Mix translation has become even more of a moving target than ever, now that music is consumed on earbuds, headphones, iPhones, in cars, and desktop computer speakers—but rarely on large stereo speakers. Mix engineers are aware that they should probably mix on earbuds and tiny speakers, but who can spend hours listening to a mix played back on speakers the size of a nickel? At the end of the day, due to the limitations of current playback media, you hear music in mono far more than you think. For example, music from streaming services isn’t always played back in true stereo. Music piped into an elevator, supermarket, doctor’s office, shopping mall, PA system, or theme park is heard in mono. If only there was an easy way to reference a mix in mono and anticipate how playback will sound in these myriad environments. There is, it’s called Panipulator 2 and it’s a free gift from Boz.

Panipulator 3—Just the Facts:

Simple, streamlined user interface

Check the mono compatibility of mixes

Identify problems in the stereo field

Hear what your mixes will sound like in imperfect playback media

Use correctively or creatively

Flip phase on left and right speakers individually

Isolate speakers in mono, in and out of phase

Flip the stereo field to assess differences in speaker playback

Listen in "LoFi” mode

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