After trying the diffusion techniques described in the previous article, re‑test your room by listening to songs you already know. Consider making a compilation of short sections of professionally mixed songs that exhibit exemplary production standards. Try tweaking the placement of your monitors to find a position that provides even response throughout the audio spectrum. By sitting closer to the speakers, you will hear more of the direct sound.

A Note About System Levels
When monitoring at loud levels, our ears can easily perceive the extreme high and low frequencies in the mix. However, when the mix is played back at lower levels, our ears are much less sensitive to these frequencies. As a result, the mix sounds different when played loudly.

Although it can be tempting to crank your monitors, always remember that exposure to high sound pressure levels can be damaging to your hearing. Try to limit your monitoring output to between 75–90dB SPL. A good rule of thumb is that if you have to shout to communicate in a room, you’re monitoring too loudly.

Conclusions
As you can see, there are many factors involved when preparing an environment for reference monitoring. The entire process can be summarized in the following steps:

• Select the reference monitors that are best for your needs.
• Determine the optimal listening position in your studio.
• Set up your monitor placement according to the directions published in this guide.
• Identify surfaces in the room that are causing unwanted reflections.
• Treat those areas with acoustical foam or other absorptive materials.
• Use bass traps to tune the low-end response of your room.
• Use diffusers to redirect reflections away from the central listening position.
• Test your monitoring system, making any necessary adjustments.

Ultimately, your ears are your most important monitoring equipment. If you know your room well (including limitations and imperfections), you can create mixes that translate well across a broad range of systems.

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