I’ve just purchased the Abbey Road Studio 3 NX plugin. I usually reference my mixes inside my DAW by having the reference on a spare audio track (in Logic ProX).
Does anyone have any opinion on whether it is better to listen to the reference track with the NX plugin active on the master bus or better to disable it?
To me it would seem that listening to the reference track in the “same room” as my mix would make sense?
I wish someone has replied to this. I have the same query.
NX may well give a better real-world representation of your mix, it but it messes up how you use reference tracks.
With my Sennheiser headphones, NX reduces the bass whilst mixing, but when I bounce down without NX (as is required), it appears I’ve overadded bass to the new mix compared to references.
I wonder if NX might help only to be an occasional reference itself, used sporadically throughout the mixing process - just like car stereo, earbuds, iPhone, NS10s, etc.
I say if you’re listening to your mixes with it on, you should also listen to your reference tracks the same way. That way you put your references in the same context and see how they measure up in the same environment.
You can also try the same approach with NX off, see if it reveals anything significantly different about the mixes.
Ok, my NX problem has just got bigger! Can anyone help?
As I mentioned above, I’ve been naively using NX to mix…but not to reference. Now I have several queries/problems:
Most importantly, how can I undo the mess I’ve created by not using NX to reference? I have about 10 tracks, all (apparently) mixed. Would it work if I just bounced them down and included NX’s headphone EQ but not the spatial settings (you can turn them down/off)? Would this give me a real-world mix, and what I was aiming for? Would it ‘bake-in’ the NS settings?
Nearly as important: On one of tracks, I selected the wrong headphone model. 
How in heck’s name do I unravel that given the above? I can’t work out the logic/reasoning behind it. Simply selecting the correct model sounds wrong. Can I use Logic’s Match EQ to find the difference? Will this then have the right or the wrong EQ baked in? Do I then avoid using NX on this track? (It’s related to the above and my confusion.)
Least important is: how the heck does anyone get a reference track into their DAW? Someone has mentioned elsewhere something like reversing the polarity on my interface, crossing the beams and hey-presto, I can record the output. Is this really what everyone does, every time?
Why does this feel like one of those ‘Jack has ten apples on a Tuesday’ type of question…? 
Man, that’s quite a problem. Sad to say, I’m not confident this will work actually. But try it.
Firstly, do the mixes sound any better with NX engaged in the way you state. Be aware you are still listening in the same environment. So it may be best reviewing the results on other speakers in other rooms, or simply on the ear buds. Compare them with similar reference tracks to see how it all measures up.
Normally, I’d recommend doing another run on the mixes, doing things again would help to shape your mixing skills. However, if you are in a bind, and it does sound better it’s probably the simplest solution.
Match EQ might work, but to be honest, this might be the better solution all up. Sample a reference mix, then your current mix and use Match EQ to bridge the gap. In theory it should sound better, but you’ll need to do some reference comparing to make sure.
Buy the track or have the artist provide it, then it’s as simple as drag and drop. It’s only a few dollars for a track.
Adversely some interfaces do “loopback” you can do it that way or as other people are suggesting, send the music to one set of outputs, even if its the main out, then take those cables and pass it to the input, but make sure you’re not input/record monitoring as you’d create a feedback loop that may destroy your speakers, headphones or interface.
Late to the party but in case it helps someone in the future…
To use nx. I would have all tracks sent to a mix buss and put nx on the said mix buss. Have your reference tracks on a stereo track that is not routed to the mix bus.
Create a stereo master fader.
Now you can a/b the two via the master channel and hear your mix with nx and reference with out.
As for getting reference tracks in, I use my music streaming app to play the song on my phone and send it to my interface via a stereo splitter plug from my headphone jack.
One end of splitter cable has small size headphone jack then the cable splits to left and right rca jacks. (Like on a stereo or the back if some tvs.
You then need a couple of adapters to go from rca to the size of a guitar jack.
A splitter cable and the 2x adapters are a 10 dollar solution and I don’t notice any real difference from the sound quality from doing it this way compared to having an mp3 file or cd.
Of course all this is useless if you own an I Phone that doesn’t have a headphone jack.
Yes, my "mix’ doesn’t go directly to the main output buss. I have two auxes set up, one I treat as the Mixbuss, the other is a Bypass.
That way I can send all non mix related things through to the output without it being affected by the mastering process. References are a good example of that. Dialog and effects tracks would be another if you’re working with film.
In terms of different monitoring I tend to switch it from the drop down menu in Mac’s menu bar. Among them are the Mac’s speakers and also the TV via the network. No car checks, as that is such an 80s thing. Last I checked most teenagers don’t drive, so instead the favour earbuds which is what I prefer to use.
Besides, it’s all relative. As long as you have good reference tracks and your mix compares well to them then you’ll be fine.
Copyright © 2025 Waves Audio Ltd. All rights reserved. Contact Us | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy