Searching for monitors

[Sweetnighter]

Okay, so I'm setting up my computer for recording purposes, and i need some help.

I'm set up with a pretty decent sound card for starting out, an E-mu 0404, and it comes with two 1/4" outs for stereo sound. So, I need some active monitors. From what I've researched, the Samson 50a and 65a monitors seem like they give the bang for the buck, although the 50a's would do well to go with a subwoofer. So, what do you have in your studio, and what do you suggest i get? I'm looking for something thats not too pricey but will serve me well down the road when i enhance my recording studio.

If I get a woofer with the monitors, will I have to have a third output too?

Also, what is the difference between a monitor out and a main out? I've never really understood this.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[sile2001]

If you're looking at something in the price range of the 65a's then I would suggest looking at the M-Audio BX5's instead. They're the same price as the 65a's, but with a flatter response and more adjustability for different acoustic environments.

Freqently, the setup with a woofer is thus: Main outs from audio interface go into the woofer. The woofer cuts out the low freqencies for itself, and then passes the remaining signal on out to the regular speakers.

The monitor vs. main thing can be a little confusing because it depends on who is listening to it. If you are in the control room of a studio, then the stereo main out goes to monitor speakers for mixing, etc. In this case you want the output you hear on the monitors to be the main output, the sum of everything.

Now in a live sound environment, the monitors are used by the performers onstage and are generally mono, not stereo. The monitor channels will have different mixes in them to make sure the performers hear what they need to hear. For instance, the lead singer may be much louder in the monitors than you would want them to sound out in the house (mains), so you put them on a monitor (or aux) channel.

Did all of that make any sense?

[Sweetnighter]

As to the monitor-main thing, yes thank you, that made perfect sense.

Now okay, for the monitors themselves. The 65a's are roughly, as i've seen them , about $300 for a set of two. Now, is there anything that I can get thats cheaper but still worthwhile? I mean I don't want to get monitors that give me a different studio sound than what actually comes out on the harddisk final copy. What did you start out with for monitors, out of curiosity?

[Bulls Hit]

The Wharfdale 80.2 Actives are very good value at around the same price.

Look for posts by Deepwater - he's a Wharfedale dealer & he'll ship directly to you.

That's where I got mine and they're sweet

[tollbooth]

hey there

the wharfdales are getting rave reviews in the UK at the price point (about £250 sterling) - one reviewer i trust a lot describes them as 'polite rather than revealing' but very few other faults at the price.

i used to swear by my Tannoy Reveals though i know thy are not to everyone's taste (awaits flaming) but they did five pretty good and accurate albums for me before i traded up to mackie hr624 (await further flame!).

i still use my tannoys in my edit room and they still feel like an old pal. they are the red passives, not the blue actives so you would need an amp to go with them, but i use an inexpensive but robust Samson Servo 170 and it's quite clean and quiet (and the flames just get higher!)

golden rule with any monitors - go listen to them at a decent music shop who will let you compare your choices. monitors get argued about more than most subjects, i guess because everyone's ears are a bit different and the music we all listen to on them is generally different - you need to hear them.

have fun

[Sweetnighter]

yeah, the wharfdales look good, thanks for the suggestion

is there anything worth getting under $250 thats still quality?

[Sweetnighter]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHMS16

These seem very cheap... does that go for the quality too? If you were starting and had a very limited budget, would you consider getting these, or not?

[manning1]

if you go through the posts in the mic or rack forums by HAN ,
he is very knowledgeable/experienced studio owner. he swears by a pair of spkrs he uses which cost 100 bucks if i remember. i think they use kef units maybe. sorry ive for gotten the brand. might have been "compact" .
just an idea.

[tollbooth]

yeah - it looks like these in your link are really designed as glorified PC/multimedia/gaming speakers rather than discriminating monitors as such. they have dynamic controls on them which isn't a great sign to be honest! this is just my feeling, but really, the lowest sort of active monitors you want to be looking at to get anything useful out of is something in the region of the Behringer Truths, KRKs, Events or the like in the £250 area - i guess that makes about $400 or so??

i guess the 'usual suspects' list for cheaper active monitors would be (and you'll need to check US pricing as this is based on the utterly inflated prices we would pay in the UK)

Behringer 2030A £200
Alesis Monitor One Active £250
Event TR5 £295
KRK Rokit RP5 £240
Samson Resolv 65 Active £230
Tapco s5 £275
Yamaha MSP5 £270
Tannoy Reveal Active £320

i know this is more than the behringers you sent the link for, but this is probably the sort of level you might want to think about to hear anything useful. monitoring is sadly the bit of home studios that gets overlooked as there are MUCH more sexy things to buy - but really, to make any decisions about what you are spending your time on, you need to be able to hear it properly!

no-one wants to hear about spending more money, but the sad fact is that without monitors you can actually work with and hear what's going on, you may be missing a lot. go to your local music shop and pester them to try lots of different ones - if they won't - change your music shop!!!!!!!

hope this helps and apologies again for the UK pricing.

hope you find something!

paul d

[distortedrumble]

i own the samson 65as. i like them but 5 weeks ago the power supply inside one of them blew and i needed to get it fixed....i just now got it back on friday. the monitors are good but if you need service then be prepared to take a long vacation cause you'll go crazy like i did.

[shortyc]

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp...ory=Monitoring

[JKestle]

I'll suggest Yorkville YSM1p active monitors.

It's a Canadian company, so you might have to put in an extra effort to find a dealer. Or you can order online.

Aprox $500 for the pair.

Check 'em out:
http://soundexchange2.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=590