HiFi/Car Audio in studio

[MiceElf]

I'm currently setting up an acoustically treated combination live room/mixing studio and thinking slightly ahead of miceelf here. As I understand it, it is best to listen to your mixes on different setups, home HiFi, car audio, MP3 player and such to hear how it sounds though different systems, or is it in different environments, or perhaps both.
I was wondering if listening to these different systems in studio is a good idea. Is having a Home HiFi set up, a car audio setup, and a MP3 player with ear buds in studio to listen to your mixes on, in addition to the monitors, something others do or is it pointless?
I haven't noticed this type of setup in other people's studios so I presume this is as much about the environment these other systems are played in as much of the systems themselves. Playing these systems in a treated room may not give an adequate example of what the mix would sound like in a living room or in an automobile. Obviously an MP3 player through a set of ear buds could be done most anywhere.
I feel like I've answered my question trying to explain it but I'll let it fly and see what others think.

 

[miroslav]

Or.....you can do like Jack White did.
He had his engineer wire up a transmitter, so Jack could go sit in his car while the audio was playing through the car radio from back in the studio....and then he would talk to the engineer from the car, telling him how to adjust the mix.

A bit overkill....and probably pointless.

Good reference monitors and a decent room....and your mixes should translate well across most systems. You can always do a listen in the car or wherever...but don't get caught chasing your own tail and using those less-than-optimal references to make serious mixing decisions.

 

[Lt. Bob]

also unless it's a cheap POS there's not a lotta difference between 'home hi fi' and monitors unless you've got some 2000 dollar monitors.
The vast majority of home studio 'monitors' are simply book shelf speakers.

 

[grimtraveller]

The vast majority of home studio 'monitors' are simply book shelf speakers.

I remember a couple of years ago you said this and I went and checked my monitors. I was so relieved when I couldn't find "studio monitors" written anywhere !
To the OP, I have to say that no album or song I've ever heard sounds the same on any two things I play it on. Sounds slightly different on a walkman, stereo, van, ipod, cassette/CD player in the kitchen or bathroom, computer speakers.......Different players, amps, speakers and phones/buds seem to bring out different things in myriad combinations.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Is having a Home HiFi set up, a car audio setup, and a MP3 player with ear buds in studio to listen to your mixes on, in addition to the monitors, something others do or is it pointless?

In a studio? No. I don't think there's any point.

Having a second point of reference isn't a bad idea but I wouldn't go mental.

I usually play stuff in my kitchen ipod dock when I think it's finished.
Usually the mix is fine; Sometimes I'll realise the overall bass is a little much.
That's all I'm looking for out of it though. Broad strokes...

I always feel like if you're juggling between two setups and they're contradicting eachother, you've got bigger problems, you know?

 

[Chili]

I believe the point of using a car stereo to check a mix is because of the car, not so much the stereo. Listening to music in a car is very familiar to us and is a valid environment to check your mixes. Taking the stereo out of the car kind of negates teh purpose of the 'car check'.

An MP3 player with earbuds kind of doesn't matter. The earbuds take the room out of the equation.

 

[JimmyS1969]

I believe the point of using a car stereo to check a mix is because of the car, not so much the stereo. Listening to music in a car is very familiar to us and is a valid environment to check your mixes. Taking the stereo out of the car kind of negates teh purpose of the 'car check'.

An MP3 player with earbuds kind of doesn't matter. The earbuds take the room out of the equation.

Yeah, I have to agree here. I used to think that it was a good idea to check mixes on multiple systems. Well wait, I meant checking them in the same room, on different systems. It works to a point, when mixing with some different playback monitors, but it does not do much for finding good translation to different environments. See the 'wall of sound' attachment below, that still sits in the back wall of my control room. It never gets used anymore. Well, when I track drums, the band gets to hear the drums through the big pa, while watching him on a video monitor, while everyone else is in the control room. Makes it feel a bit more natural.

I make most of my final decisions (after mixing in studio), based on what I hear in my work van. I am in there more time than in the studio, and it is where I have the most comfortable place to compare with pro stuff I listen to. USB input, makes it real easy to listen to my mixes with a simple flash drive transferred MP3.

 

[Lt. Bob]

gotta say I love your 'wall of sound'!!

 

[JimmyS1969]

gotta say I love your 'wall of sound'!!

LOL! I even have one of those car audio speaker selectors setup there, so I could alternate between speaker pairs and subs. All wired directly to the output of my interface.

Now that I look back, it seemed a great idea, but once I realized how important room treatment, and the environment itself is, it became just a dust collector...

There is a crawling hand, Caddy Shack gopher, and cow that poops brown jelly beans up there, so that is still kinda cool still right?

 

[Lt. Bob]

I think it's cool as hell!

What are the big ones ..... looks like 15's with a cone midrange and some sorta small horn tweeter?

 

[JimmyS1969]

18's actually. Those are old EV S-1803 Stage Keyboard System monitors, that were used at a dive bar (for PA) I hung out in years ago, bought for $100. I have since rebuilt the drivers, crossovers, and grill covering. Pisses off the wife and kids, when I let them loose! Good times.

 

[Bobbsy]

Just for reference, a car audio set up in your studio wouldn't sound like your car. Automobile set ups use the actual vehicle as part of a resonant box--simply putting the car speakers on a board in you control room won't achieve the excessive bass that your car pumps out.

Hmmm...if your studio is big enough, having a nice T-bird parked in there could look kinda neat though!

 

[Lt. Bob]

18's actually. Those are old EV S-1803 Stage Keyboard System monitors, that were used at a dive bar (for PA) I hung out in years ago, bought for $100. I have since rebuilt the drivers, crossovers, and grill covering. Pisses off the wife and kids, when I let them loose! Good times.

I actually have a pair of those EV radial tweeters on a shelf ..... I keep meaning to use them for something.

 

[MiceElf]

Thanks everyone, after typing that all out I figured it had as much to do with environment as the system. I'll probably still have my HiFi in the studio for general listening but not for studio work.
I love the idea of an old T-Bird in the studio for reference, but I'd rather it be in the garage attached to the studio!
Time to get back to making acoustic panels!

 

[warartistrecord]

Just for reference, a car audio set up in your studio wouldn't sound like your car. Automobile set ups use the actual vehicle as part of a resonant box--simply putting the car speakers on a board in you control room won't achieve the excessive bass that your car pumps out.

this is similar to what a friend of mine told me, that it's good to check in the car to make sure you don't unintentionally have bass sounds that shake the crap out of the car. Beyond that, it's a nice place to check your mixes, and going on a drive can be a nice break from the studio.