Editing Mastering (audio) (section)

===Aspects of their work===
Most mastering engineer accolades are given for their ability to make a mix consistent with respect to subjective factors based on the perception of listeners, regardless of their playback systems and the environment. This is a difficult task due to the varieties of systems now available and the effect it has on the apparent qualitative attributes of the [[Sound recording and reproduction|recording]]. For instance, a recording that sounds great on one [[Loudspeaker|speaker]]/[[amplifier]] combination playing CD audio, may sound drastically different on a computer-based system playing back a low-[[bitrate]] [[MP3]]. Some engineers maintain that the main mastering engineer's task is to improve upon playback systems translations while the position of others is to make a sonic impact.<ref name="edward_vinatea">{{cite web |url=http://musicmasteringonline.com/understanding-mastering/ |title=Understanding Mastering |last=Vinatea |first=Edward |date=24 April 2010 |website=The Directory of Mastering Studios |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref>

Prolonged periods of listening to improperly mastered recordings usually leads to hearing fatigue that ultimately takes the pleasure out of the listening experience.<ref name="stylusmagazine"> {{cite magazine |last=Southall |first=Nick |date=1 May 2006 |title=Imperfect Sound Forever |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/imperfect-sound-forever.htm |magazine=Stylus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203075701/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/imperfect-sound-forever.htm |archive-date=3 December 2017 |access-date=2 February 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>