Speaker Placement and a few other questions!

N

Navneeth

New member
Hey,
I have a very basic home setup. I'm currently using a set of Creative 2.1 reference monitors, raised about 12 inches off the table, 15 inches apart, and the mids and highs seem to be well directed. Macbook pro, Apogee Duet, and getting my KRK Rokit 5's in a week or two. My budget wasn't too much so I bought these. I've been told that the sub-bass is a little weak??

1. Will I need a separate sub-bass? I have started working mainstream and a good mix from my home studio would be great.

2. How far apart do I place my monitors and how high from my desk? My desk is about 32 inches off the ground and along the wall. I'm considering moving it forward 10 - 12 inches. Also, if I get that sub-bass, where do I place that?

Thankful to all those who can help me out here. :)
 
It's widely believed that monitors should be in an equadistant triangle so that if you're sitting 2 feet from them, then they should be two feet apart, and at ear level, I personally like my monitors further apart than 2 feet, so I can get a good idea of how my panning works.

The ideal monitor, is one that's very accurate, and many factors come into play, room acoustics, and the response curve of the speakers, among them.
I always believed that once you really know how speaker sounds you can use it for "reference" which is what your studio monitors should do, give you a reference.

For example, you can have a set of monitors, for many years, so you're very familiar with how they sound for the type of music your working on, I've had my Polk 10s since 1973, so I know the bass is just a bit boomy, and allow for that when mixing, subs enhance the bass, not so much reproducing the actual sound, but it's no better to have weak bass, as that can be confusing also.

For nearfield, I chose the M-Audio BX 5s, they work for me, and were not expensive, the Yamaha, Event, and Genelec are listed among the most accurate, but anything you can get used to will work.

Do your mix on your favorite speakers, then test the mix in the car, the home stereo, and anywhere else you have available, and test it against a commercial CD of a band or artist like yours.

Good luck, I hope this was helpful.
 
Hey,
Thanks a lot for the info. My little home setup is up and running good :)

And you're right about the reference monitors, very valid. I'm most comfortable with good mixes on them. Been quite a while. Im keeping them :) Also Duet helps real well that way. Very good conversion.

Thank you, Cheers!
 
Mixing for inferior listening systems is a controversial topic. Car stereos, boom boxes, ipods and other types of playback that kill the quality of the music created is not always the best way to go. Compression kills the dynamic of a recording.

A great recording will sound great on a great system. That is the #1 goal. Get your record sounding great on a great system.

I don't think it's realistic to be held responsible for the public's poor choices of interior playback methods.

I heard someone once say they mix for MP3. If you do this, you are not a quality oriented musician.
 
Astralography - I'm sure you were trying to fish for a scrap - I'm only responding to keep this on track for the OP.
A great recording will sound great on ANY system, A bad recording will sound good only on the engineers system - hence the good advice of trying your mix out on a variety of sources.
Most music is heard on low end equipment with poorly placed speakers and the listener not in the ideal position.
Mix your music for everybody.
 
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