Steven Slate Audio VSX Platinum Edition

When I decided to buy these it was somewhat of a gamble mentally, there was a variety of people's thoughts on how good they are, whether they were "snake oil" or one of the best purchases you could make for improving the mix and master quality of your music. After owning them for about a month I have fallen into the latter camp. They are incredible, and aside from my FL Studio All Plugins version license they are the best music purchase/investment I have ever bought.

The only downside I think these headphones have is that it is impossible to demo how they are going to sound to you based off of YouTube videos or reviews etc. This is thanks to the software aspect designed for these specific headphones and the fact that it is calibrated to every batch of thousand VSX headphones sold (you input the first 2 digits of serial number when you set up the software).

You are basically reliant on second hand information as to how good they are, and this very nearly ended up putting me off buying them, but I am so glad I grabbed them in the end. They were the best Christmas present I could have gotten for myself last year.

If I was given the option to trade these in for a pair of current gen Audeze or a set of 30k USD costing studio monitors I wouldn't take either. The VSX's versatility is unmatched compared to either. They are the perfect mixing solution for a small home studio in an untreatable room and where noise complaints can be a thing, and I don't think any amount of extra money could buy something better.

As an added bonus they are incredibly comfortable and I am happy to sit and wear them for hours of mixing time, they are also the best performing pair of headphones at lower volume levels of any I have ever owned.

Been using VSX for a full year now. This has been said 1000 times. but I will say it again. If you are thinking of buying them, and you do not have the luxury to have a great room treatment, and multiple great monitors and headphones, Do not hesitate and just try them out. They are totally worth it.

Before this I had the Beyerdynamics DT1990 Pro, VSX just blew it out of the water. (Although not comfort wise obviously)
The biggest problem is that, no matter what expensive headphones or monitors you buy for mixing you will still want to make that frequency line straight as possible to even hear what are you doing, so you end up buying sonarworks or whatever. It just makes no sense.

VSX linear mode (the default mode) frequency line is as straight as it can basically be. AND YOU HEAR THE TRUTH. Only now you can make the right production and mixing decisions and stop wasting time.

One question I had before buying this - can they be used as the main headphones? Not only for mixing and production but for all the other things, even outside of DAW? YES. I sold every headphone I had, and I use VSX all the time. They are really great.
In DAW you just put the plugin in the master chain and that's it. You do not have to think about it at all. Outside of DAW you can still use them without any software! Although with VSX systemwide they sound better.

Comfort wise - I use them everyday. Even up to 10+ hours a day. I have no problem with comfort. They are not the most comfortable headphones as, for example, Beyerdynamics. But they still have a good build quality and you get used to them.

And as a bonus, for those who mix heavy music, like metal, which arguably is the hardest genre to mix. VSX is amazing. Now you can really hear the problematic clashing frequencies (and nasty high gain guitar noise) and finally can make a great sounding mix.

I was choosing between the VSX and a pair of studio monitors and ultimately decided to go with the VSX. It did not disappoint! This tool is absolutely insane for bedroom studios or any studio without proper acoustic treatment. An added benefit is the portability, which is virtually impossible with monitors.

The only downside is that the materials used seem to be of lower quality. Compared to the DT-770, the plastic on the VSX feels flimsy (though it does get better with time), making it necessary to handle the VSX with great care, especially given the high price. Additionally, I found them less comfortable than the DT-770. After a couple of hours, the VSX becomes uncomfortable, whereas I barely notice the DT-770.

Despite these issues, the sound quality makes the VSX the best option for mixing and mastering for me. However, I wouldn't recommend using them for recording or casual listening if you have another pair of studio headphones available.