Cross-check a mix on both headphones and speakers, trusting neither alone

Headphones and loudspeakers reveal different faults, so a mix should be checked on both. Headphones expose small distortions and clicks that loudspeakers hide. But headphones present the stereo image differently from speakers and are notoriously unpredictable at low frequencies, so relying on them alone leads to poor panning and unreliable bass decisions. The practical routine is to make primary balance and low-end judgments on speakers, then audition on headphones to catch fine detail problems — and never treat either as the sole reference. This is one instance of the broader habit of checking a mix on many playback systems.

Examples

On speakers the mix seems clean; on headphones you notice a faint click on the snare and a click at an edit point. Fix those on headphones, but set the panning and bass level from the speakers, where the stereo image is trustworthy.

Assessment

State one class of problem headphones reveal better than speakers and one they misrepresent, and explain why you should not mix on headphones alone.