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Prompt
Bring a favorite CD into the studio and listen to it using the studio monitors. Connect the CD to the monitors via the mixer and patch bay. Listen to several tracks at a full, yet comfortable listening level. What is your impression of listening in this environment versus your usual listen setups (iPod, computer, car)? What did you notice about the mix that you didn't hear before? [minimum 100 words]
Response
Listening to a Johnny Lang CD, while comparing it to its MP3 counterpart, I was struck by the vast difference in clarity between the two. I was particularly surprised to discover that many aspects of the music were not purposefully distorted (such as the snare, the Bass guitar, and even his voice). It was also interesting to find out that several instruments within his music- which I thought were distorting due to bad speakers- were actually supposed to be distorting (which is relieving because several times I thought that I had permanently damaged my car speakers while listening to his CD). More than that, I noticed particular subtleties in the mix of which I had been previously ignorant. This included reverb, delay and stereo panning that had been added to particular instruments for particular songs (i.e., the snare drum for one song, a guitar for another, and vocal panning for yet another). This kind of a listening environment is far more conducive to the audio technician's ear than any other. I will never look at other kinds of audio environments with the same nonchalance as I have in the past, because they are so much worse than the studio environment.
