Topic by Alex_Fullam

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  • Alex_Fullam
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Topic: Sounds Bad On Speakers and Earbuds

Hello everyone, I am using Pianoteq stage to record some piano songs for Spotify and other streaming services. Pianoteq sounds amazing with headphones on, but once I unplug them and listen through my MacBook's speakers, it sounds fake, a bit "muffled" (not hearing as much note clarity), and standard-MIDI-like. I know it's not the speakers that sound bad because I listened to other piano songs on Spotify and they sound much better. I also tried it on my TV speakers that sound amazing with music, but of course not my Pianoteq music. I also noticed that it sounded a bit worse on my bluetooth earbuds as well, but that's a minor problem since it's not as bad and it could just be the earbuds.

How do I get Pianoteq Stage to sound more realistic when it's not in a headphone?

Thanks!

Last edited by Alex_Fullam (30-11-2022 21:53)

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Reply by TheodorN

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Re: Sounds Bad On Speakers and Earbuds

I have a similar problem, my amplified speakers are a bit heavy on the bass, so I need more treble. Then the sound becomes too piercing on headphones directly into the computer, or my Focusrite 2i4.

I don't know how to solve this, the same instrument with the same settings, can sound so different, depending on the device being listened on. If you have an iPhone, you could test how your rendered performances sound on it.

For publishing on Spotify, I assume most of the audience will be listening on their mobile phones, tablets (or MacBooks)? If you have some accurate headphones, maybe target the sound for those?

Reply by Alex_Fullam

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Re: Sounds Bad On Speakers and Earbuds

TheodorN wrote:

I have a similar problem, my amplified speakers are a bit heavy on the bass, so I need more treble. Then the sound becomes too piercing on headphones directly into the computer, or my Focusrite 2i4.

I don't know how to solve this, the same instrument with the same settings, can sound so different, depending on the device being listened on. If you have an iPhone, you could test how your rendered performances sound on it.

For publishing on Spotify, I assume most of the audience will be listening on their mobile phones, tablets (or MacBooks)? If you have some accurate headphones, maybe target the sound for those?

Thanks for the reply. Seems strange though, because other piano songs sound great on all devices while Pianoteq seems to be otherwise...

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Reply by molecular_orbital

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Re: Sounds Bad On Speakers and Earbuds

This is a mastering issue, maybe? I'm no mastering expert, but I know that when tracks are mastered they compare them on a variety of speakers. The finished track is some sort of middle ground that'll sound good on most consumer listening devices. I don't know what magic they pull, obviously some EQing and compression and such, but they make it so the track sounds good on most setups. If you take raw instruments they end up sounding bad on bad speakers, but really great and detailed on good speakers.

I've tried to record things with multiple instruments before. It sounded great in my headphones. Then I try in my car and it sounded totally different, and bad, because I have no idea how to master or EQ a track properly beyond some very basic things. But even a single instrument can have that issue.

Reply by yeq30

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Re: Sounds Bad On Speakers and Earbuds

Alex_Fullam wrote:

Hello everyone, I am using Pianoteq stage to record some piano songs for Spotify and other streaming services. Pianoteq sounds amazing with headphones on, but once I unplug them and listen through my MacBook's speakers, it sounds fake, a bit "muffled" (not hearing as much note clarity), and standard-MIDI-like. I know it's not the speakers that sound bad because I listened to other piano songs on Spotify and they sound much better. I also tried it on my TV speakers that sound amazing with music, but of course not my Pianoteq music. I also noticed that it sounded a bit worse on my bluetooth earbuds as well, but that's a minor problem since it's not as bad and it could just be the earbuds.

How do I get Pianoteq Stage to sound more realistic when it's not in a headphone?

Thanks!


I have the same problem - there just doesn't seem to be any way of getting pianoteq to sound clear and normal through speakers, it is always muffled. I've fiddled with settings for hours but it seems you just have a choice - loud/clearish and piercing or soft and muffled. Nothing else.

Reply by mikali

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Re: Sounds Bad On Speakers and Earbuds

Alex_Fullam wrote:

Hello everyone, I am using Pianoteq stage to record some piano songs for Spotify and other streaming services. Pianoteq sounds amazing with headphones on, but once I unplug them and listen through my MacBook's speakers, it sounds fake, a bit "muffled" (not hearing as much note clarity), and standard-MIDI-like. I know it's not the speakers that sound bad because I listened to other piano songs on Spotify and they sound much better. I also tried it on my TV speakers that sound amazing with music, but of course not my Pianoteq music. I also noticed that it sounded a bit worse on my bluetooth earbuds as well, but that's a minor problem since it's not as bad and it could just be the earbuds.

How do I get Pianoteq Stage to sound more realistic when it's not in a headphone?

Thanks!

I have had my best results by using headphones to record, but listening back on my target speakers to hone the sound. I don't like the Pianoteq effects so I turn them all off during this process.

I always change the Mic setting to Stereophonic, tweak the Volume, and especially the Dynamics sliders until I get the sound I want. I usually get the best results with turning the Volume up and the dynamics down a little until I have a good sound that works for the whole song without clipping. But ultimately it depends on the song.

Once I am happy with that I adjust the condition slider until the sound is less clinical and has the warmth of an acoustic piano. I then export my song as a WAV before importing the WAV into a DAW for EQ, reverb and mastering.

Last edited by mikali (01-11-2023 20:26)