Monitors......

[HAWLK]

I need a new set of monitors but i'm limited by two major things Budget and Quality (same as everyone elce). At the moment im looking at the 20/20bas and the Spirit apsolute 4p.
I got worried when i first saw Dragons msg's saying studio monitors wernt supposed to sound good. When i go looking for monitors i look for somthing i like the sound of. Are studio monitors supposed to sound bad or is that just on unmixed peices?

Also does anyone know the price of the Apsolute 4p in AUS$?

If anyone can enlighten me/give me suggestions/ solve my queries pleez write back?

Thanx,

[bpmufx]

Hi,
Monitors, weather audio or video, are designed to emphasize things in the sound (or video) that you can't pick up with "speakers" (or TV)
This way, the sound can be picked apart better and more finely tuned in the studio, so that when pumped through "speakers" there are no surprizes. The opposite is true for "speaker" design.
I have heard stuff like Van Halen playing their working mixes on verious speakers ie: home, car, as well as studio monitors, just to get a good sense of the sound coming from the differences in speaker design.

[Dragon]

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant...an elephant faithful one hundred per cent!" -- line from an old cartoon that maybe only drstawl will remember

It's not that they're supposed to sound bad, it's that they're not supposed to sound good.
They're not supposed to sound bad either. They're just there to reproduce accurately how the music sounds, at close range.

Most high-end "speaker systems" are set up for theoretical flat response in anechoic chambers and other details that impress the hi-fi buffs. And in truth, most people who are listening (rather than mixing) diddle with their EQ settings to make the music sound the way they want to hear it. And they rarely sit a meter or so away from both speakers at once as we generally do when mixing.

Near-field monitors are made to reproduce music in your studio in such a way so that when you hear it sounding good, it will sound good on boom boxes, stereo systems, and truck radios too.

So when you listen to monitors, listen with a number of your favorite tracks on CD to make sure that you hear all the bass and treble and stuff you expect. Crank it up to make sure that nothing rattles or buzzes, even at VERY LOUD VOLUMES.

When you hear good monitors, instruments may jump out at you without warning, you may hear subtle things you never heard before, or hair may suddenly grow in strange places on your body. But they won't necessarily make you want to dance, because they don't emphasize frequencies at either end of the spectrum (or the middle, for that matter) the way "listening speakers" tend to do.

[Recording Engineer]

That line is from a Dr. Suess book isn't it?

[HAWLK]

Ah I get ya,
So when i look at monitors look for somthing i like, and make my mix's sound good on them (this is what i have previously done i just didn't know that monitors wern't suposed to make a track sound good). Then when i play it on a normal sound system it should sound awsome. But i still need to know which monitors to go with? and the price of the 4p?

Thanx for your help guys, now i can see some value in a monitor.

[drstawl]

Horton Hears a Who?

[dobro]

And how many hats did Bartholomew have? And what unpleasant substance did poor Bartholomew have to deal with in another book with his name in it? But what I really want to know is: does my mixer come into the picture in mixing down, or is it all done with the soundcard and the software? Oh yeah, I'm an anorak.

[Recording Engineer]

That's it!

SONG FOR A FRIEND
"Although I've forgotten
How to play thees childish games
I can't forget
I remember them and say
My childhood games
I can't forget them
I can't forget
This bear I've befriended
And though I've grown
You've grown too
I'll never let go of Pooh"

-Joshua Ray
My older brother.

[drstawl]

Dobro: AA Milne and Dr. Suess aside:
I mix down entirely in SW. I assemble a bunch of synced mono tracks inside Vegas Pro. Then I adjust the volume and pan and effects for each track. Then I monitor the results. Repeat the process. When I've got it right, I hit "Mix to New Track" and select the format. If there are global adjustments that need to be made, I can remix to another track with those applied. Then I inspect, tweak and normalize the file in Sound Forge and the file is ready to burn to CD or upload to my server.

[dobro]

drstawl - thanks. Straightforward approach. I'll try it, with or without the S/W you've got.

[HAWLK]

Have we some how left the topic a bit?

[The Green Hornet]

Yo all of you:]

"somehow" = one word.

Somehow I believe that I've grown more in my cognition of monitors. Alas, I have the Alesis 1 set and they are not very good.

Planning to go to Event monitors because I keep hearing very good things about them.

Cheers,
Green Hornet

[Sabith]

Well, like Dragon I have the Tannoy Reveal's and omg.... I love them for mixing AND just for casual listening.

I would suggest the Tannoy's although I haven't heard the Event 20/20's yet so I don't really have anything to compare minus I am very happy with how these sound.

No bitter monitor stories here,

Sabith

[jbeal]

I went into my monitoring purchase with one intent, tonally flat. not sure of exact figures of many professional monitors, and i'm not out the beat "the best" by .02 dB's, or argue perfect tonality. this is what i found

I bought a set of paradigm titans for 200$ just two weeks ago. they boast just +-2dB over the covered spectrum (I think 50-20someoddk Hz), and for the price, i head to check them out.

for an amp I use a yamaha natural sound receiver that i found on the roadside (probably due to a euro-spec power supply, bought a decent converter for 40$) which has the 'direct sound' feature to by pass tone controls and circuit. not 'studio quality' but maintains that tonal flatness i'm looking for.

as a review, I listend to some hip-hop from betalounge.com, just to check the bass response and highs, and was pleased to hear midrange like i've never heard before. a synth bassline that would have normally disappeard as it climbed up the octaves maintained it's volume in the ascent, probably a good 3-4 octaves.

i am about to test them in a mixdown from a 424 mk3, and hope to post good results.

you can see the budget i'm working with warrents 200$ monitors and a roadside amp

[Phantom]

I have a pair of Paradigm Self-Powered Studio Monitors and they sound killer! I also have a pair of Paradigms in my living room. I would highly recommend any Paradigm product.

[choctaw]

[QUOTE=HAWLK]Ah I get ya,
But i still need to know which monitors to go with? and the price of the 4p?

My system uses JBL LSR25P Monitors. They are higher in price, but do the job well. Fit right in with computer work sitting right beside the computer screens. Their shielded case keeps away any video interference. I don't regret the price or my choice they do a profession job.

Choctaw

[mixsit]

They are higher in price, but do the job ..

Well, yeah after six years, prices come up some.

[giraffe]

this thread is so old that both dragon and recording engineer have posted in it!
i'm fairly new but i've never seen dragon post...... and a moderator? well really now..........l

[mixsit]

5 thousand + views.

[wfaraoni]

Ive got studiophile sp-5b and Truth 2031a The truth are 10x better and I paid less than $300

My input into this ancient thread

[deejaytrixx]

Originally Posted by HAWLK

I need a new set of monitors but i'm limited by two major things Budget and Quality (same as everyone elce). At the moment im looking at the 20/20bas and the Spirit apsolute 4p.
I got worried when i first saw Dragons msg's saying studio monitors wernt supposed to sound good. When i go looking for monitors i look for somthing i like the sound of. Are studio monitors supposed to sound bad or is that just on unmixed peices?

Also does anyone know the price of the Apsolute 4p in AUS$?

If anyone can enlighten me/give me suggestions/ solve my queries pleez write back?

Thanx,

My two cents..
KRK RP8/RP8G2 Rokit Powered, Behringer B2031a, Wharfedale DP8.2 in that order are really good for the price range ($275 - $500)

But some really good advice was given in this post and I hope the post starter and anyone else reading take the advice in it. I wish things like this were around when I first started.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect monitor, especially so UNDER $1000! Even above that price range there are flaws. The most important thing is to pick something you are comfortable with and learn how it translates to many different speakers. I would stick my neck out and suggest you set up several CD playing stations around your house and listen. Try it in the DVD player, the living room stereo, the little player in the kitchen, the car..everywhere you can. Take for instance, your monitors may have a so called "flat response" but really that flat response is more of a low range cut and a high range boost. When you play it at another studio, your mix sounds bass shy and the high end is shrilly on the point of screaming. Conversely, the dude at the other studio's mix will be the opposite of yours. The difference is knowing your setup's capabilities and how to compensate for its short comings.

Another thing I haven't really seen focused in this post (in my opinion solely) is the importance of good room acoustics. I don't care if Jesus came back and gave you hand built monitors based off of the laws of creation..If your room is sh%$ty, your mix will never translate well. You definitely need some level of absorption and bass trapping in a room and a proper set up of equipment spatially. The pro stuff can get expensive, but I've seen very good improv's that can give you pretty decent results. You may not sound like a professional studio, but you can get damn close.


The best advice was already stated, walk with CDs you know inside out, and listen to the monitors. Pick the one's that most suit your taste, and spend thousands of hours learning them inside out. Some of the best recorded music was done on the most limited equipment!

[thexflamesxburn]

i have alesis monitors and i hate them with a passion. stay away, they hurt my ears.

i know it doesnt help you with what to buy, but now you know what not to buy!

[Elton Bear]

WE HAVE A WINNER!

9 year old thread?! Wow.

[thexflamesxburn]

hehe yeah my bad. i saw the thread when i was searching. and i forgot i was searching. i tried to go back and delete my post, but i noticed that i couldnt.

sorry!

[Dogbreath]

and kudos to you for showing some incentive and doing a search