or Hiphop music and just memorize how my headphones respond to “well-mixed” deep frequencies (and even if this means they only start to rumble and shake, then I can rebuild exactly that rumble and shaking. and also I think headphones are not as forgiving as speakers, small problems are more easily heard with headphones.
Anyway, I did not say you shall never listen to your tunes on other speakers/headphones too, I guess the point is to have a variety of audiosystems to check on.
and no one ever complained about my mixing, on the contrary I got props for my hiphop-basedrums
Its really all a matter of how well you know your equpiment. And it is possible to make well-mixed music on headphones.
good idea on the bass/headphone tip looza…
also i’d recommend buying a headphone amp if you really want to master on the headphones to get rid of the ‘blobs in your head’ sound. I personally use both Seinheiser HD-497 headphones and just a set of Cambrdige Soundworks speakers on my comp. Either on their own probably wouldn’t be good enough but together I can get the sound just right. I find that this combo works well and the mix sounds good on a bunch of other hi-fi setups i try. I think another things is to use a few well mixed cds as a reference. Not only the “clean” sounding stuff (Dr.Dre) but well mixed and mastered “grimy” stuff (Wu-Tang).
I’ve heard tracks that sound unbelievable though monitors and crap on a normal stereo so dont think they are vital for mixing.
but i wish i could afford good monitors… 
I think also the point is how you get your hardware. When I bought my headphones, I went to a audio-shop and took a CD with me and tested all headphones they had there with tracks I know for years and heard on many different equipment, like saint germain “street scene”, because the bassline in this track is incredibly warm, smooth and punchy and its a good bass-test for every equipment.
but anyway, something I really wanted to say :
you wont get a contract just because your music is well mixed. and if you get a contract because your music itself is great, they will pay you a mixingengineer to make it fat.
WAT! i never knew such a site existed. the internet surprises you everyday.
hang on! u said that chic in your avatar is your gf! i bet u just d/led her from that site!
After a few years of mixing with normal speakers and good linear headphones (audiotechnica). last year I used a professional mastering-studio / professional sound technician and I must say the results are great and I will never again try to master songs by myself! … I think nobody has such referenz speakers, expensive hardware-finalizers like in a professional mastering studio …
cheers, Alex
first you make things in headphones, then you check how it all sounds on speakers. it’s natural, and it is irrational to do it in any other way. wish you luck in assembling whispering sounds on speakers so they sound good on headphones… and do i need to mention the equaliser for music makers is flat.
i saw someone wrote like this:
the untruest thing on headphones is that left and right are
REALLY left and right, i mean that it just goes into your ear, while with speakers you still hear with your right ear if
something comes on the left channel only. btw i am not talking bullshit i am audio engineer since 7 years now and i just
can say stop mixing on headphones guys or your music will never leave your home if you wanna see it on the market.
the real left and right are the TRUEST thing in headphohes. when someone listens on headphones to your record that you tracked on speakers, what do they hear? a friggin’ mess. and that part about the market, man i just laughed it off
i think this discussion is totally useless …
no mastering studio uses headphones for mastering!
it’s no problem to create a song with headphones in alternation with speakers to compare sounds and so on …
for mastering linear monitor speakers are needed, and a little bit knowlegde about frequencies and a good ear …
for privat mastering the best method is to listen the songs on many soundsystems you can get (car, hifi, ghetto-blaster, disco etc.) and compare the songs with other audio-cd’s with the music of your choice …
that’s all …
I produce and master on a pair of $20 headphones. Works funky fresh for me. If anyone wants the track they’re going to ask for a toned down master tape of it anyway, and i trust studio engineers more than i trust myself when it comes to mastering. The closest i’ve come to actually giving a damn about making my track sound “good” (relatively speaking) on any number of random speakers is shoving it though t-racks until it had more bass in it. heh.
I really agree with looza. Being overly anal about mastering doesnt really do you a world of good if the track itself is dull. Then it’s just wasted effort.