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DaInGaIlToAgL · 9th November 2006

... if you can mix, then you can mix in a format that is not the most hi-fi thing out there. I wonder if maybe part of his point was that if we are going towards a world where everything is mp3 (or crappy yamaha digital) quality, maybe we should start mixing with that in mind?

I mean, don't you think that if you monitored through an mp3 (or aac...) compression algorithm, hearing exactly how it was coming out as you mixed, that you would mix differently and the resulting mp3 would sound better? You would fix dynamic range issues that get screwed up, finesse the high frequency information in the mix to sound not so crunchy in the end, etc...

Besides the push toward the surround format, I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the direction he was heading. I mean, quite honestly there is all possibility that some day there will be a new format (maybe a new way of getting sound into the human perception?) that will blow away what we currently are doing, possibly making our current "hi-fi" standards sound like what we currently percieve mp3 to be.

Just a thought, and it's not just an "if you can't beat them join them thing." If a high percentage of the sales of whatever you are mixing are going to be sold on mp3, then you should be very sure you know what that mp3 is going to sound like. Remember, we do work in a consumer driven industry where most of the people buying this stuff can't tell the difference between 96/24 and 128kbps aac.

9th November 2006	#43
DaInGaIlToAgL Gear interested Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 22	Think of it this way... ... if you can mix, then you can mix in a format that is not the most hi-fi thing out there. I wonder if maybe part of his point was that if we are going towards a world where everything is mp3 (or crappy yamaha digital) quality, maybe we should start mixing with that in mind? I mean, don't you think that if you monitored through an mp3 (or aac...) compression algorithm, hearing exactly how it was coming out as you mixed, that you would mix differently and the resulting mp3 would sound better? You would fix dynamic range issues that get screwed up, finesse the high frequency information in the mix to sound not so crunchy in the end, etc... Besides the push toward the surround format, I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the direction he was heading. I mean, quite honestly there is all possibility that some day there will be a new format (maybe a new way of getting sound into the human perception?) that will blow away what we currently are doing, possibly making our current "hi-fi" standards sound like what we currently percieve mp3 to be. Just a thought, and it's not just an "if you can't beat them join them thing." If a high percentage of the sales of whatever you are mixing are going to be sold on mp3, then you should be very sure you know what that mp3 is going to sound like. Remember, we do work in a consumer driven industry where most of the people buying this stuff can't tell the difference between 96/24 and 128kbps aac.