Sound mixing in a little apartment

I am a (very) amateur/intermediate digital music enthusiast who started off doing MIDI tracks in the 90's. As a first-time Sonar user from a few years ago, I'm learning more every day about not just the software, but music engineering in general.
 
Having seen visual examples of elaborate in-home mixing rooms, I cannot afford the expenses involved toward creating that environment. In my simple little apartment space, my computer area does not accommodate a genuine mixing environment. Before my bay window sits a 45" computer desk with a single 23" monitor and dual Logitech speakers. This is the limited space I have available...but why allow that to hinder my progress?
 
I've recently read about utilizing studio monitor speakers vs. headphones for the purpose of the best sound. But given my work environment, I am forced to abide by my physical limits. And I've heard there are huge differences in result between speakers and headphones. (And they don't make stereo monitor speakers desktop-size.) I would like the best mixing experience possible in my minimal in-home space. So I ask you all: What's my compromise? Or am I overthinking?
 
I know for starters that the triple-window situation allows too much glare for me to be able to clearly see my monitor screen. And gut instinct says my best option is to invest in a pair of quality stereo mixing headphones. Can anyone offer any suggestions, or any insight as to whether it's truly necessary to tweak my very limited work area?
 
Just an ordinary home user who wants to make the best out of his amateur mixing experience. :)
 
Thanks in advance.

One more thought...if you mix at low levels, the room isn't going to be a problem. You just don't need a boomy, live room...just buy some Auralex or some wall treatment to keep out the boom. It could be carpet or egg cartons or whatever...
 

There are small but pretty good desktop monitors around. Auratones or their Avantone or even Behringer clones are one approach, though they're primarily mid focussed. Other possibilities that don't break the bank include Genelec and the smaller Adam, Yamaha and KRK speakers. In a small room too mich bass or a sub-woofer can be overkill.

Mixing entirely in headphones can result in mixes that have problems speakers would have revealed. On the other hand they can reveal what's happening in the bass frequencies smaller monitors tend not to reproduce so well. There are a few solutions that attempt to improve the headphone mixing environment either by emulating speaker frequency responses, though imposing one frequency response curve onto the headphone's own almost certainly not flat frequency response may or may not ne a good idea. Wave's NX is pretty good at making headphones sound more "open", just switch off the gimmicky and cpu heavy "head tracking" function.

Sonarworks (nothing to do with Cakewalk) offer a software system than can flatten some headphone eq responses out quite well and may be worth considering.

As for the room acoustics, anything that absorbs sound or diffracts it is a good idea. It needn't be purpose built, things like beds and soft furniture can make useful bass traps. Having a hard reflective surface behind monitors should generally be avoided if possible because it can cause phasing issues as the reflected sound interferes with what you hear directly. Simple reflection control can be done quite cheaply using d-i-y heavy-grade rockwool panels spaced a bit off the wall or ceiling. Covered in hessian or cloth they can even look pretty good.

As Cactus Music says, knowing your monitors is the biggest thing. Listen to lots of good commercial mixes through them and use commercial mixes that have the kind of sound you are looking for as a reference comparison to your own mixes. Good results can be had despite the recording and mixing environment not being ideal - and doing most things in the computer or using hardware synths plugged directly into the audio interface means room shortcomings don't affect the recording side of things in the first place. Before the modern scientifically based studios lots of excellent recordings were made in hotel suites, and Joe Meek recorded and produced quite a few classic tracks in his apartment which was situated on a busy main road. His soundproofing amounted to quilts stuffed into the windows.

I know this isn't popular advice, but don't discount good headphones.  If you learn your headphones (what they emphasize and de-emphasize and how they affect your perception of the stereo image) you can make great mixes on them.  You then check your mixes on other systems (car stereo, home stereo, laptop speakers, ear buds, etc.) and tweak your mix accordingly.

You can also take a 'known' reference song, where you have a good understanding of its sound on regular speakers, and import it to Sonar and then get a good feel for what frequencies your smaller speakers or decent headphones are losing for THAT song, and that will give you an idea of what to expect from YOUR songs being mixed.
 
I hope that made some sense.
 
Bob Bone
 

Waves NX, and use it with a set of headphones with a flat frequency calibration file vst from Sonarworks.
 
http://www.waves.com/plug...ng-nx-virtual-mix-room
 
http://sonarworks.com/headphones/overview/
 
IMHO mixes translate much better with this setup than trying to mix in a small room with monitors.
 
You can also listen to your mix against some other "professional" songs of your liking really easy with magic A/B
https://www.samplemagic.com/details/184/magic-ab