Muffled cdr mix

[rockhard]

I have been recording audio tracks of my band with Cakewalk Pro Audio 8 through an Ardvark 20/20 sound card. I also use Cool Edit Pro to edit tracks for reverb and eq. ...

For monitoring/mixing down I come strait out of the 20/20 into a Yamaha MX 12/4 mixer (set totaly flat), into a SoundTech PL150 stereo power amp, then into a pair of Tannoy system 800 monitors. I alway use a ref cd to compare my mix to (lately its been Beth Hart), and when I listen to my mix through the Tannoy's It sounds great.

My problem is when I try to Burn my final mix to my Acer 4x4x32 CDRW the result sounds muffled and not near as loud as a Pro CD.

Is something in my set up altering my wave file before it goes to disc?

Any help would be great.

I'm at the end of my rope!

[mrclay]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>the result sounds muffled and not near as loud as a Pro CD.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You might be already doing this, but if not, you'll need to normalize your mix to bring it up to the level of pro CDs. SoundForge has a great RMS normalization feature that uses dynamic compression to prevent clipping and will bring the loudest section of your mix up to whatever dB level you want. It's like a combination volume increase and smart compressor in one.

To decide what level you want your mix at, make a .wav of a similar (?) song on a pro CD and run statistics on it (Cooledit) to find its average RMS volume (usually -16 to -10dB). Run your mix through SoundForge's normalization (RMS, not peak) set to the same level. Your mix *will* have some noticeable compression, but try different RMS levels to see what you're comfortable with.

[rockhard]

Thank's Mrclay,

I can't belive that I havent thought of compairing the wave files with a pro cd. I have a version of sonic foundry that came with a C.D. burner that I can use.
Some times It's hard to see what's right in front of your face.