Home Audiophile Speakers for Mixing

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

Relative Recording Newbie here with a newly minted ~500 sf rehearsal/recording space.

As a vinyl collector and thrift-shop audiophile, I've accumulated these speakers: B&W DM6 (known as "the pregnant penguins" from the '70s), Thiel CS3.5, DCM Time Windows. I'm not including the Cerwin Vegas, as I already only listen to stuff that goes well with hyped bass.

Not really buying any more gear until I pay off the sheetrock and the FW interface, so I'll be using these to listen to my mixes.

Any adivce on using these? Will the line out from my firepod work with my home audio amplifier? (the -10 dB/+4 dB thing...)

Is it practical to do rough mixes with some Bose Roommates (powered stereo) as near fields, and slide the chair back into the room to then listen to the mix thru the big boxes? The room is such that the mixing desk must be in a place that is not ideal for listening to the big speakers.

Thanks!

[SRR]

No hi's no low's must be bose. I would force myself to use the B&W's over the others except maybe the Thiel's, where they (the Thiels) are newer.

Bose are good enuff for checking what a standard car system might sound like, that model I don't think even has a tweeter, so anything above 10KHz is gonna suck and be very beamy, and there isn't gonna be much of anything below 140Hz out of those things. And they are far from flat. There is only so much a 4inch driver can do, which IIRC is what is in those boxes.

Any adivce on using these? Will the line out from my firepod work with my home audio amplifier? (the -10 dB/+4 dB thing...)

If you can set the output to -10dB do that. Or just make sure you reduce the volume out put.

[Massive Master]

If the room is reasonably well treated in the low end, I'd consider it a terrible waste not to try them.

Maybe not the Bose...

Seriously though - I'd be fairly surprised if you couldn't pull off effective mixes on either of those - as long as the room can handle them.

[SouthSIDE Glen]

The Time Windows are a fantastic speaker (if they are still in good condition, I might try talking you into selling them ). I'm not sure of their applicability to mixing, however, as the are designed to play around with the stereo sound field a bit. Their imaging, while quite pleasing, is not accurate; they are not desined to be.

But as long as you got em you might as well try them out. Who knows, maybe you'll find them easier to translate than they should be on paper.

Or maybe you just want to send them to me

G.

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

Yeah. You know, I got the Time Windows in Mint Mint Mint condition from an old guy for $35. Craigslist Rules.

Problem was he knocked one over onto the carpet while moving them out for me while I was there. I'm pretty sure it's ok, but there's a teeny crumple on the top now...

And the boses are definitely not ones that I would consider doing any real mixing on, but they'll be on my desk for quick reference while I track, since I will have to roll the chair back to really hear the bigger speakers.

Has anyone tried this kind of theing, where you must move away from your mixing desk to really hear yer speakers, and then back to make tweaks? Were you able to get anything done?

Please help me rationalize this so I do not come down with monitor G.A.S.!

Edit: MAassive, I like the "teach a newbie to fish" sig... Thanks for the encouragement. I'll report back about them after I really get some recording skills going. Ad darn. someone voted for the B&Ws-- they look like hell!

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan zenabI

And the boses are definitely not ones that I would consider doing any real mixing on, but they'll be on my desk for quick reference while I track, since I will have to roll the chair back to really hear the bigger speakers.

Has anyone tried this kind of theing, where you must move away from your mixing desk to really hear yer speakers, and then back to make tweaks? Were you able to get anything done?

Please help me rationalize this so I do not come down with monitor G.A.S.!

Monitor GAS is the wrong approach. Anytime your room situation is far less than ideal, anything will be a compromise and therefore a waste of money relative to doing something about your room.

Why can't you reconfigure the room?

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

that is a good point, MSHilarious.

Here's why, though. Using the room for band rehearsal (a jazz quintet + vox, me on upright) and as a listening room for my vinyl collection edge out recording as priorities, so the speakers will be set up more for listening from the other end of the room rather than monitoring from a desk position more forward.

Since I see Jazz as not so real-time engineering intensive (more like get a good initial set up, and let the tape roll...), I feel like the mixing aspect can be set up to work around challenges. What I'm hoping is that I can move back to the listening spots, listen, then come back up and tweak. Not efficient, but I think it's going to work out--- just bouncing this idea off you folks here...

The room is 20x30, minus an open to below stairwell, so effectively say 22x20. But I find the spaciousness of the room will draw me up here to spend more enjoyable time then a warren of trapezoidal rooms. I'll never produce anything for a profit, but I will have the pleasure of exploring and learning about recording... I enjoyed my four track in my dorm room in the '90s, and won't need too much more to feel satisfied. More a matter of making the most of what I have.



OK, back to getting all this crap on the floor of my studio organized...!

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan zenabI

The room is 20x30, minus an open to below stairwell, so effectively say 22x20. But I find the spaciousness of the room will draw me up here to spend more enjoyable time then a warren of trapezoidal rooms.

No, I would never suggest carving up your room. That is another mistake I see people making. One large room is good.

But why can't you reorganize your furniture? Even temporarily for mixing? How much time would that lose, versus constant mix-checking?

[Yareek]

I'd say from my recent monitor debaucle, that if you find a pair of speakers that sound to you like they're flat and revealing, use them if you like them and treat your room.

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

The furniture consists of a huge post war modern burl wood desk, a queen size futon and other seating, plus 25 linear feet of bookshelves filled with LPs, and a Deco bar filled with waterford etc...

I really am consciously creating the space to be warm, inviting, comfortable, well lit, open, and otherwise conducive to creativity.

But you've got me thinking, and I could possibly build some stands for a pair of whichever speakers sound the flattest and place them against the wall for mixing, and have another pair of more colored, "musical" speakers on either side of the mixing desk for recreational listening.

Hmm...

[giraffe]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan zenabI

Has anyone tried this kind of theing, where you must move away from your mixing desk to really hear yer speakers, and then back to make tweaks? Were you able to get anything done?

i have to get out of my chair to properly hear anything below about 55hz
sucks but that life for me.

[Massive Master]

A stack of bass traps would probably fix that up...

[giraffe]

Originally Posted by Massive Master

A stack of bass traps would probably fix that up...

i have about all i can afford in the room at the moment.
(which is a lot actually, but the room is way less than ideal to begin with)

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

a carton of 2" faced Cretainteed 300 (OC 703 equivalent) is $66 at a distributor near me in CT. That plus some burlap could get you a room ful of bass traps for under a hundred...

[ofajen]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan zenabI

Has anyone tried this kind of theing, where you must move away from your mixing desk to really hear yer speakers, and then back to make tweaks? Were you able to get anything done?

I moved my CPU out of the studio and had to move gear to the opposite wall from the monitors, even with using extension cables. So... I have to turn around from the table/monitor/keyboard/etc. to hear the monitors. Not exactly convenient, but, there is virtually nothing between me and the monitors to cause first order reflections, so it sounds better. No console, rack, etc. nearby to cause comb filter effects, for instance. I also use Studio Traps between and around the monitors, too, to form a sort of baby Attack Wall configuration.

Cheers,

Otto