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Level of your Monitor
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:02 pm
by ratbeat
Hi Everybody ,
How is the level to work comfortably ?
In Post production ( film , Tv film, sound design ) they work at 85 db but in music is not pretty same ?
Sometimes it's so strong and my hears are tired ...
Any Idea ?
Thx so much
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Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:21 pm
by Ongelegen
Just work on a level thats comfortable, this way you can work for a longer period of time. I only occasionaly blast the volume up for a few minites just to check if everything is still in check. Take regular breaks, like every hour or so, to give your ear some rest.
Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:25 pm
by Disco Nutter
Yeah, I've heard of that 85 rule.
I've also heard generally you should keep your monitors at a level you are comfortable with and not change it a lot. This way you'll be able to tell right away whether something is too loud in your mix or too low. But I don't do that to be honest. Especially because I like to mixdown to -10 on the master, so imagine how loud a mastered track will sound if I don't lower the volume.

Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:36 pm
by Sharmaji
i work between 80-90 for standard work. down around 40-50 (just above a whisper) quite often to check the balance of the main elements... if your kick/snare/vox balance works clearly at that level, you're prtty much in the clear.
i'll also bump it up loud on the big speakers to get a sense of the low-end, as well as the overall energy.
Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:50 pm
by Disco Nutter
Sharmaji wrote:down around 40-50 (just above a whisper) quite often to check the balance of the main elements... if your kick/snare/vox balance works clearly at that level, you're prtty much in the clear.
Yes! I learned that trick at a studio we were recording in a couple of years ago. I do that a lot.
Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:59 pm
by fragments
I find myself changing the volume not a lot, but often, depending on what I'm doing. I run my soundcard into a mixer and then to the monitors, so I have a physical volume slider right next to my mouse hand. I too find that if I'm going to sit down and work for an hour or two I simply cannot work at some of the higher volumes mentioned here.
I like the idea for the low volume check of the main elements, gonna give that a shot.
Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:14 pm
by ratbeat
down around 40-50 (just above a whisper) quite often to check the balance of the main elements... if your kick/snare/vox balance works clearly at that level, you're prtty much in the clear.
Yes , thx for this tips
The probleme I hope , It's when you don't have a Subwoofer, it's pretty difficult to be precise ,so you put the volume more strong and after ... you trash your ears ....
I'll maybe buy one

Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:41 pm
by Radiant
ratbeat wrote:down around 40-50 (just above a whisper) quite often to check the balance of the main elements... if your kick/snare/vox balance works clearly at that level, you're prtty much in the clear.
Yes , thx for this tips
The probleme I hope , It's when you don't have a Subwoofer, it's pretty difficult to be precise ,so you put the volume more strong and after ... you trash your ears ....
I'll maybe buy one

I can handle bass fine on my 6 inch monitors, it doesn't have to be extremely loud to hear if the bass comes through well either, I use other songs that I know have strong bass as a reference to see if mine is at the level I want it to be.
It might also be the monitors that you're using that give you more fatigue, you'll usually see in reviews that the cheaper monitors are more likely to introduce fatigue, whereas the pricier ones (Dynaudio for ex.) make long sessions more bearable.
Re: Level of your Monitor
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:25 pm
by ratbeat
MMmmm ....because I've Adam A8x , delivery at cut at 38hz

Cause my room haven't got good accoustic , the sound is better when I stay 2 meters more behind .
I think, I don't ear the low frequency proprely but there are presents , if I get a subwoofer , the probleme can be revolve because you can work with a little bit of volume ?