Great! I will look into this.

Thank you for the suggestion. I guess you use this when you already have such a microphone?

 

@Von_Steyr, thank you for the recommendation! I see that my KRK's also have some adjustments. I have left everything set to 0. I guess I'm worried about introducing more problems than I fix. I suppose I could "sweep" the room again. I've also got the 10" Sub that goes with these. My idea was just to use it for low end checking and when I'm working on the low end, but that hasn't yielded acceptable results as my mixes are low end heavy. (but I do like the bass!) I may need to look into it's placement as I've got it under the mixing desk currently.



One thing I did do was purchase a Samson 32 band graphic EQ. Then I swept through the bands with a tone and tried to get all bands to sound the same in volume (by my ears sitting in the mix position) and I've got to say that the curve was spectacularly odd so I know I've got some phase cancellation and other problems going on in that room (or my ears are just plain f**ked). Ceilings are low (~7') and it's not a very large room. Still, I'm reluctant to mix into that eq because I don't know if it's going to introduce phase problems itself which I'd think would worsen the problem or create new different problems. According to SpencerLee, he does this room compensation eq'ing so maybe I should too.
I strongly feel my problem is more-so with the listening environment than the monitors themselves. If I upgrade monitors at this point, I think it's maybe better to save and try to go for something in the $1K a piece range. I've heard the difference between my KRK's and a set of Focals and when the guy that sold them to me upgraded, it was like you pulled a blanket off of the speakers listening to those Focals.
I guess the thing that's killing me is that I can hear the low end so much clearer and precise in a truck (think about that listening environment) with a pair of 10" MTX Subs than I can in my mix room with "studio reference monitors"! Maybe I just need to mix in my truck.

Apologies to the OP, I know this is wayyyyy off topic!

 

There are bunch of videos on YT.
This mic can also be used to treat and calibrate your home cinema, surround, etc...

 

I get your problems man, this is common in untreated rooms. Yea Focals are among the best in 1-2k range.
Though until you solve the room problem you will only be able to up your game to an extent and still face certain problems.
Check our this articles, its very informative.
http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-speaker-placement/
http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/t...ur-rooms-acoustics-with-room-eq-wizard-612779

Your low end is accumulating and you hear more bass than there is. This is why your tracks are so bass heavy, also always reference mastered tracks while you are mixing.
You could also fix that with an EQ, you need a measurement mic to see whats going on, step by step.
You can get the mids and highs pretty good with SR850s but the problem is the low end and compression where you can easily fuck up with most headphones, this is why you need to combine headphones with monitors.
I have a different problem, have a baby next door basically on the other side of the wall and i like to work in the evening towards the night and am forced to work on headphones more than i would want to.

Based on your material you could probably reduce your bass to -2db easily.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 11, 2017

Thank you for sharing your experience like this.

 

Meh, only the basics, there are people here who know a lot more
I know this though that you dont want to wait another five years to decide to do something about it, if you want to grow fast as a producer/engineer then start solving your problems today.
You are only hurting your development and stagnating by trying to work with something that should be a lot easier in the first place, dont do that to yourself, the basic problems can be solved quite easily and you dont have to pay thousands of dollars.....

 

So, buy mic, calibrate, and combine with calibrated headphones = win

 

Ok, you need to go to work for Behringer and Samson so you can get some commission for all these sales you are making!

Just pulled the trigger on this to see if I can do something about my room. It's got some really good reviews. Plus it'll have live application as well.
Also downloaded the REW. This should get me started, I hope.
I guess that I need to see where the biggest problem is, then find a way to treat/compensate for that. EQ'ing to start, then either bass traps or refractive foam depending which is worse.
At least I have a game plan for spending more money!

 

Lol, well you could spend 1k for a measurement mic but i know and have seen that mic being used a lot so i know it aint garbage.
Cant tell about samson though, as im not familiar with their gear at all.

Yep, get those bass traps or make em yourself, that is a must, start with the corners and the walls behind your speakers, etc....that article i linked is really good.
You have started solving your problems, little by little you will hear a more honest sound

 

And most importantly treat your room, there are cheap ways to solve many problems.

 

My speakers are against the window and facing the wall sideways.
For me it's even better to find a more suitable room first i guess :D.
As in laying a proper foundation.

 

Heh, if you have the options to actually choose between rooms, why not, most dont. Read that article i linked to.

 

I have a classic Radio Shack sound level meter that I plan to use with Room EQ Wizard on several headphones. I've used it manually and recorded the levels in a spreadsheet, but what a pain. The meter has an audio output for this, and I've rigged a cap to acoustically seal onto the headphones. It's a poor man's Sonarworks, but should be good enough to build my custom EQ curves, then tweak as needed. Might try to do my room, but it still needs a lot of work treatment-wise. Next project...

 

Yeah, talking about the SR-850's you recommended. I like them. Like you say, very revealing in the high mids and highs. I know immediately if I'm pushing the air too hard with these, even when my monitors "lie" to me about it.
But you're right. Lows are a different matter entirely, and I don't know that I could even fix that with cans. That low end has to be right for the sub-in-the-car-kick-in-the-ass homeys like me.

 

LOL, well except those headphones, you got me there, for a minute i forgot they were Samson , lol.
Yea very good headphones, but the low end can be deceiving.
This is why i have ordered the k712 and will see what kind of "picture" i get there with sonarworks and will let you know, i have a feeling they will be more revealing and honest though. If its worth 10x the price of Samsons....idk.....in our business its all about details....

 

Yeah, I was thinking I need to drag all my gear out to the truck and just mix the lows in there...

 

lol, just dont park it in a garage like this guy.

 

Just a quick response to the initial question. I have a set of beyerdynamic dt 990s that I picked up because I now live in a duplex and late night mastering sessions are a no no on monitors. I did the demo install of Sonarworks to get the reference file and installed the version from our sister site. I was shocked at the difference the profile made. Made me a bit uneasy at first. But I planned a test project from the bottom up using the profile, and it's translated better to every set of speakers I've played it back on. I am far from being a pro, and this was the best advancement in getting a reasonable sound I've made in ages. I just have it tucked in last on the master in Studio One and disable it when I export and it's made a world of difference.

 

Is a SM57 mic accurate enough? micing the headphone when playing sth, then comparing the results of the analysers.
I should also consider the mic frequency response. I can also use different mics to average the result.


fortunately there is a video with 4 spl test for my headphone so I can have a sense of what my headphones sounds.

Or maybe borrowing an accurate acoustics labratory microphone.

The only problem that remains is that should we make the headphone really flat? or there is an ideal frequency response. The consumers use headphones that aren't calibrated! so we should factor them in.

 

Last edited: Oct 11, 2017

I have no idea about the method. But I would guess the 57 is not the mic to use. What are you going to play thru the headphones? Pink Noise? a sine wave sweep?

No clue on my part. Hopefully someone with proper knowledge will chime in.