Do people usually listen to tracks with their volume turned all the way up?

[InAbsentia_]

I've got a mix sounding quite nice at a 'moderate' volume when I use a pair of reference headphones/speakers but if I push up the levels when I master it just ends up being a honky, screechy mess.

I know the rule is 'louder is better' and all of that, but to me, louder is definitely not better. Almost every mix in the world sounds worse to me louder beyond a certain point.

Are there any hard line rules for what levels you should monitor at or aim for on mixdown? How do I know what level to monitor at/aim for when it comes to the average consumer?

 

[BLUElightCory]

Monitor at around 85dB - once you start getting louder than that your natural perception of lows/mid/highs is (inaccurately) altered. I recommend mixing at a modest level and doing quick checks at low and high volumes. Everybody listens to music in different environments and at different levels - the best you can do it make sure your mixes sounds good at medium levels on a neutral sounding playback system.

 

[colonel kurtz]

when you say you "push up the levels", are you talking about turning up the master fader in your DAW, your computer's output, or the actual monitors themselves??

 

[DestroyTheColossus]

but if I push up the levels when I master it just ends up being a honky, screechy mess.

Are you talking about raising your listening volume when mastering or how the volume raises when you limit when you master?

In either case I leave the volume at the same moderate level I mixed at. If the volume level raises due to limiting, turn down the speakers so it is back to the same level.

Also, some limiters I have used will skew the overall balance of a mix when pushed hard, if that is what your are referring to.

 

[InAbsentia_]

Are you talking about raising your listening volume when mastering or how the volume raises when you limit when you master?

In either case I leave the volume at the same moderate level I mixed at. If the volume level raises due to limiting, turn down the speakers so it is back to the same level.

Also, some limiters I have used will skew the overall balance of a mix when pushed hard, if that is what your are referring to.

Limiter and maybe a tiny bit of soft clipping. If it raises due to limiting, I can turn my speakers down - but what about the people who might listen to the track? Would they have to adjust their volume too?

How do pro's get their levels sounding (relatively) good at all volume ranges on speakers etc? Cheers.

 

[waltz mastering]

I've got a mix sounding quite nice at a 'moderate' volume when I use a pair of reference headphones/speakers but if I push up the levels when I master it just ends up being a honky, screechy mess.

Are you trying to master on the mix buss? Could be the way you're going about it... maybe try to print the mix at conservative levels at the native sample rate and bit depth and then open a dedicated mastering session... then get your corrective eq and level.

I know the rule is 'louder is better' and all of that, but to me, louder is definitely not better. Almost every mix in the world sounds worse to me louder beyond a certain point.

IMO, comparatively, a mix should hold up at any level. Sort of depends on the system you're playing it on.

Are there any hard line rules for what levels you should monitor at or aim for on mixdown? How do I know what level to monitor at/aim for when it comes to the average consumer?

No rules.

 

[eʍʍy]

How do pro's get their levels sounding (relatively) good at all volume ranges on speakers etc? Cheers.

I don't see a specific method. If your track is mixed fine then it should sound good everywhere.

Maybe it's your file format. If you're using a low quality Mp3 in a p.a. system and crank it to max volume then it's going to sound bad whether it's a professional artist's track or not.

The pros don't have their music sound great at all volume levels on any playback system either. Some normal earphones + high volume will distort the audio pretty badly and make everything sound horrible no matter how professional it is.

 

[crillemannen]

85db is all to loud for my damaged ears, although im aware of that the bass/treble aligns at that level. I usually mix around 75db's cranking it up a few times up to 80db

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

A or C weighting?

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

A weighted for the recommendation. 85dB A is way too loud for me to work comfortably, though.

 

[zver]

i dont want to hear music too loud and when i mix it i dont go very loud...some times only to see how its going to be too loud

 

[Ola Englund]

I always mix VERY low volumes. Dunno why but it just suits me the best. Occasionally I crank it but I would say 99% it's below 40 dB in my phones. Also I have noise cancelling on so I can get even lower volume.

 

[HeadCrusher]

40 is pretty low. At that level do you hear any bass at all? Which phones are you using?

 

[ApeScaleConflict]

I think mixing with with louder volume makes things easier to sound better because the ear likes louder. So if it's supposed to sound good in all equipment, in all situations, then maby mixing it moderate would do better.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Andy mixes fecking loud... This is after finding that out that I started mixing louder too, and I believe my mixes improved.

 

[crillemannen]

Andy mixes fecking loud... This is after finding that out that I started mixing louder too, and I believe my mixes improved.

When i was in Studio Fredman i needed to use earplugs from time to time, because they mixed crazy loud. 85db's atleast almost all the time, going even louder atleast a couple of times each day hehe. After that i also began to mix a bit louder but as i said i can't mix 85db's for 8hours because my ears can't handle it anymore.

 

[HeadCrusher]

^What did you do to them?

FWIW CLA keeps on preaching about mixing low. I'm on the low side of things as well. If it sounds good low and you crank it up it usually just get's better which is great. At least in my experience anyway.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

When i was in Studio Fredman i needed to use earplugs from time to time, because they mixed crazy loud. 85db's atleast almost all the time, going even louder atleast a couple of times each day hehe. After that i also began to mix a bit louder but as i said i can't mix 85db's for 8hours because my ears can't handle it anymore.

There was one session at a studio I interned at where the engineer worked so loud it got a bit uncomfortable for me. For some reason my right ear has always been pretty sensitive especially in the presence range, and the way it starts to kinda distort at high levels is a good indicator for me that things are too loud. I frequently had to pop out to let my ears rest for awhile.

 

[InAbsentia_]

I always mix VERY low volumes. Dunno why but it just suits me the best. Occasionally I crank it but I would say 99% it's below 40 dB in my phones. Also I have noise cancelling on so I can get even lower volume.

Same here. So I'm not the only one. I don't get why people say 'louder is better'. I know the research dictates that too, but it's really not the case with me.

Do your mixes not sound 'bad' to you then when you master and the volume gets cranked overall? For me the process goes something like this: a) I mix and get it sounding pretty nice to my ears at a low volume, leaves me plenty of head room for mastering b) I master, volume goes up and it sounds baaad.

 

[InAbsentia_]

Are you trying to master on the mix buss? Could be the way you're going about it... maybe try to print the mix at conservative levels at the native sample rate and bit depth and then open a dedicated mastering session... then get your corrective eq and level.


IMO, comparatively, a mix should hold up at any level. Sort of depends on the system you're playing it on.

No rules.

Yep, currently working on the mix buss. I'll try out your suggestion, but I can't see why that would change anything? Thanks for the help!