Working Audio Tools: Live sound and audio science with Audio University's Kyle Mathias

June 17, 2023·58 min·5 clips

Kyle Mathias from Audio University reveals why knowing audio fundamentals matters more than any specific gear or technique.

Kyle arrives as the useful kind of audio geek. Ed gives him a wide runway through Audio University territory, from mic level versus line level to open-back headphones, speaker safety, PA setup, and monitor positioning. The talk stays in the workshop. Room treatment can turn into a gear flex fast, but Kyle keeps it smaller and more useful: place the monitors sensibly, deal with first reflections, and try affordable correction if the room needs help. No room is perfect. That is the bit the whole conversation keeps circling, because waiting for a completely flat room can become a tidy excuse to avoid mixing. Ed brings the bass-trap argument down to earth. He talks about getting pushback for using foam in corners, especially after calling those pieces bass traps when they mostly affect higher frequencies. Kyle has opinions, but he is not showing off. He says he does not have bass traps in his own corners because he cannot afford them, which makes the advice feel lived in instead of glossy. The headphone-heavy workflow matters too. Ed mostly mixes on headphones, so he is trying to reduce reverb time and gain practical control, not pretend every corner treatment has to fix deep bass. Paul stays close to the studio-building reality as well. His Atmos room turns into part of the banter, but the technical thread keeps coming back to what helps people hear their choices better. Kyle pushes back on magic bullet thinking. A cheap interface, better setup habits, and trained ears can still get someone closer to the music they want to make. Plugins are not the whole answer. Neither is one YouTube video, one purchase, or the perfect room that never quite gets built. Skill still takes time. The nice part is that it does not come off stern. It sounds more like permission to start, keep practicing, and improve the room when money and need line up.

As heard by us

Kyle Mathias keeps audio science practical, with room treatment and gear talk framed around starting now instead of chasing perfect conditions.

Working Audio Tools brings Audio University's Kyle Mathias into a relaxed, practical conversation about audio theory without turning it into homework.

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Why you'd press play

You want cleaner answers on your room, your rig, and your next upgrade.

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