A good mix engineer is able to use their setup to get a good mix that translates to as many different listening systems as well as possible. When mixing, the engineer uses accurate speakers in a well treated room. So in that scenario, a mix for one should surely be pretty much the same as a mix for the other? On the other hand, if a mix is done to minimise the negative effects of lower bitrates and cheap buds, would that not be detrimental to reproduction through high-end equipment as owned by those who care most about sound quality? see more Of course, the manufacturers of high-end gear, whether speakers or earphones/ headphones go to a lot of effort to make the means of reproduction as transparent as possible, to have as little effect on the source material as they can manage. That is why I particularly picked up on the Buds vs Speakers bit - whatever format the mix is being done for, the mixer cannot know what the end-listener will use for playback. I can very much get doing different mixes for limited release say to radio stations, and a different mix for MP3 or streaming than for CD (though I would suggest that sound quality is probably not the highest priority for someone streaming or using MP3, despite the audiophile mags having no choice but to cover such a massive section of the market!)

Well, the first line of that comment sort of backs up what I am saying: How does the person mixing the CD know if it will be played on good headphones in a quiet room, or over the radio, and if so, what type of radio - AM? FM? DAB?

Nolly fabfilter saturn