Not Getting An Accurate Mix

It sounds like a translation problem from a specific system to all other systems.  From your description, I can't tell if you are using different interface/montiors/rooms for your system B.

Every montioring system (including speakers, amp and room) has stregnths and flaws.  Getting a good mix means compromising so there are no major flaws on any system and the mix sounds good on them all.  And sounds better on better systems.

Your best bet is to listen to commercial releases (in the same style) on your different systems and see if you can hear the difference.  Then figure out how to avoid the problems in your system A.

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Hm, I wouldn't think the convertor would make that much difference, and the Roland stuff I've used is up to snuff.

Are you sure there isn't a setting on the octa capture that is changing things - I know there are DSP comps and eq after the preamps - could something like that be engaged on the octa itself?  That is about my only idea.

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I looked through the manual, I didn't see any setting on the Octa-Capture that would affect the sound out of the main outputs. I listen to the export the same way on both systems, Windows Media Player. The format is a wav file 44100, 16-bit.

Using WMP, make sure it hasn't got any default FX on

I have encountered something similar and found that the Windows drivers were adding EQ to the sound.  You might want to look at the sound settings in the Windows Control Panel and make sure that some Windows Sound 'Feature' isn't making a difference.
 

Digital is digital..... basically if you take the mix from one computer to another the mix doesn't change. It will be the same exact mix from the original DAW to any other computer and even to a CD that you would burn.... the mix will be the same. 

Therefore..... you have to look to see what HAS changed from one "mix" to the next and the answer is:

1 the sound card
2 the speakers
3 the environment

In the OP #1 you said: 
I know it's not the monitors, because I've used them before with consoles in the same room and never had this issue. Plus, I connected different speakers (from system B) and got the same sound. 


So the way I read that is using the same speakers in the same room on a different system the mix sounded exactly the same.  But, when you move to a different room or environment, throw in some different speakers, it does not sound the same. 


This is a common problem that is related to the original mix and how it was done. This is the reason they sell acoustical room treatments and hardware as well as software which is able to analyze the given mixing room and attempt to correct the deficiencies it detects in the room to give you as close to a flat response as is possible given the original acoustical problems in the room. 


If you can't hear something, you can't mix it correctly.  Basically if you are mixing on headphones or stereo speakers or even the inexpensive "studio monitors" sold in the pro-audio depts of music stores, and doing this in a spare bedroom, basement, or corner of the living room, there is no way you are hearing the TRUE acoustics of the music.  Between the acoustically bad room, and the inefficient and biased sound reproduction, it's at best a hit or miss proposition to get an accurate mix. 


There is no easy "do this or that" answer to it. A combination of try to fix the acoustics, get better gear if you are using home stereo or headphones, look into the room correction software solutions, and most important, learn the strengths and weaknesses of the system you are using. 


Compare the pro mixes on the commercial CD's and use that as a starting point. But, in the end it's about learning and listening. Fix what can be fixed and learn to compensate for what can't. 


You can produce some amazing quality in the corner of a spare room, but it will take some work.

What were you using "prior to Sonar"?

What are you using to send audio to your monitors?  Are you using the same interface on both computers?  What drivers does the interface use?  Are they the same on both computers (asio, wdm, etc.)?  What about bit- depth?  Btw, this is pretty much assumed, but I'll ask anyway:  you aren't comparing the sound through the octacapture with an on-board sound card are you?

I swap computers all the time in my setup and I've not had this issue.

I would surmise there is a setting in the mixer software that you need to turn off in order to get a more representative sound. Also, test your finished file in Media Player on the A computer. Does it sound the same or flat as well?

CarvinAbuser


I can't find any settings that are affecting the sound. It sounds the same through WMP on system A.

And yet, when you play the same file in the Media Player on B it sounds different? Yes/No?

Then it has to be a sound card setting or some difference in the two interfaces. I use to use an M-Audio soundcard and it overemphasized the midrange making translations impossible. I switched to a Lynx Two card and no longer had the problem.

The questions are:
Is either of your soundcards right? i.e. providing an accurate AD/DA result.
If so, which one?

Hmm, so it sounds fine playing through the pro-level Octa-Capture, but doesn't sound quite right through the generic sound card on system B? Am I understanding this correctly?

The digital part will be 100% the same.... however, the DA converters and the audio output section (amplifiers)  as well as any custom DSP settings will make a difference in how it sounds coming out. 

Have you tried ARC? 

One sure way and I mean sure way to get mixes to translate is to use a single small mono speaker like this:

http://www.soundonsound.c...s/avantonemixcubes.htm

You need to sum left and right of your stereo buss and feed it into this speaker. They make an active version too if you don't want to mess with amps etc..(Do not use two and put your mix into mono! not the same thing)

The idea is you sit directly in front of it quite close and turn it way down. Once you pull a great mix on one of these it will translate to everything else out there, period! I have got a slightly different speaker to this but the principle is the same. I spend hours on the small mono speaker. All you need your main monitors for is checking bass and reverbs mainly. 

The small mono speaker shows off what I call the critical mix and it is very important. And by sitting in front of it at low volume the room acoustics have NO involvement what so ever and as a result will not influence your decisions.

If you are only mixing on bigger or your main speakers you are still shooting in the dark to a certain degree. You will never get it 100% right. The small mono speaker ensures you do, simple as that. People who disagree with this are simply not using a small mono speaker and therefore don't know how good it really is. If they invested in one and used it all the time they would never go back or say anything negative about it because there is nothing negative about it!

CarvinAbuser


I'm certain now that it's the monitors/room. This new setup (system A) is just putting out more sound than my previous setups, so I have to come up with an easy way to A/B the mix. Thanks again to everyone for the help.

This is the most likely case. Didn't read through fine details above - but you might want to just check levels in your "A" system against another reference (like the "B" system). Take another WMA or MP3 (or just a CD), play it on "B" at a level that sounds right, then play it back on "A" and adjust things until it sounds right there too. If you're suffering from ear fatigue you can use a basic tool like a sound level meter to help get yourself out of the rut of second-guessing yourself. This technique is handy, too, if you're wanting to checking things across many systems ("C","D", etc.).
 
ARC is great, but setting levels consistently first is vital to taming your system(s). That, and some good room treatment. (And yeah, good monitors too.) Then the fancy stuff like ARC will really sing.