opinion on eqing monitors

[ashgallows]

hey guys. I've gotten to where i need some advice. i have my monitor mix that kind of, sort of translate's to my car stereo. my monitors + ik multimedia's arc2 system that unbelievably translates worse to my car at least where the low end is concerned, and my ath-m50 headphones that don't translate to anything at all. i'm mixing with a sub-par monitoring environment that cant really be treated very well. the only thing i can think of is to take the best representation i have (the unaffected monitors) and go back and forth to my car eqing them until it's close enough. anyone else in this situation?

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

one word: Sonarworks (both headphones and monitors)

you're welcome

 

[ashgallows]

i tried that on the m50's all the plugin did was output loud static over the music when i loaded the profile, so i wrote it off as incompatible or just developed by people that dont check their products.

also why would it be drastically different than the arc2 plugin on the monitor side of it. isn't it the same tech?

edit: since you mention it, i guess i could at lest download the headphone demo again and see if it's fixed.

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

i tried that on the m50's all the plugin did was output loud static over the music when i loaded the profile, so i wrote it off as incompatible or just developed by people that dont check their products.

also why would it be drastically different than the arc2 plugin on the monitor side of it. isn't it the same tech?

I would definitely re-check if you did something wrong, or email them. This plugin is a life saver, both on headphones and monitors. Not the same technology, I think somebody on the internet actually compared the two and found Sonarworks way better. I just know me and lots of others had exactly your problem, and now it's all perfect

 

[Machinated]

it's not necessarily a bad idea, but it won't make your room behave accurately so you'll likely have the same peaks/troughs. The response of the room is also likely to change depending on where you're sat which can again make it difficult to fix with a static EQ curve.

 

[ashgallows]

yeaaah, the headphone plugin doesn't sound even in the same galaxy as my vehicle. it cuts out all kinds of lows which are the only part of the headphones that even relate to the outside world.

 

[ashgallows]

the worst part of it all is, not knowing if you just suck at mixing lol.

 

[Trevoire520]

I've used a bit of eq on my outputs with a degree of success. The Sonarworks plugin is decent enough with my M50's and I used a omni condenser and pink noise to get a more flat response out of my HS50's.

I dont use it all the time, kinda treat it as another reference point to be honest but it's certainly helped to give me a better picture of whats going on as my monitoring situation is far from flat.

 

[MrBongo]

i do have a -2dB lowshelf activated <90Hz, but only in the media player, not in the DAW.
That´s because I tend to mix with more low-end than other commercial products have. So I increased the subwoofer´s volume by 2dB and compensated for that in the media player. This way I can reference-check to the same sound I got before, but the low-end in my mixes is a bit less prominent than it used to be, because it´s louder in the playback.

I´m not a friend of Frankenstein-EQ on crappy monitoring situations. Better get it right from the beginning, because EQ won´t help with resonance and nulls

 

[ashgallows]

since the post, i eqed a couple of peaks into my monitors, nothing drastic, like 1-2 db at 150hz and maybe 1-2db in the upper mids. first off, turning the arc2 off was the best thing i've ever done. that thing has no brain and dosnt know when it is way overcompensating for small trouble spots in the room. also i more or less made it sound like my car in the mixing position and it forced me to craft a way better mix when the compensation eq is turned off and it a/b it to other tracks. there are peaks and nulls in this room...there just has to be, but that combined with a skewed correction eq on top of it is a hopeless mixing environment. i try to mix at low levels as to make the room play less of a part in the process if i can help it.