how I hear... how do you?

[brightpavilions]

So here's my question(s)...

I have a record my band has recorded. The usual "standard techniques" were used in it's recording, but overall it was done with a smorgasbord of pre-amps, mid-level condenser mics and SM57s, a Korg digital multitrack unit, an original mBox and PT LE 7. And you know what, things sound pretty alright! BUT that's through my nice Sennheisser headphones. Those seem to sound right on. But my monitors, well those are M-Audio DX4s. Those freak me out. Just tell me people. "You aren't going to hear anything accurate through those."

Then again, let me get me get to a more important point of my post. You see before I had PT, I recorded on cassette 4/8 tracks. I mixed that though my Aiwa stereo speakers that is still hooked up to all my stereo components. And honestly... it sounded just like it did out of the 8-track. Every time I hear something through "studio monitors" it never seems indicative of consumer speakers. I always liked mixing though my stereo speakers.

So this where I am. Someone out there help. I have a pretty good record here. Do I mix through the M-Audio's and hope that's right? Do I try and borrow a better pair of monitors? Do I mix through my headphones? Or do I slap up the Aiwa stereo speakers to the PT rig and mix.

Or... is it all subjective, and I'm just screwed until I decide what I want?!

Let's discuss.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

things sound pretty alright! BUT that's through my nice Sennheisser headphones. Those seem to sound right on. But my monitors, well those are M-Audio DX4s. Those freak me out. Just tell me people. "You aren't going to hear anything accurate through those."

Unless those are $500+ class headphones running through a boutique headphone amp, you won't hear anything accurate through those headphones. Using standard headphones to judge a mix is like waiting until your sixth drink to decide whether that gal at the end of the bar is good looking or not.

I can't speak specifically to the DX-4s as I have no experience with them, but just because something has the words "studio monitor" stamped on it does not necessarily mean they will have any particular sound. In your case it is entirely possible that your ears like the Aiwa speakers better. Does that make them better for mixing? That's hard to say. What it comes down to is whether what you can mix on those speakers will wind up sounding good when you play it back in the real world.

Another *huge* factor is how you have the speakers set up in your room and how your room itself is acoustically. You can have the best monitors in the world, but if you just stick them in the wrong place in your room and your room is messing with your ears at the same time, your mixes will still suck.

There is a three-part series on studio monitors, with part 1 talking about nearfield studio monitors vs. consumer stereo speakers, Part 2 talking about selecting the right kind of monitor for you, and Part 3 talking about how to set up your monitors and your room so that you're hearing things as they are meant to be heard. There is a fourth article on subwoofers in the oven as we speak.

You might want to read through those short articles first, as much of it addresses many of the questions you present in your post.

G.