Factors in getting 'good' translation with mixes?

This might be a difficult question to answer as there are so many factors in attempting to get good translation when mixing. Is it possible to get a mix to translate in all 'environments' when mixing? Or, is this just an ideal?

For me...I am constantly going back and forth between my studio monitors (Yamaha HS50M's) and my iPhone earbud headphones to check translation...especially since I am mixing in an untreated room. I have been unable to get them to sound identical.

What are the various factors that contribute to good translation when mixing? What do the pros do?

Thanks.

Translation = compromise.

Is it possible to get a mix to translate in all 'environments' when mixing?

Yes. You'd have to mix for the lowest denominator though, meaning your mix will sound on all your devices like it does on the weakest sounding device (if you produce a mix in a frequency range limited to, say, the frequency range of the iPhone speaker, then your mix will sound the same way as when you listen to it on the iPhone speaker, even when you listen to it on your studio speakers: you'll have a crap mix that translates to all environments).

is this just an ideal?

It's actually the opposite of an ideal, it's a compromise. An ideal would be to know which speakers your listener use, and to deliver the best mix you can make specifically for those speakers. Of course, that mix will probably not translate very well to other speakers.

I am constantly going back and forth between my studio monitors (Yamaha HS50M's) and my iPhone earbud headphones to check translation...especially since I am mixing in an untreated room. I have been unable to get them to sound identical.

You'll never be able to get them to sound identical, because those speakers are not identical. But translation isn't about having your mix sound identical on all devices. It's about finding a compromise so that your mix sounds similar (not identical) on a limited collection of systems. For example it's normal for your bass to sound deeper on your 5.1 home theater w/sub vs on your iPhone speaker. On the other hand, if you hear a bass line on your 5.1 system, but when listening on the iPhone speaker the bass line disappears, then your mix is not compatible (=it did not translate to the iPhone speaker). So sounding different is ok (and inevitable), but you need to respect the balance of your mix on the systems where you want your mix compatible.

What do the pros do?

They learn their speakers. Meaning they learn to compensate for how mixes on their speakers translate to other systems. By mixing a lot and checking their mixes on other systems a lot. Once you know your speakers well, checking your mix on other systems becomes less of a necessity. They also understand that translation is a compromise. Meaning they know that if they make a bass line very, very bassy, very deep and powerful, the bass may be overwhelming on a huge PA, and may disappear on a weaker device, whereas if they make a bass a little higher up in frequencies, somewhere in the low mids, and more focused, a little less deep and bassy, then it will translate better to various systems.

Awesome explanation!

The immediate question that comes to mind is...why do the pros spend thousands of dollars on a pair of high-end studio monitors to mix with if the vast vast majority of their listeners (the consumers) are going to be using their own headphones or cheap high-fi speakers to listen on? Why not mix only with these cheap headphones or cheap hi-fi speakers instead?

Thanks!

Let's say you're making a movie for your website. Now that movie will be on your website's home page to welcome your visitors, and it will introduce you and showcase a short tour of your music composition studio. The movie will run in a small frame that takes about 1/5th of the surface of your web page, and the vast majority of your potential clients will check your website on their iPhone.

Do you edit the movie on a frame that is about a 1/5th of the surface of the iPhone screen? Do you use that same size window to do all your color correction, brightness, contrast adjustments? No, of course not, you couldn't do any work like that. You work on the best, largest screen you can afford, and you check your results on your home page.

Same with audio. Sometimes you need more resolution to hear certain things and to be able to work properly, even when the delivery medium is low resolution.

Another thing to consider: a hifi speaker might be crappy because it completely cancels all frequencies between 500 and 700Hz. Another hifi speaker might be crappy because it completely cancels all frequencies between 700Hz and 900Hz. Which one do you choose to mix? Neither. You need a speaker that will reproduce ALL the frequencies so that you can hear what you're producing, then you check to make sure it doesn't sound completely unbalanced when heard on one or the other of those speakers (the speakers will still, however, sound crappy, and you can't change that).

Thanks again for the clear analogy and excellent explanation.

Just one final question with regards to obtaining 'good' translation: what about the use of compression? I don't necessarily mean the use of compression to make things louder (i.e. limiter), but, to even things out...make things smoother...less dynamic range, if you will. One would logically think that this type of use of compression would help with translation. Is this correct?

Just wanted to add a little thing to David's eloquent answers...

They learn their speakers.

They learn their listening environment. The room is a very important aspect here.

Same speakers at another location will not sound the same.

Just one final question with regards to obtaining 'good' translation: what about the use of compression? I don't necessarily mean the use of compression to make things louder (i.e. limiter), but, to even things out...make things smoother...less dynamic range, if you will. One would logically think that this type of use of compression would help with translation. Is this correct?

Hmmm no I don't think so. You're just singling out a specific tool (compressor) that affects a specific parameter (volume) of your signal... and I'm not sure why you'd single out that one. IMO the most important parameter to consider when considering mix compatibility is the frequency spectrum. A compressor does affect the frequency spectrum to some extent, but the most important factors that determine the frequency spectrum of an instrument are the sound of the instrument itself, the pitches of the notes the instrument is playing, how those notes are played (plucked, bowed, hammered, picked etc.... - and basically the brighter the attack the more high frequency content), and what other instruments play what other notes at the same time in the same frequency range. Then, and to a much lesser extent, comes how you affected the frequency spectrum of the recording for example through the use of EQ (obviously) but also compressors, amps, distortion, modulation, reverbs, delays, etc etc....

Basically I don't think I've ever told myself "OOOhhh I need to compress this like that so that it translates accurately on many sound reproduction systems". I just compress (or I don't) to get the mix I want - for reasons other than translation. I do, however, think of the pitches of my bass notes, think of the kind of kick drum sound I choose, think of how I'm EQing my vocals and my cymbals for example, which mic I'm choosing to pick up a guitar cab... all of that while thinking of translation.

Just thought that because music today is so heavily compressed. Much more so then it used to be back when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's. Thought maybe it was so the music could translate 'better' to more platforms.

I could be wrong though. 8)

Just thought that because music today is so heavily compressed. Much more so then it used to be back when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's. Thought maybe it was so the music could translate 'better' to more platforms.

No - in fact music used to translate better to more platform back when it was less compressed!!! Compression today has to do with loudness war: if you hear two songs and one is louder than the other, your brain will tell you the louder one sounds better. And in general, the more a song is compressed, the louder it will appear to be.

It is the food equivalent to adding tons of sodium to all fast food and frozen entrees so that most people think it tastes good: the saltier a food item, the better it seems to taste. The issues being: salt is bad for you, and after a while, everything just tastes like sodium and preservatives. Same think in music: everyone is trying to sound louder than their neighbor, which means everyone sounds overcompressed.