• Registered: 2019-05-01
  • Posts: 12

Topic: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

I have been trying to find the ideal speaker/seat position in my room to get the most even response and it turns out to be where the speakers are wide apart but I am sitting close to them

This means I get a very wide stereo field that draws attention to the speakers (almost like headphones).

I have used RME totalmix width control to narrow the stereo field and it seems to work really well to present a much nicer stereo presentation in front of me and widens the sweet spot too.

I'm just wondering if there are negatives to doing this for critical listening?

Does the processing degrade the sound?

How is it implemented?

Is it just cross talk?

Thanks!

  • vinark
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

Yes just crosstalk. So if it works for you it is good. Just check if that if you export a mix it will not have it baked in. You will need to check on another speaker system and headphones if your panning works there also without the extra totalmix panning..

Vincent, Amsterdam
https://soundcloud.com/thesecretworld
Babyface pro fs, HDSP9652+ADI-8AE, HDSP9632
  • Registered: 2019-05-01
  • Posts: 12

Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

vinark wrote:

Yes just crosstalk. So if it works for you it is good. Just check if that if you export a mix it will not have it baked in. You will need to check on another speaker system and headphones if your panning works there also without the extra totalmix panning..

Great thanks.

I write/mix in ableton and then just set the software playback width in totalmix for my master output. That way it won't be part of the export. If I had done it in ableton on master then it would be baked in unless I set up more complicated routing. I tried to set it on the hardware output channel in total mix but couldn't find a width control there - seems to have everything else including EQ.

I'll try and adjust the width value so that it more or less resembles my regular hifi width. Around 0.6 seems to be working well so far.

  • vinark
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

Great

Vincent, Amsterdam
https://soundcloud.com/thesecretworld
Babyface pro fs, HDSP9652+ADI-8AE, HDSP9632
  • cyrano
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

FWIW, I often do that too. Whenever I feel too close to the speakers, with a typical nearfield setup.

Maybe that's because I judge the quality of the setup by the ease the sound has to leave the speakers and just play in the room.

I'm trying 3d now. It's not easy. big_smile

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  • zwap
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

Sorry for my ignorance, but where is the "width Control" button in TotalMix? 

Except for setting up my Setup i barely touch Total mix.   

On my Output Channels in TM i see EQ and Settings, aswell a Mono and DIM button, but no stereo-width?

7 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2023-11-29 17:54:23)

  • ramses
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

zwap wrote:

Sorry for my ignorance, but where is the "width Control" button in TotalMix? 
Except for setting up my Setup i barely touch Total mix.

Press tool icon ... then another view of the channel expands on the right side with more controls.

BTW, why don't you look that up yourself in the manual?
Get Acrobat Reader or another PDF viewer.
Search for "width", best with the search option "whole word" enabled.
Then you have this information within seconds!

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
  • zwap
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

ramses wrote:
zwap wrote:

Press tool icon ... then another view of the channel expands on the right side with more controls.

BTW, why don't you look that up yourself in the manual?

Hi Ramses, yes i know the tool icon.  (as i wrote in my post that i can see than the EQ and the buttons)
the Image in the Manual looks different than what i see. No Width control button.

this how it looks on my screen -->

https://i.ibb.co/bHx3SST/TM.jpg

?

  • Jeff
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Re: How is totalmix width implemented? Is it bad to use all the time?

Width is only available on the stereo inputs and playback channels, not the hardware outputs.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

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