A common trick to getting more out of your speakers and hearing better is to simply turn down the volume and mix at a low level.
It’s certainly true that this will help you make better balancing decisions, hear punch, compression and dynamics better all around.
But the reason is not that you are somehow magically reducing the impact of your room on the sound from your speakers.
Let me show you why psychoacoustics has a better answer, and how you can find the right “low” volume setting for your room.
“Why no mention of how the monitor level affects your perception of frequency response?”
Hey Carl,
good points. I actually work at similar levels as yourself.
But this post isn’t about finding your ideal working level (for which looking at equal loudness contours is definitely important), it’s about how mixing at low levels doesn’t “cut out the room” and what advantages you gain instead from turning down the volume.
J.
Why no mention of how the monitor level affects your perception of frequency response?
The relative level of say hi hats at 83dBs will be perceived very differently than at low monitoring levels.
Same with bass.
Critical mix decisions need to be done at around 85dBs ie EQ and relative mix levels.
That is sort of loud but not excessive. In a smaller space 74dBs may be about right.
For me I can kind of tell when I get to the right level because the response seems positive
and filled in rather than negative and sagging. If you mix at low levels your mix will have a loudness smile
in the response instead of being a smooth distribution of power. Your mids will sag. Bass will be bumpy.
So how loud should you be monitoring for critical mix decisions? About 83-85dBs. Thats not low to me.
Try this, do a balance and eq on a mix at low level. Then do the same thing at 83dBs (Use an SPL meter)
adjusting it to make it sound like it did at the lower level.
The mix you did at 83dBs will sound better at lower listening levels than the mix you did at low levels.
You may not hear the hi hats and bass as well but instinct will tell you that it is better more natural balance.
You can’t mix hi hats and bass at low levels.
I have four levels that I work with MUTE, DIM, WORKING and REFERENCE
WORKING is my regular level for general working, playing in parts etc not loud . Then when I need to make a critical
level or eq decision I go to REFERENCE @ about 83dBs. for short bursts before the ears burn out. I wait at low level
for a while before going back up.
Yes you can make a mix sound good to YOU at low levels but that same mix at higher levels
will sound scooped and by the time you get to mastering you will regret the levels you set the hi hats at and probably the bass too. Been there got the t-shirt.
Ahhh, if it were as simple as just listening at low levels…
I do agree if you can hear it then so can your walls! But not that critical mix decisions can be done at low level.
C
Really good explanation, and appreciated as I am about to build my own home studio and have concerns about annoying neighbours. Thank you.
My own experience? Listening to a couple of albums I’ve known for decades recently, but at lower then usual volumes with good but not hideously expensive headphones (£50), I heard details I’ve never heard before, which disappear at high volumes. Worth experimenting with for anyone who’s not tried it, decent earphones work equally well too.
Great video.
I work way too loud!
I’ve been trying to work around 85spl but will try to go even lower! Very good points
I agree completely – it is much easier to get a quiet mix that translates well to loud, than to mix loud and get a mix that translates well to quiet.
I’ve added a small wrinkle to this idea. Since many (or most) music is listened to in environments with fairly high ambient noise, I’ve found that mixing *very* quietly and adding in pink noise at -10 or -15 dB relative to the music RMS level allows one to make sure everything is heard even with masking noise present. It could be argued that this will reduce dynamic range, but most music has less than 10 or 15 dB range anyway.
There are exceptions, of course. Classical, small ensemble jazz, opera really do not benefit. But most other genres do, in my humble opinion.
Thanks Jorge,
I’ll try and get to it soon. Most definitely will keep it in mind for my upcoming work.
J.
Very good article! I think it’s worth publishing it in text format, or at least a few key excerpts – it makes it easier to quote.
I think the recording world in general needs to understand that sound in a room is linear. I see a lot of comments (even from high profile engineers) about how volume “excites” a room, etc.
So, thank you!