I've got microlab M-200 speakers on my computer. Two basic speakers and a subwoofer.

I put on some headphones to hear the mix better. Instead of going through the computer speakers I hooked up a receiver into the computer so I could hear it through my Koss headphones. The mix sounded great, then I went back to hearing it on the computer speakers and it just wasn't the same.

Should I mix only by hearing it though the computer speakers? Should I get better computer speakers? Or should I get some speakers for my receiver and do it that way?

I would get the best mix you can on the worst speakers. Once it sounds good on the shitty speakers it will only sound better on better speakers. Make sure you mix one and play it in your car.

theSpark said:

Actually, I've read that you should do just the opposite - mix live, not on headphones, on the best speakers you can get... because THEN it will sound better on any combination.

If you mix to crappy speakers, or worse, to headphones, you'll have a totally different response. Subwoofers TOTALLY color the bass, so if you mix to speakers with a heavy-bass sub-woofer, then you'll REDUCE the bass so everything blends well... but then, when you play it on any speakers WITHOUT a subwoofer, the bass will be almost non-existent.

Headphones are pretty bad these days, pumping the bass to make them hip for modern music styles. One time I tried recording guitars for 3 hours but never got a good tone - in the end, it turned out to be the headphones.

I HAVE found some great headphones for SUPER-cheap - Radio Shack Titanium phones - they're like $10 or $14. The reason they're so good is that they have a flat frequency response - and a wide range - meaning, they don't falsely accentuate the bass, and they can deliver the highs and the lows accurately.

That's what you want.

Because in the end, you DO want to mix on the VERY best speakers you can get your hands on.. best meaning FLAT response - there's no high or low enhancement - just FLAT. So when you turn up the bass, you KNOW that you're bringing the bass up in the MIX, not because the speakers don't play the bass too well.

Does that make sense?

I think this will make sense tomorow when that damn baseline isn't resonating in my head because I've been listening to it on headphones for a few hours.

Otan said:

Even if I've got my subwoofer at the same level as when I play mp3s and cds on my computer?



Good, so I'm not crazy. It does sound different! It was like a totally different song! The bass was sooo not there when I played the track through the computer speakers. I thought that by turning the bass to zero on the receiver I would avoid that problem, but I guess I should try turning it way down, or not mixing on headphones at all.


Thanks Otan! I will look for those!


Thanks again for your words of wisdom. I think my computer speakers are good, because cds sound good through them. I will keep mixing on them, but sometimes I like to hear it in headphones just to get detailed and really hear the nuances in the sounds I'm using. Now I know about the bass problems with the headphones. Thanks so much!

- Don't activate the spatializer function.
- Listen to your other cds with your headphones to see if they sound too bass-heavy or whatever.
- Mix in stereo, then turn it to mono and see how it sounds.
- I definitely agree with The Spark's post - listen to a master in your car. You should know what your cds sound like in your car. You may go through a few blank discs this way, but it's damn near foolproof.
- Oasis said in some interview that they always listen to their master through a boombox, to see if it will sound good on anything. Almost any disc can sound good if played through expensive equipment - that's why it's expensive equipment. You need to be sure your music sounds good in a stock Honda Civic system. But Otan is right that you need to equalize it flat, or you'll skew the mix and it won't sound right.
[This message was edited Mon Mar 17 9:49:11 PST 2003 by tommyalma]