Mixes on my BX8's don't translate at all!

Y

Yareek

New member
I've had these monitors for a year and I just can't seem to get a decent mix out of them. Granted I haven't had a ton of experiences with monitor speakers, but I just can't get decent mixes out of them. They always end up sounding really loud in the sub bass, muddy in the low end, and rolled off up top.

The mixes I used to use were a little pair of Audix OM4's or something like that. They were cheap little 5" powered monitors, but I could translate a lot better off them. They seemed to have a lot more midrange than my current speakers, even if they were rolled off in the bass and treble. Hell, I even placed pretty high in one of the mix contests using them.

So I've mixed a few projects on these monitors and listened to tons of reference material over the last year...is it time to just give it up and move on? Is that common with the M-Audio BX8's? They sound too nice so you can't translate mixes?
 
Is your room treated? If not then that's probably the main culprit. It's doesn't matter how good your monitors are if your room isn't right. Google Ethan Winer's website and read up on room acoustics and it's importance.
 
No, I've never had a treated room as I bounce from rental to rental. From what I've heard, larger speakers tend to suffer from room effects more than smaller ones...I'm wondering if it would be better to just grab some small speakers or even just to A/B on?

Any cheapies that would work well for midrange detail?
 
If your mixes sound loud in the bass and rolled off on top it means that those monitors are light in the bass and much too bright. That makes you over compensate by turning up the bass and toning down the highs.

There is still room effect when using near field monitors, but it is less than mid field or large monitors. It is still possible that you could help yourself by doing a little room treatment or placing the monitors differently.

It sounds to me like it is the monitor themselves though. I hate to say it, but spending $450-500 for a pair of monitors is really rock bottom, you can't expect too much from them. Rather than going for another cheapy set of monitors you might want to save up for a better pair. It will be worth it.
 
Yeah, I feel like a tool because I've got a pretty decent set of ears when it comes to tuning audio systems and while mixing, but I'm fighting these monitors a lot.

I went back and read some of the threads and reviews I posted on monitors and when I first got these, I thought they were insanely bright. I think I just got used to the brightness, hence the muddy mixes.

So I played with the switches on the back of the BX8's and killed a lot of the high end. Hopefully that helps.

I'll see if I can't find some time this winter to build a couple bass traps...I've been wanting to for a while but there's so many projects I'm in the middle of I can't start another one.
 
That's great you can roll off a little high with the switches. I'd still suggest playing around with placement a bit. Do you have them up against a wall or in an enclosed type space like a bookshelf? If so, move them away from the wall and into the room more. That might help.

Also, decouple them from the surface they are sitting on, if you haven't done that already.
 
Yareek said:
The mixes I used to use were a little pair of Audix OM4's or something like that. They were cheap little 5" powered monitors, but I could translate a lot better off them.?
Click to expand...

That's were it gets to be crazy (putting it politely)...sounds like
"gearhead madness".

So you had some old monitors that worked well for you.
Then you dropped money on some new ones, but the new ones don't work for you. so now your going to drop more time and money fixing the room to make the new speakers sound as good as the old ones, which translated well...and you even won a MIX contest with them? :confused:

IMO..my bass trap work improved my listening enjoyment but it didn't make my speakers sound like a totally different brand...nothing that drastic.

Maybe get your old speakers out, sell the Maudio's and use the cash for basstraps? :D
 
Well, what I'm going to try (that was recommended
here) is to adjust the treble and bass dials
on my monitors while listening to some
material I know very well.
My moniors always sound kind of bright
and I'm figuring that if I EQ the music
I know intimately to the way it is
"supposed" to sound, this will
EQ my monitors so that they are
translating better.
 
Alright, I realized something stupid.

I'm using 8" monitors...huge things really. And I'm sitting right at my desk trying to mix...well these are more "mid-field" than "near-field" monitors. I've got the tweeters right by my ears and can't hear panning because I'm just too close.

So I backed off a couple feet, put on some reference CD's, and got them to where I could hear detail but not hype or sweetening. I'll say that these monitors are still bugging me a bit, as I can't get what I'd consider a good amount of midrange detail (gap between 8" and tweeter), but it's better.

So I'm remixing and doing a broad, quickie mix (which I seem to be better at) and so far the mix sounds a lot better. Still haven't heard it in other systems, but I've got a good feeling.

And yeah, the old cheapie monitors were borrowed so I had to give them back after a couple years. I'd still like to find a pair of small monitors to A/B my mixes.
 
What I think is that...when using 8" LF woofer monitors, the equileteral triangle for the monitor-listening position should have a greater area. Cause I definitely hear much less bass from my Event TR8's when i'm around 3 feet away from them.
 
Maybe the B8 just don't work for your ears?


I had some JBLs I jst couldn't enjoy them. I got a rocking deal, I tried them, sold them, bought them back, tried them...could hear great details, amazing details but when it came to listening and translating...they didn't work for me.
never could figure out why? they had everything right.

like a Fender or Gibson, its personal choice.imo.

Maybe go try some BX5's and a sub...or some KRK's, Events or one of the other 500 brands?
 
I have been having a few translations problems recently myself. Mainly due to my recordings being fairly "muddy". I am Using event TR5's. What worked for me is doing multiple test mixes, burning loads off and listening in every system i could, then making notes and going back and doing another mix. I then started mixing on my emac speakers which are pretty shit but when it sounds good on them i know its getting fairly close. Its always a problem at the bottom end which i cant acurately hear. It takes ages to learn your system, i now use alot of different systems approach because it gives me a good idea as how it translates. I usually only turn to my TR's to tighten it up at the end. Its been working vey well. I suggest getting a shitty set of Boom Box speakers.
 
Yeah I'd really like to get a pair of 4" or 5" speakers. These 8" technically have a lot of bass but in reality I can barely deal with them. I'll have to head back over to the music stores again...maybe check Craig's list.

I'm getting better on them, but I find I have to boost the crap out of the highs on each track and then boost the crap out of them again during "mastering." My high end is now ALMOST on track.
 
What about this setup:

Blue Sky Media Desk 2.1 System

MediaDesk.jpg


A pair of 4" monitors with an 8" sub. That way I can move the sub out into the corner and turn it down and have relatively stable amounts of bass, or dial it out completely. Small footprint on the desk is a plus. Seems to have good reviews, and it's around my price range after I sell my monitors.

But are they accurate? Little systems can seem hyped...and is the 4" just too small or does the sub make up for it?
 
Reviews look great...I'll have to get out and check them out tonight. Seems like these monitors were made for people with the EXACT problems I'm having...need to have low end extension but large speakers are too difficult to manage in a small room. And the little satellites would practically double my desk room...combined with the MacBook it'll give me lots of space :D

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/articles/bluesky.htm

http://mixguides.com/studiomonitors/Reviews/bluesky-mediadesk-monitoring/

http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/reviews/mediadesk
 
gummblefish said:
I have been having a few translations problems recently myself. Mainly due to my recordings being fairly "muddy". I am Using event TR5's.
Click to expand...
Some advice, which I have learned myself the hard way... if all of the elements of your mix sound balanced with one another, but the whole sounds muddy, go back to the mixer window and drop the level of each and every track by an identical small amount (about -.5dB) and re-export the stereo file. Everything will still be individually balanced in relation to one another, but I find the overall mix cleans up very nicely this way. You can try -.4 or -.6 or whatever increments, as long as it's just enough to make a difference, you can always do it again if it's not enough.

Important - make sure you keep your main output fader at unity (0.0dB) at all times, do the reduction with the track and/or buss faders upstream.

BTW I use Event TR-6's with great results. I used to use M-Audio BX-5's but they were, to put it politely, useless. The midrange was just garbagey and there was no low end at all. I don't have much confidence in M-Audio monitors, even the BX-8's. Events or KRK's are much better *budget* monitors IMO.

And acoustically treating your mixing room is indeed an absolute necessity, not a luxury. HTH
 
The BX8s are boxy sounding speakers IMO ... I've only heard them once or twice, but I was never impressed with them .. especially for the price.
 
I used to have the BX8's (not the a's), and they were OK for the price I suppose. I did a few mixes on them that turned out really great, but they were fatiguing to use for extended periods, and I had to do quite a few check mixes on other systems (car or whatever) in order to get it right. Never really got comfortable enough with them to where I could do my thing and know it would translate well without even having to check. With the acoustic space switch on the back, one of the settings would give you the fullest bass, but I forget which it is.
 
Alright, I ordered the Blue Sky MediaDesk system. They had TWO of them on display but no drivers for the sound card hooked up to the iMac. So what I THOUGHT I heard from them last week was actually the iMac speakers :rolleyes:

On that note, I didn't like any of the monitors I listened to, which included the Mackie 824's, KRK V6's, V8's, Rokit RP5's, RP6's, RP8's, Event TR20's, M-Audio BX5's, and EMU PM5's. Almost all of these speakers had too little high end detail for my tastes, most of them seemed to have a lot of bass or mid bass (probably just the room).

They had Genelec 8020's, 8030's, and 8040's on display, but once again no sound card on that computer! :mad: I swear to God these people are dedicated to NOT selling high end equipment. They had a set of Dynaudio's hooked up to nothing as well, just sitting there. And the other room with the JBL's and some other high end gear, they didn't even have anything hooked up, just a monitor and $20k console :eek:

One fun little set of monitors were the cheap Yamaha's with the white cones, they had an incredibly forward midrange that revealed the crappy MP3 encoding that was WAY too subtle on any other speaker (except the Vifa XT25's in my car). No thanks for $400, but if I found a used pair under $200, they'd make a WONDERFUL A/B speaker. Especially for a pair of 824's or similar.

So I think I've tried just about every set of monitors under $1000, and I haven't really been too impressed. I think I see why everyone says just get whatever set and then treat your room and save your cash. I'd love to hear the Genelec 8020's versus the ADAM A7's versus the Dynaudio BM5a's, but I doubt the schlubs at the local GC could figure out how to plug them in to something that actually works.
 
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