When I listen to tracks I've made or have been working on, on different devices and when using different headphones there's mild differences in the sound. However, when I play something on a stereo the EQ and audibility of different sounds & frequencies change dramatically. I haven't taken the time to actually write down notes so all I've been able to do so far is go back into tracks, make sure the quiet instruments/sounds are louder and the loud instruments are quieter, and I've tried to stay within the 'yellow' decibel ranges as I've noticed that some of my tracks are noticeably quieter than the radio. What db range should I shoot for, how do I prepare something for stereo before I even play it? I'm already aware of some music theory concepts such as high-pitched sounds having more energy and lower-pitched vice versa, but putting that into practice feels difficult beyond what I simply hear through the earbuds, headphones, and stereo.
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The same thing is going to happen no matter what you use. If you move your speakers to different parts of the room, you'll notice it always sounds different. I have a modestly treated room with nice monitors, and the best placement I was able to find still has a really annoying exaggerated resonance around 135 hz. Every headphone and speaker is going to have different frequency responses, and room speakers are going to bounce everywhere and create weird resonances to some degree.
There are also many factors to making a mix "clear" and they mostly have to do with the way your track and sounds are designed in the first place.
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Here are some common mistakes and problems.
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- The Kick and the Bass are not playing nice with each other.
- Using too much saturation, distortion, or compression.
- Using too many effects, especially Reverb and Delays, as these eat up freq space.
- Too many patterns, or busy patterns that don't compliment each other.
- Using up all the mix space with big, uncontrolled EDM walls of sound.
- Either the notes you're using or the synth sounds you have are competing for the same space.
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Try to build a mix with good headroom that isn't too compressed. Even if it's quiet, it's super easy to just add the loudness later. It will sound kind of weak before you do, but that's okay since it'll give speakers more room to breathe. The amount of times I hit play on the charts, and these obnoxious compressed walls of treble rape my ears are innumerable. Don't be that guy.
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Also, take into account that online platforms like YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, etc. apply level normalisation to their sound. If you upload material that is too loud, its level will be pulled down significantly, potentially making it quieter that other music in the same platform. Here's an excellent demonstration of how to master for online platforms: (link is only visible to registered users)
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Starting by making sure that your source sounds coming into the mixer are not too loud is great. That's part of what gain staging is about and I personally like to keep all my signals peaking around -18 dB. Next it's advisable to use one or more professionally produced reference tracks. Try to match their levels and EQ as they sound in your listening environment. For the mix itself (before mastering), my trick is to listen to it in the worst possible conditions. I add a short chain between the mixer output and the StereoOutput device consisting on a Panorama device that folds it into mono and a Slope pedal set to band-pass mode, centred around 1 KHz with maximum bandwidth and no resonance. It makes the mix sound like it's coming though a telephone. Then start adjusting levels and EQ until I can hear everything clearly. Cut every frequency you don't need for clarity. If a low frequency sound disappears completely, add distortion and EQ it so that at least it can be "felt". If a stereo sound becomes muddy (phase problems, very noticeable in mono), edit the parameters (detuning, delay, etc.) until it sounds clear. Most mixes break down in different listening devices/environments because the mids aren't well mixed. This method makes sure that you have a solid mid band. When you return to full frequency spectrum and stereo, your mix should be clear, well separated and have the impression of being loud, even if you listen at a low volume. Another trick I like, which helps specifically with balancing the sounds' levels, is to listen to your mix from outside your room. Try to determine if you still hear every sound and if any one is too dominant or too weak. Sometimes you won't get a perfect mix in every device (from big speakers to earbuds). Then you have to hit a compromise and adjust something in between both.
The Recording Revolution recently published a video that is relevant to your question. You might want to check it out: (link is only visible to registered users) I'd personally add an additional step to his 4 steps to check your mid-range (for example, everything around 1 kHz). In my experience, mixes with a well balanced mid-range will translate very well to any listening environment.