The Reason Your Mixes Don’t Sound Good Everywhere (And How to Fix It)

[@Bertieuz]

The car is the final boss

[@dakota-sessions]

Unless I can take the analog console into the car... no.

[@Durkhead]

Most car radios use a mosfet amplifier, which are very close sounding to tube amplifiers sort of a glassy like tone. Most home amplifiers are class d which have a flatter sound also most car speakers have increased highs and mids to overcome the extra noise

[@AlvaroALorite]

Nah, that's phone speaker while listening in the shower

[@tucko11]

No truer words spoken. If it sounds great inside the car . It will most likely anywhere else

[@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj]

Hell yeah! Luckily everything sounds like shit in my car

[@phoenix21studios]

i used to do a mix. then listen in my car. make notes, back to DAW, adjust, repeat. If it sounds good in a car its going to sound good anywhere.

[@DannyDuhDemon]

The problem with this is most people new to mixing listen through the “consumer ear” and not a “engineer ear” with that being said if you do a mix and go to the car you might know what notes you could make but not necessarily hear or know what to change in the mix to fix the sound or sounds that you know for a fact are bad

[@kilanym]

Same with me test car is obligatory

[@phoenix21studios]

@@DannyDuhDemon yah. Had to do repeats to get what i wanted.

[@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj]

Yeah that's all you gotta do

[@chinmeysway]

curious, where and what else did you here it on, to be so sure?

[@VictorWetzel]

Pliiiiiiiz talk about calibration! There is not that much content on how to precisely calibrate monitors on the internet, and it would help a lot!

[@nickgoogle4525]

Mathaudio EQ and you will be happy, at least that was my experience.

[@mando3022]

Ceiling of Sound Pro set at brown noise -4.5 dB is the line you want to follow and you can mix without any speakers or headphones. A visual reference. That’s how I do it and since then my mixes sound everywhere the same and better than ever.

[@daddypatty9897]

Would absolutely love another video going deeper on calibration.

[@JosephGallagher]

Me too!!

[@SantaAnaCreations]

Dont waste ur time calibration is your ears, listening position and taste. U can use meters and graphs all u want but you will be dissapointed with the results. There is no magic formula u just have to use ur ears and good judgment and treat ur room accordingly there is no shortcut to success u have to take the stairs

[@_hide_-lb1gk]

No specific order: Good monitors (not a synonym for expensive), right placement of the monitors, correctly placed sound treatment, sonarworks & reference tracks. Why: you need monitors that are reliable, monitors have a sweet spot; sit on that sweet spot, placing treatment behind monitors and on the reflection areas gets you the most control, sounarworks tells you where your issues are at and you can use it to correct it, reference tracks that you know how they sound on multiple devices will help you gauge how your track will sound on those devices.

[@barryduff9839]

In my chain when recording besides the car test (played from a disk). I also have a pair of 6x9 car speakers. That are beside my monitors. That when mixing I can use. But the oddest studio monitor set up is my FM stereo transmitter. That I can hear what it sounds like on different radios.

[@adamkaminski]

I have a Phillips mini system that I grew up listening to... I know exactly what to expect from it, so I put it on my home studio for reference

[@RockerBug17]

11:48 YES, please. I've noticed when doing this in my studio that my body and its relation to the SPL meter seem to affect the levels of each monitor.

[@JerridFoiles]

Seconded.

[@tudorgheorghe4532]

Rong ! I ve seen this totaly rong aproach when working with sounds equipment! Stop using your body as rezonator threshold!!! Usually the right spl îs dictate by the Room volume and the monitore category! And of courses the distance speaker-losyening working position !

[@Windiguana]

You're probably not going to see this, but I have to say something since you so prominently show REAPER recording your VO in the background.... PLEASE, please, please go to Preferences > Recording-> "Show preview...update frequency" and set the refresh rate to something like 30 or more. The waveform being drawn at the default of 3hz looks so chopy and terrible in the background

[@Windiguana]

You can also smooth out your meters, Preferences > Track Control Panels. 2. Where it says "Meter update frequency", set it to 30 Hz. I also suggest changing "Meter Decay" to about 40 db/sec.

[@ayoubthegreat]

Cool note 👍

[@LukeLjJames]

summing to mono , Phase issues and the ways Freq react to each other is why mixes sound different on diff systems and that Nuance thing is totaally not even needed at all

[@randomvellachannal4476]

it feels nice when i see Some1 using Reaper .. the most underrated DAW .. Reaper is For evry1 (customisable

[@ZZEROO99]

Did a mix recently on a trackand funny enough found going between my logitech speakers for use every day on my pc and my studio monitors ended up getting a really solid mix that sounds how I want on any system.

[@TheOliveradams]

In the late 80's I had JBL 4435 , Yamaha NS 10 , Auratones and my car , in the late 90"s and 00's Dynaudio BM15 with Dynaudio DA-ABES2 Sub , Yamaha NS10 , Auratones and my car and since 2017 ADAM A77 and 2 ADAM 15" Sub , Yamaha HS8 and Avatone , no checking in the car ;-)

[@1morenote.]

There are so many devices that play back now, from portable speakers to earbuds and surround sound, I think it may be a little more difficult to arrive at a universal sound.

[@QualifiedSoundStudios]

Great video! Question: your measurement mic is probably about 45 degrees? I have an Atmos system, would it be better to have a 90 degree angle on the mic when measuring? Basically pointing up? I read something somewhere that’s said it’s preferable, saying it’s takes some of the initial wave inertia out of the equation. Anyway be great to see a room tuning video, how you do it anyway. Thanks 🙏

[@Xtn1Insecticide]

I use a mono speaker thats reasonable quality through a half decent home transistor amp in the middle and a sub to check the low end, a couple of three ways up and further apart, another two way set on digital amps and genelecs for surgical sculpting all on a switcher. I’m further enough away from all walls in a very large room enough to differentiate at low volumes between the speakers and the reflections with very little to no bass buildup. tivoli single driver pal to check on and sometimes send sound through my monitor or mac pro to check further. It gets boring bouncing between your daw and car after a while. Might as well build a car stereo in your studio if that’s your gauge and car stereos can vary considerably these days apart from the general size and reflections of a car and the change in sound pressure in a more pressurised environment

[@MatsuriKazamaki]

OMG why am I just now realizinng that the first Studio Photo is at my old Community college-Montgomery County Community College!!!!

[@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj]

I recently sent a mix to a professional mastering studio and they did very little to it. This could mean one of 3 things: 1. The mix was nearly perfect 2. The mix was so terrible there's nothing they could do to fix it 3. I got ripped off I'm gonna hope it's #1 but idk man...

[@lucmermans37]

4. you don't hear subtle sonic differences

[@HoustonRoad]

Excellent video. Thanks. And yes please, that would be great and include subs

[@operarocks]

When are LIVE classes offered for AU? Nothing on site about class schedules. TIA.

[@imothy]

I try to mix on the speakers I listen to music the most on, which are these cheap mackie 3inch monitors i have hooked up to my bedroom PC. I'm familiar with the way music sounds out of these speakers, so when I mix on them things come out sounding way better than things in my studio. I do like editing and fixing things in the studio because it is more clean and i can hear more, but when I want to actually hear how other people hear it I just throw it on my cheap mackies.

[@rmp5s]

I'm actually looking to get another set of monitors...this couldn't be timed any better!!

[@aarivleo]

thankyou❤

[@sean---the-other-one]

If monitors and acoustic treatments are expensive, and rooms affect the sound so you have to compensate with EQ, why not just use high quality headphones to listen to the mix on?

[@clicks59]

I mix on both. I think you can get fairly close doing your tone shaping on headphones but what’s different (for me anyway) is the soundstage. I tend to pan more on headphones because it cleans up the center of the soundstage. Phones also tend give a different representation of the soundstage. I find my mixes sound more cohesive when mixing on monitors. Cohesive meaning everything sounds like it belongs together from the same space.

[@LordAus123]

Headphones have higher distortion when volume is changed, have a less flat frequency response, have exaggerated stereo separation, offer no visceral feedback for bass and sub bass frequencies, are prone to lead mixers to use unsafe volume levels, and can be fatiguing in long sessions. They are not useless but they should not be the first choice for mixing or mastering

[@gelderlandproduction]

** I think there is a setting missed on this video. What about setting the volume level on the interface going to the monitor controller?

[@RobertWGreaves]

I used to use multiple monitors. Now I only have two sets. I rely on a visual display for the mix and for a reference mix.

[@DerBinker]

Do you have a BT transmitter on the Aux Output for the JBL box? Or does this model come with a line in connection?

[@mixskillter4785]

I dont know what model of this JBL it is, but I know that every JBL model that I owe has an AUX output on the back, that includes JBL Go, JBL Charge 2+ and JBL Charge 3. So I would say it probably has AUX

[@royalemuzikproductionz]

What are your recommendations for entry level full range speakers 🔊?

[@phoenix21studios]

PreSonus Eris E3.5-3.5" Near Field Studio Monitors

[@royalemuzikproductionz]

@@phoenix21studios thanks but these are just small monitors . I’m was referring to #full range speaker like 12” Tannoys but something much cheaper. I’ll have a look at what jbl has. Cheers

[@pascalmerschaudio]

why we dont receive the radial stuff over here in Europe ? only DI boxes i believe

[@Stefan1969-1]

and by the way: the monitor controller has to be soo good (in quality, because you would destroy your good interface quality output), that you should stick your money better in a good room optimization. mechanically or digital (like trinnov nova) . it will be make more sense in my opinion.

[@michellewentworth9862]

The Audient ORIA would be a much better choice as it can future proof you for ATMOS. Streaming services are gong to force people to do ATMOS mixes by not including your work in playlists unless it is mixed with ATMOS.

[@nickgoogle4525]

You have a UCX II and could everything do in Totalmix. No need for the complicated setup you use.

[@SuperMcgenius]

Small note: levels should be no more than 0.5 dB in difference.

[@AdMBandLeader]

If anyone here can, please help me with some basic information regarding making my room acoustically balanced at a minimal level in order to mix properly with the monitors I have. Data: Height: 8 ft 10 in Length: 12 ft Width: 11 ft. Monitors- (1) Mackie MR 8 MK2 (2) Yamaha MSP3 Note: The room is made of concrete walls and floors while the ceiling has asbestos boards. I can afford to lower the ceiling height by adding an extra layer of lightweight acoustic boards about 8 to 10 inches below that.

[@KeenWig]

Hey man I took your measurements and found a couple things: first for your speaker placement I would recommend placing them at a height of about 39 inches, spaced two feet away from the back wall and about 30 inches from the side walls. These measurements should help reduce unwanted interference from SBIR, still you should use acoustic panels / bass traps in order to better minimize these effects. I recomend using bass traps which target a band of frecuencies around 111 Hz. Your listening position should sit at around the same height as the speakers and be about 81 inches from the back wall. Also for your panels you really only need to place them so they catch the first reflexions from the walls as well as the floor and ceiling. You can use a trick where you sit at your listening position and have someone else move a mirror around on the wall until you can see the cone of your speaker, that is where you place the panel. For you I recommend trying to use panels at least 3 by 3 ft but if you arent able to do that then just use the next best thing. There is more you can do regarding room modes and such but i figure you just want the basic stuff. If you have any questions shoot me a message.

[@Stefan1969-1]

you need only one pair of monitors (they have to be very very good) and a well measured room!. all your mixes sounding good. even in your car. still running into your car and re-chek the mixes sounds very strange for me...

[@StormbreakerYT]

Honestly the car thing is just a placebo effect . Stock car sound systems never sound good so our track won’t sound good if we listen on it .

[@chinmeysway]

idk… i don’t think this really goes over all the reasons if any of why a mix does not translate... usually great content tho

[@user-zd7kp3vf5j]

ستاپ جذابی بنظر میرسه میرم بک تست بگیرم ببینم چطوره دمتون گرم استاد ادریس 🔥🌷

[@rylanbrown9364]

Bro im literally using free and stock tools on fl studio and my shit sounds basically the same on every speaker, i think it ALL matters on your ability to hear all different sounds at all different levels in your mix , if you havent trained your ears than your fucked plain as that

[@klaustrofobeats42]

Slowly improve hahaha 20 years on this industry and can’t afford shit already

[@tudorgheorghe4532]

Im not planing to Mark novels here .Thirst no porta,second! Spl vs enclouser volume! Third cool nominal movement! 5 impedance! 6 power and randament! 6 shape ,size,material and Room measure!!8 câble transfer!9,paint and enclouser treatment! 10 overall enclouser decupling enviroment!!! Please take those in consideration ! The Best money can but and probably seriously monitores are definatly diy onest!!!

[@TheSpeedyr6]

Adam audio is shittiest speakers money can buy

[@luisbarrera5740]

You know. Everyone raved about the A7V but when I tested them out. They sounded terrible. Ear fatigue almost instantly. Went with focal shape 50

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

I think the whole point of the video was if you know what listener scenario each of your pairs or aux monitor represent you can use each one to insure broader success with your mix. With that your Adams likely have their place and are just as important as monitors that you like.

[@luisbarrera5740]

@@InsideOfMyOwnMind I use a Roland kc110 and a JBL portable speaker as aux speakers. Don't see the point in using high end monitors if most people use little consumer grade speakers when listening to music

[@ayoubthegreat]

Why tho

[@TheSpeedyr6]

@@luisbarrera5740 same here i bought and return that shiit in a heartbeat didnt even bother giving second try

[@XPJV]

Thank God, that doesn't apply to me! My mixes sound right on any system! 💪💪💪

[@rachelar]

Because...? Useless showboating comment otherwise. Elaborate puhleaze

[@KUPHSER]

Why do all these channels show the audio of their voice recording in the background? Can we stop that please?

[@tudorgheorghe4532]

My dear .Before starting choosing a monitore for studio ,Please invest serios tine in Acustics speaker design ! I do not to be rude but You need just sell quickly bouth of your monitores!!!! If You planing to do serios mixing !!! Please take this advice as You Could be my son ! No Holmes in monitore speakers enclouser!!!

[@tudorgheorghe4532]

Your concept explaning îs rong asuming îs your believe îs rong ! From the bottom of my hear ! Im a former speakers designer.Ok this monitores studio onest .What are their purposes? This îs the most fundamental reasons when starting to design such product! They need to be moustly transparent right? Please understand that porta Holmes monitores are pure rubish ! You can only ușe those as music productions!!!

[@framzoid]

What language are you translating from as this word salad is baffling to say the least?

[@tudorgheorghe4532]

@@framzoid auto corect lnguage

[@centrexlogistic7872]

Ești Român? Scrie-mi opinia ta despre ce spune baiatu asta aici daca am înțeles bine te-ai ocupat de dezvoltare monitoare audio. Ms!

[@tudorgheorghe4532]

@@centrexlogistic7872 băiatul expune problema vizavii de topic dpdv al consumatorului !Al clientului.Este adevărat ce spune dar irelevant dpdvd ingineresc !

[@SantaAnaCreations]

Its easy you buy the yamaha monitors with a sub treat ur room properly and there u go perfecly translatable mixes what u hear is what u get at least for me but iv bin an engineer for 30 years so i know what im doing but this has bin the best setup ever i alao like genelec monitors they are very faithful also