Go from RP5s to RP6s, or get a sub?

steelphantom

steelphantom

New member
Hey guys,

Currently I am mixing with a pair of the first-generation KRK RP5 monitors. For the most part, I really like them, but I constantly have issues with bass in my mixes. I generally have to overestimate the bass level in the studio quite a bit for it to sound OK anywhere else. I'm looking for better bass response, basically.

I'm considering two options: selling my RP5s and buying a set of RP6s (I don't really want to get the RP8s because of size constraints on my desk), or keeping my RP5s and buying a 10" KRK sub. Thoughts?

Thanks! :)
 
Before you spend money on new monitors, you might want to make sure that the problem is not your listening setup.

One of the most common problems I've seen on this board with new home recoding setups is a problem with getting the bass right in the mix because the user is sitting in a natural bass null in their room that is just sucking up the bass, or because their monitors are stuck in corners or up against the wall unnaturally emphasizing the bass in the monitors.

For the later, it's pretty obvious that you'd need to get your speakers away from the wall or out of the corner(s). For the former, I'd recommend walking around the room while playing back a mix, and if you find spots where the bass is fairly obviously more prominent than it is where you sit, then something on the order of some kind of bass trapping in your room setup might be in order. This can range anywhere from a little furniture re-arrangement to "official" bass trapping products.

If you have problems in your room, new speakers night help a bit, but the problems will still be there - the bass null at your listening position won't go away, nor will the problems with wall or corner placement just because you get new monitors.

If you do get new toys, personally I am of the school that you're better off getting better monitors instead of supplementing anemic monitors with a sub, unless you are specifically mixing for a x.1 multi-channel mix, computer gaming with a sub, or dance or rap mixes with a heavy sub-bass component.

G.
 
Thanks for the input, Glen. You're definitely right about my monitor placement and room in general being a problem. Here's my current setup:

dsc00587largek.jpg


I'm in a corner, and also have a crazy amount of acoustic foam on the wall. My dad used it as a rehearsal space for his band in the early '90s and put a lot of insulation in the room with the hopes of dampening the sound. As much as I don't want to admit it, I agree with you and think I should work on my room before I get new monitors. Unfortunately, this is gonna take a lot of work: removing all of the acoustical foam and completely redoing the walls of the room.

Thanks for the response and making me rethink what I'm doing here. It's always good to get a reality check, especially one that stops me from buying more toys! :p
 
I'll give you credit that you do have an attractive and comfortable-looking setup :). But you do have a couple of things potentially working against you acoustics-wise that can affect your bass mix.

The first, as we have already talked about is the corner position. Second is that all that foam could be tricking you a bit too. From the looks of it, that foam will work OK on deadening the high frequency reflection, but it won;t touch the bass frequencies. Consequently, by deadening the room so much in the HF (because you have saturated the whole walls with foam), it can potentially cause you to over-emphasize the HF in the mix, which could also throw off the bass/high balance in the mix.

Most of us are limited as to what we can do with our homes and our rooms, but you might want to read this primer on layout and design, and decide for yourself what you can and cannot do based upon those recommendations to help improve your situation.

G.
 
Bear in mind, though, that he is in a corner and still ending up having to crank the bass while mixing to make it audible on translation - which means that even with the emphasis of bass frequencies that being in a corner causes, he's still not getting very much bass out of his monitoring situation.
So, while I'm with you that proper acoustic treatment in general is never a bad idea and will almost certainly improve his listening situation, the KRK RP5s are pretty weak approaching their company posted low-end response limit of 50 hz.
I've got a pair of the RP5 g2s that I had the same problem with.

Of course, the cheapest solution was the one I went with and that the OP has already figured out - once you've learned your monitors, you adjust for them.
Just turn that bass up!:D
 
The Cancers said:
Bear in mind, though, that he is in a corner and still ending up having to crank the bass while mixing to make it audible on translation - which means that even with the emphasis of bass frequencies that being in a corner causes, he's still not getting very much bass out of his monitoring situation.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. Remember, his problem is that his mixes are bass-anemic *outside of his studio*. If the corner situation is artificially boosting his bass, that can cause exactly what he's describing; he has to apparently overdrive the bass in the studio in order to get normal bass outside the studio. If the problem were mostly that his speakers were too anemic, then what sounded "right" in the studio would be bass *heavy* outside the studio.

One way or the other, IMHO its always best to make sire that the environment's effect on the toys is mitigated and as predictable as possible before spending more money on more toys.

G.
 
See, now this is why alcohol and bbs forums are a bad mix. Cause I spent like five minutes sitting there going "wait, so if the corner is doing this, then the mix is gonna do that, then the..." and was sure I had landed on the right side of the thing.
:mad:
Stupid sweet sweet beer.
 
The Cancers said:
See, now this is why alcohol and bbs forums are a bad mix. Cause I spent like five minutes sitting there going "wait, so if the corner is doing this, then the mix is gonna do that, then the..." and was sure I had landed on the right side of the thing.
:mad:
Stupid sweet sweet beer.
Click to expand...
Don't feel bad; I questioned myself more than once, even after I posted and double-checked myself. And I was sober :(.

G.
 
The Cancers said:
See, now this is why alcohol and bbs forums are a bad mix. Cause I spent like five minutes sitting there going "wait, so if the corner is doing this, then the mix is gonna do that, then the..." and was sure I had landed on the right side of the thing.
:mad:
Stupid sweet sweet beer.
Click to expand...

I was on track with you, and was about to post the same thing. I thought he
was hearing very little bass in the studio. Then G set us straight :p

One thing I don't get is, if his setup is too bass-heavy, and he has to get it
sounding very bass-heavy in the studio to get it sounding good everywhere
else, what good will adding a sub (ie. more bass end) into the setup?

:confused:
 
philbagg said:
One thing I don't get is, if his setup is too bass-heavy, and he has to get it
sounding very bass-heavy in the studio to get it sounding good everywhere
else, what good will adding a sub (ie. more bass end) into the setup?
Click to expand...
This stuff *does* get confusing, doesn't it? :)

You're right, it probably wouldn't help so much as far as fixing the problem with his acoustic setup. At worst, it will enhance the bass response of his playback, fooling his ears even more into thinking he had enough bass when he didn't. At best, if he's sitting in a bass null, until he addresses that via his physical acoustic setup, that bass null will remain a bass null whether he adds a sub or not.

G.
 
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