how to ensure the final mix does not get messed up by target playback device?

The other day, I exported the audio to MP3, then played that back via the computer soundcard.  
 
The main output from Sonar sounded fine (via the proper audio interface), however when playing the MP3 it sounded really poor!  At first I thought it was the MP3 encoding, so I tried a much higher bitrate, but that wasn't the problem.  Eventually I realised that MP3 playback was happening via the built-in soundcard (Realtek) of the computer (because I route both to the amp), which in my situation also went via some fancy "dts UltraPC II" processing which includes "Surround Sensation", "Symmetry", "Spectral Enhancement", etc all of which was 'on' by default.  The mix sounded just fine once I turned off those features.
 
It is hard to describe it - but essentially it sounded like it lacked clarity, and a lot more muddy, and it was also compressed, and also sounded a little like a low quality MP3.
 
So my question is - are there any tips on how to adjust the final mix, so that these fancy effects don't make it sound too odd?  Just in case the listener's computer has these things turned 'on' by default too.
 
Should one apply some decent compression (lightly?) so the fancy compression by the built-in soundcard has little work to do (and hence messes it only a little)?
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Wei Liang
 
 

The goal is not to mix for a specific device..... but to get a good all around mix that translates well on most playback devices and sounds really awesome on the better ones.
 
This goes back to the mix more than anything.  Export as a wave, convert to highest quality MP3 possible.  Hope for the best for the players it will be played on.
 
Nailing a good all around mix starts in the studio..... and the speakers you use to monitor the mix. If you mix on small speakers with little bass response the mixes you make will tend to be bass heavy..... if you use big speakers and a sub the opposite can happen. Use cans or home stereo speakers and all bets are off as to the results. While it sounds good to you, when it's played on other systems, the deficiencies become readily apparent.   Using something like ARC and simply learning your speakers by trial and error and comparing your studio mixes to commercially recorded and mastered works by artists in the same style and genre will help you get there faster.
 
I find very little difference in the apparent quality between my studio waves and the same tunes converted to 320kbs MP3 and played on a different player.

Thanks guys.  
 
Part of the recording was just plain piano (i.e. direct out from the digital piano with no other instruments, and no effects), and even that sounded muffled and not-quite-right when played through the computer's soundcard (with dts UltraPC processing enabled), and sounded absolutely fine without. And the rest of the mix sounded fine with none of this processing.
 
On the other hand, commercial music (e.g. CDs, MP3s, etc) sounded OK (with the dts processing) so I never quite realised it was 'on' until this particular recording I did.
 
@Guitarhacker - pardon my ignorance - what is 'ARC'?
 
 
Wei Liang

ARC.... in a nut shell is a VST which uses a calibrated mic to "listen" to your room, specifically the seating area where you mix. It analyzes the room, and then attempts to "flatten" or correct the sound you hear from the speakers while automatically correcting for the nulls and peaks.  This allows you to get a better mix. It's not perfect but it is certainly a huge step in the right direction. Instead of fixing the room, it alters the sound to fit that room. When you mix down, you turn it off and export. The resultant mix should be very close to right on the majority of the systems.
 
Dull sounding music...... you need Ozone. Another VST plug in .... look it up and grab the demo version. It is a mastering suite that will let you polish the music a bit.
 
Regardless of the sound card used..... the sound quality should be a very good representation of what you recorded. While speakers and room affect the sound you hear, if you use cans and it still sounds dull then you need to learn about the polishing process.....or mastering. Most of my tracks straight out of the DAW are pretty dull sounding..... until I use O4 on them. EQ, compression, reverb, etc..... brings out the sparkle and the wow factor.

Thank you folks.
 
So what I understand is mastering is important, and mastering properly will also minimise additional defects that might be introduced if the playback device adds its own sound processing (referring specifically to Realtek soundcard adding its "dts ultraPC II", but also generically to playback devices that might have some sort of loudness or volume levelling compression).
 
I'll master mastering... some day :-)
 
 

BRISTOL,
isn't that the same thing i just said?
 
 
i think we're all on the same page here.....?

batsbrew
BRISTOL,
isn't that the same thing i just said?
 
 
i think we're all on the same page here.....?

You know what? i think we said the same thing.

I think maybe I didn't explain myself adequately.
 
My mix sounded just fine when coming through my higher-end sound interface, in Sonar, with no fancy processing.
 
I bounced it to MP3, and played it back using random MP3 player on computer.  This plays back via the computer's built-in soundcard (which I have linked up to the same speakers).  It sounded s***.  I wondered why.  After a while I discovered it was because the computer's built-in soundcard was applying its own processing.  I turned that off.  Then it sounded just fine, almost identical to output from Sonar.
 
So my question was - how do I process my mix, such that if my listener (whoever he/she may be) listens through some random computer that applies this processing, it doesn't spoil the sound.  I do agree the soundcard should not mess around the sound, but in fact it did/does - the default setting was to try to 'improve' the sound and in this case it made it worse.  
 
I would expect that most of my listeners listen on their computers via built-in soundcard, and I do not know whether their computer may apply this 'dts ultra' or whatever you call it processing.  They might not even realise it is ON, or might not even know how to turn it OFF.  Who knows - it might be ON by default?  it might be OFF?
 
The reason I think that something can be done, is, this built-in-soundcard-processing doesn't seem to affect commercial music in a 'bad' way (or at least the ones I own), but it does affect my mixes (including just solo piano).
 
The answer as I understood, was to master it as best as you can.  So I will learn how to.
 
I think it is a relevant question because more and more playback devices are able to apply some sort of EQ or compression or automatic volume control, in a way that is out of our control.
 
Thanks,
Wei Liang
 
 
 
 
 

You are asking how YOU can stop a LISTENER from screwing up the sound.  Can't be done.
 
I now know and understand what you meant. Yes, on my MP3 player there are "presets" for the EQ..... named things like ROCK, CLASSICAL, NORMAL, JAZZ, POP..... and each one of them affects the way the music will sound. Some have less bass, some more bass..... etc....I don't doubt that other FX are applied in some cases too, such as reverb and widening, as I have seen that somewhere on one of the players I have had in the past.
 
If someone chooses to set up their player with Classical, reverb and widening, nothing you do in the studio can prevent what will happen in that player.
 
It's probably best to ignore that and simply work on a balanced, well produced mix, and let it go at that. What the end users do to it is out of your control.

Okay :-)  Thank you again, everyone, for the advice.
 
Wei Liang
 
 
 
 

The OP does not understand what Philip is trying to say.
 
The question was not about how to make the mix sound better.
 
The question was how to make the mix sound acceptable when the listener chooses to listen via speakers that have large holes in the speaker cones (aka playback device that applies fancy EQ, compression, spatial surround, etc etc etc).
 
But glad that you enjoyed the discussion.  I too have found it helpful and have learnt new things.
 
Wei Liang
 
 

Jeff Evans 
Look into MP4 encoding as well. It is far superior to MP3 encoding.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but MP4 is a video codec, and MP3 is the audio track that would be in an MP4 file.
I'm always willing to learn.

MPEG-4 is a definition.
 
The common use of the extension .mp4 is for files conforming to MPEG-4 definition part 14 which describes ".mp4" as a container format which stores time based media content.
 
best regards,
mike