Mixing at constant level in headphone

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by SomebodyIsHere, May 8, 2020.

  1. SomebodyIsHere

    SomebodyIsHere Ultrasonic

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    I have a mixing headphone. I have read that when mixing I have to be at a constant level *most* of the time and check my mix at different levels from time to time.
    I don't have any microphone which has flat frequency response.
    I have read that I should mix at constant level like 83 SPL.
    My question is:
    • How the f*ck am I supposed to find out how loud sound coming out from my headphone is in SPL?
    • Guys I know what fletcher munson curve is. But have not found a bulletproof way to use this curve to make my mixes better. Like I know our perception of different frequency ranges are totally different and different levels and I kind of follow this fact by referencing my mixes. But how can I make my mixes better by knowing this fact? ( A practical method? )
    I hope somebody shows me the righteous path.
    May god bless you
     
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  3. juboh

    juboh Member

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    I mix with headphones too! Try mixing it with good speakers then find the approximate decibel difference in ratio in between them two.
     
  4. SomebodyIsHere

    SomebodyIsHere Ultrasonic

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    This is honestly not a practical answer. Obviously I am looking for a way with the things I have and I do not have good speakers! In addition, I am looking for almost correct way not something approximate.
     
  5. GodHimSelf

    GodHimSelf Platinum Record

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    some people say you should mix at conversation level. You talk to yourself for a bit and increase or decrease the HP output.
     
  6. SomebodyIsHere

    SomebodyIsHere Ultrasonic

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    There should be a bulletproof way or something more robust. Let's see what others suggest. conversation level of people vary and it depends on many factors.
     
  7. SomebodyIsHere

    SomebodyIsHere Ultrasonic

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    Nobody suggest anything useful. Please guys, if you know something, participate!
     
  8. No Avenger

    No Avenger Moderator Staff Member

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    To measure the dB SPL of HP isn't easy. In deed you'll need a dummy/artificial head with mics in the place where your eardrums would be. The problem with the setup, even if it comes most close to the listening situation, ears differ, a lot and this has a measurable impact on the sound the mics are recording. Secondly the mics themselves. You'd need mics that 'preceive' the sound like you eardrums would and even this differs among the listeners. There have been attempts to do this but all the results are stated as rough estimations.

    Fletcher-Munson on the other hand is a) outdated, aswell as Robinson-Dadson (see ISO 226:2003) and b) not meant to be used to make your mixes better, but to show how human hearing more or less roughly estimated works.

    The best practical way to calibrate your HP is probably to calibrate the monitors first and try to match the perceived loudness for your HP.
     
  9. tun

    tun Rock Star

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    good luck :D
    as mentioned a couple of times, your best attempt will be to get your speakers to a monitoring level and manually try to match that.
    if you do not have speakers i would suggest just listening to some music similar to the style you want to make and get those tracks to a level you are comfortable mixing with for hours without getting fatigued, then mark that point and default to that.

    the most important thing is to mix at low enough levels to not negatively affect your hearing.
     
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  10. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    With experience you will know what loudness is good and/or comfortable. They usually go hand in hand. That's what 20+ years of experience has taught me. Please don't slag me off for not knowing my shit.

    When starting out, and/or being inexperienced, one generally fall victim of the "boiling frog effect" of progressively turning things up louder (as "louder sounds better" to humans), and then one take a pause/break/snack/bathroom break and come back and you go "shit, that's loud!".
    Comfortable level goes a long way. Conversation level even.
     
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  11. tun

    tun Rock Star

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    yea this! ^^
    keep things reasonably quiet and you will be fine. monitoring levels are great guidelines, but if you are struggling to meet them dont stress about it, just keep working the best you can. if you edge on the side of quiet you will not fatigue your ears, but you dont need to be ashamed to turn up your audio so you can monitor a particular section. just do what feels right, but keep your ears and fatigue in mind. the ears and fatigue part is what comes with the experience baxter talks about, but you will gain that xperience quicker than you think.

    even if you make loud music, just be careful with your ears.
     
  12. F. I. S. H.

    F. I. S. H. Newbie

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    Hi, Guys!
    I would recommended keeping low loudness in your headphones while mixing. Try to get used to lower Level as our hearing system is impacted very fast with high volume.
    Normally, the same rule applies for Speaker monitors. Of coarce you need to make loud checks time to time; however, if you listen to your mix at very loud volume the muscles at ear system are impacted, so you can forget about mixing and you need 1-2 hours to restore your perception, otherwise there is a possibility to make a lot of mistakes taking wrong mixing decisions.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2020
  13. Trurl

    Trurl Audiosexual

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    I'm sure it's been mentioned but in addition to not blowing your ears out with high volume in general, even mixing at what probably seems a nice sane level every hour or two JUST WALK AWAY. Take a 15 minute break. Chances are when you go back you'll have an "Oh sh*t!" moment and turn them down again.
     
  14. 9000k

    9000k Producer

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    how about comparing your mix with well mixed songs at the same volume? I find this very useful and wouldn't rely on some nerd curves lmao
     
  15. Nick12

    Nick12 Platinum Record

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    It's probably not 100% accurate, but you can also use the technical settings of your headphones.

    For instance my headphone output can go up to around 104dB. Of course it can probably go louder than that, but then it should distort. So in this case a volume of around 75% of that should be safe.
     
  16. Lois Lane

    Lois Lane Audiosexual

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    There is a devil on your left shoulder egging you on to turning up the volume every few minutes, while the angel on your right is pleading for the sanctity of your hearing being so maintained as well as can be reasonably fostered until you reach your potential life expectancy.

     
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