Introduction

This is a tricky one where money comes in. Of course, we all can't afford world-class studio monitors. But we also can't mix everything on laptop speakers and expect our mixes to translate. The truth is that if your speakers aren't good enough, you won't make good mixes. Why is that? 

First, speakers can mislead you. 

If your speakers have a mid-bass hump at 100 Hz, and if you have good taste as a mixing engineer, then your resulting mixes will come out with a dip at 100 Hz. Your speakers…

Introduction

This past weekend, I had a blast exploring the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, hosted by the Colorado Audio Society. It was my third year attending, and I hope it won't be my last.

If you're not in-the-know, it's a big convention for high-end stereos aimed at consumers. The exhibitors are brands that make things like speakers, stereo amplifiers, speaker cables, DACs, and other aspects important to home audio. To host this in an open convention hall would be madness, so they essentially rent out an…

So you've just finished your final mix, and it sounds amazing on your monitors or headphones. Excitedly, you play it for your friend on his stereo, and the mix just falls apart. Maybe the frequency balance is all wrong. Maybe the balance of instruments is completely off. Maybe it sounds weak and hollow instead of full and powerful. Maybe it's enough to make your ears cringe.

What happened??

The short of it is that your mix sounds good on your speakers or headphones, but doesn't translate to other…