Studio Monitors vs. Audiophile System

Hey all...how do I ensure that the level I am using on my interface output is at the same output level of my audiophile system.
 
I A/B my mix/masters using two systems.
 
The first system is the studio standard where all audio is output thru my interface and into studio monitors (powered).
 
The second system is where I send all audio thru the interface and into an audiophile system, which has an amp/preamp and NON powered speakers.
 
I do this to hear the difference between the two, but really need to understand how to balance them. If I am pushing the audiophile system, then it does not really benefit me...kinda/sorta.
 
Any thoughts?

Paul beat me to it. With Radio Shack going out of business, you might be able to pick up one of their famous SPL meters at a very good price! (I just bought some $30 audio cables for $5)

I find working with three speaker systems is good. One are your normal active monitors. The second is a very small mono speaker a la Auratone. Listen to your mix down at low volume in mono through a small speaker. It is like a bottleneck to your mix. It shows up many many things. The third is a Hi Fi system.
 
I tend to only play the final mastered mix throguh the Hi Fi. Be careful running unmastered mixes in the Hi fi speakers at high volume. You will blow them up in time. They are NOT designed to handle it.
 
I find the small speaker getting right seems to translate very well to the others. Don't be too worried how things sound on the Hi Fi speakers. They are often not a true indicator. I have got a great car stereo too. That is not accurate either but it shows up all sorts of low end issues.

I have got a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones and they sound like $50K monitors. Probbaly the best headphones in the world. BUT Bats is sort of right too. It is not just about the sound. It is about other things.
 
Panning is a bit weird in headphones. When things are hard panned they sound very extreme hard panned in headphones compared to speakers.
 
Also reverbs are a bit weird too. On phones you will hear reverbs very well even with only small amounts of reverb. However on speakers the reverb will be non existent and very dry. You have to alter it.
 
There is no substitute for speakers in the end. I may do a lot of editing and even some premixing on cans but really at the end of the day it is the speakers that only really tell the true story.
 
But even after doing a great speaker mix I think if the end product is going to be primarily heard on ear buds for example it is wise to run your mix into some and have a listen.  I have done this and had to alter the bottom end slightly to make it work on the earbuds. But I did do the mix on speakers first.
 
Tell you where headphones are fantastic though and that is precision editing and editing out micro sounds like blips and blops and musicians knocking stands and very small things you may never hear on speakers. It is like a magnifying glass into your tracks.

What you will not hear on headphones are phasing issues that are only apparent when the sound waves from two (stereo) sources interact and comb-filter each other. Although phones have two sound sources they are seperated by your head and the output from left and right don't interact and interfere with each other as they will in air.

"Monitoring" headphones aren't really intended for music mixing or mastering (speech and sound effects may be OK). They are useful so a singer or musician can hear what they need to sing/play along with at high quality and with minimal sound-spill that might be picked up by microphones. They are useful to listen to a soloed track sent to the phones bus while the main mix is still going out through monitors. They are useful while tracking as the engineer can use them to set up to record something while a conversation goes on around them in the control room.

They are invaluable for DJs or anyone else needing to set up the next song either in silence or without interrupting playback of the current song or who wants to hear what they are doing but also wants to block out most of the noise from the club system. Also for listening to a soloed mixer channel while mixing a live gig.

Closed-back headphones can also be very useful to find out what is going on in the bass if the monitors aren't capable of reproducing very low frequencies.

Headphones are very deceptive when used for mixing though, and can be tiring. It doesn't help that many tagged as "monitoring" phones are actually highly coloured if you look at their response curves. Marketing speak such as attaching "professional sounding" phrases to things plagues the hi-fi industry just as much as the many other inflated claims dreamed up by sales staff.

Finally, it is very easy indeed to go well into the danger zone of excessive noise exposure with headphones without even realising you are doing it.

One other use for headphones is to find out what your music will sound like on iPods, mp3 players etc., so it might be a good idea to add a set of genuine Apple earbuds and a set of cheap and nasty earbuds to your playback system.

TLW, that's awesome information I think...for me that's great to read.
Jeff, good suggestion too and I've tried such a plugin that emulates car speakers etc, but didn't know how to use it really.
For Tremo-Jem I have 2 more ideas maybe.
One is to just play back a few songs and try to get your monitors and audiophile set equally loud.
You could have 2 masterbusses then with sends maybe, and listen on 1 volume to both outputs and compare them.
One other thing I found handy is to load a reference song you know well, into your project and route it directly to the soundcard.
Then match the volume of the reference song to your project, you can A/B your mix quickly to your project with the solo button and then you get a good idea of 'where you are'.

Thanks Wouter and others.
 
Another thing I would try is, play reference material on the Hi-Fi, A/Bing it against the mix I am sending to the system. If I get them even, then I should have confidence that I am not pushing my mix thru that system, any more than the powered studio monitors.
 
Cool...I think. An SPL is a great tool, but what I am trying to achieve here is not to be pushing an alternative system's level in an attempt to keep up with the studio system.
 
When mastering is complete...my goal is to have what I need in the mixing/mastering room so that I don't have to burn a CD and then go to those separate sources.
 
As a matter of fact I like the idea of adding a portable boom box (has to accept line in), a cheaper more common stereo set, a car radio set and a mono speaker "Auratone" as Jeff mentioned.
 
This way I can hear the mix/master on all of these sources without leaving the room or wasting CD material.
 
I like to check my mix as I am in the progress of working on it, at least once every three days as I go along, just to see where I am.
 
I am a newbie still...so thank for your help.
 
 

If you have an iPhone, there are some (but not all) apps that do fairly accurate measurements. I use one called NoiSee and my recollection was it tested within ~1dB of my Radio Shack meter. It was one of three (the cheapest!) tested apps that met US government occupational noise guidelines and costs $0.99. 
 
Unfortunately, other phones have inconsistent HW and sound capabilites, so apps can't be easily calibrated.

Rain
I know some people think it's heresy but I also check my mixes on the Macbook's own speakers.

 
I cringe every time my kids and their friends play music through their laptop speakers.
 
It seems that as long as the music is recognizable, the brain can do the rest.
 

I had a bit of an accident with the Shure headphones. So will be seeking some technical support on the damaged part. It's one the driver parts which has snapped....it's a sad situation.