I purchased a pair of JBL monitors with 5" woofers a few years back. However, I just couldn't get use to them. It appears that I don't like the sound of rear firing ports. For me, I tend to hear some type of time delay in the sub and low frequencies. It also could be some type of issue of the subs and low frequencies bouncing off the back wall, as well.
 
My monitors are 12" from the wall and are at the proper height for my listening position. I haven't been in any studios that have monitors with front firing ports, therefore, I can't be sure if it's the monitors or my ears. However, I can mix with headphones without any issues.
 
I have a very nice headphone setup and get a good speaker translation. Most people can't tell if my mixes were done on headphones or studio monitors. However, with that said, monitors are very useful to double check that my mixes are pushing enough air. That is one thing that is tough to judge when mixing with headphones.
 
My headphones came with a calibrated plugin which is within 0.5db flat throughout the frequency response. When I have gone through some of my old mixes were mixed with monitors, I hear a lot of stuff that needs to be addressed with EQ.
 
I know that mixing with headphones is usually frowned upon. However, using them to mix, is becoming more popular with plugins that emulate speakers, and high tech headphone amps.
 
I'm interested if other people have had similar issues using rear firing monitors. I am also interest from hearing for people who use quality headphones for mixing, as well.

http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/studio-monitor-positioning/
 
http://thedspproject.com/studio-monitor-positioning
 
http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-speaker-placement/
 
https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar02/articles/monitors.asp
 
http://crossfadr.com/2013/04/22/a-crash-course-to-room-acoustics-and-studio-monitor-placement/
 
 
somewhere in there........
 

batsbrew
http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/studio-monitor-positioning/
 
http://thedspproject.com/studio-monitor-positioning
 
http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-speaker-placement/
 
https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar02/articles/monitors.asp
 
http://crossfadr.com/2013/04/22/a-crash-course-to-room-acoustics-and-studio-monitor-placement/
 
 
somewhere in there........
 

Thanks for the links:) From what I see there, it affirms some of my notions. The 38% factor won't work in my room, because of it's size. My monitors are placed where there should be, however, my chair is at the 50% mark of the room. With the room being 12ft deep, that creates another problem which explains some of the sub and low end frequencies, plus the fact my monitors have rear firing ports.
 
Looks like I need a bigger room and front firing port monitors, as well.

My first Monitors where Tanoy PBM 6.5, they are rear ported. In the instructions they recommended ( I think) something like 4 ' from anything behind them, preferably a dead wall. 
 
They were designed to go on a typical meter bridge in a control room. Home studios were not yet in full bloom, and professional studios always have lots of room between the mix position and the front wall. So my first studio had my mix position in the middle of the room So they worked great for many albums I recorded there.  It was all one big room in my attic. The artists where right there. 
When I built my studio in a commercial location I had a sound proof wall and a "W" window between me and the live room. So the monitors were now on a shelf 2" from a wall. They all of a sudden sucked big time. 
 
So I did a little reading about this and ordered my now long standing Yamaha NMS 10's. So my advice is to do the same. If your workspace requires near fields that do not rear port, don't even try it.
Headphones are OK for working for short sessions, but not for long periods of time, you get tired quickly. 
 
PS; the Tanoy's live on as a smoking home stereo and theatre system. Not bad after 27 years. 

Cactus Music
If your workspace requires near fields that do not rear port, don't even try it.
Headphones are OK for working for short sessions, but not for long periods of time, you get tired quickly. 
 
 

Thank you for the useful information. I'll be checking out monitors which have front firing ports. I actually limit my headphone usage to 1.0 to 1.5 hours. After that, I can't trust what I do because of ear fatigue. Learned that one the hard way..

Hi!
Thank you for information that I have got in this thread. 

I typically Mix with headphones.  I use CHEAP ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Superlux-681-Dynamic-Semi-Open-Headphones/dp/B002GHIPYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486744485&sr=8-1&keywords=superlux+hd681
 
Sonarworks rescues these by having a plug in for them.  They are pretty accurate.
 
I also have a cheap pair of 6" Behringer Truth Powered monitors for when I actually want to listen.
 
You can hear one of my recent mixes here:
https://soundcloud.com/patm300e/im-alright-2
 
This was my entry into the Mixing Challenge found here:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Mixing-Practice-m3537464.aspx

Most monitors by Adam are front ported

My ancient Event PS8s (front ported) do pretty good with ARC2.  I'm also in a less than ideal configuration.  For mixing, ARC2 fixes up the low end really well.
 
 

Ya I think rear ported monitors are actually I thing of the past. I can't say that I've ever seen a pair for a long time.