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I've been seeing advertising for the Steven Slate headphones package all over my social media feeds.
It looks interesting. Supposedly, it's a modeling system that, with the Steven Slate headphones, you can emulate a wide range of listening environments from world famous studios to listening in your car..... So you can get that car test audio without the car.
I'm curious if anyone here has purchased this and if so, what you think about it.
It's a bit expensive but if it does what it claims, might in fact be a worthwhile investment in the mixing and mastering part of the process to get better results quickly.
Or..... Should one simply let AI do the mastering or continue on the same path of in-house?
Thoughts and/or experiences?
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Steven Slate doesn't make anything that isn't great.
I bought a $100 box maybe ten years ago that served as an audio interface and could model the sounds of different rooms. You plugged in your own headphones. It certainly worked, but after the novelty wore off, I found little use for it. I'll try to find the brand for comparison purposes. Perhaps Presonus? Tascam? I'll look.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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If you search the forums for "Slate" you'll find several threads with member opinions. The consensus seems to be that they work. Still a little pricey for me though...
DC Ron
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I'm curious if anyone here has purchased this and if so, what you think about it. There’ve been a few threads on this. I like them but they’re a tool like any other. I still track with my SONY MDR-7506 as I have for nearly 40 years. My SONYs have all had the ear pads replaced with sheepskin over memory foam. Not sure if they affect the acoustics but they are more comfortable and don’t shed plastic onto my ears as they age. If you search the forums for "Slate" you'll find several threads with member opinions. The consensus seems to be that they work. Still a little pricey for me though... They aren’t my only monitoring setup but I consider them worth every penny. I don’t mix on them but all mixes get checked on VSX before being sent to clients. I often hear details that had otherwise eluded me.
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I'm currently using Sony MDR-7506 headphones and Mackie MR-5 studio monitors with a Polk Audio 100w 10" sub.
I check my mixes on my decent quality ear buds that are noise canceling/reducing.... The funny thing is I hear stuff in the ear buds that I miss totally in the studio on the speakers or cans. I tend to trust the buds that were $30 on Amazon, more than anything else. Is that weird or what?
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I'm currently using Sony MDR-7506 headphones and Mackie MR-5 studio monitors with a Polk Audio 100w 10" sub.
I check my mixes on my decent quality ear buds that are noise canceling/reducing.... The funny thing is I hear stuff in the ear buds that I miss totally in the studio on the speakers or cans. I tend to trust the buds that were $30 on Amazon, more than anything else. Is that weird or what? So many people listen to music ONLY on earbuds, and often cheap earbuds, that I think it's not a bad idea to audition tracks on earbuds. I take daily walks with $20 Amazon bluetooth earbuds and I use them a lot to make mixing adjustments. My order is (1) studio headphones, (2) studio monitors, (3) earbuds and finally (4) auto sound system. I think of this as a "triangulation method" of approaching the sound from multiple sources. If it sounds good in all of these places, it MUST be good, right? RIGHT???
DC Ron
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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I started mixing in the mid 60’s in a “real” studio and have continued to the present from mono reel-to-reel to sound-on-sound reel to multi-track cassette to digital recorders to DAWS.
I’ve never mixed a single song with cans. Given our genres I want to envision myself in the middle seat on the third row of a small club with excellent acoustics. That’s our soundstage. Not for everybody I completely understand but it works for what J&B want to hear.
Regarding mastering for years we’ve used mostly Ozone modules and we tweak each module to the song (sometimes we will use a reference song). I don’t give a crap about what AI algorithms think our song should sound like. We listen in a good room on our Kali Monitors. Then in the living room with Polk Audio Towers/Yamaha Sub and then in the Subaru that also has a sub. And we check it through our Apple mono HomePod speaker. Pardon the ramble. FWIW, YMMV and I’m not ant all implying we are “right” - just the way we do it.
Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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… My order is (1) studio headphones, (2) studio monitors, (3) earbuds and finally (4) auto sound system. I think of this as a "triangulation method" of approaching the sound from multiple sources. If it sounds good in all of these places, it MUST be good, right? RIGHT??? I have been using the car audio as my fourth environment in my last few songs - roughly in the same order as you Ron, but with 2) and 3) reversed. When I now go into the garage to sit quietly in my car and listen to a new song - sometimes up to 30 minutes - I now tell my wife. On the first occasion of checking in the car, my wife became concerned and poked her head through the door to the garage and enquired “Are you okay in there?” I wonder if she thought I was having an episode?  Andrew
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I just looked over the details carefully. Things look top notch, but I’m not pleased to see that an iLok account is required.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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I just looked over the details carefully. Things look top notch, but I’m not pleased to see that an iLok account is required. Like many apps these days, you do not need the dongle. You can store the licenses on your computer or even in the cloud. The iLOK account is free.
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Ok, I pulled the trigger. Thanks.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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So there appears to be mutiple options with this gear - with multiple price points. What exactly would be the best starting point at the minimum price? How does this work? 299 USD for headphones with Free Yellow Matter Studios and NRG Studios Premium VSX Rooms. Then what, you just have to continue to pay for different rooms and upgrades? https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VSXEss--steven-slate-audio-vsx-modeling-headphones-essentials-edition
Last edited by DrDan; 09/18/25 06:55 AM.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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Well, the sale is extra emulations at the $299 price point. I started there. How high I go eventually depends on the results, but I have to say, the reviews look encouraging.
Yes, I saw a page where I could purchase individual add-ons, or upgrade to the $500 level for the overall same price as buying it outright.
Oh, and I bought it yesterday and just got a notice it already shipped.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Oh, and I bought it yesterday and just got a notice it already shipped. Be sure to post back here and let us know your unbiased opinion.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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It came today but I need time. I never did know how anyone can give an unbiased opinion, but we’ll see.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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That made my laugh, just being honest
/nice one
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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First report: they are very efficient.
I only had time to plug them in and listen with no EFX loaded. I wanted to make sure they weren’t defective.
My regular headphones have been Beyerdynamic 770s. The impedance of the new Steven Slate cans must be quite low, because with my normal volume settings for the Beyerdynamic, the Slate are loud.
Note: this isn’t good or bad; headphones come in high and low impedance and either can work fine; this is not a comment on quality.
Also, the cord is replaceable. Not a small thing after years of use.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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The Slate phones are nice on their own - I have been a user since the inception, about 5 years now. Always impressive. I had the phone replaced once (free of charge) as 100s of the earlier sets had small piece of plastic that would break. They replaced them with metal. I have used the software with HD600s as well with success, though prefer the VSX phones. The MDRs would not work well.
The VSX software and the included rooms are 100% sufficient for any mix situation, which is to say no other rooms or purchase will ever be needed. Any add-ons for purchase came after 2-3 years and attract the users who need all the latest missing silver bullet....
Like most users, it is just one of many references I use, and not always. But it is a really good one. Learning curve is small. Recommended.
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I didn’t forget about this. I’m writing for three concerts.
My problem is I make composer’s demos, so I focus on creation and notation, not mixing and production. I’m having trouble getting the room emulations to work. The first problem is the registration system, since it says I have ‘free versions’ and yet I paid a bit. I’ll figure out what I must have done wrong.
I do like the clarity and neutrality of the headphones just by themselves.
More as I know it.
ps Do NOT throw out the box.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31348&filename=Screenshot 2025-09-23 at 7.07.21 PM.png) ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31349&filename=Screenshot 2025-09-23 at 7.07.54 PM.png) In the Steven Slate Audio Center app, you'll see a number of windows for installing and activating the VSX app, the rooms and any expansions. Make sure you click on everything, install, update and activate as needed,
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
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Thanks Mike. I did those and got a message it was the free versions. Somewhere there must be a place to enter the code on the box.
EDIT: I finally got back to this and was able to download and install the products, but iLok fought me along the way. It worked inconsistently. For each product, the iLok Activations Manager had to be called. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it froze. Annoying and-time wasting.
Last edited by Matt Finley; 09/29/25 02:25 PM.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Ok, I got it. It really does make a difference. I have not begun to custom-tune the settings to my hearing, but already I see what they are doing. The sound inside the SUV is particularly revealing. I really liked the Sonoma studio the best. More as I play with this.
Two other quick comments:
1) It comes with a stand-alone program, so you can activate this without starting a DAW. This is handy for general listening.
2) Steven Slate sent me an email offering to send me five emails that would help me get started. Unfortunately, that email offer went to my spam folder and I just saw it now, days after figuring things out on my own. If you are like me and use filters, check your spam email folder.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Ok, I got it. It really does make a difference. I have not begun to custom-tune the settings to my hearing, but already I see what they are doing. The sound inside the SUV is particularly revealing. I really liked the Sonoma studio the best. More as I play with this.
Two other quick comments:
1) It comes with a stand-alone program, so you can activate this without starting a DAW. This is handy for general listening.
2) Steven Slate sent me an email offering to send me five emails that would help me get started. Unfortunately, that email offer went to my spam folder and I just saw it now, days after figuring things out on my own. If you are like me and use filters, check your spam email folder. Cool man... I'm really thinking about getting this.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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So...a follow up.
I went out and bought the SVX cans. I installed the software, read up on how it is used and started to use it. They seemed overall, darker and duller sounding to my ears compared to my MDR's. Checking out the studio and listening environments included in the "essentials" version, it was kind of like, which flavor do you prefer?
Straight up.....I'm not very impressed by the results at all. Yeah it sounds good, but when compared to the Sony MDR cans I have, I can't see or hear the justification for using the 2.5 times more expensive, SVX. They don't suddenly make anything more audible in the mix that I don't already hear clearly in my Sony cans. I've run a few "finished" mixes through them as well as a few I'm currently working on and honestly, I'm planning on returning them.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Herb, this is disappointing, I know, but it doesn't surprise me. Great sounding recordings have been produced by you and millions of others without the Slate package. Would those recordings have sounded BETTER with Slate? Seems doubtful...
That being said, this is one of the few instances of the headphones being returned.
Have seen the "Essentials" $249 sale and been tempted, too.
Last edited by DC Ron; 11/07/25 04:12 PM.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Herb, this is disappointing, I know, but it doesn't surprise me. Great sounding recordings have been produced by you and millions of others without the Slate package. Would those recordings have sounded BETTER with Slate? Seems doubtful...
That being said, this is one of the few negative reviews I've seen.
Have seen the "Essentials" $249 sale and been tempted, too. I'm not really giving it a "negative review", I'm mostly saying I didn't see where it was a big enough step up in quality to warrant having it
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I think there are two considerations here.
1) Do they work? Yes, I believe there is no question they do what they say and give you the effect of being in different listening spaces.
2) Does this matter to you?
I actually enjoy the clearer sound I perceive my music to have while listening and mixing. I have the Sonoma studio as the default; just looking at it, it seems to look like a studio I use frequently in Woodstock NY. I also value the ability to simulate what my mix would sound like in a car without having to drive my car. How important is that? Perhaps not critical, but I'm glad I have this tool.
ps The price has been further reduced, from the $299 sale I used, to $249 now.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Herb, I changed my post from "negative reviews" to "instances of the headphones being returned". Thanks for clarifying.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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