I've been working on mixing a few tracks for a couple of weeks now, and learning lots and lots. The sound is progressively getting better and more refined, and I'm enjoying the process a lot. I have a small basic home project studio with some acoustic treatment, and going back and forth between my monitors (no sub) and an excellent set of headphones I'm getting mixes that generally translate well. I have an issue with the current track I'm working on though, and its driving me crazy.
 
This track has a constant synth drone bass with some resonance. I'm side-chain compressing it against the kick drum so the bass doesn't get too clogged up, and it sounds great on my monitors, good headphones, crappy headphones and on the mediocre car stereo. Bass is very punchy and distinct on these systems, most frequencies under 50hz rolled off, transients tamed and behaving themselves, sounding warm and analog like I want it.
 
In the living room though I have a bose lifestyle 5.1 system, and it sounds like a different song. It doesn't even sound musical. The bass is very muddy and indistinct, and the sub seems to be emphasising different frequencies to the point that the dominant bass note is changing.
 
I have noticed this before on occasion with commercially produced music through this system, most notably 'Staring at the Sun' by TV on the Radio is pretty much unlistenable on this system. Other music is fair to middling, its really only a decent system for 5.1 movies. The room is quite large, irregularly shaped with polished timber floors and sparse furnishing. Not an ideal listening environment.
 
So, here's the question: Do I throw up my arms and say I don't trust that system and ignore these issues, or do I say hey, other music sounds OK on it, my mixes should too? And if so, what would be a good strategy to identify the issue with this mix?
 
Sorry for the long post!

The Bose system has one of those little subwoofers, right? They are crap. Not anywhere near flat, they'll have a big peak in the frequency response, typically around 100-120 Hz. Fine for explosions on TV, but horribly inaccurate for critical listening. It's probably sitting on a hollow floor, perhaps near a corner. Resonance City! And of course your living room and studio space are going to have radically different sonic signatures. 
 
I say forget trying to satisfy the Bose system and rely on those other alternate references that are more or less in agreement with one another. If you can make it sound good in the studio AND in the car, you're well on your way - it took me decades to reach that point. 

Thanks for the reply bitflipper, really needed a sanity check here!
 

bitflipper
The Bose system has one of those little subwoofers, right? They are crap. Not anywhere near flat, they'll have a big peak in the frequency response, typically around 100-120 Hz. Fine for explosions on TV, but horribly inaccurate for critical listening. It's probably sitting on a hollow floor, perhaps near a corner. Resonance City! And of course your living room and studio space are going to have radically different sonic signatures. 

 
It's pretty big, but it definitely is crap. Hollow floor - check, in the corner - check.
 

bitflipper 
If you can make it sound good in the studio AND in the car, you're well on your way - it took me decades to reach that point. 

 
This is a recent breakthrough, but yes I can crank this track up in the car and the bass is still tight and no mid-range frequencies suddenly rattle the speakers. I haven't managed to get it to sound good on the bose system, but the effort of trying to has been very productive, lots of reading and experimentation.

There's a book called "Mastering Audio" by Bob Katz. Get a copy. It's a standard textbook that every home producer should have. Don't worry if it takes two or three reads to absorb it, that's normal.
 
Bob explains the basic problems with translation, and offers at least part of the solution. What he doesn't address in detail is the importance of acoustics, measuring your room's acoustical properties and setting up acoustical treatments. A good resource for that kind of information is Ethan Winer's realtraps.com. Ethan's company makes acoustical treatments, but he'll tell you how to make your own cheaply and has lots of good information on his site.
 

robotecho
 
I have noticed this before on occasion with commercially produced music through this system, most notably 'Staring at the Sun' by TV on the Radio is pretty much unlistenable on this system. Other music is fair to middling, its really only a decent system for 5.1 movies.

Kinda seems you answered your own question.

Get some bass traps for your listening room. And move the speakers away from the walls. And move the sub away from the corners. And...well the list can get quite long.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Guitarhacker
Kinda seems you answered your own question.

It would be fair to say that in writing it out I did gain a certain level of clarity . Still, I am interested to hear from others if they persevere in this kind of situation, after all, most music sounds bearable on this system.

dcumpian
Get some bass traps for your listening room. And move the speakers away from the walls. And move the sub away from the corners. And...well the list can get quite long.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Thanks Dan, I've got some very basic treatment in my studio and it seems to work OK. But I have limited jurisdiction in the lounge room, if you get my drift!  

Bose speakers are too small to provide a wide frequency response.  As a result the sub tends to do the majority of the heavy lifting in the lows and lower mids.  It is a media system, not a very good music system.  
 
Are you able to adjust the amount of bass coming from your sub? I have noticed that most people tend to leave them up way too high.  

Bose takes a lot of heat, especially in the professional audio space, for some of their designs.
 
What you need to keep in mind, as has already been pointed out, is that these systems are not designed for critical listening or any other professional application. They do make stuff that is, but most of their stuff is made to sound "cool". And if you like a hyped playback system then they hit the mark.
 
Some of my favorite bumper sticker slogans over the years include:
"no highs no lows? Must be Bose"
"Bose: Better Sound Through Marketing" ( a spin on their real slogan, "better sound through research")
"Buy Our S#$%^ Equipment"
"Bose, where great engineers go to die" - largely because Bose did not publish a lot of papers about their work.
 
To be fair, Dr. Bose brought some of this on himself... he presented a very arrogant persona, and he was not shy about using his attorneys if he felt that he, or his company was slighted.
 
I know a few folks that worked there, they enjoyed the challenges, and felt that they were fairly compensated. Those that got to know Dr. Bose thought he was a decent guy. And, if you are looking for a sound system that adds drama to your favorite movie or television show they are certainly a candidate.