Checking Balances at Low Volumes

And no, I don’t mean checking your bank balance, hehe – I mean checking the balance of the mix of the various voices and music in the podcast episode that you’re mixing.

Listening at low volumes is a great way to hear the relative levels in your mix. Part of the reason is because at low volumes, the combination of the speakers and your ears tend to emphasize the midrange frequencies, or more accurately stated, the combination of the speakers and your ears tend to not represent the high and low frequencies as well as the midrange.

I usually do this near the end of my mixing process: After I process and balance all the elements of the mix at a normal volume listening level, I’ll turn down the volume to almost nothing and listen carefully for a short time. If one voice is substantially louder than another at this volume, then I’ll adjust its volume slightly and then check the mix again at regular listening volume. Same for the level of the music.

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