Chapter 3
The Mastering Studio
A Critical Listening Environment
A professional mastering studio (Figure 3.1) represents a flat and uncolored critical listening environment designed to reproduce full-range audio. It must be purpose-designed and functionally dedicated to the playback, assessment, and processing of audio. The absence of frequency or imaging anomalies allows the Mastering Engineer to confidently make accurate audio adjustments. This also ensures that masters created in the mastering studio translate accurately (sound the same or similar on other systems as they did in the studio) to downstream playback systems ranging from ear buds or headphones to car stereos and high-end audiophile systems. This chapter examines essential components ...
