Play back through speakers vs headphones

[reefbeef]

Does anyone have any tips on mastering a recording to make it sound as good playing through speakers as it does playing through headphones?

I use AT Cardioids spaced earwidth apart with a 9V battery module, usually Line In at level 30 on an NH1 (hopefully an RH1 soon.) I think spacing the mics further apart would help, but this is not an option in stealth situations.

Thanks in advance...

[greenmachine]

For LS playback you usually want a more direct sound, less room reverberations, thus move the microphones closer to (and direct them more towards) the source when recording. As a result the sound will get more monotonic, which is not really an issue for LS playback though. You can either optimize your recording for LS or HP listening or try to find a compromise if you want both. A comprpmise is a compromise though.

[dex Otaku]

I use AT Cardioids spaced earwidth apart with a 9V battery module, usually Line In at level 30 on an NH1 (hopefully an RH1 soon.) I think spacing the mics further apart would help, but this is not an option in stealth situations.

Check out "Microphone University" at http://www.dpamicrophones.com/ . There are suggestions there on stereo techniques.

I'd say picking a specific technique and sticking to it, and subsequently mastering the recording on a decent pair of monitors [they be speakers] - EQing, &c. - would go a long way.

Expecting to get a perfect "sounds great on every system" recording without any editing, EQ, &c. is almost unreasonable.

Still, I think the best advice of all is to master for the medium - listen to your recording on speakers when mastering, and take it elsewhere to check it out on others' systems to see if they show any glaringly obvious faults that your own setup doesn't, and incorporate what you learn into your mastering process.

[DaikenTana]

All speakers sound different, especially when they're in different environments. Unless you have a good pair of studio monitors in a proper mastering room, you'll never get something that sounds perfect accross the globe.

Binaural recordings should always be listened to with earphones. This way the sound is injected straight into your eardrum, as opposed to being circulated around the entire ear.