Is this down to room teatment ?

Hi,
I've noticed for a while now, when I listen to my mixes through my phones (ATH-M50's) I get slightly more
bass in my mixes compared to listening through my monitors (Rokit 8's) which sounds a little toppy, in other words
my mixes do sound a little different, listening on both, is this down to room treatment, my studio is a little room at the back
of house, about 14 feet long and about  7 feet wide, standard height ceiling, should I be looking at room treatment, or
cheaper still a focusrite VRM box, or an ARC 2 room correction system ? Any thoughts ?
 
Thanks
John 
 

Bristol_Jonesey


With a room that size you will really struggle to install any effective room treatment.

What you must realise is that both systems - phones & monitors are lying to you, albeit in different ways

ARC will help to an extent, but it won't solve all your problems.

how do your mixes translate when listening on different systems - home stereo, car etc?

          Hi Jonesey,
          They need to be adjusted in the car and on my mp3 player, but they're not bad on my mp3 player
           maybe because I've mixed them mostly through my phones, therefore they would sound better
           I think !!

jwh

Bristol_Jonesey

how do your mixes translate when listening on different systems - home stereo, car etc?

          Hi Jonesey,
          They need to be adjusted in the car and on my mp3 player, but they're not bad on my mp3 player
           maybe because I've mixed them mostly through my phones, therefore they would sound better
           I think !!

You're used to the head phones and mixed for head phones; albeit the mix sounds better there.
 
However, for proper mixing headphones are the much poorer choice compared to monitors. They lie to you much more (i.e. purposely color the sound to it make sound nicer, adjust the bass) ... plus there's a huge difference between headphones available. Pick a more linear / expensive one and the mix may just sound like crap although the headphones were triple price ... getting panning or even levels right can be difficult on headphones. It's all ok as long as you listen to it via the same one you mixed with or the 2nd one you used for QC, but take the mix your friends house and play it on a stereo and you might be in for a not-so-nice surprise ...
 
I'd mix with speakers, listen to reference tracks and QC on other (cheaper) systems like car, stereo, even kitchen radio ...
 
 
 
 
 
 

Charlie : "the first thing I think of though when someone says what you are is speaker placement.
it starts there first."

I agree and I'd include listening position as well. You don't want to be sitting in a null.

Play a few constant sine waves on your monitors and move around the room.
Some places the sound will almost disappear.

Popular wisdom is to be seated facing the long way down a room, about a third of the distance from the end wall you're facing.

And speakers and listening positions forming an equilateral triangle.

Paul P


Charlie : "the first thing I think of though when someone says what you are is speaker placement.
it starts there first."

I agree and I'd include listening position as well. You don't want to be sitting in a null.

Play a few constant sine waves on your monitors and move around the room.
Some places the sound will almost disappear.

Popular wisdom is to be seated facing the long way down a room, about a third of the distance from the end wall you're facing.

And speakers and listening positions forming an equilateral triangle.

Hmm.. In a room 14 x 7? That's not a good starting point


I'd be interested to know what the height is.

Is the room a perfect rectangle? Any curtains/windows?

Paul P


Bristol_Jonesey : "Hmm.. In a room 14 x 7? That's not a good starting point "

Mind elaborating ?

Try Googleing Room Modes.  It may assist you in understanding.

Your room shape means that it is going to resonate badly.

Are you monitors firing down the longest length?

Paul P


Bristol_Jonesey : "Hmm.. In a room 14 x 7? That's not a good starting point "

Mind eloborating ?

Quite simply: In a room of that size there's hardly any real options for monitor replacement.
If there's a table, a door, maybe a window..  Very likely, you can't place the table and monitors against the long wall, after that the door is a major factor.. Having the table in the middle of the room is a very unlikely option, right??
 
There's most likely no way you can, say, place the monitors 3 feet from the wall, because it might mean you must then place you keyoardor other rig behind the monitors :o/ :o)

Kalle : "In a room of that size there's hardly any real options for monitor replacement. "

That's sort of giving up before starting. I agree the room is far from ideal.

The idea is to have the best setup in mind then adapt it with as little change as possible to the room at hand. Things have to be as symmetrical as possible left to right.

If you're after the best sound, then you might very well decide to have your desk in the middle of the room. Well, not the middle because that's a really bad place. A few feet forward of middle should be pretty good. I'd certainly have my monitors well off the back wall.

With only 7 feet across available, you definitely need absorption on the side walls to reduce the first reflections from the monitors. And you'll be sitting pretty close to the monitors and that is good in a bad room.

Having a floor plan of the room in question with openings like doors and windows would be a great help in looking at options.

Paul P


Charlie : "the first thing I think of though when someone says what you are is speaker placement.
it starts there first."

I agree and I'd include listening position as well. You don't want to be sitting in a null.

Play a few constant sine waves on your monitors and move around the room.
Some places the sound will almost disappear.

Popular wisdom is to be seated facing the long way down a room, about a third of the distance from the end wall you're facing.

And speakers and listening positions forming an equilateral triangle.

great point man. that's a huge part of it as well.