Principles of Playback

How do you know that your new music is good enough to finally release to the general public? For one, by making sure the area around your workstation is acoustically up to par and therefore conducive to critical listening. But what about those folks who don't have a superior-sounding home system, or may be checking out your stuff using the lowest of portable lo-fi equipment? The point is, you'll want your songs to stand on their own no matter what the circumstances are. To that end, here we have a checklist of monitoring gear and strategies, from understanding proper speaker placement, having the right sized monitors for your room, mixing with headphones, not to mention listening in as many different environments as possible (i.e., not just the "sweet spot").

Check your space. First, make sure you're set up in the right room. Some spaces just work better than others based on a number of factors, among them room composition, wall dimensions, as well as ceiling height. Try to avoid a space that's perfectly square-a room that has walls of unequal length is generally superior as it keeps sound waves from bouncing around, making the mix easier to hear. Wall-to-wall carpeting is a plus, as are other absorptive materials such as upholstered furniture, blankets and window curtains, which help prevent annoying echoes from occurring. Where you situate your speakers is important as well-placing monitors away from walls and corners helps keep phantom bass overtones at bay, for instance.

Use the right speakers. You'll also want to be sure to have monitors that are properly sized for your listening area. For instance, using larger speakers in a smaller space could make the bass seem larger than it really is, forcing you to unnecessarily trim low end from the mix. Additionally, the more volume you're putting out, the better the chance your music will infringe on others' privacy. For most of us, then, a system with bass drivers in the 5"-6.5" range, paired with a one-inch domed treble speaker, is usually a safe bet. Speakers can be placed directly on your mixing desk (at head level), though preferably on stands situated on either side of your workstation. They may also be situated horizontally or vertically, though upright is usually best for ensuring that mid-and upper-frequency signals (including vocals) are aligned with your ears.

The best way to prevent any room abnormalities from interfering is to have the speakers as close to your listening position as possible-say no more than 2-3 feet from your ears (otherwise known as the "sweet spot"). It's the reason why we commonly refer to studio monitor speakers as "nearfields"-that is, the more direct sound there is, the better the chance for properly hearing whether there's too much bass, mid, or high end, and make adjustments accordingly.

Testing with headphones. Of course you can remove the room from the equation altogether by simply putting on a pair of headphones that are specially designed for mixing (that is, with no artificial bass or treble boost built in, the way some audiophile headphones are designed). Though they aren't completely soundproofed, so-called "open back" headphones are usually better for hearing the full range of sonic frequencies, and are therefore better-suited for mixing duties. Because your ears can quickly grow fatigued when using headphones (due to the proximity of the speakers to the ear canal), it's generally better to split the listening between headphones and standalone monitors in order to keep your hearing from being affected by too much direct sound.

Listening elsewhere. So you've finally gotten your space in shape, to the point that everything sounds sublime when sitting precisely between your monitors. But as we've often observed, most folks aren't even close to being in a "sweet spot," they are in fact more likely to be listening in the car, on their phone, at their home computer or similar environment. Which is why you need to do the same when sampling your newest mix-get out of your studio and go for a drive, preview through inexpensive ear buds, a cheap Bluetooth speaker, or any other device that's more lo-fi than audiophile. Also, don't forget the "ambient-sound" check-that is, run the track, then go into an adjoining space to see how the balance is when not situated directly in front of the speakers. If the sound is acceptable in those situations, chances are you've done the job correctly.