My mix sounded boxy for 2 years, turns out it was my speaker placement

I built my shed studio back in 2021 and just assumed pushing the monitors flush against the wall was fine. Last month I borrowed a measurement mic from a buddy in Austin and saw a huge dip around 150Hz. I moved the speakers 14 inches off the wall and angled them toward my ears instead of straight ahead, and suddenly my bass guitar parts actually sit where they should in the track. Has anyone else had a cheap measurement setup completely change how they treat their room, or did you just trust your ears the whole time?

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derekwalker2d ago

Fourteen inches off the wall made that much difference? I spent two years blaming my bass player for muddiness before I found a 120Hz null in my garage. I had my speakers aimed straight ahead like they were parked in a garage, not pointed at my ears. My cheap setup was a $60 handheld SPL meter and a test tone CD, but it did the trick. Still feels wrong that a foot of air space fixes what I thought was a mixing skill problem.