The other day I received an email from TRR reader, Sam. He asked if mixing on studio monitors was pointless, seeing as how most people aren’t ever going to listen to your mixes on nice studio monitors, but rather consumer headphones, laptop speakers, care stereos, and mobile phones. Shouldn’t we just mix for the worst case or lowest common denominator? In essence, here’s what I replied back and said.
Crappy Speakers Are Important
I think what Sam was getting at in his email was that just because you mix something on “nice” studio monitors in your studio doesn’t mean it will sound good on consumer grade speakers. And he’d be correct in saying that. We have to remember that we aren’t mixing for our studio, we’re mixing for translatability. We want our tracks to play nice out in the real world. And this is why having some crappy speakers in your studio is so critical.
That fat bass line and monster drum sound needs to come through to some degree on tiny little speakers, otherwise your mix loses impact. I get that. If you don’t already have some kind of crappy speaker or iPod earbud test in your mixing workflow, start today! But the real truth is that you can’t mix solely on crappy speakers. And here’s why.
Crappy Speakers Hide Things From You
The problem with relying purely on consumer grade speakers for your mixing medium is that you don’t get the whole picture. Sure you can make your mix sound good on those speakers, but what if someone listens to your mix on a set of better speakers or a high end stereo? Or what if your song gets on a local TV station or commercial and people hear it on their nice home theater systems in surround? Can you be sure that it will translate well there?
You need your studio monitors to give you a more accurate picture of what is going on in your mix. There are generally problem frequencies that are eating up headroom in your mix that, even though you don’t “hear” them on crappy speakers, they are overloading your mix buss. You don’t want to mix blind if you can avoid it. And the great news is that it doesn’t take much money or effort to hear things accurately in your studio.
The Truth About Monitoring
Good monitoring is critical. But what is good? Personally, I don’t buy into the whole super expensive monitors mindset. I catch a lot of flack for that, but the truth is I think we’re talking about minuscule change and improvement on the high end level. Currently I still mix on a pair of $300 speakers (for the pair!), in a home studio with simple acoustic treatment in some strategic places. Match that with something like the ARC room correction plugin and you’re good to go.
Anybody with an affordable pair of studio monitors in a fairly non-reflective room already is at a massive advantage to the person mixing solely on consumer grade speakers and earbuds. It’ll get you 95% of the way there, and that my friends is called going for the big wins.
Some More Reading
If you want some more thoughts on this subject, my buddy Ian Shepherd (professional mastering engineer in the UK) has a couple of great posts on the topic. Be sure to digest them when you have a minute!
If You Can’t Hear It, It Doesn’t Matter Right? Wrong!
Mastering For Earbuds
Do Not Create Another Song Until You Read This Guide
(Price: $17 Free Today)
Discover the 6 Steps for Creating a Radio-Worthy Song From Scratch
My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
Great response Graham. I test my mixes on a boom box & in the car but rely on decent monitors (swapped occasionally with headphones) to do the mix. I once had the luxury of working with $25,000 monitors in a pro studio with crystal clear top end & astounding bass BUT I found that it wasn’t a HUGE help. You can mix extremely well in a home studio so long as you start in mono (a tip I got from you & Joe Gilder)& have accurate mid range which a decent pair of sub $500 monitors can give you (plus acoustic treatment to stop nasty room reflections). Is the extra $24,500 really worth it? I’ve also mixed on 30 year old home made monitors I got for $160 in a garage sale that even in that garage gave some of the clearest mid range I ever heard. It turned out that the guy who made them was Tina Turner’s front of house mixer. I’ve even mixed with blown tweeters & just left the top end alone (‘coz the tracks were initially sounding OK on headphones & I couldn’t hear the top end from the monitors to adjust it anyway)& the result was fine. I reckon if you get the mid range frequency “battles” sorted & you are 90% there.
I’ve just mixed my band’s ep on simple computer speakers and headphones (though not earbuds). At the moment there is no way for me to buy monitors or work on room treament. I think the mixes sound good. But it took me quite a while to mix them and to get them to where they are now and I am sure that better monitoring would have made work easier.
The point is: if you haven’t got monitors and have no way to get some, don’t let that stop you from mixing and creating music. But be prepared to put in a lot of extra work. Referencing and listening on as many different systems as you can is the way to go here. And get your monitors as soon as you can.
This is exactly what I wanted to say! And is the same method that I make my mixes! Play it on 3 different types of headphones/audio systems and if it sounds relatively good on each then the mix is good. 🙂
Last year, I picked up a pair of Avantone mix cubes as secondary reference monitors. WHAT A GREAT TOOL! The idea behind these lo-fi monitors is that if you can get your mix sounding good on them, it will likely sound good on ANYTHING from car stereos to ear-buds. Once you have your mix sounding the way you think it should on your main monitors, you switch to these, and you can really hear things with a different perspective that can help you make further adjustments. They are particularly good for getting your vocals sitting well. And to prove to yourself how well they work, you can listen to old mono mixes of things like the Beach Boys or the Beatles through them and you can hear how those mixes still sound great through these rather obnoxious sounding little monitors. They really work, and they have definitely helped me knock a few iterations off of my mixes. For example, I no longer get a mix out to my car and find that my lows are too woofy through a car stereo.
Though it’s tough to find a set of Auratones these days, I have been using the Avantone mix cubes as my B-mix compare, still running to the car speaks as well with my mains being the JBL 4328’s. The last compare is on the iPad and iPhone. Thy analyzer mic on the mains work like the ARC plugin which has proven to be a time saver on the back and forth. Thanks for getting the word out in this subject…
“Though it’s tough to find a set of Auratones these days”
I have done a few mixes thru some Behringer Behritone C50A’s (Stereo Pair) and a single C5A in mono, and have been EXTRAMLY happy with the results. I think I will go with a single C5A for one reason, it’s midrange feels more accurate than the C50A, even tho the C50A has a wider frequency response.
A few days back I also had a chance to sit with a pair of the Monoprice 5-inch Powered Studio Monitor Speakers, which sell for$165 for the pair…yes, the pair! M-Audio BX5 knock-offs all the way,and they sounded just as “good” as them. They also go on sale at times for $30 off, so the cost is ridiculous really.
NO idea how well they will hold up over the long haul, but I can see these replacing my old MS16’s in the near future…
Are the BX5’s any good?
I thought they were OK, I used them for about a year or so….tey will do the job once you learn them, like any speaker.
But for the price the ones from Monoprice are really a GREAT way to get some good monitors at a good price IMHO….
PS – and then comes the idea that no matter what your mixing on, it’s only as good as the ears that hear it.
Great post. Also bears mentioning that it’s important to “know” your monitors. You can mix on a high quality pair of near-fields and check your mixes on lower quality systems (boom boxes, ear buds, etc.) but if you’re not familiar with how music “sounds” on those systems you’re out of luck. As Graham suggests, using reference music is key while mixing (your favorite pro mixes) and I’d add to that by saying make sure you listen to a ton of music, other than your own, on the systems you’ll be mixing on; Hang out in your studio space and just listen to your favorite albums on your monitors. When you’re working out or doing chores, always listen to music on your phone using the same pair of ear buds, etc. This way when you go to record/mix your own work, you’ll know what music should sound like in those settings; your ears will, in a sense, be trained for those systems – correct amount of bottom-end, proper high-mids and so on.
This is key. Know your monitors, and know them in your room.
I found a great deal on a pair of M-Audio DSM2’s, upgrading from my “cheap” Samson monitors…and I was truly surprised how long it took me to produce mixes that translated well without too much back-and-forth tweaking.
If there’s any piece of gear that you’re constantly upgrading, don’t make it your monitors. Spend some time, find and buy a pair you like, and keep them as long as possible!
Browsing at VK this morning (bad move:)) I saw a pair of Barefoot monitors for $20,000. I realize there is such a thing as over-priced and over-hyped gear out there, but surely there MUST be some next level stuff happening with a $20,000 pair of monitors compared to a $300 pair..!!?? If not, then there are some major schiesters duping some very stupid people.
I have a pair of Yamaha HS50Ms (now called something different). I’ve been mixing on these for almost 3 years now, they don’t produce the best bass response either with a 5″ driver. I listen to everything through them; I watch films, listen to music and of course mix through them. I’ve gotten really used to how they sound, and find that I don’t really need to “upgrade”. I cross-reference my mix on a variety of systems to make sure the mix translates on different speakers, and most of the time it does.
If you get studio monitors that are £300 or dollars for a pair and you get used to how they sound, I don’t think you can go far wrong with your mixes as long as you know how they sound and know how your mixing room sounds.
Martin mentions some key factors: “I listen to everything through them…I’ve gotten really used to how they sound…I cross-reference my mix on a variety of systems.” That will get you a LONG way, particularly with a “decent” set of monitors. Pair that with Graham’s advice on buying with cash not credit to decide when it’s time to upgrade.
I bought a pair of these Yamaha speakers as well. They translate really well. I test my mixes on my iPod, in my car and my $100 stereo. I also listen to a lot of music (Spotify) on these speakers. The only thing I would add is that I turn on a sub woofer in the final mix (as per Dave Pensado) to make sure that there are no offending low frequencies.
I’ve had to make do with a single auratone-clone and a pair of headphones for a while now and it’s actually worked out pretty well. I miss having full range stereo monitoring, but my work hasn’t suffering without it.
Does quality even matter?
IMHO yes, it does.
WHile you CAN mix on anything, and have it turn out well once you have learned the speakers, it is a lot less work on a more accurate pair than on, say, a set like my Behringer MS16’s (which are really good computer speakers really).
Better speakers than mine would have better mid-range, most importaint for getting things right the first time…or at least closer the first time.
Good thoughts Graham! I totally agree with you, the studio monitors are like magnifying glass. It enables you to make the music perfect and flawless so it sounds great on every kind of system.
And I think the most important thing when using monitors isn’t to go for the high-end expensive ones. They will absolutely sound great, but more important is that you learn YOUR monitors. You have to learn how a good mix sounds on the monitors you have. No matter the price tag. So listen to a lot of music that is mixed and mastered professionally so you learn how a good mix sounds on them. If you by really expensive Genlec Monitors or what ever, the will most likely not help you make better mixing decisions if you don’t know how a good mix sounds on them.
Personally I have a pair of Tannoy monitors that I’ve been using for years, and I have no plan to replace them. To be honest I’m kind of afraid of switching them out because then I have to learn a new pair of monitors. So I’ll probably keep them and use them in tandem with a set of other monitors if they don’t break.
Thanks for sharing this post.This monitors works well and have a high resolution with HD screen.
I have just started trying to record and mix at home in my basement.
I have all I need, a very simple setup with stock Protools plugins, an interface and a desk. I’m scouring Kijiji for anything made of foam to make corner traps etc. Right now I cant afford monitors. I have a set of Harmon Kardon PC type speakers with a sub box. Nuthin I can do, have to use them for now or wait almost two years till I get out of school.
For the time being I know where to put the two speakers, but I’d like to know where best to put the sub box.
Also.
I have the basement cut in two with some heavy curtains to make my own space away from the visual of the washing machine and dryer.
This means the shortest wall behind my desk is now comprised of drywall , drywall on the wall to the right and curtain on the left. What do I do with that lot.
I have the worst space ever, but I just want to get started.
Any comments or helpful stuff is greatly appreciated.
The sub can go anywhere on the floor really. As far as walls go, try and cover reflective surfaces on your immediate left and right.
So the floor is the place for the sub. Is that hard and fast, cause i have it facing me dead center on a speaker cab behind my desk on a parallel with the satellite speakers.
If on the floor is the only place, I know you said anywhere, but would centered be best ? And I assume it should be on some sort of isolation pad and not right on the concrete floor.
What about the wall behind my desk, the wall I face ? Should I just leave it bare ?
The wall to my left is just a curtain hung from the ceiling joists, there is no wall.
The sub should be on the floor. Positioning doesn’t matter as much because bass waves are less directional. But you’ll want to experiment by listening to pro mixes and moving speakers around until the pro mixes sound balanced in your room.
Thanks Graham.
I’ll do that and try and work best I can with what I got for now.
And thanks for your generosity of spirit you extend for free to people out there like me that need a good place to start learning.
You’re awsome brother.
do you have any used up studio monitor you donate to my home recording in uganda have used this useless big speakers for long cant afford monitors but juat here them in rumors what to know their [email protected]
I’ve been fortunate enough to have a couple of high-profile mentors over the years. Several years ago I took some tracks into the personal studio of one and was immediately taken by the expensive Genelec monitors he had on the meter bridge. I thought to myself “Those must be the key to his amazing mixes. I’ve got to figure out how to get a set of those!”
I did notice that there were a couple of other monitor sets floating up there but didn’t really pay any attention to them. He loaded up the tracks and, to my amazement, we did the entire mix session on a pair of Behringer Truth 2031s. The mixes were amazing.
When I asked him why we didn’t use the Genelecs, he just smiled and said, “Oh those haven’t been plugged in for years and I know what these sound like. Besides the last time I had to repair the Genelecs it cost twice as much as these and, at $500 for the pair, I can afford to keep a spare set.”
I’ve also seen him dig into the mic vault and come out with MXL mics when he had a fabulous collection of really expensive high-end mics sitting right beside them. When asked, he just said “Because it’s the right mic for the job”.
Love this. And it doesn’t surprise me either.
Great post. Thanks for sharing. I try to do what I got for this.
I have a pair of Yamaha HS5, I test my mix; the results surprised me; they sound clarity and precision.
Thanks for sharing
Hi Graham,
Could you please tell the type of the pair of $300 speakers?
Thanks in advance
Any pair will do. Try the KRK Rokit 5s or something similar.
Wow, obviously this was written by a novice or geared towards amateurs mixing their own records.
“just because you mix something on “nice” studio monitors in your studio doesn’t mean it will sound good on consumer grade speakers”
Oh yes it does, if you know what you’re doing, that’s exactly what the pros do! Then reference on other sources.
Help. I know I do not have 5″ ideal speakers… but….
Do I buy a used (£300) NAD C370 150 watt RMS 8ohm power output per ch, to drive hungry monitors, but I have the speakers right now, or wait for double the funds (£600 used) to buy Adam A7X?
Got a PC for free, but I bought the RAM sticks. I have an old HP DC7700 sff desktop 2.67ghz core 2 duo DAW with 8gb ram running Win 7 64bit ultimate and Reaper for now.
My IO is a USB Terratec Producer on Asio4All as the manufacturer’s drivers only 32bit.
I have a Rode NT1-a, Safe Sound audio P1 pre, Beyer DT150 cans (had a pair of Sennheisser HD580 but a ‘friend’ broke them and didn’t replace). Lost heart a bit, for a decade, at that.
To make noise I’m using a Rivera TBR1-m and ACT MP100 guitar pre, I play both an old Karamer Focus 3000 HSS Original Floyd Roase (EMG85 and 2x EMG89) and a Takamine ESN10C with CT4B II pick up system. I have a 61 key, touch sensitive midi controller.
So here is the nub of the thing.
I just rolled out an old set of Acoustic Research (1976-1979) AR-14s speakers for service in my flat… (not a condo just a London flat – apartment).
The room is a pretty large lounge / open plan kitchen (I hate open plan), low ceilings, irregular shaped room not a straight forward rectangle), two sofas, usual junk, book shelves stacked with er… books.
As I’m short of funds, but had these ARs lying around, with rotted foam surrounds, for nearly 15 years, so at long last, thought I’d spend £35 and a bit TLC / time. I fixed ’em. And the tweeters still work!
I am amazed at the really focused low end, at low volume. They are stunning, after I finally re-coned (DIY clothes pegs and glue syringe with a dry waxed artist paint brush). Can’t believe I’ve had these and never heard them until now.
Since 2002, I have been listening to Technics SB-CS70 speakers picked up for £50 from a pawn shop since 2002 with an old Rotel amp. Hyped hifi speakers but fine for BBC Radio 4 and Larry Carlton or Point Blank FM London / Internet radio, but not too loud as there is obviously a tweeter distortion from abuse in the 90s I think. They sound full, rich but not flat and neutral and they married well with the Rotel 30 watter amp.
I fell in love and adored ADAM P22s in 2002 but couldn’t afford, as I bought a pre (Safe Sound P1) for use with an SE Gemini valve mic on a project. I’ve been dreaming of owning Adam A7x.
But let’s be practical. You say use what you have. I love these AR-14s. They’re not modern speakers, ported bass with cheap amps and low volts and low watts.
It is 1970s, big wattage 150 to 200 watts per channel to move the air power amps needed not for volume but to to drive a sound stage with clarity at low volume.
They’re sealed boxes, 2 way, 100 watt each cab, 8 ohm with a 1300hz X-over, big caps inside, stuffed with wool like stuff.
On ebay, for £300, I see a NAD C370 / C372 which I can add a different uncoloured pre-amp to when funds allow. It will give 150 RMS watt per channel.
I have been reading for these 1970s high wattage type systems, it’s all about not blowing the tweeters – by sending bad harmonic / distortion frequncies / spikes from low powered amps operating at their edge trying to drive these hungry massive magnets.
The tweeters need a clean power amp. That and these speakers will kill weak amps.
I’m using my old 30 watt RMS per channel Rotel RA840B, just to run in the speakers for a couple of 100 hours at low volume. It’s a weak amp but not a badly made I’m hoping few if any spikes to harm the tweeters.
The Rotel isn’t a cheap parts amp, could be worse I’m guessing? The amp has been faultless from a pawn shop for £25 in 2004, all I can lay my hands on right now.
So, the question.
Do I pull the trigger and buy the NAD or wait yet more of my life, double the money and buy Adam A7Xs?
If buy the NAD, then I have funds to buy Dell 24″ screen, ditch the old CRT screen box, get some auratones, mics SM7 / e609 Sennheisser high SPL guitar mic and sony MDR7506 cans.
Sorry to be awkward.
Many thanks for any input.
Anybody to donate to my home recording studio used studio monitors cant afford saving for them still at school and would love mixing with them too
Itis peculiar that it’s consumed such a long time for SimCity to hitch the celebration that is supplement and smartphone, especially
considering the fact that app store is saturated with city building games.
I do believe that they matter. I never had the budget to buy a $1500++ pair of monitors but when I switched from the Samsung GT to a pair of Yamaha HS8 I heard the difference RIGHT away… Now imagine with a real pair of monitors
YES! THEY DO MATTER!!!
As no-one responded from here, I finally bought Adam a7x pair and refoamed the AR-14s which are stunning for 40 year old 10″ 2 ways.
Thanks for nothing people
Hey Patrick – no need to be negative. Sorry you didn’t get a response, but glad you found a good solution.
Hi Graham, thanks. I still enjoy your informative vlog – keep up the good work, best wishes for 2017… (I feel for you across the pond with the the dangers you face from your home team, ‘the lunatics have taken over the asylum’ it seems- Duck its Trump)
The studio monitors are essential because you need to have the best recording equipment, especially if you want to be the best or a pro in the field. This post is really a good idea i would love to read more about monitors from here. Good job
IK Multimedia ARC 2 is $300 by itself, so you’re basically paying $600 for $300 speakers. And while that extra $300 might make your speakers sound more neutral, it won’t get you the clarity of a $800 pair.
Keep in mind it matters little what speakers you have if your room still colors the sound, which all rooms do. So the ARC or something similar helps with the room issues, not just the speakers.
An amazing blog guide of monitoring the studio. This article is really helpful for me. Thank you for sharing it.