Why Reliable Monitoring Matters
If you’re working with audio, reliable monitoring is essential – there’s no way around it. Every mix decision you make is based on what you hear, so if your monitoring setup isn’t accurate, neither will your mixes be.
You have two primary options for monitoring: studio monitors and headphones. Ideally, you’d use both. Studio monitors interact with the room, introducing reflections and spatial cues that affect how you perceive sound. Headphones, on the other hand, eliminate the room from the equation, delivering a more direct and isolated listening experience.
“Studio monitors give you the big picture – it’s like stepping back a few feet and listening to the mix as a whole. It’s about energy, moving air, and feeling the music and the general sense of how your mix is shaping up. But when I need to get into the finer details, I switch to headphones. Headphones allow for focused listening, helping me pick up on subtle nuances in the mix. They’re essential for precise placement of instruments across the soundstage.“
– SARA CARTER | Simply Mixing, Mix Engineer & Former BBC Sound Engineer
But even then, not all headphones are created equal. Some exaggerate bass, others lack clarity in the mids or highs, and very few offer a truly neutral sound signature. This is why calibrated headphones, like the OLLO X1, are game-changers. They provide a flat, reliable frequency response without the interference of room acoustics, giving you a trustworthy reference point no matter where you’re working.
For those outside our industry, nuances might not seem important, but they mean everything to us. When I first unpacked the headphones and tried them without calibration, I was already impressed. But once I used the calibration algorithm, the improvement was undeniable.
– ENRICO SESSELEGO | Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert
Calibrating Your Ears – The Power of Reference Tracks
In the end, trusting sound isn’t just about technology – it’s about training your ears. Even with the best monitoring system in the world, trusting sound isn’t just about having “flat” headphones or perfectly tuned speakers. Sound is shaped by more than just frequency response – there’s air movement, reflections, harmonics, and distortions that influence what we hear. Speakers introduce cross-talk and reflections from walls, while headphones eliminate those factors entirely. This means the same mix can sound wildly different depending on the playback device.
So how do you develop consistency? By using reference tracks.
Reference tracks are professionally mixed and mastered songs that serve as benchmarks. These tracks allow you to compare your mix against a known standard, helping you identify tonal balance, dynamic range, and stereo imaging. The key is to choose tracks you know inside and out – songs that sound great on any system. When you compare your work to these references, you can make better mixing decisions and adjust accordingly.
What’s really important for me is having a clear direction – knowing how a band wants to sound on their upcoming album and having reference tracks to guide the process. Having the right tools to facilitate that is essential – that’s where my money goes. Because it’s important to have headphones or monitors that tell me the truth when I’m comparing my mix to a released reference track.
SARA CARTER | Simply Mixing, Mix Engineer & Former BBC Sound Engineer
Making Your Mix Work Everywhere
When a mix is nearly finished, checking how it translates across different systems is crucial. A mix that sounds great on one system but terrible on another isn’t ready.
This is why cross-checking in different environments matters. But let’s be real – most of us don’t have access to multiple studios. This is where tools like the X1 mixing headphones come in. Not only are they calibrated for accuracy, but they also come with software that emulates different rooms, environments, and target curves, such as the Harman Target. This allows you to simulate how your mix will sound in various listening conditions without leaving your workspace.
It’s not just about making a mix sound good – it’s about making it sound good everywhere.
Even if I have the best speakers in the world, I need to ensure my mix translates well. Forty or fifty years ago, we checked our mixes on a mono transistor radio – that’s how people heard music. Whether it was during breakfast in the bathroom, getting ready for the day, or driving to school or work, music was experienced differently back then. These days, people listen to music through earbuds or headphones, so I have to be acutely aware of how listeners hear their music. It’s crucial to trust that what I’m doing translates well.
– ADAM MOSELEY | U2, Beck, Rush, Kiss, Nikka Costa, Roxette, The Cure, John Cale, Spike Jonze, UCLA and Berklee
From a Garage to a Global Brand: The Story of OLLO Audio
Most great ideas start with curiosity. For OLLO Audio, it began with a simple yet ambitious question: How do you bring the immersive sound of a studio environment into a headphone experience? That journey led to not just a company but a revolution in how musicians and engineers approach mixing.
OLLO Audio began as a necessity, not a corporate vision. Over a decade ago, Rok, a new father to twins, found himself at a crossroads. The studio he had once relied on for his music production no longer fit into his life. With a newborn at home, he could no longer use his speakers, and headphones just didn’t give him the consistency he needed. No matter how much he tried to get comfortable with them, translating his mixes was always a struggle.
Determined to find a solution, Rok started tinkering in his garage. He experimented with components, fine-tuned designs, and learned what it took to create headphones he could rely on. The first result wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to get back to making music. Soon, friends saw what he’d created and asked for their own pairs. Word spread, and what started as a small personal project grew into a business.
From handcrafted prototypes in his father’s garage, OLLO Audio quickly evolved into a global brand trusted by over 15,000 professionals today. OLLO’s headphones have become a trusted tool for musicians, engineers, and creators, helping them produce accurate, reliable mixes in any environment. With the release of the X1 headphones, OLLO continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in portable, accurate sound.
But OLLO is about more than just sound—it’s about durability, sustainability, and craftsmanship. From the start, the company has prided itself on creating headphones that are not only built to sound great but also built to last. OLLO’s headphones are designed with replaceable parts, making them some of the most durable and sustainable on the market. They’re easy to repair and maintain, and every pair comes with a five-year warranty.
Looking Ahead
The world of audio is changing. More and more professionals are working remotely, on the go, or in less-than-ideal environments. But that doesn’t mean we have to compromise on accuracy. Trusting sound is possible – with the right tools, reference points, and training.
OLLO Audio continues to push the boundaries of studio monitoring, shaping the future of sound with precision and innovation. After all, great music starts with trust—and trust begins with sound.
THE X1 – FLAT SOUND FROM LAPTOPS TO ANALOG CONSOLES
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Plugin & direct EQ support
Run the USC calibration as a plugin on your laptop or as direct EQ values on any hardware, e.g. RME Total Mix, UA Console, MOTU Control, Neumann Monitor Mission and any DSP-enabled audio interface or analog EQ strips.
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Individually calibrated – using the power of AI processing
Every X1 unit is individually tested and calibrated to fix any frequency response deviations from materials and acoustics. The AI analytical power enables fine-tuning the X1 with another layer of precision.
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Studio, FOH and car emulations
The USC II plugin features studio, front-of-house (FOH), and car emulations, expertly preset by OLLO and powered by Realphones technology.
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Stereo, spatial and Harman targets
The X1 default calibration is optimized for stereo mixing and translation. With just one click, you can switch to spatial audio mixing in binaural mode or use the popular Harman target to cross-check your mix.
Ready to hear the difference? Check out the OLLO X1 and start trusting your sound today.
