You need to have a professional grade studio setup for that to be true.thecontrolcentre wrote:No? Which studio monitors do you have experience mixing on?fluffy_little_something wrote:I am not so sure of that, actually.thecontrolcentre wrote:Trouble is, it'll sound like crap on any half decent speakers. In theory, mixes done on studio monitors will sound good everywhere.fluffy_little_something wrote:
The good thing is that they probably reflect most people's speakers better than professional monitors do.
So, if a production sounds fine on the crappy Creative speakers, it will sound good to most people.
Affordable speakers that aren't proper studio monitors? iLoud Micro Monitors?
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- KVRAF
- 2797 posts since 26 Jul, 2015 from Philadelphia
Follow me on Youtube for videos on spatial and immersive audio production.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 1922 posts since 15 Nov, 2003 from London, UK
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Those budget Tannoy 402 monitors seem to have great reviews and a pair would only be about £200 so great value.
I’ve thought about a decent pair of headphones before and I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. I’ve only ever owned “consumer” headphones but I understand that there are some good budget monitor headphones in the £100-200 range.
I’ve read many good things about ath m50x and I’m sure there are many other good options. I also won’t annoy my wife with speaker noise when she’s next door watching TV!!
I’ve thought about a decent pair of headphones before and I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. I’ve only ever owned “consumer” headphones but I understand that there are some good budget monitor headphones in the £100-200 range.
I’ve read many good things about ath m50x and I’m sure there are many other good options. I also won’t annoy my wife with speaker noise when she’s next door watching TV!!
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- KVRAF
- 1702 posts since 26 Feb, 2008
Look for some used Focal 8XX series or above. I picked up a pair of cobalt 806s for like $350 shipped (ebay) and they are pretty unreal in terms of price vs performance. I think new they were close to $2k but they're not very well known monitors these days.
Snare drums samples: the new and improved "dither algo"
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fluffy_little_something fluffy_little_something https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=281847
- Banned
- 12880 posts since 5 Jun, 2012
The problem is more on the listener's side. A song might be produced ideally, but end devices sound very different from each other. What sounds great on a HiFi system, might not sound so good on an average car stereo or boombox.thecontrolcentre wrote:No? Which studio monitors do you have experience mixing on?fluffy_little_something wrote:I am not so sure of that, actually.thecontrolcentre wrote:Trouble is, it'll sound like crap on any half decent speakers. In theory, mixes done on studio monitors will sound good everywhere.fluffy_little_something wrote:
The good thing is that they probably reflect most people's speakers better than professional monitors do.
So, if a production sounds fine on the crappy Creative speakers, it will sound good to most people.
Not to mention mono vs 2.0 vs surround speaker systems.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105872 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
fluffy_little_something wrote:The problem is more on the listener's side. A song might be produced ideally, but end devices sound very different from each other. What sounds great on a HiFi system, might not sound so good on an average car stereo or boombox.thecontrolcentre wrote:No? Which studio monitors do you have experience mixing on?fluffy_little_something wrote:I am not so sure of that, actually.thecontrolcentre wrote:Trouble is, it'll sound like crap on any half decent speakers. In theory, mixes done on studio monitors will sound good everywhere.fluffy_little_something wrote:
The good thing is that they probably reflect most people's speakers better than professional monitors do.
So, if a production sounds fine on the crappy Creative speakers, it will sound good to most people.
Not to mention mono vs 2.0 vs surround speaker systems.
but a well mixed album will sound good on thw different set ups.
eg take any Michael Jackson recording, sounds good on a good system, but still sounds good on some mono radio in a garage
mixed and mastered using hi-quality monitors, yes the environment is important too.
the most important things for a hobbyist are, stay within budget and learn your set up, listen to lots of music on it, see where it has strengths and weaknesses. do the same with some practice mixes, get them sounding good on the monitors, then make note of where the faults are on as many systems as possible.
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fluffy_little_something fluffy_little_something https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=281847
- Banned
- 12880 posts since 5 Jun, 2012
I don't think it's so easy.
There are not even standards for what a good sound is. Different people hear things differently.
The human hearing is not flat, either, so flatness is not really a criterion. So, should one boost certain frequencies to please the human hearing? If so, how will different end devices react to those boosts?
Even the genre might play a role.
There are not even standards for what a good sound is. Different people hear things differently.
The human hearing is not flat, either, so flatness is not really a criterion. So, should one boost certain frequencies to please the human hearing? If so, how will different end devices react to those boosts?
Even the genre might play a role.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105872 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
so we should record and mix using every available possible system? or its not worth even bothering, just turn out any recording?
what exactly are you advocating?
what exactly are you advocating?
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- KVRAF
- 2797 posts since 26 Jul, 2015 from Philadelphia
That is probably the key statement. When I started making music I thought I could just get a good monitor setup and work with that. Boy, was I wrong. The reality is that I can get it sound really good on 6 different systems and then, for whatever reason, the mix suddenly collapses completely on system number 7. Experience is what separates the boys from the men, I guess.vurt wrote:...make note of where the faults are on as many systems as possible.
Follow me on Youtube for videos on spatial and immersive audio production.
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- addled muppet weed
- 105872 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
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fluffy_little_something fluffy_little_something https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=281847
- Banned
- 12880 posts since 5 Jun, 2012
Not sure frankly. I am just an amateur, but I think if I had to deliver a good production, I would use mostly good studio headphones for checking details, and a decent standard stereo for checking whether it sounds pleasant and in line with the genre.vurt wrote:so we should record and mix using every available possible system? or its not worth even bothering, just turn out any recording?
what exactly are you advocating?
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transmetropolitan transmetropolitan https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=342194
- KVRist
- 282 posts since 24 Nov, 2014
What you guys are circling around is the issue of mix translation. That is, a mix that translates so it sounds good on anything from a mobile phone speaker to a PA.
To this end, checking your mixes on a variety of different systems can be helpful.
But as I mentioned earlier in this thread, mixing is about making decisions - if you cannot hear what is going on in your mix, you cannot hope to learn what you need to do to respond to any problem.
So the goal from monitoring is to get a system that is as accurate as possible, that you know really well, understand and learn to trust. And then to check how your mixes translate on other systems. And over time your decision making will get quicker, better and more consistent.
To this end, checking your mixes on a variety of different systems can be helpful.
But as I mentioned earlier in this thread, mixing is about making decisions - if you cannot hear what is going on in your mix, you cannot hope to learn what you need to do to respond to any problem.
So the goal from monitoring is to get a system that is as accurate as possible, that you know really well, understand and learn to trust. And then to check how your mixes translate on other systems. And over time your decision making will get quicker, better and more consistent.