Vitaliy, you would use multiple speaker configurations to test a mix to make sure it translates to different listening environments. A mix that sounds good on expensive 3 way towers might not sound good on computer satellites with a sub woofer. Most of the engineers I have worked with had at least 2 sets of speakers to test a mix and of course a quick run out to listen to the car stereo was common as well.

Headphones are excellent to focus on one aspect of the sound but they don't provide a good platform for developing space and positioning a sound. You can EQ, pan, add verb etc to move a sound around in a mix. This is why near field monitors that are flat in a treated room are important. You want an accurate rendering of the material so that the changes you make are neutral and not colored by your environment.

Depends on how you can translate your skills - mixed several times multi million viewer prime time progs last minute on cans with no tech or artistic worries. TV in the UK is currently damage limitation - time wise nowadays anyhoo - with charges constantly asked for due to "fails" with "QC" departments springing up (i.e. 19 year old Ravensbourne grads in the QC basement) charging for re-submissions - you get the gist.

I know you said you wanted to mix with only headphones and perhaps you are aware of this but having a treated room with proper monitors is the most efficient way to produce consistent mixes. Ideally you would have something like a Mackie Big Knob to switch between your near fields, some consumer grade speakers and a pair of computer speakers to ensure that your mix is transportable. You would use headphones as part of this process but mostly headphones are used to listen for errors in the recording process (clicks, pops, buzz, etc)

I recently treated a room by using mass weighted vinyl. It cost around $500 to cover a 14 x 15 room. This stuff is heavy so you have to rig a way to hang it from the walls. I used 1x2's screwed into the wall's 2x4's. It is not sound proof, getting something sound proof is incredibly difficult, but it does provide a neutral environment. You can add bass traps etc but having a 'dead' room is the most important.

I use beyerdynamic headphones. They are not the best but they are cost effective.

@spacewig: Well it's a mix of those things really, with narrative and docu prevailing.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev: nice one, I had a Behringer mixer for my garage band few years ago, had no complaints.

About the Tascam brand, how reliable are they? I do have some mild experience with musical instruments/equipment and I never came across the brands that are seemingly popular in this category (on B&H for example) like Digidesign or Focusrite (this one sounds like some b-grade photo accessory brand).

On other hand, every musician I knew had at least something in his rack from Tascam or Roland.

@Riker Can you elaborate a little on the type of audio you will be working with/on? Is it for narrative, documentary, commercial work?

Don't know if anyone here tried the Focusrite's VRM Box: http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/vrm-box

It is a headphone USB interface that emulates a range of ambients / speakers for monitoring. When it was released, I saw some good reviews about it, but don't know how it evolved.

About headphones, I've bought a cheap Senal SMH-1000 after some good reviews. I've compared it at B&H against the Sony's VDR-V6 and it sounded much better - but of course it is not a top dog headphone.

@DrDave I', sure that Octacapture is top notch device in its class but the pricetag of $500 is a no no for me at the moment :)

As you've said, it would be smart to get something I could use for quick voiceover work, but that's about it at this point where I'm at. As I've said, I need this mainly to have a decent sound "card" for video post production, one XLR input is fine but any additional features seem unnecessary to me now.

So those under $150 devices are absolutely everything I'm looking at.

He's not looking for earphones to mix music but for audio post-production as it relates to video. So discussions about mixing in earphones is pointless.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev "Good to understand that most sound engineers I met are either headphone addicts (most work on headphones with check on monitors), or in reverse."

sorry but I don't know of any good engineer that would mix on headphones, the right way to do it is on monitors, and check the mix on headphones, but not the reverse.

If you get something like that, make sure it works as "stand alone", so you can use it on location with no computer attached. The RMEs are slightly better but there is huge competition in the midrange.

Octa-capture can be used standalone. Tascam US-800 also can be as I remember (never used one as such, but I have it). US-800 is good interface and can be found very cheap, just drivers are horrible (and company do not care to fix them, their simpler US models have better drivers).

In practice you need something simple usually if all you do is recording your voice, even simple USB MicPre can do. Plus headphone amp.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev looks "pro" :) but unfortunately at the moment I haven't got the slightest clue what would any of those jacks and inputs do for me.

Are there any examples where would I need 4x XLR on my video editing rig? I can't think of a situation...

Top interfaces are from MOTU, Focusrite and Roland.

I like http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Roland-UA1010-Octa-Capture-10X10-USB-Audio-Interface-/291050285013?pt=US_Computer_Recording_Interfaces&hash=item43c3f2e7d5

It is sold as "used" (prevention of manufacturer measures), and with good discount (but not cheap and can be of no use if you just need to monitor and record from one mike).

I would get a Chinese design USB interface in the 50-100 dollar range that does ASIO instead of a soundcard. I use Weiliang design, but there are several that are good. Look over the link that Vitaliy posted. You can move it freely between computers and there are many that sound nearly as good as my high end ones. They sound as good or better than "brand name" midrange junk gear.

For headphones the ATH-M50 is OK for closed design, and the Sennheisers are good for open design. Cans are personal, so try some out and find something you can work with that is comfortable. The Sennheiser 280 is not bad, but not as good as the ATH-M50. Closed designs are best for noisy environment, obviously, best to have an open pair and a closed pair.

If you want mixing and measuring suite, just get an RME box. You get Totalmix and all the cool measuring tools.

Cans are not linear, and for a number of reasons which have been detailed at great length elsewhere, cans are useless for mixing. The best you can do is to create a mix that sounds good on your cans, and someone else's cans, but sounds horrible on a lot of other systems. You have to have a pair of speakers to do a mixdown, there is no way around it.