new monitors 1600 budget

[freakkguitarist]

so im looking to pick up some pretty great monitors, ive been monitoring on RP8s for a while now and after hearing A7s and dynadios ive come to hate thease krks. i was originally going to spend about 1000 and was planning on A7s but now ive had a burst of clients and can afford 1600, what are some other awesome monitors in that range? id like to keep them active, and front ported, as they are slightly near a wall for the time being. my controll room already has 4 bass traps behind the monitors and 8 on the wall opposite of the monitors. also, how much less low end is there in 6" woofers vs 8"?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

i was originally going to spend about 1000 and was planning on A7s but now ive had a burst of clients and can afford 1600, what are some other awesome monitors in that range?

You seem to have a discriminating ear as well as the ability to give these things a test listen. Keep going down that path and you'll make the right decision. What we have to say is irrelevant.

id like to keep them active, and front ported, as they are slightly near a wall for the time being.[/QUOTED]Speaker design is also irrelevant as a comparative feature. There are some closed systems that sound twice as good as some ported, and vice versa. There is no one general design that is always superior. And if you're near a wall, you're going to have similar issues regardless of whether it's ported or not and regardless of what direction your port is facing.

It'd be a damn shame to get some $1600 loudspeakers and place them badly. That'd be like buying a new Ferrari and only idling it down the stone path between the barn and the mail box to get the mail. I'd get that placement problem fixed before I dropped a dime on new monitors.

also, how much less low end is there in 6" woofers vs 8"?

Once again, it depends upon the specific monitor design and so many other variables, that you can't reliably judge anything based upon speaker diameter alone. There are some 6"ers that kick ass over some 8"ers, and vice versa.

You gotta pick what fits your ears and let's you translate the easiest. That's something only you can do. We cannot help you in any way whatsoever other than to steer you back to that course.

G.

 

[freakkguitarist]

hey glen, i do understand about putting monitors in a bad location isnt using them to the full potential, but again its only a temporary place while the new studio is being built. i do have access to some monitors, but i need some brands and models to even look for, also i wasnt aware that there were many non ported monitors, almost everyone ive seen that wasnt front ported was rear ported, and i figured the front port might have a slight benefit for me now, and not matter once i move into the new studio. so win win. im just looking for some personal opinions from you guys, who have actually mixed on different monitors, not just listening to some in a store. monitors are the wierdest thing haha, i thought mine were decent sounding....which they are, but theres a much bigger world of clearer imaging and sharper transients with nicer monitors

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

hey glen, i do understand about putting monitors in a bad location isnt using them to the full potential, but again its only a temporary place while the new studio is being built. i do have access to some monitors, but i need some brands and models to even look for, also i wasnt aware that there were many non ported monitors, almost everyone ive seen that wasnt front ported was rear ported, and i figured the front port might have a slight benefit for me now, and not matter once i move into the new studio. so win win. im just looking for some personal opinions from you guys, who have actually mixed on different monitors, not just listening to some in a store. monitors are the wierdest thing haha, i thought mine were decent sounding....which they are, but theres a much bigger world of clearer imaging and sharper transients with nicer monitors

And I understand where you're coming from too.

The fact is, there's not a monitor you can buy for $800ea that isn't going to be of pretty decent quality construction and reliability-wise. The difference is going to be in the character of their sound. I know you are with me on that so far. The problem is, everybody's ears and tastes are different. What one person calles flat, another person calls mid-rangey; and what that second person calls flat, the first person calls hyped. What one calls boomy in the bass another calls tight, and what that first person calls tight the second calls anemic.

So you can take opinions all day on loudspeakers in that range, and they all are going to be arguably worth the value to someone.But unless you know that person's ears and tastes - which unless you have compared side-by-side with that person is impossible - you have no idea who is recommending a speaker that is going to be right for you.

It's no different in that regard than selecting a bowling ball at the bowling alley. When's the last time that everybody wanted to use the same bowling ball?

I have worked in (or at least sat in on sessions at) a few different studios for both audio recording and A/V post-production, and have had quite a bit of experience with many different studio monitors of many different types. But you'll notice I am NOT giving a recommendation, not even of the ones that I use myself in my little project studio. Because frankly, such recommendations are meaningless. Adam, Genlec, Mackie Tannoy, KRK, etc., all make quality monitors in that range, some 6", some 8". Some ported, some not. Some active, some passive. Some square, some rounded. For me to make a specific recommendation for you would be like me telling you to use the third bowling ball from the left because that's the one I like the best. You may not even be able to fit your thumb in there.

G.

 

[MessianicDreams]

For me to make a specific recommendation for you would be like me telling you to use the third bowling ball from the left because that's the one I like the best. You may not even be able to fit your thumb in there.

I like that analogy

Glen is right, once you start looking into the sums of money you're looking to spend, I personally think the quality seems to even out between companies, and it comes down to a question of personal taste.

What I would suggest to you is to find which monitors are roughly priced at what you want to spend and try'em out. When you're spending that much money on a set of monitors, being able to audition them and compare them first is a must; you'd be crazy to spend that much money on something you can't hear.