are the samson rubicon monitors a bunch of hype?

[jugalo180]

i have a friend that has purchased a pair of Rubicon monitors because the sales person at the guitar center or some other store in Atlanta said that they were the truest sounding monitors out right now. the guy said that they are only cheap because people have not figured out the value of these monitors yet. i was told that the guy also went on to talk about the ribon technology. a little common sense tells me that if these monitors could play with the big boys that they would have big boy prices and advertisement.


i've read on this forum that the monitors are great, but this comes from people who are looking for the best monitors under $500.00. i want to know how these puppies compare to the higher end stuff like the hr824's. if anyone has experience with mid level to high end monitors ($1100.00 US and up) and have listened to these monitors could you please give me your opinion of the rubicons?

[jonnyc]

I've owned cheapo monitor and nice ones and you'll instantly tell the difference. But all I really wanted to say was IMO the last sentence of your first paragraph is what you should go by. However that doesn't mean they'll totally suck, did you listen to them?

[fernandoesmaron]

did post it in rubicon - anf topic too. I couldn´t hear them until now but all i read about them are really good. 2 german magazines compare them with adam p11 and their conclusion is that the rubicons are not so far behind them. in sos and musictechmag reviews they get really good results and userreviews are quite positive too. I have to hear them too but my opinion before ist that they have to be good budged monitors. one salesman didn´t like the very light bass / low end of r6a but i couldn´t read anythink about this in the reviews. I don´t trust the salesman.

[jugalo180]

Originally Posted by jonnyc

I've owned cheapo monitor and nice ones and you'll instantly tell the difference. But all I really wanted to say was IMO the last sentence of your first paragraph is what you should go by. However that doesn't mean they'll totally suck, did you listen to them?

thanks for the reply. no, i haven't listened to them yet. they don't carry them in the guitar center here in Baltimore. yeah, I would imagine that these guys aren't in it for the charity, if they had some cutting edge technology it would seem natural for them to push it to the frontline and raise thier stock.

Originally Posted by fernandoesmaron

did post it in rubicon - anf topic too. I couldn´t hear them until now but all i read about them are really good. 2 german magazines compare them with adam p11 and their conclusion is that the rubicons are not so far behind them. in sos and musictechmag reviews they get really good results and userreviews are quite positive too. I have to hear them too but my opinion before ist that they have to be good budged monitors. one salesman didn´t like the very light bass / low end of r6a but i couldn´t read anythink about this in the reviews. I don´t trust the salesman.

i understand what you mean, the salesman usually concentrates on the sale and not the consumer satisfactory part of selling.

[fernandoesmaron]

did spoke today with an friend who did hear and test them.

He like their high and midrange but find their low end not enough. Their is a need for an sub or a second pair monitors with "lower" end.

He is an pro musikproducer since around 10 years. And i trust him.

[scarboro78]

Originally Posted by fernandoesmaron

did spoke today with an friend who did hear and test them.

He like their high and midrange but find their low end not enough. Their is a need for an sub or a second pair monitors with "lower" end.

He is an pro musikproducer since around 10 years. And i trust him.

My boys have them in their studio and I found the bass response to be very honest.. What i mean by that is that I played a track I produced which I knew was very Bass Heavy and the monitors reacted with some light rattling..... which is a good thing! I hate monitors where the bass sounds tooo good, if you know what I mean.

All in all I found them to be surpisingly decent.. which is funny cus I was cracking up when they told me they bought Samson monitors.. lol

[jugalo180]

Originally Posted by scarboro78

My boys have them in their studio and I found the bass response to be very honest.. What i mean by that is that I played a track I produced which I knew was very Bass Heavy and the monitors reacted with some light rattling..... which is a good thing! I hate monitors where the bass sounds tooo good, if you know what I mean.

All in all I found them to be surpisingly decent.. which is funny cus I was cracking up when they told me they bought Samson monitors.. lol

so they can be considered decent but not damn good? I mean every post that i have read with someone commenting about Mackier Hr824's they pretty much praise them. what i'm really trying to get at is the comparison of these things to higher end monitors. does the ribbon technology make these things superior to the mackies, krk's.....? me and my buddy are both novices, but i wasn't as easily convinced as he is about those monitors being the next big thing out and also that they a %100 true sound due to the ribbon technology.

[ssscientist]

Why not buy a pair of the Rubicon's from a place that has a return policy and make up your own mind?

I own some KRK's, I work in studios that have the Mackie's and one that has Adam's. I don't consider any one of these speakers 'better' necessarily and I've got accustomed to bringing a few of my favorite CD's along and letting them play while I'm setting up. I think of the differences in monitors as being almost like the decor - from plants to paint on the walls to the mixing board itself it all differs from one studio to another. I might feel more comfortable working in some rooms, but may get slightly better results out of another. It doesn't have much to do with the monitors alone, although they do factor in.

And what you hear here as an unqualified 'best' may not be right for the room you are going to install them in. You are new to recording and your room probably doesn't have a lot of acoustic treatment, which means the Mackie's would probably be a waste and you should stick to smaller nearfields.

[BabyGrand06]

Hey, Im new round these parts, but I think I can help. I picked up a pair of the R5a's last month. For me this was an upgrade, and the price was defenatley right. Im pretty tuned to them now as its been 30 days and I pretty much work around the clock. As compared to when I was in a store soundchecking them, alongside 18 other models with 10 second samples flipping back and forth with such minute diffrence. However, I still couldnt tell you wheather they sound good or bad. On the other hand, my buddy comes by once in a while and I always refrence from his car stereo because its totally hooked up. He came by last night and I played a mix that sounded amazing in the studio. Well you guessed it, it sounded like S@#t in the car. We spent the next four hours using the r5a's as the headquarter and his car as the refrence, till it sounded great on his stereo. As for the amazing studio mix (once we had it sounding good in the car), you guessed it right. Terrible. Heres the long and short of it, I stop by a diffrent friends house later that evening, pop the same mix in his home stereo and it was awsome. I couldnt believe it. So now I know, as long as it sounds like crap in the studio, I got a hit! Anyway, They are built Extremely solid, and the're not trying to hard to pull the eyes attention, which makes them look even more badass.
*note that the car stereo was built for extremely loud bass levels. Two Separate powered 12" subs, and no addtional power for the high or mid. if that make any diffrence.

[jugalo180]

thanks for the good replys. to clear things up, i haven't any intentions on buying these monitors, it's just that i fear a buddy of mine has been led into believing he has the best thing out right now, and the only reason he got a good deal on them is because, "the technology is new and the professionals have not caught on yet" says the salesman.

[COOLCAT]

you have to love salesmen, its a tuff life bllshtting.

their creativity and convincing people its "so new! no ones caught on yet.."

a Ribbon Tweeter?new? thats great..funny.geez.

it amazing really. and it will probably always work as long as we're humans. the Hype...we fall for it. or most of us do at times.

i had neighbors once that bought a new car and were sooo excited saying the deal was SO GOOD!!
THE DEALER LOST MONEY!!!

[scarboro78]

Originally Posted by BabyGrand06

So now I know, as long as it sounds like crap in the studio, I got a hit!

You know that's pretty funny.. Reminds me of my Event TR8's.. because it's very difficult to get a decent sound out of those.. and what I mean by decent is no popping, rattling, etc. But when I get something halfway decent out of those things, they sound beautiful on other systems. I guess it's all about getting used to your monitors. Also, a second pair for referencing helped me alot too (Event Tria's).

[strebor24]

Just to let you guys know, ribbon technology is not new.

Developed in Europe just after the first world war ribbon speakers came to full maturity in 1976 with the development of the T1 ribbon speaker by Dick Sequerra and have been used in HiFi applications for years. Plagued with their own problems as much as 'Dynamic' drivers there is no reason why the Samsons should be any better than monitors employing dynamic tweeters.

A ribbon speaker is just like a ribbon microphone only working in reverse.

[dxl]

i like the new samson alot!
not enough lowend?? donno about that... where were the speakers setup?
in the middle of the room standing alone?
anyway i find them to have plently of bass maybe not low enough but more mid bass then evetstudio speakers
just go try it urself, at that price many stores should have one~
i use 824 and ysm1p by the way

[ssscientist]

Originally Posted by strebor24

Just to let you guys know, ribbon technology is not new.

Hmmmmm.

I'm trying to come up with an appropriate reply...

Maybe I'll just leave it at this --- nobody said ribbon technology was new anywhere in this thread.

Idiot.

[fernandoesmaron]

Originally Posted by scarboro78

My boys have them in their studio and I found the bass response to be very honest.. What i mean by that is that I played a track I produced which I knew was very Bass Heavy and the monitors reacted with some light rattling..... which is a good thing! I hate monitors where the bass sounds tooo good, if you know what I mean.

All in all I found them to be surpisingly decent.. which is funny cus I was cracking up when they told me they bought Samson monitors.. lol

i have to hear them. That was his opinion and he recommended me the rubicons 6 months ago but i didnt understand him right ( didnt know the rubicons ) and thought that he recomment me the resolves ( which i didnt liked ) and bought a pair of active 8.2 wharfe´s ( money was a problem too.).

But now i am really thinking about selling the wharfedales and get the rubicons cause i need MORE ANALYTICAL SOUND !

did someone compare 8.2 vs rubicon R6A ? Is the rubicon "more" analytical ?

[BabyGrand06]

Another cool feature is adjustable Highs on the ribbons.

-2db 0db +2db +4 db

I usually keep'em at zero..but I like to have the option none the less.