And another Monitor Question

[Fyre]

ok as most of yall might kno im a college student.... mind you i do stay in an apartment..... but all that means is that a have a 8 by 11 box to cram all my stuff in......

here go my questions....
1)would it be very smart to get 8" monitors and put them in such a small room....
2)would some small 4" to 5" monitors make a big change over the computer speakers I use now..
3)is there any kind of treatment I could possibly do to my room to make it sound better.....

If yall need anymore info ill try to give it.....

[definitesupreme]

i too am a college student... i got a small apartment as well and ive been planning on getting some 8" studio monitors pretty soon.. seen some on craigslist for pretty cheap.

[Fyre]

im thinking about going wit the KRK RP6 or the Event TR6 or ALP6 i dont know the difference in the events tho besides the $30 price difference which really isn't anything

[Fyre]

and as an addon to this question what would i do to be able to switch between monitors and headphones.... seeing as studio monitors dont have headphone outs that i kno of.... i'd need to be able to switch between the two for all my vocal work... and late night beat making sessions

[definitesupreme]

just plug the headphones into your preamp or pc or whatever you be using

[Botinok]

get something like a presonus hp4..or any other headphone amp..they are pretty cheap..i got the HP4 and it has 4 1/4 headphone jacks, a monitor mute button and a mono button..hope that helps

cheers

[Fyre]

so i'd route my monitors into the HP4 and the headphones..... the go from the HP4 to the outs on my soundcard?...... i got the emu 0404 so i cant really plug headphones str8 into it and the headphone jack on my pc are for the stock soundcard

[Botinok]

alright well, the hp4 has two 1/4" outputs, that are supposed to go to two seperate 1/4" inputs on your soundcard...since you have a stock soundcard with 1/8" jacks, you would probably want to get a split wire (two 1/4" to one 1/4") and then a converter from 1/4" to 1/8"...i think thats how i had it before i got my delta..but im not 100% sure so you would want to double check that...my best advice..go to your local guitar center or sam ash..and ask them...they know this much better then i do..and they will for sure tell you a solution...

...but thats the general idea...^^

[mentalattica]

Yeah just get a headphone amp, unless you have a mixer now. The hp4 is just fine. Behringer has some rack unit headphone amps that work well also.

Also right now 8" will work against you for a number of reasons. If your in a dorm it's probably safe to say save your money until you have a better recording/mixing enviornment. Without your room being acoustically treated, you will hear "a" difference when you upgrade to monitors, but you might not hear "the" difference. The 8's will most likely have a lot of low end response that will 'deafen' you by the bass build up and reflections in your room. If your able to treat your room though, they won't be as big of a problem.

There are some monitors that are too big for rooms, my RP8's are a perfect example. Since I moved back home I have a 10x12 (somewhere in that ball park) bedroom that I use and even though its acoustically treated the monitors still are too big for the room which is why I have 3 sets of monitors now so I can A-B-C the mixes lol. 4" 5" and 8" woofers. The 4 and 5's suit me best, so I would reccomend the same for you. Don't think just because of the 4" woofers the monitors are weak, I've heard a couple pair of 4's that sound better than any of my monitors. Genelecs (I have to ask my boy what the model is but they ran him $850), and the KRK V4's.

Any monitors will be an upgrade from your desktop speakers though, and the DX4's aren't bad beginner monitors they have a headphone output too so you wouldn't need a headphone amp. The original BX5 & 8's can be found inexpensive too, they are good entry level monitors. The original 5's lack a bit in the low end though and can be a little harsh but not to the point that it's an annoyance (to me atleast).

[Fyre]

i do have another soundcard its the EMU 0404 with 2 1/4" ins and outs..... ill more then likely get some 5 or 6 in monitors and a nice headphone amp.... thank for the help

either that or ill get some 5" and the M-audio DX4's latter down the road so i can check my mixes on both sets...

[Botinok]

i got a pair of BX8's and i love them.....they are an 8" but they dont have a very strong low end IMO so it should work in your room, plus there are different configuration you can choose from on the back

[definitesupreme]

im thinkin of pickin up the bx8s... how you like em?

[Botinok]

great, mind you i have the bx8's NOT the bx8a's which are a couple hundred more...no but i love these monitors (again not that i have much to compare to)

[mentalattica]

Def.
The original bx8 are pretty good. I like them better than the 8a's if that helps any. But if your mixing area is not acoustically treated, invest in that first. A lot of people overlook that and jump right into getting gear, the most important thing is being able to hear what your doing accurately. The best gear will sound like sh*t in a sh*tty room.

[definitesupreme]

thanks for that heads up fam.

about to turn my damn apartment bedroom into a studio watch hahaha

[Botinok]

i dont know..iv heard a lot if people say that..but my room is not accustically treated at all...although it IS fairly large..and i get good results for what i do..im sure it would sound better with treatment..but i think people make it out to be more important then it is..if youve got the talent and the ears....

[Fyre]

hopefully ill be able to get something soon... ill let u all kno wat i get i just gotta save up for now

[mentalattica]

Originally Posted by Botinok

i dont know..iv heard a lot if people say that..but my room is not accustically treated at all...although it IS fairly large..and i get good results for what i do..im sure it would sound better with treatment..but i think people make it out to be more important then it is..if youve got the talent and the ears....

Your can have most talent and the best ears in the world but if your not hearing correctly they are no good. With an untreated room you have bass build up, all kinds of reflections from so many different angles, and most home recorders have their monitors close to a wall for space purposes and not aligned correctly, which are both not ideal. I'm not saying you can't get results with an untreated room but it is definitely not less important than people make it out to be. For basic home recording that isn't constructed for a commercial release, but more just for rehersal purposes/pre-production or to let friends hear your sh*t, the room may not be a big of a issue as it seems.

Try to mix in a properly treated room, with proper monitor placement and I'm positive you'll see just how important it is.