Steven Slate Audio VSX Essentials Edition

Going into this purchase with some skepticism but seeing many good review of this product. I decided to give these headphones a try.

After recieving the product I was greeted by a nice package. Headphones, Carrying hardcase and a cable with a 6.3 jack adapter. pretty much all you need. and of course there was the license for the software.

After using the headphones without the software for a day and with the software for another these are my impressions.
without software these headphones honestly sound the worst I have heard in a long time. with weak bass and nearly non existant high I was significantly dissapointed. I did notice that these headphones seperate each sound quite well the stereo seperation was again pretty dissapointing. but okay these headphones are advertised with the software in use.

With the software these headphones sound significantly beter but was dissapointed again to find out that my favourite emulation was that of de 80 Ohm Beyerdynamics DT770 Pro. meaning I could have saved about 230 euro If i just bought those.

so my verdict was to return them. Unfortunaly this is where the real problem started. At first I contacted Steven Slate directly regarding the refund. I was told to contact Thomann for the return.

After contacting Thomann I was asked whether the software was activated which it was. as a reply I got told that I could not return the headphones because of the activated license.

I am currently contacting steven slate again hoping they can help. But If you are considering these headphones but are skeptical aswell then just DO NOT BUY. you can not test these headphones without activating the software and you can not return them if you. For me I am never considering software centered hardware ever again!

I have tried other headphone solutions for years and they are inaccurate with nowhere near the precision of VSX. I struggled getting things to translate with other solutions, drives you mad because in headphones, the mixes sound decent, but anywhere else they are lacking. Before VSX I finished an EP and a test track. After receiving VSX and calibrating it, I played the test track.... It sounded like total rubbish!! Finally these headphones are telling me the truth, and I can fix it. So I went back and quickly redid most of the stems, especially drums and bass. Now playing the mix of the test track on the speakers elsewhere it sounds great. Same thing with first track of EP, the old "finished" mix was now in VSX sounding horrific... Bass sustain terrible, weak drums, too much low mids. High end also bad, harsh, unsmooth. Now going back and fixing the stems, removing previous processing and simply EQing correctly (because now I can hear accurately with VSX) in most cases fixed things. Certain tracks like drums and bass I ran through some 500 series gear... But with VSX now I can really hear what's going on... Compression is easier to hear and dial in. The first mix is amazing.. solid bass which is just right. Drums which are weighty but not stepping on the bass. The drums are crisp and transients clear and things groove beautifully now. The musical elements are pleasing now, the right balance and no harsh frequency build up, and finally the top end is managed nicely, still plenty of high frequency but nothing harsh, it's just smooth and shimmery. Playing it on other systems it sounds great, which is the whole point of VSX.

Honestly the difference is staggering. It is crazy that the other solutions flatter the sound so much and hide the truth. I wish I had invested in VSX earlier to save me from so much misery with mixdowns. As I learn the system better I will not need to fix stuff like this as from the beginning I can get things sounding right like they should.

What I like is their solution is ONE headphones specifically designed to work in tandem with their amazing software. This is less points of failure. Other solutions have too many issues measuring each brand & model of headphone then there is lots of variance in the correction curves between these same models of headphones in different products... Then you have control over how much correction to apply... The options for tweaking are endless!!

VSX has brought me so much joy already, now I have no stress opening up my DAW because I can rely on what I'm hearing.

I would recommend Archon and Mike Dean expansions if doing electronic bass heavy music.

I've been skeptical for a while since I honestly thought it was more a commercial move rather than a real game changer but... I was wrong. Like really.
I've been using also some top of the game headphones with top simulating studios softwares but, well it's not the same as the VSX.

I've been buying the basic package so, you don't really need dozen of rooms to have a good mix. I am just using the Steven's studio and the car and it's already good enough to have a great reference.

As a side note, I am pretty happy with the response of my physical room, not really so far from the response of the headphones.

Anyway.
VERY RECOMMENDED:
Get your ears used to the VSX sound with some reference tracks before blindly mixing; they suggest at least one hour, but I must confess it took me pretty much less than this since I really felt everything on the right place after minutes.

The only very very tiny thing, in my very personal opinion, is the comfort.
They are comfortable, don't get me wrong, but after a while I feel like a need to remove them and take a break, anyway they are light enough for long sessions if needed.
I still would recommend to use them as an alternative listen to your main room if possible and keep comparing mixes, especially in the SUV environment simulation.
But trust me, after mixing in Slate Room you really won't need anything else if you want to.
Go for it!

I had plenty of skepticism about locking myself into this hardware-software system.

But so far it seems like some of the best money I could've spent to improve my mixes.

Previously I struggled to judge the low end from my monitors, and always found huge problems when playing back on a system with a subwoofer.

These gave me an impression of the woof, without wasting time bouncing my mix back and forth to different places.

It does convincingly trick my brain into thinking the sound is coming out of the monitors in front of me, and has made stereo imaging tasks easier.

The mono avantone mixcube is also a useful emulation included with essentials.

I had Archon studios included as part of a deal and I'm not sure I necessarily need many more rooms (although the phone and boombox emulations might be nice). If the upgrade to platinum went on sale I'd be tempted though.