Mixing down to MP3 sounds worse than the original?

[BoneDigger]

So, I am working on a song in Studio One 4. The song as I have it set up in the DAW sounds great, but when I mix it down to MP3 it sounds worse. Any idea what could be the culprit? It sounds muddier.

[rick-slo]

Do you know about mp3 bit rates? I suggest using the highest one which is 320 kilobits per second and you will get a very good sound.

[keith.rogers]

Mix/bounce down to a non-lossy file format (WAV, AIFF) first, and then convert, to confirm the problem is in the MP3 step. But, as @rick-slo says, bouncing to 320kbps (stereo) should be very good quality. Maybe you are mixing too hot and the MP3 is being normalized so really altering the dynamics?

If I'm being a bit anal about it (not that frequent!), I'll bounce to AIFF in 24-bit (i.e., original bit depth) without any normalization/limiting. Then do that (aka "pseudo-mastering") in a separate project/alternative, and do the dithering to 16-bit at the same time. I can bounce that to non-lossy or MP3 without worry.

[MikeBmusic]

I do what Keith says ^^ Mix in 24 bit, render to stereo 24 bit, 'master' the 24 bit stereo in a separate 'project' and render to 16 bit WAV. Convert the 16 bit WAV to 320k MP3.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

So, I am working on a song in Studio One 4. The song as I have it set up in the DAW sounds great, but when I mix it down to MP3 it sounds worse. Any idea what could be the culprit? It sounds muddier.

First when you say "Mix it down to MP3" are you actually meaning to say when you "Export Mixdown" and choose Format as MP3 , that it sounds worse when played back ?

If so then did you notice that in Studio One the default MP3 bit rate is 64 kbps (no clue why) So if you didn't notice that , you have to click the Bitrate dropdown arrow to select a higher rate
And as Rick mentioned choose 320 to much closer to the original WAV file.

Shown here bottom left :






If you selected 320 and it still sounds bad then there might be a corruption in your studio one software in which case you might want to trash S1 and download it again

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

If so then did you notice that in Studio One the default MP3 bit rate is 64 kbps (no clue why)

I know nothing about that DAW but this seems like a good way to set up beginners for disappointment.

[Bob Womack]

Mixing down to MP3 sounds worse than the original?

I would take that as axiomatic. The MP3 format is classified as a "lossy" format. By design, it compresses file size by using an aural algorithm to remove any sound that it thinks won't be heard. The file size is adjustable from "small and horrible-sounding" to "large and reasonable-sounding" but something is always lost.

Bob

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I know nothing about that DAW but this seems like a good way to set up beginners for disappointment.

That's for sure! Having the default setting for mp3 mixdown/export at 64kbps is going to produce a noticeably low quality result. Given that anyone using a DAW is likely trying to produce quality recordings, wouldn't it make more sense to have the default setting be the highest quality, and allow the user to select a lower quality bit rate option if that compromise is needed to limit file size due to storage size restrictions or some other issue?

[BoneDigger]

Thanks everyone! That made a HUGE difference!!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

I do what Keith says ^^ Mix in 24 bit, render to stereo 24 bit, 'master' the 24 bit stereo in a separate 'project' and render to 16 bit WAV. Convert the 16 bit WAV to 320k MP3.

This is also what I do. With that formula, I can't hear any effect of the conversion to mp3.

- Glenn