"Another problem is so much signal processing that the mix only sounds balanced on the same speakers at the very same volume in the room where it was mixed. Sometimes this can be straightened out with radical overall eq. but it's often pretty hopeless."
spot on bob!
i'm working on experimental electronica most of the time what means really wet signal, busy mixes and loads of dsp processing... also mean experimental way of mixing that could turn out great but doesn't have many point of reference to judge the mix... you'd better know the genre and intentions to work on it.
was trying to explain the phenomena to the artist the other day but i felt he was considering my point as a bit strange and suspicious....
how do you handle that as of course the client will check the work back on the system he has written and mixed on ?!
- other than that : mastering compilation with files squashed to -4 rms with files with loads of headroom, another sounding like mp3 and so on... no way to have files remixed... and people asking why i was giving a master that sounded lower than the -4squashed file...cuz they want it loud for both gigs and mp3 players hm
so my problem is more in weird/non realist expectations from the client in relation to the material submitted.