The Studio Monitor Lie- Do you need them?

In this video I give my opinion on whether or not you even need studio monitors. I use monitors currently, but for years i used headphones and home stereo speakers. Last year i made a promotional demo for wife that was mixed on headphones and my macbook pro's built in speakers- and she's landed many gigs from the demo! As long as you understand your playback system and use reference material, it doesn't matter! Your mixing skills are far more important than what speakers you mix on.
Since this is an opinion video, tell me what YOU think? What's your opinion on the matter? Let's hear it in the comments!

[@3000KTM]

if you cant afford monitors , mix on your stereo .. then make sure it sounds good in your car , laptop & even phone ...if it sounds good on multiple platforms the your set

[@tomszymusic]

Her friend, thank you so much for taking the time to watch and leave a comment. I agree, multiple system checking is key! Hope you are safe and healthy in this crazy world right now.

[@christopherdunn317]

Ya that's makes sense most can't even buy, or have the understanding to why , but i have news for you if you do use home stereo i doubt you will get the awesome mix your hoping to achieve in your car etc etc you need something that was designed to be flat not enhanced .

[@pierre-rose7783]

I use 2 - 3 different headphones, then test sound quality in the car etc...

[@karrensavage8552]

I agree, my son gave me the same advice

[@claudiasousa6394]

@@christopherdunn317 the only thing i dont get is if all monitors are suppose to be FRFR why do they all sound different :D the answer is clearly that there is no pure FRFR and that to me is why monitors are over hyped, i would however advise to go for a 8 or 10 PA speakers rather than monitors cuz at least its gives you versatility

[@evansadventures678]

thanks for not trying to sell us something we don't need. The advice is much appreciated!

[@tomszymusic]

You are very welcome. Very glad it was helpful for you, even with the gear tests I do I try to just leave it up to the listener as much as possible for them to make their own decision. But especially with speakers and mixing, just because you can hear something a little bit better with more expensive speakers with more detail does not mean you can mix something better, and I think that's a trap people tend to fall into. But anyways, thanks again for watching in the comment, best of luck and best wishes with music and mixing!

[@PhysicsViolator]

@@tomszymusic well technically if a better speaker gives more spectrum detail , it could help you get a better picture what your'e actually doing at a more detailed level ... sure if your mixing sucks that wont help either Lol

[@gilbs72]

If you know the speakers you grew up with, your brain is adjusting so as to mix properly. But I think it will be easier if you have neutral studio monitors. It's like mixing paint for your living room, but wearing colored sunglasses. If you've worn those glasses all your life, you will be able to adjust to it. But it's easier if you took them off.

[@JackCarroll1998]

I feel like the biggest difference will be in specific frequencies that whatever speakers you're using biases. Every speaker has a frequency bias and studio monitors are designed to be flat, also more accurate. Most computer speakers or sound systems are more bass heavy, so the mix from those speakers will sound different on a set of flat speakers.

[@cjsarni2662]

Thank you for your honesty. I was about to spend money that I didn’t need to spend.

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend, thanks so much for taking the time to watch the video and leave a comment. I'm glad it was helpful for you. Hope you are staying safe in this crazy world!

[@tomszymusic]

Just wanted to say thanks so much for the great discussion and everyone who has had something to say, whether you agree with me or not! There have been a lot of great comments recently- keep them coming!

[@detroittrickster3327]

great vid my friend thx . I have a question i did a quick and very loud audio spike for about 5 sec would that damage my studios speakers? transients. i think its called

[@23thkr]

I agree with you. I also read an article on sound on sound that many of the songs that where only mixed on studio monitors sounded unbalanced and strange on headphones ect. So many of us are using cheap in-ears when listening on music on our phones, so its also important as a mixer or mastering to make sure that it translate well to all sorts of devices

[@Justin-xi6ue]

As 24 year old who is a beginner and interested in making music. Thank goodness I discovered your video because my mind is completely blown.. I was looking for studio monitors but I've been seriously struggling to figure out ways I could even fit them over my desk without sacrificing anything. Not to mention I really wasn't looking forward to downgrading from surround sound to stereo. I enjoy them so much in video games/films it would be hard to step down. You honestly make such a good point about knowing your speakers and using reference tracks. It's definitely had me thinking that songs within different genres are typically meant to sound fairly alike in many ways, and are likely even mixed on monitors. With that said I don't really see any reason why you shouldn't be able to get similar results with careful listening. Anyone who says otherwise just makes me think they've fallen for all of the marketing/word of mouth that you need these to create music with. I suspect that "GAS" (aka Gear Acquisition Syndrome) could also be a common issue, and people are only looking for ways to defensively justify their expensive purchases or make new ones.. I mean.. Sure personally Id definitely still love to try some really good sounding studio monitors, but I already have some Beyerdynamic DT-250s that I'm sure will work really well as a reference source. While I wasn't 100% set on buying some it's good to know I won't have to think about shelling out 500+ anymore, and not worry about any of my previous concerns. Thanks so much for this video.

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend, thank you so very much for stopping by and the wonderful comment! I'm glad the video made some sense and was helpful to you. I'm certainly not against having monitors, I use them myself, but I think too many people get hung up on them. The fact that you need to know your system, use reference material and the finer details of mixing will probably get you farther than super expensive speakers. I feel this is especially true if starting out. Anyway thanks again for stopping by, hope you have a great day and stay safe and healthy!

[@richiebricker]

If you record it to sound good on a pc surround sound then that may be the only place it sounds good from

[@nerds-nonsense]

"With that said I don't really see any reason why you shouldn't be able to get similar results with careful listening. Anyone who says otherwise just makes me think they've fallen for all of the marketing/word of mouth that you need these to create music with. I suspect that "GAS" (aka Gear Acquisition Syndrome) could also be a common issue, and people are only looking for ways to defensively justify their expensive purchases or make new ones" dunning-kruger effect. you yourself said you're a beginner, you literally don't have the experience to make a judgement like that so you should listen to the experts (most of whom don't actually recommend getting expensive gear, just what you can afford. many don't even have super expensive or fancy home setups.) when they tell you you need studio monitors, in a properly treated room you are going to be able to hear things you wouldn't otherwise. Headphones fuck up the soundstage so you're not actually hearing what you're doing properly, which is why the industry overall uses them for quick checks and that's it. Unless you really have no other options mixing solely in headphones is recommended by almost no professionals. obviously this is in reply to a 3 year old comment, but we found it and undoubtedly so will other people.

[@Justin-xi6ue]

@@nerds-nonsense Now that I'm more experienced I actually don't really disagree. Having fancy studio monitors is great but I still think it's over emphasized a little though. Back then I just assumed I wouldn't be able to produce anything decent without them, but ultimately my mixes were still pretty satisfactory to me and other people who have listened. Me being too paranoid about my listening setup just delayed and prevented me from actually making music, which was exactly what happened before I came across this video. That said, I'll say that listening in on as many sources as possible and comparing my music with "professional" mixes was always what helped me the most. Not my speaker or headphone setup. Obviously after a few years I did spoil myself a little with the Vanatoo T0s and a Yamaha Sub, which has helped me mix much better (and faster) than my Logitech/DT-250 setup. But yeah I still would say studio monitors don't matter as much as people made me believe. It's how it sounds compared to professional mixes that matter more imo. Unfortunately it can just take much longer to mix if you're not able to hear the frequencies properly, but it's not impossible even as a beginner. One other thing is that I thought I needed to buy speakers specifically branded as studio monitors, but without a treated room it hardly matters anyway. Anything that at least outputs the fullest audio spectrum possible within your budget should already do it. Also regardless, depending on just one "professional" setup is not really the wisest since every listening experience and environment is different. I think it's much better practice to do multiple checks with different setups anyway, which helps with consistency and finding any harsh or underwhelming frequencies.

[@lorinctelkes1046]

great and honest advice, thank you. It was really good for me to hear it as I'm just about to get some entry level studio monitors. It turns out that (as for almost anything gear related), that you gain more by knowing your system thoroughly, than chasing more and more expensive stuff.

[@josephmartin5436]

Thanks. You just cured my headache and confusion. Going right back to what I have

[@wongamzamo8232]

Beside me I was just waiting for someone else who was courageous enough to say this. Knowing how things should sound like in your playback system will save your soul.

[@mik3phillips123]

The point of studio monitors are for a reference on a neutral and flat level so your mix translates on ANY sound system well ..... otherwise only listeners with the same speakers in your studio are hearing the mix with your perspective. Sure you can extract your mixes over and over and play them back on all kinds of speakers until the mix sounds good on all of them ... but why go through the headache? Just get active monitors .

[@tomszymusic]

I certainly don't disagree with what you were saying about the point of studio monitors.... although if you take a modern JBL Monitor and a modern Yamaha monitor they are likely designed to be flat yet sound drastically different. Also one could have 10k ATC speakers that are remarkably accurate, but it may not necessarily improve your mixing ability if you're mixing skills and use of reference tracks isn't up to par. I'm certainly not saying that monitors are useless and there's no point in them, as I use them myself. Just that I think there's a bit of a crutch placed on gear, especially speakers. I feel like I learned that one the hard way chasing more expensive speakers yet my mixes didn't improve. That's just my thoughts and everything, take them or leave them of course 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment, stay safe and healthy!

[@IFADWORLD]

I'm agree with you, The concept of “flat studio monitors” is give flat frequency without any enhancements for better mixing and masterings. There are some music which doesn't sounds good, even they're signed to major label, even they use studio monitors. That's why there's a job called "Mixing & Mastering". Those who takes this kind of job is a person with skill of this subject, not just whoever have professional studio equipments. We can use any speakers as long it's have low to high frequencies and as long we know enough the characteristics of speakers, translate them how it sounds flat. Don't forget to play other music for references. "Can i use hifi speakers.." this question is just like "Can i take good picture with phone cameras?"

[@HoneysuckleWeekends]

This is absolutely true!! I mix on headphones since 7 years now and still my tracks sound great. You really need to know what the instrument is supposed to sound ⚡️

[@tomszymusic]

Thanks for watching and the comment. Glad you are able to get great results on headphones, it can be done! Hope you are staying safe wherever you are in the world

[@TheShyArmyTV]

Tom Szy Music got me thinking . I was ready to shell out money on studio monitors . I need to learn how to mix first on the pc speakers I have .

[@tomszymusic]

@@TheShyArmyTV I replied to your other comment, but yes, exactly. First learn some basic mixing on speakers you already know. If you don't know how to mix and you're getting new speakers, then that's two variables in the equation. You're trying to learn the sound of new speakers and learn a new skill and I would not recommend that. One variable at a time.

[@thematsc]

"it doesn't mater if you have a 100.000 dollar speaker or a 100 dollar speaker...." This is probably one of the most false statement about speakers for music production I have read in a loooong time

[@Grump.]

the sound is like mixing paint, the studio monitor is the white paint of speakers, you can mix almost every colour/sound with them, but hifi speakers or headphones may have a tint/shade of another colour/sound bias to make up for something else, while you can definitely learn to mix on either, it'll generally be easier to mix on the white paint/studio monitor.

[@joshbraun7152]

BUT it does help to know the reality of mixes. Yes to all of this, but knowing how music should/does sound with high end monitors and headphones rolls over to other things as well (and it's simply devine when you first hear it). Mic placement, what mics to use on different sources, how to notice little differences in various outboard gear, etc. Great speakers will show you things that low end ones hide, but it is important to know "if it sounds wrong on this thing that people will be using at home, something is wrong."

[@tomszymusic]

Definitely agree with all you are saying here friend. I'm not bad mouthing monitors by any means, I use them myself. More just a response video on my end to another video that said you can't mix properly without them, as it can be done and people do it all the time. Just trying to get people to think about mixing as a skillset regardless of gear used. Hope you are safe and healthy in this crazy world!

[@pulsarstar]

I made huge bass traps, bought acoustic panels, and placed them according to proven methods, turned on my room correction software, have two 5 inch monitors along with an 8 inch subwoofer. Guess what? When it comes to fine adjustment during mixing & mastering, I rely on my reference headphones. They are far more detailed. Can I do the whole mix and mastering with headphones? Hell yeah. Only downside would be, they are not comfortable to wear after half an hour. Thats why you need monitor speakers...

[@bealotcoolerifyoudid7217]

Very true

[@D_M_Wolfe]

Tom, you have just cured my headaches, not to mention saved me a bunch of money. I have had a set of Creative Inspire P5800 for over 10 years and I love their sound. I must admit, my early work sucked, but when I compare my latest work to some studio recordings I have made and paid good money for years ago, I kinda have to prefere my latest mixes and yes, all done on the Creative Inspire P5800 computer speakers. Maybe in years to come I may get some flat response studio monitors but for now, I stick to what I've got... Thanks a bunch for your advice.

[@keithmoriyama5421]

Today's studios are small basement/home project studios-- you don't need studio monitors. But, in a commercial application with revolving engineers you absolutely do need a coherent playback system.

[@chadholmes]

I’m so glad I found your video! I’ve been testing my Audioengine HD3 desktop speakers and sub (that I’m used to) to a set of new HS4 Yamaha studio monitors and sub. I can clearly tell my “consumer speakers” sound better, clear crisper mids and highs. But, I was feeling I was supposed to get studio monitors if I wanted the best outcome for videos that more people watched on different gear. Meanwhile, I’m wondering why I would want to learn to make “flat” sound good? Why wouldn’t I just make what I’m used to sound good? If the frequency responses that I’m used to sound good on those speakers, and I mix something that sounds like those speakers, then they should sound good everywhere.. is what I was thinking. If I have to get used to “flat” listening, I may struggle to get it right if I don’t know what makes flat sounds good. Do you think it’s easier for people to use studio monitors that have always listened to flat music? Think I’m ok to keep my Audioengines and mix on those? Really appreciate the video!

[@jafrikancarbon1234]

Thank you thank you thank you I learned something here today and saved me from this studio monitor frustration, I'm building my own set diy because I had this issue of sounding good when I do a mix and then it sounds crappy elsewhere so I'm just going to use normal homemade speakers I've tried that already and gotten better results so I'm now more confident that I don't need pricey studio monitors that I can't afford anyway thanks.

[@thomashammerheart3915]

You just saved me money and my wife the headache of listening to the mixing process 😂 just with the simple concept of a reference track

[@Atmkash]

"My last name rhymes with sky"😂

[@aliciaragbir]

I couldn't resist leaving a comment though the video was posted such a long time ago. You will never know how much your honesty means to me because all I have at this point are speakers and the studio monitors are very costly in my country. So I will get to learning how it's supposed to sound and work from there. Thanks a mil

[@nickxask3303]

Thanks for all that usefull info Tom. One thing you forget to mention but it's so obvious in your video, is about how many things can someone put onto his speakers as a decoration 😃

[@rukayatomusic]

Some people say you need a studio monitor, but even the monitors themselves sound different to each other, so what does that tell. I'm addicted to Hifi speaker mixing though. I like trying different amps on the speakers I love. I also try to tame anything harsh in my mix, filter the edges if the eq spectrum a little to keep things fairly smooth. It's been paying the bills.

[@MrRocktuga]

I totally agree! “If it sounds good on these, it will sound good everywhere” is the definition of a bad loudspeaker! Most good (or at least “decent” play back systems will try to sound good, be it loudspeakers, monitors or headphones. The NS-10s were used in order to have a relatively predictable and consistent way of checking how would the mix sound on lower end consumer audio of the day (like the Auratones, in a different perspective), and by “consistent” I mean in the mid and upper range, which isn’t as sensitive to the room acoustics - considering that they usually used on top of the console, inside purpose-built control rooms. As they were relatively small, many engineers would also use them as portable monitors. But no engineer can adjust what he can’t hear, and that’s also the case with lower frequencies on the NS-10, which they simply can’t reproduce! Despite the huge hype around them, most people forget that they were usually used along with big mid or far field monitors to get the whole “picture”, in a time when a mastering engineer would always listen, make the necessary adjustments (or ask the mixing engineer to make some changes if it wasn’t fixable at mastering), on much better monitoring systems, and with a fresh pair of ears. Justa as an example, Andrew Sheps has been mixing for years on the same model of relatively inexpensive headphones, while checking his mixes on his old Tannoy monitors. He even said in interviews that he usually doesn’t like the artist to listen to his mixes in the Tannoys, because they have their own sound, which is a well known reference for him, but not for the artist. According to him, if he makes changes as requested by the artist in the first days of listening through the Tannoys, after a the artist gets used to the sound of the Tannoys, he requests additional changes to the same mix in order to compensate. Andrew is very clear on saying that he wants the artist to listen the mix in his/her usual playback system, because the Tannoys are a well known reference for Andrew only (he loves and knows for many years how they should sound). 😉 This enforces what you are saying on this video, but Andrew S. also referred that “back in the day”, when engineers were usually working in different studios, they would take some recordings with them that they used as a reference on how that particular monitors/studio acoustics make those well known recordings sound, and let the brain adapt to that particular playback system. That also confirms what you said in this video. 😉 The hard truth that most of us don’t like to accept, is that there is no monitors that are going to magically fix our lack of experience that these guys have, by doing in everyday for years/decades! 👈 I’d argue that for most part-time composers, musicians and “sound engineers”, it’s better to always have one or two monitoring references (and maybe the car as a third one), than entering the game of always buying different and/or more expensive monitors, since we’re not only introducing more variables on how our brains adapt to new “references”, as we’re also not pushing ourselves harder by blaming the monitoring system.😉 If our speakers/monitors/headphones sound good with the music we love, but not with the one we’re mixing, I’d humbly argue that the problem is not in the gear, but in our own lack of experience, and that’s what we should be addressing by practicing. It’s interesting to see that when we watch an F1 or rally driver working their magic around a track, we don’t tend to think that we could do the same if we had those particular race cars.💡 We are usually more aware that it takes a lot of practice to get the skills (along with the passion and talent), and that it’s the driver who’s responsible to show what the machine can do, and not the other way around. 🙂 Finding whatever works best for us and practicing more and more is our best bet! 👍 We do have the benefit of not risking killings ourselves if we make big mistakes while mixing, unlike improving racing skills…😂

[@chadholmes]

Based on your video, would this be correct? For example, say that a song’s actual 120hz frequency is 0db on studio monitors. When I listen to it on my consumer speakers, it’s boosted to 2db, and I get used to that as sounding good. If I mix something else to have a similar 2db boost at 120hz on my consumer speakers, won’t it actually be 0db on studio monitors? The end result being flat, wouldn’t it sound great on all systems?

[@1plus1je5]

Best advice on the subject. I've watched 20h of content to find this video... thx.

[@jaegervand2112]

Great sounding speakers makes it easier to identify and thus control reverb, compressors, placement and depth. There is no doubt about that.

[@EqDior]

Man i have been saying this for a long time! Great vid! Subbed!

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend thank you so much for watching and the comment, but especially the sub! It's funny I never thought this video would get any views, it was just something off the top of my head when I started the channel. I should probably do another one of these opinion videos soon! Thanks again and I hope you are safe and healthy

[@andrewjames7493]

So if the speakers you are using sound like crap, then make sure your mix sounds like crap and then it will sound good on other speakers. Meanwhile you stand in front of your studio monitors. Technically this is true but for the most part it is bs.

[@tomszymusic]

Firstly, thanks for watching even if you don't like me or what I said. Secondly, not sure if you watched the whole thing through or not, but I did say this was basically a response video to another video I had seen, and that video said that you absolutely need monitors to mix well. THIS is what I'm refuting, not that you shouldn't use monitors. I never said that at all. I actually said if monitors work for you then that's great, because they work for me...right in the heart of the video. However what I'm cautioning people is don't think studio monitors are the crutch you need to depend on to get great mixes, because a lot of people have made great mixes without monitors... Hence the talent is in the mixer and not the speaker. This is why I mentioned the ns10 phenomenon... If you've ever heard them they sound dreadful, but people LEARN their dreadful sound and how to mix on them. I just recently listened to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska and there is so much soul in that recording... All done on a Tascam portastudio I believe...no studio or monitors Also I didn't ever say anything about making mixes sound crappy on crap speakers to make them Translate... I said learn your speaker that you are listening to with reference material... That way you know what things sound like that have already been mixed and you are familiar with... That way you have a frame of reference as to how you can mix on what you're listening through.

[@wynton765]

I agree that to an extent you can get great mixes on speakers that you know extremely well. I look at it like this.. Say you have a pair of clean, super clear glasses, and your being asked to walk down a road and avoid all rocks on the road. With very clean and clear glasses, you will be able to avoid a lot of the rocks on the road. Now say you were given a pair of smudged dirty glasses that are scratched, and you were asked to do the same thing and avoid all the rocks. Obviously it will be more difficult to avoid all the rocks. But hey, lets say these are your glasses, you know them very well and have been using them for years although they are messed. You are aware of objects in certain areas because you know that you may not be seeing them as well, and your still able to avoid a lot of the rocks. But the thing is, while you may be able to avoid a lot, your probably still going to miss and run into small rocks that you may have not been paying attention to, or rocks that are out of your vision because your glasses aren't ideal. Of course, the more experience you have going down that road full of rocks, the better you will be at avoiding the rocks, but you can only do so well if you can't see them all. My OGs have always told me, your only as good as what you hear. If your just using headphones, or just using speakers or low quality or medium quality, using low quality converters, you may be able to get a great mix, but your probably sitll missing a lot of finite details and definition that can make your mixes even better. And in this competitive music industry where many pros pride themselves in releasing amazing sounding products, who wants to be missing those details? IDK that's how I look at it.

[@frmm123]

I used studio monitors to make a video, which sounded appropriate at the end, then when I uploaded the video, then played it on my laptop, the result was alarming, like the speaking voice was suddenly not loud enough. Great info here, thank you.

[@tomszymusic]

Thanks for your thoughts and observations. Just curious if you used reference materials to check the balance of your mix well on your studio monitors? Did you use another song in a similar genre to see how loud the vocals sounded compared to your mix?

[@frmm123]

@@tomszymusic ​ The tip on using reference music is superb; my issue was mixing my voice with music in background...voiceover. On monitors I thought it was okay, but on laptop the piano was twangy...so I made some adjustments. Which makes me wonder if most of the world just listens to stuff on their cell phones now. I should look for a video on voiceover if you have one. : P

[@bad_karma8128]

So I can Mix & Master on my Logitech Speakers. Thank you for the advice! Btw ,can you give some Mastering Tips?

[@tomszymusic]

Well, believe it or not there are people who do it. Or quite cheap headphones. There is a great read by the title of behind the glass, that gets a lot of one-on-one information and interviews from top engineers of the past several decades. I forget which one said it but he used to do most of his mixing on a small Boombox or a set of TV speakers as it was what most people listened to and he learned to mix on them because of that. Also, as I said in the beginning of the video, that this was a response video to another KZbin video that had hundreds of thousands of views that said you need studio monitors to be successful at mixing. I don't agree with that statement and the crux of that video. If you don't agree with mine that's perfectly fine. And lastly, the larger take-home message I want people to understand is at some point you just need to buckle down with a set of tools you have regardless of what they are, how you can learn those tools and therefore learn how to mix better. I myself went down the speaker rabbit hole for too long thinking that's what I needed to mix better, when in reality I just needed to stick with some speakers and simply practice mixing more often. Although I know your comment was dripping with sarcasm, the best mastering advice I can give you is this. Get your material Mastered by a professional. A few years ago an Ep I did for a friend was Mastered by Brian Lucey. If you don't know his credits look them up. I then compared my pre Master with his master and learned a lot about compression and EQ that way, highly recommended. Take care

[@mattzere78]

@@tomszymusic behind the glass - could you link me to the article? Also interested in your current speaker set-up out of curiosity.

[@tomszymusic]

@@mattzere78 hello friend, so behind the glass is an actual book. It may exist somewhere in electronic PDF format but I read the actual book. www.amazon.com/Behind-Glass-Record-Producers-Craft/dp/0879306149

[@tomszymusic]

@@mattzere78 also regarding current Speaker setup, I have gone through many different setups over the years. Currently all I have in my studio is a pair of JBL lsr308, the original version. I've tried a lot of the cheaper speakers and I still think they are the best bang for the buck. I use quite a bit a pair of cheap headphones and believe it or not hooking up my MacBook to our television to balance vocal levels for a project. If you have a laptop give it a try sometime, just set the vocals listening through your TV where they sound appropriate and see how it translates to other systems, been working well for me! How about yourself, what is your speaker setup like?

[@Prod.By-King.Raven_Montarin_01]

Do you know what budget speaker I can use for a beginner like me in mixing at mastering

[@soundknight]

One thing I found DRAMATIC and Eye Opening was listening to one of my favourite post production recordings that I had probably heard 200-300 times. When I heard them on those old massive tannoy in the studio they sounded awful. It was in that moment that I realised 'All sound is relative'. John Williams Venezuelan guitar recordings.

[@tomszymusic]

Thank you so much for sharing that my friend! Depending on what you're listening on can certainly change the perspective quite a bit! Which can be a good thing, or not. Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave a comment, I seriously appreciate it! Hope you are safe and healthy and having a great new year so far

[@flexithefurry11yearsago10]

I love the intro sentence, it's very wholesome

[@MoustafaGhanemproducer]

So i will ask you if you can hear the deference of 0.5 db in HFQ on your cheap studio monitor

[@sushitommy]

Thanks for your honest and clear advice. Could not agree more. It's not about the monitor, it's all about your ear

[@tomszymusic]

You are welcome my friend! Thank you for stopping by to watch and comment!

[@gabrielrf1]

Thanks for the advice! I've decided to get some monitors anyway because I've decided my consumer grade headphones and bluetooth speaker aren't giving me enough bass response and a flat studio monitor would allow me to more easily identify problems with my mix. I'm on a budget, though, so I'm wondering how best to spend my money. I could either buy two budget studio monitors, one slightly nicer monitor, or one budget monitor + a subwoofer. What are your thoughts about mixing in mono (I would still have my headphones for stereo), and how important is a subwoofer? Thanks!

[@bma3974]

don't want to mix w a sub woofer, and you always want a pair (two) of monitors. also, some decent headphones specifically for mixing are available and some pretty affordable.

[@gabrielrf1]

Bobby Armstrong thanks! I ended up doing some research, realizing my comment was pretty dumb, and buying a pair of decent headphones. Was the right choice!

[@MOAB-UT]

I partially agree, but mostly disagree. It's great that she landed many gigs from the demo mixed on headphones but how many more could she have landed if it were of an even higher quality? If it was a professional evaluation, you can bet they did not listen back on ear buds so mixing on the same was not a good idea. Five minutes before they might have listened to someone else with a high quality mix and hired that person instead. My point is, and especially at the competitive level, quality matters. For numbers folks, it's really this simple. If you mix on equipment that is a "7" (out of 10) and the listener, listens back on gear that is a "6" or even "7" out of ten, it should sound good enough to them because essentially they won't be missing any sound information. This assumes the person knows how to mix. The challenge is if you only mix on gear that is level 7 and the other person listens back on gear that is 8, 9 or 10, they will miss a ton of sound information (that they probably accustomed to hearing e.g., a musician or production professional.) In today's world, I'll admit that average gear is pretty good- maybe 7.5 or 8 out of 10. So you are likely mixing at 7.5-8 and if people listen back on great that is around the same level- I get your point. No worries- it will work. Realistically, I get that it might be "good enough" for most. Also, MacBook gear is actually very decent but why not give 100% on every demo? Your opinion or otherwise, I don't think a few anecdotal successes prove that to all that studio monitors are not necessary. It is a fact that today's "average" gear is actually quite good. I have a very nice Cannon DSLR camera and unless I am enlarging it, my cell phone camera takes nearly as good pics (Hint: I am not selling my camera.) I especially disagree when you said "use whatever you have" and "it doesn't matter what it is." First, the irony, YOU PERSONALLY USE STUDIO MONITORS (that says a lot.) Note not what a person says but what they do. Most important of all, your wife is likely incredibly talented and could sound great on even an average mix. According to your logic, if I am mixing music on $5 speakers (clearly not full range,) and I can't hear 20% of the critical frequency information, and the tone is highly effected by DSP or other non flat characteristics, that's ok! But what is a music aficionado later plays back that subpar mix on a pair of Opus 204's? Is that person going to hear the truest and best representation of the production (vocal, sound, instruments, etc.?) The answer, all day long, is absolutely not. There are very good reasons FRFR/Studio Monitors exist. Keep in mind, despite the name, Studio Monitors are themselves essentially just speakers. They are however specifically engineered to be far more accurate, flat and full range and clean (various amp classes.) I know many people who have listened to their "favorite songs" for years only to one day hear the same song through quality gear (high-end amp/speakers.) The comments are always nearly the same" "Wow, that sounded amazing." "I heard things I had been missing." "The song really came alive." Answer this question... If you were given one chance in a competition to make a million dollars. You had to make 1 mix that a blind audience was going to review the next day. They offered you a choice of 1. A cheap pair of $5 speakers to make your mix (you said "it doesn't matter what it is") or 2. a pair of Genelec "The Ones" say the 8341 SAM 3-way Coaxial Studio Monitors. Which option would you go with? Clearly everyone who understand music would go with option 2. Therefor to say it doesn't matter really doesn't make sense and it's simply not true IMO. Here is a simple analogy. You can watch a 4k DVD on an old TV- it will also work. But when you pop it into a 4k DVD player and watch it on a 4k display, it will come alive. You are essentially saying, make the movie on an old TV and watch it on an old TV because, well "it doesn't matter." Oh, yes it does. Like a movie, sound is information. Sound information can be heard and measured very precisely. Listen to a demo of Dolby Atmos HDR Surround Sound. Every frequency is audible perfection which makes the experience highly immersive. Where I might partially agree. If you are only addressing the very casual listener (you did not say that), and you are a casual at-home mixing person, and both are both using the same level gear, then sure, it should be mostly fine. My argument is that people who mix and those who take listening to music seriously, tend to appreciate the best sound they can get. Yes, you can get away with casual mixing on average speakers and listening through earbuds. If the gear is at least decent quality, it will work for the majority of people but IMO, that approach will never produce the type of high quality results that using better gear, including studio monitors can offer. This is especially true on the professional level.

[@tomszymusic]

Whew! Thank you for your comment, that's quite a lot to read and although I don't have time to respond to every bit of it I appreciate the time you took to leave what you did. Regarding my wife and her gigs, I can guarantee you she did not lose any work because of the system anything was mixed on. The pandemic is hurting her profession, not what equipment they were mixed on. I did say in the beginning of the video that this was essentially a response video to a popular KZbin video that said you need monitors to mix well. I think that makes people think the gear is more important than the skill, not that each doesn't have its place. This is why I use the Yamaha ns10 example, if people can turn out mixes on harsh and Dreadful sounding speakers, then a lot of that has to do with skill level. I'm not bad-mouthing monitors by any means, just trying to get people to think about the point that The skill of mixing and the skill of listening itself can be learned on many different types of equipment. Not just studio monitors. I fell into a trap of chasing more and more expensive speakers for a while and it really did not improve my mixing anymore but simply just spending more time mixing and understanding how to use Equalization and compression did make a difference. Just trying to get people to chase skill sets more and gear less, that is all. Hope you are safe and healthy in this crazy world and have a happy holiday!

[@MOAB-UT]

​@@tomszymusic "I'm not bad-mouthing monitors by any means" yet ironically the title of your post is "Studio Monitor Lie..." Bottom line, I agree that skill often trumps gear, but I do believe there is a place for both. Having quality monitors along with a talented mixing professional can turn out a superior mix, especially if it is heard back on high fidelity gear. For most people, sure decent mid level gear and talent will turn out a very acceptable product- especially since most will listen back on similar level gear. I'm sure the market has been hit hard but I would argue that makes the case for producing the very best demo possible even more important. The competition is that much stronger. Regardless, I'm sure your mixes still sound great and again, I'm sure she is very talented. Just for fun, one day try mixing on a pair of Genelec "The Ones" 8361A monitors. Then listen back on a pair of really high end speakers That will make my point more clear. Happy Holidays!

[@tomszymusic]

@@MOAB-UT not sure if you watched the whole video start to finish, but the thing is in this video I actually never did in fact badmouth monitors. I said I use them myself and if they work for you that's great. Learn to use what you have. The lie I'm referring to is that they're absolutely "necessary" to turn out good music. Which is why I said in the beginning of the video this is a response to another video stating they are necessary, and that I don't think that's true. Hence the lie I'm referring to. And what I also said in my previous comment to you. Also the demographic of people who are using high-end monitors don't need my video to convince them of anything. I'm trying to save people towards the beginning of their home studio journeys the pain of jumping down financial rabbit holes before they are actually ready to skill wise. Been there and done that myself, especially with monitors. Side note: I have owned the following high-end monitors at some point including focal twin, trident hg3, event opal, and at one point had a 5k PMC setup. Though I have never owned the genelec monitors you reference, I have indeed owned and worked with high-end monitoring systems. I know what mixing and playback sound like on that caliber of sound reproduction. Getting my wife consistent work, doing audio visual work for my church, for myself, and for my friend who owns a professional film company (google roslyn films in PA) has never been detrimentally impacted by not using high-end monitors. Everybody's different of course and their needs are different and at the end of the day whatever gets you there most quickly is ultimately probably the best thing. Happy musical endeavours to you!

[@MOAB-UT]

@@tomszymusic No worries Tom and yes, I watched the entire video. I just think most people would casually read the title "Studio Monitor Lie" and watch the video and get the impression that monitors don't make a big difference when in fact, we both know they really can. You admit that you have used a ton of them and probably still do. Not to bemoan the point but you state things like "it doesn't matter!" (what you mix on- which simply isn't true...it does matter) and "Your mixing skills are far more important than what speakers you mix on." This last point has strong merit but again, your mixing skills simply can never be maximized if you don't have all the sonic information available. Think of it this way, even a seasoned pilot uses navigational aids to fly in an approach- say to LAX. He/she may have landed there 100 times but as a professionals, that person must (a requirement) rely on check lists and multiple sources of information "to get the superior result." Simply being a "good pilot" doesn't cut it. Without runway lights, maps, charts, gps, beacons, ILS, guideslope, elevation, speed and sink rate data that person might still land the plane but it won't be the best result possible or nearly as "accurate." On the other hand, a great pilot (or mixing person) who uses the best tools available will more consistently achieve "better results." This is a fact and not an opinion. The question is do you want to fly Cessna's via VFR locally, during the blue sky days, only over familiar terrain or pilot the latest A380's and take adventures in all kinds of weather to new far away, even uncharted places? I would choose the latter. I get it, making a controversial title attracts viewers and can spark debates. If that is not your goal, next time simple state... "Average to good, non-professional level sounding mixes are possible without using studio monitors." I would mostly agree with that. Still, I maintain, "If you want the best mixes possible- use high quality monitors...and of course yes, hone your mixing skills!" As a music professional, I'm sure you respect, and have worked with various artists. Show me a statistically significant number of them who uses regular speakers to create important mixes on. I doubt you will be able to do that. There is a reason for that. Lastly, I noticed in your latest review, you compare the C414 B-ULS to the C414 Brass mic and in another review, the WA-47 to the ML-1. If "it doesn't matter"- why bother reviewing? It's because the each individual piece of gear is important. They reveal subtle tonal nuances that together really add up- not necessarily better or worse, just different and unique. For example, look at a guitar amplifier. Like a monitor, it has one main purpose- to amplify sound. Guitar amps can add a few effects as well. There are hundreds of different types of amps that create very subtle (some not so subtle) tonal differences. Some you can't even hear, but you can feel them, like the stillness in the air just before a storm- it's hard to quantify but it's there and it is real. By using "regular speakers" I'm afraid you may miss out on including key elements of a piece that an artist created. It is also like displaying a fine work of art in a dimly lit room vs. looking up at the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. You don't just see that ceiling, you feel it. Metaphorically, yes, if Michelangelo's work was ever translated to sound, you could experience it through speakers but why would you want to? The pilot doesn't need all the tech that is packed in the cockpit but it serves a purpose. The bottom line is, it all matters. Firstly, the talent matters. The mics matter. The size of the room and acoustic treatments make a difference. The cables and components are important and yes, the "Studio Monitors certainly matter." Cheers and Happy Painting!

[@tomszymusic]

@@MOAB-UT we can agree to disagree. And that's okay. 😀 My personal opinion is that the acoustic space and instrument and microphone actually matters a lot more then the studio monitors. But it's obvious you don't agree with that which is ok. I'm not generalizing the statement to all gear, especially microphones. I have to make gear comparison videos because nobody really cares about my opinion on anything. Or knows who I am, LOL which I'm fine with also! The funny thing is this video was one of the first I ever did and just came more or less off the top of my head. Never did I think it would become as popular as it has. I was just trying to think of something to post when I first started the channel. It somehow snowballed into popularity inadvertently. Also if mixing audio was as life and death of a matter as flying a plane, I would opt for the more expensive option 😉

[@DerekJones]

Mixing against reference material is a great way to learn how to mix imo. Good advice.

[@tomszymusic]

Derek Jones thanks so much for watching and the comment, reference material is the great equalizer no matter what system you are listening to!

That's why if you are an audiophile.. you must own at least ONE GOOD Speaker Monitor. For REFERENCE..

[@pandeni4512]

Just because of pure honest and sincerity, you got a sub from me

[@rileylordemann1190]

oh man thank you so much!! i have been going crazy the last 5 days trying to figure out if i need studio monitors, if it is worth it in the budget i have, if it is worth it if i cant do proper acoustic treatment in the room, man even if the room was ok, and i know it all affects on a degree, but i was just more into a spiral the more info i learned; all to end up thinking.. well it isnt worth it because i cant afford thousends of dollars of equipment to listen well. You helped me so much and cleared most doubts in an accurate, to the point and truth revealing 4 minute video. Thank you so much!! I will buy the best monitors that are inside my budget and start listening to refence tracks and learn how it sounds.

[@kingmabproduction6407]

Thanks very much for the advice. But I have a question. I don't have money to buy studio monitors because they are too expensive in my country. But I want to buy a little mixer with a built-in amp in it, how should I set it with my audio interface to get quality sounds for mixing and mastering in my studio?????

[@sures21t]

thank you for posting, will support your content Tom

[@emiel333]

Totally agree on this subject! Great video, and I subscribed to your channel. Just because the fact you are honest and don't make it harder or less like other channels. You give advice that's useful and we can figure out for ourselves. Some vloggers almost throw their own opinions through your ears. It's subjective what some people define as good or bad regarding to a certain subject, so great job buddy!

[@tomszymusic]

Hey thank you so much for the kind words and subscription! I sincerely appreciate it. Yeah, i mean i try to be honest and regarding the studio monitor lie video- just wanted to pass along what i felt learned the hard way, jumping around from gear (including speakers) and losing sight of what was important! Thanks again, can't wait to get some more videos out for you guys!

[@genichirodiestwice4186]

dude thanks a lot, you saved me some money and more important eased my doubts, have been using home LG HI-FI system since years, so i know how tones are supposed to sound like and then producing the tracks to my phone to check how they sound, and they sound totally normal to me and the way i expected, but then you hear and read everywhere in music production about monitor boxes that you start doubting.

[@tomszymusic]

Sorry for the belated response, thank you for watching and the comment! I'm glad this video is helpful for you. It's become much more popular than I ever thought it would, LOL. But you hit the nail on the head, as long as you have a system you know and can get great results with it, getting monitors will not yield you better mixes. In fact it may do the opposite because you're introducing a completely new way of listening to something than you're used to and will have to readjust and recalibrate your brain and ears. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Happy music making and listening!

[@Doliano100]

Hi Tom thanks for the video, i want to confirme what you said because i mixed songs with multimedia speakers the cheapest ones and my mixes sounded good everywhere, cause when i mix i always think about the aspect of the sound on that speaker and imagining it like a circle or a triangle or whatever comes in my mind and i compare it to commercial songs that i love. In my country it's hard to get cheapest studio monitor cause our minimum wage is about 100 dollars and mid wage is about 250 dollars !!!! but even on the cheapest speakers i enjoy making music that is the important thing, good gear are juste a comfort, salutation from Algeria

[@tomszymusic]

Just wanted to say thank you so very much for taking the time to listen and comment. This is the amazing thing about KZbin and how it can connect people from all over the world with similar interests. I know I'm guilty of taking my home studio for granted at times myself. And the information you provided regarding the pay scale and cost of speakers in your country is really eye-opening. This should force us all to think, what can we do with the gear we have? You're able to turn out great results with minimal gear, and so are hundreds of thousands of other people. We all can just get caught up and chasing the best of any type of gear, including speakers. However that doesn't make us better at mixing. The end result is what matters, and I'm so glad to hear you are getting great results on more of a minimalist set up. That's a testament to your skill and not the gear, and skill is what is always the most important thing anyway. Thank you again so much and best of luck with life and music and mixing!

[@khannakkbahr5644]

Thank you so much for confirming what I suspected all along, " I know what I want my music to sound like and be confident in what I am doing". Using a reference track will put the nails in the coffin. Killin' Em' !!! Thanks inspirational videoo

[@tomszymusic]

You're very welcome! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and to comment. Regardless if you're using $5 or $5,000 speakers you need the reference material! Thanks again and hope to see you in other videos

[@kanoltujuh]

Tom, do you think my Samson BT3 will still do my job? Despite the fact that it lacks sub frequencies (only 95 hz low end)?

[@tomszymusic]

Sorry for the belated response! But thanks for watching and the question. I think the speakers will do an excellent job for you- the same rules apply as everything else: Know them extremely well and listen to all sorts of music on them, and know how they sound. Don’t just use them for mixing, that would be the worst thing you could do. Use them for all of your music experience, that way your ears are acclimated to how things sound on them. In terms of the lowest frequency’s, a cheap pair of headphones or your car system can be used to tell you if the low-end needs adjusting or not, but I think those speakers will do a fantastic job for the majority of your mixing duties. For years when I was getting started I used a Pair of Sony VAIO computer speakers For most of my mixing duties, and used a set of bigger home hi-fi speakers to check the low-end. The combination worked extremely well until I had money to upgrade to some other things.

[@kanoltujuh]

Tom Szy Music now i understand what you want to tell in the video, and i hope this will change my entire work on mixing. Thanks a lot, Tom!

[@neiljag718]

Thank you so much man you saved me a lotta bucks . Thank you for givibg me the knowledge i need as a beginner. When the other guys on youtube are say i need one studio monitor when u really cant afford one comfortably. This made me worry a little bit . But now you told i dont need one i will invest the money i should on the thungs i really need .Sending lots of love

[@tomszymusic]

You are very welcome my friend! Glad you found the video helpful or informative. Your speaker and recording needs will likely evolve as your skill-set does, but I can't tell you how many times I come back to Old speakers I have just because I know them so well, regardless if they are Studio monitors or not. And I'm certainly not against monitors, I just have the opinion that it is possible to make good music regardless if you have them or not, don't get hung up on the gear. Thanks ever so much for watching, hope you are safe and healthy and having a good new year so far!

[@doctorkj5640]

So the analogy for displays should be: You can scrap all that pro display color reference monitors and make color grade on a cheap TN LCD display and hope your color grade will look great on the theatre screen…. Is that what you are saying?

[@naturalverities]

If you just HAVE to have studio monitors, do what I do: get a couple of post-it notes, write "studio monitor" on them, and stick them on your preferred speakers. Done! When the job is finished, remove the labels and enjoy listening to your work. Because everyone knows studio monitors are terrible for listening for enjoyment, being too sterile and analytical. . Great video!

[@C0llinsW0rth.]

thank you for this video, I was having gas, and now, i know i don't need them I can just plug in my nice bluetooth speakers and still enjoy

[@rahulchakrabarty9083]

But it is not possible to know each and every speaker you are going to use for mixing. What we are familiar with is what an instrument sounds like. So "neutral" speaker can help

[@tradehut2782]

Me : The studio monitor lie Also me : I use studio monitors because they work for me.

[@tomszymusic]

Haha you've been active here in the comments lately on various videos. Since I made this video a couple years ago I ditched both of those more expensive pairs of speakers and just now have the cheaper jbl's and the kali's. I've also gotten pretty proficient mixing on cheap Koss headphones... To prevent from waking anybody else up in the house. Of course I'm sure you caught the part where I said the lie is in reference to the video that has several hundred thousand views that states you need studio monitors to mix accurately. That's really what this is all about. Basically just to encourage people to learn to mix more and not depend on gear to get good results. Of course good gear can certainly help you get there, if you have learned the skill first But it also hit home with me as I have been transferring music files to a new computer and listened to some things I had done years ago before I even had monitors, just my computer speakers and a big set of bookshelf Hi-Fi speakers... And some of the mixes were actually quite decent I did on them, at least with myself as a critic

[@jper7234]

hahahaha

[@bma3974]

similar to a rule about getting better sound from monitors on stands as opposed to monitors sitting directly on your desk. however, there are Grammy winning producers that produced albums with their monitors on their desk.

[@joeystephie2911]

I agree! It's more on your ear that your gear.

[@tomszymusic]

Exactly! That was the take-home message I was hoping people would get!

[@emphii]

You’re making a very important point here an I do agree with you in principal. The problem I think is that if you produce on a pair of speakers lacking certain mids for instance, you will miss out on those mids both on the reference material and your own productions. So how can you control those specific frequencies when your speakers are not able to reproduce them? Some say you should test your material on a number of different speakers. Let me know what you think. Greetings from a sound geek 🤓

[@tomszymusic]

Hello my friend! I love discussing this stuff as I'm sound geek myself, LOL. I mean I think at the end you hit it on the head, use different playback systems and one should be able to cover the gaps that the other misses. The most obvious one is of course the car test, which I was actually going to do a video about my thoughts on that at some point as well. But I think a pair of speakers and a pair of headphones can really cover a lot of ground. I've been using Koss headphones for over 15 years... I've grown so accustomed to them that the ones I use are discontinued and I bought like 10 pair on eBay years ago to last me! I just know them so incredibly well and have been shifting towards doing more work on just headphones and then checking in the car because getting out to studio in blocks of time has just been harder to come by with life and family lately. But they are $20 headphones and I can cover a ton of ground on them. But I do think you make a good point in that every playback system is going to have deficiencies and especially some cheaper speakers will be deficient in the mid-range. And I am certainly not against monitors , I actually use them myself. Although since I did this video I actually sold both those pairs and have just a pair of inexpensive JBL lsr308 for Studio use and have been getting along fine with them. The point of all this was just to say to learn from my mistake in that chasing better and more expensive monitors doesn't necessarily yield better mixes, as I learned that the hard way. You can definitely improve your mixing skills with the speakers you have, but at the same time have to find something that works for you I gave the ns10 example because they are incredibly deficient in the high-end and low-end, I had a pair for a while and to me they sounded like a high and low pass filter were applied at the ends of the spectrum with an incredible mid-range boost somewhere around 3 to 5 K. I myself couldn't wrap my brain around them but of course many other mixers have, and they are a Love and Hate Thing for most. So what's in your listening / mixing Arsenal? I'd be really curious to hear!

[@CTzem]

@@tomszymusic Hello Sir. What type of Koss Headphones do you used? I saw a bunch of different models.

[@InvisibleElements]

This is a wonderful & timeless video. Yes reference good quality material & aim to get into that "ballpark"

[@tomszymusic]

Thank you so much my friend! It's funny I never thought this video would get as many views as it has, but it was just what came to my mind after seeing another video that had the exact opposite viewpoint of mine! Anyhow thanks again for watching and the kind words

[@accentontheoff]

This video has got me thinking. Since I currently can’t treat my room I am beginning to wonder whether just a decent pair of regular speakers would do. What would you recommend. I own a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 3s but can get something else too. Since I own a Focusrite I would need an amp too right? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks!

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to watch the video and leave a comment. Regarding your other question I believe you left on room treatment, I think it's Paramount. It's probably up there as number one with importance if you are recording anything live and using anything other than headphones for mixing. You mentioned not being able to treat your room, even if you can't hang anything on walls get a couple of mic stands, and by some 2x4' auralex or similar acoustic foam sheets and hang them from a mic stand, raise the stand to the maximum height and then make the boom arm in the shape of a t so that it's parallel to the floor and then hang the foam from it. You can at least treat first reflection points on your rear and side walls this way. You can also either DIY Broadband / low-frequency absorbers that are all over KZbin with rigid insulation, or buy some from gik Acoustics. Straddle the corners to help tame low frequencies a little bit. Just simply lean them against the corner straddling them. Nothing permanent or destructive. It will make a world of difference, trust me. Regarding speakers, if you want to go the route of passive speakers with an amp, tannoy made a series of monitors called the PBM series years ago, look up the six or eight in versions on eBay. Can be had 200 and under per pair. For power amps, check out yamaha's professional amps from the 80s and 90s, they were amazing. Also Adcom series 535 / 545 / 555. Great bang for the buck. Also technics made some great larger bookshelf speakers too in the 70s-90s. If you want to spend more than 200-300 on speakers, then just look for used JBL lsr308. Probably the best bang-for-the-buck monitors out there. Hope this all helps!

[@accentontheoff]

@@tomszymusic Hi and thanks so much for your very detailed reply. Will consider all that you are saying. Maybe it’s time I did at least a little room treatment. Slow and steady wins the race :) Will check out the passive speakers and amps you mentioned as well. You’re talking mostly second hand right? Thanks again!

[@tomszymusic]

@@accentontheoff you are very welcome, I hope it's informative or helpful in some way. And correct, second hand. I'm a huge believer in buying used studio equipment. Been doing that for years and it's how I get the gear to test for all my demo videos. Nearly never have a problem, and if you do and buy it on eBay you can return it within 30 days hassle-free.

[@accentontheoff]

@@tomszymusic Oh it is useful, thanks. As to second hand I need to explore the market here in India. Never considered it seriously but hey why not. Thanks.

[@accentontheoff]

Am also researching the idea of mic stands with foam. Sounds interesting and simple.

[@ignaciop9850]

Awsome bro. All this time I've had certain doubts about using expensive studio monitors, and you confirmed my theory: there is no need to.

[@tomszymusic]

As long as your results are turning out the way you want them, that's honestly all that matters! Sorry your comment got buried and I only saw it now, but thank you for stopping by to watch!

[@flamersss]

What are better headphones to mix on? Senheisser 280 HD Pros or Beyerdynamic DT770 80 OHMS?

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend, thank you for watching. Unfortunately I've never listened to either of those headphones so so unfortunately I can't comment on them. Something I prefer and many others do is when you get a headphone for mixing that they are open back, Opened back yielding to perhaps a little bit more natural sound and not as closed off and in a vacuum as closed back headphones. So if either of those is open back, I would go for that 1.

[@cubasbeatproducer2374]

This is common sense that deep down I've always known. However if you do choose to go the Hi-Fi speaker route you want to make sure that those speakers don't uniquely emphasize any part of the frequency spectrum because if your reference song does not utilize the same notes that your project does that could get you in trouble because you might be overcompensating with low mid or high frequencies in your mix if those speakers have a huge dip or Peak in the sound frequencies. I just confused myself a little bit but.... just make sure your speakers have a natural sounds to them.

[@tomszymusic]

Haha! Your comment made me laugh at the end there. My point of view is this: if you know how to mix, and know how your reference system sounds, they don't need to have a flat response. That's why I use the example of NS10s, which have been used for decade, sometimes exclusively to mix tens of thousands of albums. They are about as unflat of a speaker as you can get... Serious lack of low-end and high-end, and a significant mid-range boost that can hit your ears like a nice pic. The opposite of flat. Yet people learned how to mix on them and they became a standard, not because they had a flat frequency response. Anyhow, thanks again for taking the time to watch and listen and comment, happy music making and hope to see you again!

[@shamejsreedhar999]

yes !!!! you are right,our mixing skill is more important than monitor or other things

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend and thank you for watching! Exactly! That's the whole purpose of this video, to focus more on our skills and not as much on the tools, I'm guilty of this myself as well! But thought it could be a good little reminder for myself and the rest of us. Thank you again and hope to see you in future videos!

[@BrutusJones]

Great advice and I agree, but I think it helps me personally to have speakers that can put out some good bass. I've mixed on a laptop and the little speakers I use with the laptop just don't give me the bass I need to hear. That's just me though.

[@DrSlots-hs4if]

Finally one that understands! Thumbs up!

[@tomszymusic]

Thank you my friend for watching and the kind words!

[@shays2347]

I like the idea of a tube preamp two speakers for playing music and yes a microphone and headphones to record with

[@jamsmusic0516]

Just the right video I needed right now. Thank you so much. Really appreciate this video. Keep it up

[@tomszymusic]

Thank YOU so much for stopping by to watch and leave a comment! I sincerely appreciate it. But I'm glad you found it helpful. Too many times with people (myself included) their gear acquisition outgrows the pace of their skillset. Take care and stay safe!

[@TremRecords]

I appreciate your knowledge shared ! I've a pair of used Cerwin Vega XD3's, CubaseLe4 music production hardware in my home studio. When I wav to mp3, put the mixes on a cd to hear the mix, I'll just adjust the bass up, down If necessary...thanks again !

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend and thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a comment! Glad you have a system that works for you, and it doesn't break the bank! You can be done!. I hope you are safe and healthy in this crazy world right now.

[@TremRecords]

@@tomszymusic, you stay safe also.

[@MrBeblis]

I have had better results mixing and mastering on audiophile quality home audio speakers. Think about it, is the consumer playing back the music in studio speakers at home or on hifi speakers? It's most likely Hifi speakers, so mixing and mastering on hifi speakers absolutely makes sense... Just know your speakers and how they translate

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend, thanks for stopping by! You said it, just know your speakers and how they Translate! Take care and stay safe

[@ueson1000]

Thank you, now I could convince myself continued mixing with my multimedia T40 ii. I used to mix some tracks with my headphones but somehow I realized that they sounds pretty bad in tons of different devices, like mobile phone or budget speakers which were used for listening music by most people from anywhere. The best mixing, mastering pieces are customized for its' targeted user range, or even could be remastered for audiophiles or common costumers if needed.

[@tomszymusic]

Thank you so much my friend for stopping by and leaving this comment! I'm certainly of the mindset that if you are getting good results with your system, regardless of what it is, why change! I'm certainly not against studio monitors, but people can make it work without them. Thanks again so much for stopping by, hope you are having a blessed new year and stay safe and healthy!

[@namer1]

I actually better buy just normal home speakers, than an expensive studio monitors.

[@tomszymusic]

Before buying new speakers let's see what sort of results you can get with the speakers you have? Or headphones you have? That would be my recommendation. Thanks for stopping by! Stay safe and healthy

[@tomszymusic]

@@lucid_delirium976 Hi friend! I don't know the market that well for the speakers you are looking for unfortunately, I know here in the US people rave about the ascend cbm170/170se. Buying a pair of those used might be the way to go in Europe? Have never heard them though, hope that helps!

[@tomszymusic]

@@lucid_delirium976 just know that the cbm170 are passive speakers- you need an amp with those.

[@pioneermax1906]

Hi what’s your opinion of jbl 4333 monitors and ads 910s are they really really good. Thanks

[@gh87716]

I have a question. I personally only have one studio monitor speaker and have been wondering whether I even need another one. But if I do choose to mix on just this one speaker, shouldn't I do it in mono?

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend, thanks for watching and the question. I'll do my best I can to answer it. I think it ultimately comes down to, how are the mixes translating with your current setup? If you are satisfied then I would say if it isn't broken then don't fix it. Personally I would find it very challenging to try and get the balance of a mix and panning correct with only one speaker. Monitoring in mono is helpful though for checking phase relationships between different sound sources I have found. Regarding mixing in mono or stereo, if you only have one speaker then you are forced to mix in mono... You only have one speaker. But regarding the source which is most likely the output from your audio interface that's coming from your Daw, make sure in your Daw on your master bus channel that everything is summed to Mono. Most DAWs have the ability to flip between mono and stereo or if not there are free plug-ins that can do it. Or some monitor controllers and interfaces have the ability to sum to Mono as well. If you're not doing that somewhere along the line then your single speaker is only playing the left or right Channel output ... And you would be missing important information in that speaker unless all your individual channels are panned Center in your Daw. But that would not make for an engaging mix to have everything straight up the middle panning. Let me know if this makes sense?

[@massfusionstudio]

I use old 1986 A/D/S/ audiophile bookshelf speakers to bounce between my main studio monitors. They're faithful and I don't over compress everything. I prefer those over the ridiculously over priced cardboard woofer cheap Yamaha NS10'S. Guys are fools for even buying the avantone CLA 10 lol. There are much better home stereo passive speakers out there, that will get the job done. Bower and Wilkins are used in studios till this day. Old JBL monitors. The list goes on. I advise you to not get caught up in marketing scams. Research things. Don't always fall for the new brand out there. I totally agree with what you have just taught and said. I've grown up around ads speakers since a young boy when they first came out. My father is an audiophile and that's all he would buy. I know what something should sound like on them. Using home stereo speakers in a mixing session as a secondary reference monitor yield great results. Don't be afraid to EQ changes with them. Don't be afraid to pull back a track or boost it from reference on a house speaker. That same speaker plays the same genre you listen to. If it sounds correct on that? Then it's fine. Find the fundamental of the speaker and tune the mix to that. My ads speakers go down to 60hz. That's plenty of range for me to focus on the kick and bass. Studio monitors have a much More extended low range. You'll tighten up your bottom end better in a small speaker than on Studio speakers lol. That's called proof reading.

[@roman2374]

I have my desk standing half way into my living room so I have my studio monitors where they need to be… this gives me courage to try putting them in a box and moving my desk to the wall and use the stereo speakers and headphones for most of my workflow. Writing, recording, etc. I can still get them out for when I mix and master but I think I should anyways break up my workflow more. I always end up getting caught in little tweaks and equalising when I should be focusing on song structure. Thanks for this video

[@TheRealWillGeronimo]

Awesom video. Agree with all the points. I use cheap speakers to mix on, and the takeaway I get from that and this video is, if you can mix great on these, the final product will be awesome.

[@tomszymusic]

Hey Will, just wanted to say thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. There are many people out there who mix on cheap speakers or speakers that are not designed as studio monitors, who get great sounding mixes. I always believe it's more about the skills of a mix engineer than the gear itself. Thank you again my friend, stay safe and healthy!

[@skinnyTheCat]

Thanks a lot for a great video! I absolutely agree with your reasoning around this issue! I have even put some friend to the test on this, and it confirms it as well.

[@tomszymusic]

Hey David, thanks for watching and your comment. As i said in the video, NS10's really are the proof in the pudding for this one. Personally, i think they sound dreadful, they are very limited in the high and low end, and I don't care for them myself. But tens of thousands of records have been mixed on primarily them, as engineers have learned their sonic signature and how to use them as tools. I'm far from the world's best mixer but have used only cheap koss headphones to mix multiple demos for my wife who is a professional singer, and she's landed a lot of work from them. Thanks again!

[@MeastrasElKachelino]

I've mixed on my home theater system before and checked the mix on my headphones... Came out tight through out.

[@nyrbsamoht]

Could an argument FOR studio monitors be that they take balanced cables straight into the audio interface rather than taking the path from audio interface > to amp to speakers (with speaker wire) which could invite unwanted noise? ive got a pretty busy studio with power boards and synths and pc's and the like and i do get interference from i dont know where. im just trying to justify buying monitors...

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend, thank you so much for stopping by and the comment. Depending on the electrical setup of your environment, fewer cables could possibly be a better thing. Keep in mind powered monitors still have amps inside, so there's still cabling that has to go from interface to the speaker which has an amp and then from that amp to the drivers. It's just that the cable runs are shorter internally inside the powered speakers. I've gone through so many variations of monitors over the years and funny enough, the quietest connection I've ever had is with an old Yamaha power amp from the 80s to passive speakers. Absolutely dead silent. Most active monitors, especially lower-priced ones with class D amps have some hiss inherent in their design. I'm certainly not against the monitors at all, just don't think they are absolutely necessary for everybody. Anyway thanks again for stopping by and have a great day, stay safe and healthy!

[@spartan8390]

Pretty much agree with your point, but there is a reason for monitors of good quality. Once you make the perfect mix on monitors, switch to your “B set” of speakers and compare. Once you have that dialed in, switch to headphones and compare. When you bring a great mix from good monitors to regular speakers, the difference stands out. The biggest mistake people make is getting more than what the need or the wrong setup for their room. I learned many years ago that a 2.1 speaker setup was awful for me. It would sound great until I played it somewhere other than those speakers. They also weren’t proper monitors. Cut to years later, I can dial in a set of flat monitors, mix it, AB it, then it’s night and day. Audio engineering is an art. I don’t have formal schooling in this area, but I have learned a lot over 20 years of staying humble, taking advice, appreciating harsh criticism, and paying attention. My end-goal is to create mixes that sound good to a person wearing cheap headphones and a person who is a legitimate audiophile. Some pretty amazing engineering tricks can be heard from 60’s era music in a car.

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend, thanks so much for taking the time to watch and leave such a thoughtful comment, much appreciated! I pretty much agree with everything you are saying as well 😎. I'd be curious to see how your mixes would turn out now if you mixed on your original set of speakers now that you have more engineering and mixing knowledge, would be a fun experiment! Stay safe and healthy in this crazy world!

[@JamieR]

I agree up to a certain point. That said, having proper room treatment is important. Enough distance from speakers too, to let the bass unfold properly. Else it's kinda pointless. It's why my tracks always ended up messed up low end wise, because I didn't have enough room to let the sound fully evolve. A good pair of headphones + an avantone mixcube is way better investment. And some nice sounding speakers to listen to music with. But that's just my opinion.

[@VastlyOG]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻I totally agree!!! Well spoken!!!

[@AshurXXX]

maybe you right but i found out that the studio monitors sounds realy much better for my keyboards like pa3x and roland E-A7 the point here is i use my pa also much as i can for pushing the sound louder but how ever i need to much time to produce a good clear sound and its still worse on my pa so i dont know maybe my pa are bad

[@henz8303]

You dont need studio monitors actually you just need to get a reference track and try to copy and replicate the sound it has because its been mixed probably in a high end monitor but if youre too lazy to copy the reference track, then just go spend on a decently cheap monitors that you can work with and its so much easier to work with it..

[@kyrgyzsanjar]

I realized that I've been using the "reference material" al along. I have some songs that I know by heart, every single beat... and I play them to test acoustic devices.

[@tomszymusic]

Hey friend! See that, you're already ahead of the curve and you didn't even know it! That's awesome to hear though, and really the best way to calibrate your ears on any system, and even throughout mixing always great to refresh and listen to material you know sounds good to see if you are on track with what you are doing yourself! Thanks again for taking the time to watch and listen and comment, hope to see you again!

[@MxxRie]

Would say that this opinion is also a bit misleading. A studio Monitor or headphones are tools, and if you now what that tool can do and more importantly what it can not do. And you have a way to check that “missing” information in another way, than you are fine. But Mixing on earbuds I’m never able to check what is going on at 60hz, even if I know the buds very well. Because the information is not presented to me. So I have to check the low end on a different tool. So there is no one tool fix all, and there never was

[@goshtamoshta]

I‘m planning on starting to record and mix my own music. I‘ve ordered a pair of studio monitors but they only had 1 on hand. The other is gonna arrive in 2-3 weeks time. Can I start with 1 already??

[@hermask815]

What if you our your ears are not so schooled in deciding what’s good? Gut feeling is sometimes a bad advice. Good professionals can get respectable results from mediocre equipment. Isn’t a studio monitor perhaps helpful for the home studio amateur? I’m asking for... myself .

[@HumbleTrader001]

Most musicians are insecure about mixing (because mixing is a headache) so they'll buy expensive studio monitors thinking it will solve their problems. All studio monitors sound different. The EPI model 100 (vintage home stereo speaker) was probably as flat as most studio monitors.

[@Prod.By-King.Raven_Montarin_01]

Can I mix on Edifier R19U .. together with Samson sr850 headphones?

[@d0wnstars]

Can you use monitors to produce a softer/quiet sound? I have my usb interface to my bass amp and it is annoying the neighbors.

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend! Thanks for watching on the question! Low frequencies are what you hear most between room-to-room and through walls... and I could see why running your sound through a bass amp would yield that problem. I would recommend a pair of 6 inch or smaller speakers to use, especially if the neighbors are a problem... Maybe something in the 4-inch range? I guess the question comes down to, are you listening for enjoyment or mixing or both? I would probably say if low frequencies and neighbors are problem then get a pair of speakers with 4 or 5 inch drivers, that you can use to listen to music, and then use a pair of headphones to check for the low end of you are mixing. Let me know what you think of this? There are quite a few small monitors that are very accurate at playing at low levels

[@d0wnstars]

@@tomszymusic I was thinking about 5 inch monitors. I want to enjoy them wile listening, i thought about that as well and i think that it is more inspiring to play guitar or bass when it sound good. I want to focus on recording first. When i am done recording i switch to my stereo speakers with a little sub to mix but i can't use these speakers with my interface because of latency. I have to go to the city first to listen to some brands, i am still doubting if i will first bey one expensive or two cheaper. I will need my ears for that decision. Your reaction is helpful, thanks Always amazing how i get only reply from smaller channels. Very much appreciated m8.

[@tomszymusic]

You are very welcome! Let me know what you decide on, I'm always curious to hear what other people end up using! Thank you my friend, hope to see you back on future videos!

[@FeroxX_Gosu]

I mostly agree on the main idea, but you will lack detail on poorer speakers, it will be a time consuming guessing game. Imagine editing a 1920x1080 photo in 800x600 resolution... its really not optimal for the job.

[@obscuresoundz]

agree 100% that how I always approached mixing; rather then spending 1000 on speakers

[@mrrowan4271]

The most important person on KZbin.

[@gabeapadilla]

In my opinion I just like the way it looks on a gaming setup:)

[@tomszymusic]

Hey Gabe, thanks for watching! Yeah, there is definitely something to be said for the aesthetics of a nice pair of monitors! Thanks for the comment!

[@johnviera3884]

Capitol Studio A bought elite PMC monitors and then had to tweak them for days. Monitors are like a DAW, it’s not the monitor (DAW) , it’s the user.

[@officialWWM]

I couldnt agree with this more! I mix on a pair of 12 inch QSC floor monitors but I know those speakers inside out!

[@tomszymusic]

Hello friend! Thanks so much for stopping by and the kind words. I'm glad you have a system you know inside and out, that is priceless! Honestly whatever gets you the results you are looking for. Thanks so much for stopping by and the kind words, hope you are safe and healthy and have a great holiday!

[@officialWWM]

Tom Szy Music thank you for the kind words. I just subscribed to your channel. Kind of surprised you don't have more subscribers, you give great advice!