just what we need - another monitor thread

[dobro]

The story: I went to the shop today and compared the Alesis M1 Actives and the Point Sevens. The Actives have got way more bottom end, and are more pleasant to listen to. Both the Actives and the Point Sevens seemed to pick out about as much detail. There's not a whole lot of difference in the price after adding the amp and cables to the price of the Point Sevens.

The situation: I'm recording acoustic music these days, but I expect future projects will have drums and bass.

The question: are either of these monitors just as good for both acoustic music and music with more bottom end?

The other question is for people who have the M1 Actives: does the full bass sound of the Actives ever fool you into thinking your mix has enough bass when actually it doesn't? Or do you just get so used to them that you know what to do to get the mix right?

[Fishmed]

The Point 7 monitors are crap... and so are the Monitor 1. Now the Monitor 2 and M1 sound very much the same and are decent monitors. You should not be fooling yourself about the low end with the M1, and yes you will have to adjust yourself to them, but it should not be that bad to get use to them. You can always get an EQ and RTA to flatten out your room.

[dobro]

Hoo! You're up early! I noticed the Point 7's don't exist in the Alesis 2000 catalogue... maybe they've come to share your opinion of them.

[Slackmaster2K]

Dobro...

Check EQ's Project Recording & Sound Product Guide 2000 (by EQ Magazine), May 31st 2000.

The M1's are reviewed...the reviewer ( Buddy Owsinski ) says:

"My first impression of the M1 was that any instrument with lots of natural high end (cymbals, percussion), when played back through the speaker, seemed well-defined, if not a bit on the bright side. Instruments with a lot of natural low end such as bass guitar and kick reproduced well off the bat - a little too well in fact. My feelings were confirmed as my mix ended up a bit dull sounding on the top and a bit light on the bottom."

But he goes on to conclude:

"At a retail of only $649 per pair, the M1 Actives give you a tremendous bang for the buck. Only a few years ago, it would have been unheard of to find a pair of powered monitors at this price, let alone ones that were fully biamped."

I stumbled upon this review cause it's right next to the review of the POD...and I'm trying to talk myself out of buying it. No such luck yet.

You can probably still find this magazine/catalog at the newstand near EQ Magazine. EQ kinda sucks but it can be interesting from time to time. The Project Recording guide is great, however, since it covers much of the gear that the "cool guys" are always talking about around here.

Slackmaster 2000

[dobro]

That's pretty much what Mix Online says too - they've got their weaknesses, but you're not going to get much better for that price.

I almost bought 'em the other day, then I got a burn on for more recording, but using a tube preamp and different mic position. I *really* like tracking. Or is this just an excuse? Me and the monitors, you and the pod... "Excuse me, sir, but do you find yourself being rather indecisive at times?"
"Gee, I dunno, hard to say."

Here's the link for the Mix Online reviews, although I suspect you've been there and done that.
http://www.mixonline.com/resources/resintro.cfm