I have a square room, which is meant to be the worst for room modes, and for my monitors I use a set of old three way Panasonic HI-FI speakers, which I have often thought of replacing with “proper” monitors.
So by that logic, my mixes should be coming out terribly, but I feel happy with my setup and what I produce.
I also have a good set of headphones for checks of course.
I do basic mix balancing using the “pink noise reference technique” to get all tracks balanced before going into final mixing to taste, and it all seems to work out
Its just constructive and destructive interference that is at play so no real mystery how it works, and the only time it doesn’t work is when two interfering waves actually null, which is something I have not detected in this room. Granted, it may be that I lucked out in that while the room has problems they aren’t extreme, so dialing in a single point in the room worked. TBH, I didn’t expect it to work but figured what the heck just try it. And it does in fact work well in this particular room. Not ideal mind you, but not bad at all. Makes a solid double check for mixing in my EQ corrected Audeze LCD-X 2021.
@dsteinschneider Yeah, I suspect that for the typical buyer, MTM designs are a victim of the combination of larger size and misunderstood physics. Some of the best monitor designs are MTM. And also some of the rarest. Presonus offers coaxial models in the Eris 2 Pro line – which is arguably even better – all but the 4" model have large footprints.
In my work setup, I have a hollowed-out roll-top desk with two 24" monitors. A verically-placed MTM on each side is a perfect fit: the speakers aren’t blocked, but they occupy nearly 100% of the available room on each side. I debated on getting the larger E66s, but decided that possible issues with phase cancellation from being behind the monitors wasn’t worth the hassle.
In addition to all the great suggestions, there’s a very old school method as well: reference mixes. This can be helpful whether you add a sub or not.
For example, I have a few tracks from well-known bands, with excellent production and well-mastered mixes. These are tracks I’m very familiar with, and are great mixes in varied settings from ear buds to cars, etc… I’ll then pick one that is kind of close to what I’m working on, and will often A/B compare it with my mix as I go along.
This usually gets me in the ballpark. However, it’s not a substitute for room treatment or Room measurement tools. Yet, even after treatment, it’s still enlightening to check a reference track from time to time.
It’s also really illuminating to listen to isolated tracks from well-produced songs you like, if you can find them online. I can’t tell you how many times I 've been shocked when an amazing guitar tone sounds less impressive when iso’d. Listening to iso’d bass is also really helpful.
Just my .02,
Tom
Live sound engineers also use reference CDs when setting up - it aint just the music they like - as it gets them in the right ball park.
The sound engineers I knew always seemed to favour “The Seeds of Love” by Tears for Fears. When I asked one “why this CD?” (it is a great album of course) he said because it is one of the best produced CDs of the era and he of course new it inside and out, so has stuck with it. He then also said if he can get Orzabell’s honky (nasal) vocals sounding good in the hall, then he knows his job is mostly done!
Presonus offers coaxial models in the Eris 2 Pro line – which is arguably even better – all but the 4" model have large footprints.