Coytee Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Since I've always read that Khorns are "revealing", is the following reasonable? If a sound engineer produced his product so that it specifically sounded GREAT on a pair of Khorns, would that product then by definition sound great on all other speakers (presuming similar room/electronics setup)? Or would that sound just be fine tuned for "the Khorn sound" and as such, potentially or probably sound terrible when played through other speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Recording engineers generally monitor their mixes by several means. Usually there is a favorite set of monitor speakers specifically intended for 'near field' monitoring in the confines of a studio. Sometimes listening is conducted through larger or far smaller speakers as well, to give an idea of how the mix will sound over other systems. I have heard of studios that have small FM stations so the engineer can go into the parking lot and hear the mix through the compression of FM and through a car audio system. Answer to you question is no, just engineering for a Klipschorn would not give a 'best possible on all systems' mix. For instance, in the low bass region, some notes would sound great on the Khorns, but would be virtually inaudible on smaller systems, so some importance would have to placed on higher bass frequencies. Hope this helps. DrWho will be here in a moment... Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 i guess you could mix on any decent fidelity speaker ... the trick is to learn what to correct for in the finished product ... what , say, JBL 4311's have going for them, is not a flat response, but the fact that nearly ANY engineer is familiar with the sound produced from such speaker .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 ---------------- On 5/8/2005 2:22:35 PM bsafirebird1969 wrote: i guess you could mix on any decent fidelity speaker ... the trick is to learn what to correct for in the finished product ... what , say, JBL 4311's have going for them, is not a flat response, but the fact that nearly ANY engineer is familiar with the sound produced from such speaker .. ---------------- I agree with firebird, but have to add. Almost every speaker sounds different in one fashion. Be it treble, mid, bass, poor output the list would go on. The other point would be the source Components. Pre-Amplifiers, Amplifiers, CD Players, SACDs, TTs, their cartridges. It would be impossible for the Engineer to know what combinations would be used. There may be similarities, but not identical. As Tube McIntosh sounds different the Marantz, Fisher, Dynaco, Solid State has their own differences. Then even before the consumer buys the finished product - tape, CD, SACD, LP there is the mastering, pressing, quality of vinyl, burning the CD and quality there. Those are beyond the Engineer's control. And then you get to Component differences. And as I always note, hearing curve. Depending upon hearing - any time during the day sinuses change which affects hearing, what the Engineer is pleased with another may disagree. So while an Engineer may mix for a certain brand and model of speaker, there are too many other factors. But, mixing for a certain speaker will not be cause for a poor reproduction on other equipment. Unless the speaker the engineer mixes for is a flat freaquency or deficient in bass or treble and the speaker mixed for is the opposite. It can be done, but for a select group that owns equipment with the same responces and with rooms almost identical in sonic qualities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 ---------------- On 5/8/2005 2:22:35 PM bsafirebird1969 wrote: i guess you could mix on any decent fidelity speaker ... the trick is to learn what to correct for in the finished product ... what , say, JBL 4311's have going for them, is not a flat response, but the fact that nearly ANY engineer is familiar with the sound produced from such speaker .. ---------------- What you talkin' about not flat? It may be quite true, but anything I have mixed on mine has sounded pretty balanced on everything else. (Then again, maybe not. It isn't my fulltime job) Always thought the mids were a tad pronounced, which may be why I thought they sounded close to my Heresys. It's all in knowing what they sound like (source, mixer, amp, speakers), and mixing with that in mind. EDIT: What I find interesting is that all the music faculty where I work, only have boom boxes in their offices. The audio is awful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 well, Mr. Marvel ... not exactly flat, there's a fair amount of the West Coast Sound in them there Mids ... ............. ............ but all in all, a very fine Monitor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 ---------------- On 5/8/2005 10:19:24 AM Coytee wrote: If a sound engineer produced his product so that it specifically sounded GREAT on a pair of Khorns, would that product then by definition sound great on all other speakers (presuming similar room/electronics setup)? ---------------- no For starters, if this were the case then wouldn't you expect most every studio to be built around the khorn? This thread instantly reminded me of my visit to Artto's place (the only time I've ever heard khorns). He pulled out an LP (first time hearing a high quality LP rig too) that was advertised as being mastered on a pair of khorns. I don't remember anything else other than the fact that it was totally an "unreal" experience because it was too "real". It was a very good recording totally made for khorns - those engineers really knew what they were doing. Anyways, the khorn is a very different speaker from most other situations in that it's forced into the corners of the room. So just by it's very nature it will have early reflections (not saying this is bad) and you are forced to listen at a 45 degree angle. This usually forces a hole in the middle of the soundstage that's normally not there when listening at say 30 degree angles. These are just a few things inherant to the design that will be over-compensated for in the mix. I'm sure we could come up with a big list if we tried hard enough. But in all reality, when it comes down to mixing it's all about referencing your mix everywhere you go. The most important part happens during the tracking stage when you are setting mic positions based on your monitoring system. I personally would prefer headphones or nearfield monitors for this process as they help to eliminate the acoustics of your room so you can listen to the "real" signal. As has been mentioned so many times, it's all about getting to know your equipment and making sure the flaws don't affect the big picture (sadly every piece of equipment has flaws too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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