GET YOUR MIX ON PORTABLE

Use a monitor controller to switch between speaker systems as you work. DonвЂ™t worry about their frequency range too much the crappier, the better. Really, any consumer-level product will do. IвЂ™m not suggesting you dump your $2,000 reference monitors, but how about adding a pair of inexpensive multimedia speakers to your setup? I use IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors as my alternate reference speakers. However, the simplest way to ensure your mixes will translate well on small speakers is toвЂ¦ wait for itвЂ¦. A bigger woofer means more accurate low-end, and a higher power rating means better the dynamic range.

Small Is The New BigД¬onventional wisdom dictates using high quality, full-range monitors for mixing in a pro-quality studio. These devices can hold up to 160GB-up to 40,000 songs as mp3s-in a device smaller than a modern smartphone. (L-R) Scroll-wheel iPod, iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano. WeвЂ™ve never had to mix for so many disparate-sounding listening devices, so letвЂ™s dive into how we can mix our music to ensure it will sound good on this vast range of playback systems.ДЄpple revolutionized the music listening experience with its line of ultra-compact iPods, which debuted in 2001.

We have over sixty years of know-how when it comes to mixing for traditional hi-fi home stereo setups, but mixing for playback on laptops, smartphones, and other relatively lo-fi (or at least limited-fi) playback devices requires special considerations.

GET YOUR MIX ON PORTABLE

Obviously, these portable, inexpensive playback devices trade convenience for sonics and todayвЂ™s portable systems sound only remotely as good as the aforementioned home hi-fi systems. Lossy mp3 audio became the new norm, as did Sonos systems, our ever-present smartphone and laptop speakers, and all kinds of convenient and inexpensive consumer-grade BluetoothВ® playback devices. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, iPods and earbuds became ubiquitous. Clean-sounding receivers or amplifiers and highly-specвЂ™d speakers with decent-sized woofers for your home system was the gold standard. Back in my day, we listened to records and eventually cassettes and CDs on our home hi-fi stereo systems. Music listening habits and technologies have changed dramatically over the decades. AppleвЂ™s iPod is as foreign to my ten-year-old neighbor as my grandfatherвЂ™s Victrola was to me.

Get your mix on