Hello, could you please tell me what is the right amount of dB to listen a dance music track (e.g. Hip-hop, Rnb) while you’re mastering it?
How much loud do you have to listen it, but not to damage your ears?
Thank you!
There is no correct answer. Different Music, Listening environments etc… that said, listening at lower levels is prefered since “everything sounds better loud” but tooo low and impedance can also alter the sound levels…also, mastering your own stuff is also not recommended.
So basically … Yes, no and sometimes blue. lol
For movies an TV there are specific monitor levels, not so for music, most pros use a comfortable playback volume and check mixes on multiple speaker sets at differing volumes. The goal being to make it sound good on all
Streaming services specify and/or re-encode submission files to a loudness of -14 LUFS (integrated) … not to be confused with dBFS
I have always heard that the rule of thumb for mixing and mastering is mainly working at conversation level. You do have to check the mix/master loud and soft, but I usually monitor at a pretty low level so that I don’t blow my ears out. When I check it loud it is usually for a short amount of time and is usually at the very end of the process. Most of the time I am at a level that I could have a conversation while the track is playing. I have found that there is a lot more detail at this volume. I have some room treatment. I have all of the corners and first reflections covered. I’m not sure if that is what makes the louder volumes less detailed. I have some more stuff on order. I’m not really sure really quite is going to matter much for mastering, it does wonders for mixing.
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