Even if you lose money, try them. Buy one and try it vs others and what you have for sure. It's the only way. Print passes, compare with A/B, solo/mute.

Solaris is a bit harmonically cold and not punchy, I don't care for it. Lyra 2 I have no idea. Hedd is always in flux with upgrades but it's a harmonically rich AD or DA with a totally opposite to Solaris approach. I prefer that one, but it's not matter what I say here, you have to hear it in the chain.

What do you use now, and what do you want to be different? That's the way forward. In audio a Frame of Reference is everything, a basis to judge, then move from there with a clear intention.


No worries Justin. -0.4. I've tried lowering things for a variety of reasons and it's not helping my results.

Hey Brian, did I see an Avocet on your desk at one point? Are you or have you used one? If so, were you using the DAC or just for analog monitor control?

Avocet is amazing. Last year I tried to beat it with some $10,000-$30,000 audiophile pre amps ... none better thus far. And I have an early model. Analog routing only. External DAs.

It's not the mastering engineers job to judge the work, that's a fail. We need to provide equal effort and objective love for all the styles and qualities of music we work on.

We can agree there !

And yet, here you are ... arguing away once again.

A silly jibe? More like a sincere diatribe.

Being different has value. However there have been MEs using tubes over the years.

I didn't mention that my now external 3 way passive crossovers are 100% new parts, tuned to the amp, which was upgraded with caps and other parts plus tubes by the same tech.

The room result of the the monitoring chain matters most, and what target it offers the ME. The target in my world is musicality enhancement, connection between artists and widest audience, and non fatiguing, enjoyable daily work environment that translates. As was said earlier no two mastering rooms are alike, and that's totally fine.


Sounds great, keep up the good work! My work is in people's ears, hearts, radios and awards shelves. Again, I would like to hear this work. Soundcloud, Dropbox, anything??



You would show me measurements as to how good your work sounds? You're kidding right?


The rest of us don't care about excellence, so that's good on you.


So you don't want to argue but your methods are appreciably better? lol
You really need to get real in your mind, there is a lot of subjugated emotion finding it's way into your logic board, before talking about the logic of your process.

I think we have done it ... maybe the end?

Wish you the best. Have fun with your approach ! Make great music and upgrade the world !

we don't?

The nature of sarcasm is such that it's hard to express on the page and easy to misinterpret.

my sarcasm detector is generally fool-proof, but at least that statement makes sense now.

The gloves are off

I just saw your Puremix-video... a very big thanks for sharing your vision and thoughts on music. Very inspiring!
Especially the parts on mid-side energy feel (helped me position my new monitors last weekend), 90% thinking in every step, the shape of the V and the more human focus on the art and feel of the music (and easy access to the room from the real world), within this high-end craft that easily can switch your focus to more technical stuff.
So thankful for taking time to share this! (even though I don't do mastering)

Hi guys!
For those of you who missed it, here the link to Brian's 3 hours long (gold mine) Q&A.

Brian Lucey Mastering Q&A | pureMix.net

Just create a free pureMix account and get some pop corns.

Hey Brian,

first of all i want to give many thanks for all this wisdom. it is rare enough for a guy like you to share so much stuff about their craft.

i think it's funny that this is a thread for questions and there are people arguing about a tested/proved method. your work speaks for itself.

now to my question, which 5 albums/ or singles would you give your apprentice ( if you have/had one) to study and what would you prompt him/her to pay attention at?

thanks for your time

peace

Hi Brian,

I noticed you have an SPL meter on your console. What SPL do you usually work at? Does it always stay the same, or do you have different volumes for different types of work? Thanks!

Jason

Thanks for the kind words. My goal is to get past the banal to the musical.

Not sure I can answer your question ... it's more about knowing what I call "the fence" in your room. By fence I mean the edges of the Recorded History of Music, as it exists in your mind, as an XYZ sphere in front of your face.

X= frequency balance
Y= transient to compression balance
Z= harmonic distortion balance (types and amounts)

Once we know the fence, in our room, we can play inside the fence.

Maybe something needs to be moved very little, or maybe it is way off and needs to be moved a lot. The trick in mastering is knowing when to do not much and when and how to do a whole lot, usually on the same record. And knowing how to focus music.

By focus, I mean that things need to hit people with clarity on 3 fronts ...

Emotionally
Intellectually
Physically

... in a balance that is right for this artist and right for this moment in time. The artists moment and the moment for the audience.

I just did a Katy Perry single, a Christmas song for Greg Wells, and it was interesting as it needed to sound like her, but also have a warm and inviting timeless holiday vibe, which is a little different than her other records.

I'm remastering now a new mix of an old record for an artist I'm known for working with, and it's about respecting the original release, while also enhancing the new mixes and the new moment of the new release.

Respect and no respect. It's a tricky balance.

At first I like to work at around 85-90 dbA, yet I work as fast as possible cursor skipping around. This keeps the ears and the mind fresh. We are the first audient, the test market, and we always need to be listening like it's the first time we have heard the music, and also like it's 20 years from now.

Once I am ready to print, I work at a lower level as a full song or record is printing, to feel the flow of the vocal, low end, high end, etc. We don't want homogeneous, that's based in perfectionism and is boring ... but it needs to flow.

thanks Brian , your insight is much appreciated,

i really dig your musical approach and sincerety. i believe you are past the technical and cruising through the philosophical. music/sound is space and time.
so are we


have a nice week

Hi Brian!
A year since the last post. I have a technical question if you don't mind.
What digital interface are you using from your computer to the chain (and DAC monitoring) and from the HEDD back to your computer? USB connection?
Thanks!

PC Laptop w Sequoia, USB to RME Babyface, Optical to Z Sys router to AES to Chain DA and playback DA. AD conversion AES to Z Sys and Optical to Babyface.

Dear Brian, it was about seven years ago and I had just bought a pair of Event Opals because people told me they were awesome and keeewl. A couple of months in to using them and i had a feeling.. So, I popped on to this forum and spotted a large Event Opals thread. Most comments justified my purchase. That feeling I had was just me, not my awesome and keeewl Opals. Then I read some of your cruel comments The penny dropped. That was exactly what I had been hearing from the moment I plugged them in. They sounded like a pair of JBL PA/Conference speakers I owned a decade before. Keep telling the Truth Mr Lucy even if it means shattering the reality of gullible musos.

lol

Ty

They are still junk.

Since then a company was born called Ampihon that is almost as good as what I used to sell clients, Canalis Anima. Not junk. Either. So many great options out there. So much more junk.

Hmmm - since I am in the market for a floorstander for home use and occasional cross checking mixes/mastering + finding the market situation on Allegras a bit too opaque I'd like to get a better read on your opinion here.

Have you heard Amphion's and what's your take?!

Thx!

Allegras are some of the best speakers ever made at any price. What I use are old, and I'm talking here about the new ones. They are far better than mine when new. I upgraded my crossovers to get them close to the new product.

If you have $13,000 for a pair of passive speakers you will not be disappointed, in fact, your mind might be blown.

Amphion are good enough. A good company and a strong product that is better than most things on the market. Not as dynamic as I would like but that's the trade off for power, with the passive radiator.

Speakers however, as Fletcher famously said, are like women, or partners ... it's a taste thing. You need to have a Frame of Reference with ONE speaker to know how to move on to ANOTHER.

What is lacking, what bothers you, what are you trying to solve???


You can't just throw money at speakers and expect to do better work, it all COMES FROM YOU, and YOUR MIND, and your Frame of Reference.