Do you really need "monitors" vs "regular" speakers...

Maybe I just have a stupid pawn shop but this one still has stupidly low prices on some specialised stuff...and stupidly high on anything that looks flashy whatever it is.
 
You're a lucky man! :D

I know pawn shops in LA have been ruined for a long time.

Before the internet even small town pawn shops were getting wise.

All the LA vintage guitar dealers would go on "pawn shop tours" buying up guitars. Guys started getting hip to these out of towners buying stuff up.
When the internet and ebay hit, it was over.

Nowadays with smartphones.......fugged-about-it. Everyone is an expert.

:D
 
Bobbsy said:
All I can say is that you must mix with (pun intended) some very wealthy people. Even when designing professional studios (admittedly broadcast) we didn't spend money like that on monitors. Small rooms tended to have Genelecs or LS 3/5As and larger control rooms had things like Rogers Studio 1, Kef 104ab or similar. Of course what helped was having Sandy Brown come in and make sure the acoustics were right.

...and if you notice that I've mentioned owning Studio 1 and LS3/5a for home use, it's not a coincidence. When we moved to a new, much larger building we had to stay continuously on air so everything was replaced then we sold the old stuff...most of the speakers went to staff (like me).
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In Germany ME-Geithain are the industry standard broadcast monitors. BBC World Service in Bush House used the small RL906 monitors (about LS3/5A size, but fully active) and their big Music OB truck has the large RL901K.

The BBC did "standardise" on Dynaudio in New Broadcasting House, but they are used in glass studios and I have heard they still buy quite a few Harbeths and I think also PMC.

No, I don't mix with a lot of wealthy people, just people who are passionate about doing good recordings and spend what it takes to do that - many going for quality over quantity.

Oh - and the LS3/5a is atill an excellent monitor - The Harbeth Monitor 20 is the perfect modern alternative as it's exactly the same size and is what (probably) the BBC would design nowadays (and Harbeth were/are LS3/5a licencees).

I started off as an amateur - I started with a good pair of microphones, a good tape recorder and a good pair of headphones (it was a few years before I could afford decent loudspeakers). I gradually expanded over the years and always went for quality over quantity and I still have all the mics Ibought and even the oldest I have still stand up today.
 
Pinky said:
You must have missed (or ignored) my post.

Building a studio in your home/using all studio grade equipment does not make it "home recording".

There's a lot of "pro" engineers that mix like amateurs, so the only consistent defining element of home versus studio is the gear.
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You can build a simple home studio at a reasonable cost and still have good gear.

You can have a copmputer, a reasonable interface and couple that with a really good mic. and professional monitors.

A good mic. and good monitors will last many many years and will not need upgrading - the computer you will buy a new one every 3 years or so and the interface probably every 5 years as they get superceded.

The mic. will last 50 years or more if you buy right and the monitors should last at least 25 years or more.

So spend the money on items that will last and be very careful on computer based products which will need upgrading often.

Mics I bought in 1985 when they were about £350 are still current products, though the price is pushing £2k nowadays and the s/h value is vastly more than what I paid for them.

It's about spending money wisely.

"Home Studio" noes *not* mean "cheap and crap" - it means someone with a passion for making music doing the best he/she can at home.

Of course £8k monitors are a bit OTT for a small home studio, unless the person is making decent money from the studio - but spending £1k on a pair of Neumann KH120A is not unreasonable, nor is getting a Neumann U87 or Gefell M930 or UMT70S unreasonable either - spending around £2k or so on a decent mic. and a pair of monitors is not unreasonable for a home studio for someone wanting to make good music at home.
 
John Willett said:
...No, I don't mix with a lot of wealthy people, just people who are passionate about doing good recordings and spend what it takes to do that - many going for quality over quantity.... I gradually expanded over the years and always went for quality over quantity and I still have all the mics Ibought and even the oldest I have still stand up today.
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How many monitors and mics should you/us own?
 
Farview said:
Monitors are (theoretically) neutral sounding. So once you get the mix right on them, it should translate to everyone's 'normal' speakers.

You simply can't mix trust a mix done on speakers that are lying to you.
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Assuming monitorspeaker are neutral and linear. Assuming home speakers aren't. Why mix on monitors?
 
steen said:
Assuming monitorspeaker are neutral and linear. Assuming home speakers aren't. Why mix on monitors?
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So that you know the truth.
Not all home speakers are made equal. Some are super bassy and super bright.
Some are honky, some lack bass, some lack highs.
Your job is to make something that will translate well on all systems.

If you mix on a good neutral system then you know you have a point of reference and you know you're working in the same area as most other people.
If someone plays that back on a bassy system it'll be bassy, but so will everything else. That's their problem.

If, however, you mix on a bassy system your mix will lack bass because you'll be compensating without realising it.
Take that to a playback system that lacks bass and you're two stages out, see? Making it worse.

Seems there's an influx of Steens lately!?
 
steen said:
Assuming monitorspeaker are neutral and linear. Assuming home speakers aren't. Why mix on monitors?
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In theory at least, people have chosen their home speakers because they like the sound. (In practice, it's probably more likely they bought either the cheapest or the one the shyster salesman pushed hardest but, even then, they've got used to the sound.)

So, let's say their chosen speaker has a super bright top end and a warm thumpy bass. If you mix on those speakers and make things sound perfect to you, on a different set of home speakers your mix may sound dull at the top and weak on the bass because you've made things right on your on those inaccurate speakers.

Get your mix right on more accurate, neutral speakers and the mix will sound, if not right, similar to most other recordings when played on home speakers.
 
It will boil down to the quality of the home speakers as well. A really good pair of consumer speakers can be as good as or better than some of the "studio monitors" out there.

I use and have been using for over 10 years, a pair of Wharfedale Atlantic 300's through a Wharfedale SYS5000 amplifier. (A very nice Amp with Tone Defeat) I know how these speakers sound and I know what music, mine and others, sounds like on other systems I've had and have. I had planned to upgrade and get some "real monitors" but if it isn't broke, why fix it?
 
steen said:
Assuming monitorspeaker are neutral and linear. Assuming home speakers aren't. Why mix on monitors?
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I'm assuming you are thinking "why not mix on the type of speakers you will listen on?"
Like everyone else said, not all stereo speakers are inaccurate in the same way.

If there were a standard that all stereo speakers were made to, that would make perfect sense. Since there isnt, the only way to deal.with translating to the widest variety of playback systems is to mix on something that tells you the truth. Then, it will translate the same way as pro mixed music does on everyone's system.
 
Bobbsy said:
Don't discount them--if you know audio you often know more than the pawn shop people.
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I also don't know how the equipment has/hasn't been used, also if it falls apart the next day you're screwed, and really I'm just not into used anything, short of houses and cars. Don't doubt you can get some good deals, certainly understand the appeal, but I'd rather buy new.
 
Mr Clean said:
Wharfedale
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I mixed (and checked masters on) a set of Diamond 8.2's (?) for a few years with no complaints.

I think in this case, people are confusing cheapie pressboard $100 cabinets with cheesy drivers with "actual" speakers. As in, well-designed, properly-tuned, sturdy structured cabinets with well-designed, properly-tuned crossovers going to well-designed, properly matched drivers.
 
steen said:
Assuming monitorspeaker are neutral and linear. Assuming home speakers aren't. Why mix on monitors?
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To get the truth - every home loudspeaker is different - mix on one which is heavy in the bass and your recordings will be bass-light (for example).

You want your recordings to translate to as many systems as possible, which is why you want monitors to tell you what is *really* happening.
 
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