MasterCheck

Mix & Master für den Hörer

MasterCheck ist die Komplettlösung, um Ihre Mixe auf heutige Standards hin zu überprüfen. Streaming Apps, Websites und Podcasts nutze alle Data Compression, Loudness Matching oder sogar beides. Diese Prozesse können Ihre Mixe beeinflussen und das in zahlreichen unangenehmen Arten: Ihr lauter und druckvoller Mix kann so leise und dünn klingen oder sogar clippen und kratzen.

MasterCheck demystifiziert Loudness Normalised Streaming Systeme, demonstriert die Effekte der Kompression und ermöglicht es Ihnen die Sweetspots zwischen Lautstärke und Dynamics zu finden.

Realtime Auditioning

Wie hören Leute Ihren Mix? Sie arbeiten hart, damit die Masters zuhause, im Auto und auf Kopfhörern gleich gut klingen, aber das ist nur halbe Miete. Wie klingt Ihr Mix auf Spotify, Apple Music oder Google Play? Wie sieht es mit YouTube, digitalem Radio oder Beatport aus?

• Sofortiger Check der Loudness Levels

• Optimieren Sie Ihre Master für Streaming

• Verhindern Sie Codec Distortion

• Minimieren Sie Codec Artefakte

• A/B References bei Matched Loudness

• Überprüfen Sie Audio Dynamics

Detaillierte Beschreibung in englischer Sprache:

Auditioning codecs

The major online music services and stores encode your music in various formats, often using different bit-rates depending on your device or account type.

Encoding “hot” mixes can often introduce True Peak overs that will clip on playback. MasterCheck will detect these errors, allowing you to stay within a safe limit.

• Ogg Vorbis

• FLAC

• Opus

• AAC-LC

• HE-AACv1 (AAC+)

• HE-AACv2 (DAB+)

Reference & comparison

Via 'External ref.', MasterCheck's accompanying 'SEND' plug-in allows you to compare your tracks to reference material in order to measure the differences in loudness, PLR and True Peak. If you wish, you can use the 'Offset to match' function to match your loudness to the reference audio for a direct comparison.

'Offset to match' can also be used to remove loudness from an FX chain. This can be a useful technique for evaluating the impact of signal processing, without being influenced by the 'feel good factor' of increased loudness which might have been introduced by other plug-ins.

For mastering

Playout services have a ‘letter box’ through which they deliver your audio. If you’re lucky it slides through, if not then the service will force it to fit. A heavily maximized master might win the loudness war on CD, but will be turned down on your streaming service. This leaves valuable headroom for transient detail & punch.

It is important to be aware of how true-peak clipping can cause downstream distortion in encoded audio. Hyper compression will result in audible 'fizzing' and loss of stereo definition, especially with lower quality codecs.

For mixing

With some recent updates to playout loudness levels, the main platforms now only differ by 3 LU from loudest to softest. Clearly there is no benefit in mixing louder than the loudest platform (at which point all platforms will be turning down your audio).

Some of this is primarily a concern for the mastering engineer, but if you over-compress your mix the mastering engineer has nowhere to go. If you compress above a platform's target level, transients lost cannot be regained at mastering.

Typical applications

• Preparing mix dynamics for mastering

• Mastering for digital music services

• Ensuring consistency and measuring contrast

• Producing audio to a loudness target

• Measuring dynamic content

• Avoiding downstream clipping

• Comparing dynamics with reference material

• Auditioning loudness matched FX chains

• Mastering for podcasts and digital radio