Preferred monitors for mixing?

[Dave Stagner]

The lesson of the Yamaha NS-10 is that sometimes, “bad” sounding speakers can be good for mixing, because they emphasize problems. Pretty-sounding speakers may be more enjoyable, but they also gloss over the problems.

Long time ago, I picked up a pair of Tannoy DMT-12 midfields from a hip-hop studio that had gone out of business. They were my first “pro” speakers and sound amazing - but they didn’t mix well. They covered up the issues. They’re now my living room speakers, and do a terrific job with my vinyl setup.

These days, I’m using Focal Alphas, which are a nice balance of “tough but fair”. They don’t hide things, but they’re not so aggressive that they hurt the ears.

Mostly, though, I think what is most important is listening to LOTS of music on your mixing monitors. Put together a collection of commercial albums that have a sound you’d like to achieve, and use them for background listening. Warm up your ears with them before sitting down to mix (like warming up before working out). When you feel yourself tiring during a mix, take a break and listen to someone else’s fine work on the same speakers. It will remind you what things are supposed to sound like.