Using home stereo speakers as monitors?

S

soma89

New member
Hello,
I have a pair of old EPI 100v's that have a great sound and I was thinking of using them as monitor speakers for home recording. I would obviously need a stereo amp in between to power them.
Does this seem like a good idea? Can I mess anything up by doing this?

I thought I'd be sure before I give it a shot! thx
 
I don't know the speakers you are asking about, but...

If they're GOOD hifi speakers with a flattish frequency response then they might be fine. However, you're not after a "great" sound, you need an accurate one. You want to hear your tracks and mixes warts and all, not get an artificial "make everything sound good" tone that a lot of non-specialist hifi stuff is designed to do.

Over to anyone who knows about the EPI brand for an opinion...
 
My experience is that a good pair of headphones will work better than home stereo speakers, which intentionally push bass tones. You don't want that because when you move your mix into different environments it will sound great in one and terrible in another. A big part of a good mix is that whether you play it on a hi-fi or in your car with road noise or a boom box, you still get the essense of the song and it sounds reasonable.
 
I totally understand the reasoning behind having speakers with a flat frequency response but I'm really asking if anything can go wrong..mechanically speaking? Could this cause harm to my amp, speakers or computer?
 
soma89 said:
I totally understand the reasoning behind having speakers with a flat frequency response but I'm really asking if anything can go wrong..mechanically speaking? Could this cause harm to my amp, speakers or computer?
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As long as you don't send an amplified signal into your speaker amp you should be OK, make sure its line out. Your mixes might not sound right on other systems, but that is probably the most danger.
 
Negoba said:
My experience is that a good pair of headphones will work better than home stereo speakers, which intentionally push bass tones.
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I cant argue with your experiences. But assuming your headphones are closed, they probably push more apparent bass than a set of speakers. Not to mention the lack of proper stereo imaging etc...
 
soma89 said:
Hello,
I have a pair of old EPI 100v's that have a great sound and I was thinking of using them as monitor speakers for home recording. I would obviously need a stereo amp in between to power them.
Does this seem like a good idea? Can I mess anything up by doing this?
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No. You won't mess anything up.
 
I tried that when I was building my studio as a way to save money. Hey why not huh? I had a "spare" system that I upgraded from to build up my home theater so I thought it was perfect. Since then, I've moved to near-field monitors because as mentioned, home stereo speakers and the amps that drive them are made to make your music sound good; just like headphones. They're highly recommended as one of many systems to play your mix through to refine it as you go through the process but not as your primary mixing reference.

I'll never forget I had two COMPLETELY different versions of the same mix that both sounded identical on my headphones, and with very little difference on the "Home Stereo" speakers. Long story as to why but that was very revealing to me when I sent the mixes to a friend and he wondered what I was smoking...

While my mixing environment is not the greatest, nor are my ears, I strive for every advantage I can get in order to get the best honest and flat mix that I can.
 
If you like the sound of them then do it. Speakers are just a personal preference and you should use speakers that allow you to mix things the way you think they should sound. I like dull records so I use a pair of Tannoy E11's, which are good HiFi speakers also, but with a soft top end, which allows me to make things bright enough for other people but not too bright for me, when I listen on those. Just try them and see what results you get. Bare in mind that your amp will affect the sound of them somewhat so make sure you have a look into matching the amp a little. Again I use a Quad 405 amp with my E11's as they have a nice softened top end a meaty bottom.
 
This thread again? :spank:

A good audiophile system will be transparent enough for monitoring. The cheap crap they sell at Best Buy will lie to you. Avoid Bose, Polk, and other gimmicky speakers. Avoid amps with "Mega Bass", "Stereo Wide", hall and cathedral simulators, and all the other bells and whistles. The amp should ideally be a straight wire with gain.
 
Are most studio monitors just about better quality than any home stereo speakers? I am using a home surround sound setup to do my mixing on.... the mixes do come out weird on other systems sometimes, so Im thinking of upgrading but I cant afford 300 a piece for studio monitors :) yet.
 
Beaverbee said:
Are most studio monitors just about better quality than any home stereo speakers?
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As has been said above (and can be easily missed if not understood) it is counterintuitive: the better the monitor the less impressive it will sound because it is not exaggerating anything, simply giving you as accurately as possible what has been recorded.
 
Beaverbee said:
Are most studio monitors just about better quality than any home stereo speakers? I am using a home surround sound setup to do my mixing on.... the mixes do come out weird on other systems sometimes, so Im thinking of upgrading but I cant afford 300 a piece for studio monitors :) yet.
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Not exactly. Studio monitors...at least the good ones...strive for an accurate neutral sound. At the cheaper end of the range, hifi speakers are trying to make everything sound good, usually by exaggerating certain frequencies to add a bass thump and some sizzle in the highs.

Better hifi speakers don't do this--like monitors they strive for an accurate reproduction.

However, with any monitor (or good hifi speaker) you still need to train your ears. While monitors strive for accurate reproduction, no speaker is perfect and all add some degree of colouration. The trick is to learn how things should sound on your mixing speakers so you can judge what will sound good on a wide variety of other systems.
 
Bobbsy said:
The trick is to learn how things should sound on your mixing speakers so you can judge what will sound good on a wide variety of other systems.
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Spot on and the most important thing to bare in mind with choosing speakers. Speakers that aim for flat frequency response are both useless and sound horrid in my opinion. They may be technically 'true' but they aren't a good representation of what it will sound like in the real world. The trick is to get a balance between accuracy and real-world colouration. If most people are going to be listening to stuff on Laptops/Bose systems, then you've got to make sure it'll sound good on these systems. Some people do this on High Accuracy expensive speakers, but there are also equally just as many very well renowned mix engineers that mix in mono on Auratones (http://www.murraytregonning.com.au/infopages/images/auratones.jpg).

NS10s are industry standard, not because of their accuracy (they are HiFi speakers designed to live in the corner of you living room on a shelf), but because Yamaha gave all the studios they could a pair, so they were the only unifying speaker between different studios, so people got used to using them. I used to hate them, then got used to them and now always check my mixes on them, even after mixing on proper tuned Westlake/Eastlake, built-in speakers.

I'd agree that steering clear of things like Bose systems and laptops to mix on is a good idea, but you really don't have to spend shed loads of cash for speakers that are going to give you good results.
 
The original question was basically "will it work?" The answer is yes.
The unasked question was "will it sound good", and many have responded along those lines.

But let's sort out a few things about speakers before we get too carried away.

In practice, there is no real difference between "monitors" and "stereo speakers", except for the word "monitors". The word "monitor" does not automatically mean the speaker is good for recording purposes.

There are plenty of cheap monitors around that are are no better than cheap stereo speakers, and may in fact be worse.

Good quality hi-fi speakers do exactly the same job as good quality monitors: they give an accurate reproduction of the recorded material.
 
I used to have good Sharp amp and speakers from a stereo set, whichI had coupled with a dbx equalizer which tried to take care of the room acoustics. Results were, hmmm, not that bad. Today we have systems like JBL MSC1, which actively "monitors the monitors". I don't have it, but heard good feedback about that. However, it costs more than a pair of good monitors... :)
 
Headphones are for tracking & listening for detail not mixing unless you have no other option.
A GOOD stereo system is fine if you haven't an monitors and KNOW the excentricities of your stereo's sound because you'll need to adjust to counter any bias (too much bass, too much mid, not enough bottom end).
I monitored with AR speakers and a great stereo amp for a decade or more before I could afford/realized the need for reall near field monitors.
Once I went with NF monitors (albeit cheapish ones) my mixes improved a great deal. I still have the stereo set up to check the mix & crank things up etc.
 
rayc said:
Headphones are for tracking & listening for detail not mixing unless you have no other option.
A GOOD stereo system is fine if you haven't an monitors and KNOW the excentricities of your stereo's sound because you'll need to adjust to counter any bias (too much bass, too much mid, not enough bottom end).
I monitored with AR speakers and a great stereo amp for a decade or more before I could afford/realized the need for reall near field monitors.
Once I went with NF monitors (albeit cheapish ones) my mixes improved a great deal. I still have the stereo set up to check the mix & crank things up etc.
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Thanks for all the replies once again :) Yes I hear you all on getting a more natural sound through monitors. I indeed will look for a pair of hifi speakers that can hit all the frequencies I need. I also agree with Ray in the fact that I have been mixing with this system for many recordings and (after burning down, taking to the house.... and car to listen) have learned what I need to do to make the mix sound accurate :) I do want to eliminate that having to listen a few times before a step is completed so I will be purchasing a new set of speakers soon.

Thanks!
 
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