Monitor Help

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njpilotguy

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Hi all,

Noob here. I am looking at buying either the JBL LSR305 or 308s. $300 for the 305s and $500 for the 308s. My room is 12 x 10, pretty sound-proof. Just starting out with a Focusrite 2i2 & MXL 990 mic. Just wondering if the 5" vs 8" is significant and worth the extra money. Thank you.
 
Is your room acoustically treated (bass traps, cloud, etc)? The best monitors won't help you in an untreated room. The 8" will give better low end definition, but that will lost in the 'mud' if you don't do treatment.
 
I'm guessing you're not recording other people and just want to do your own thing, perhaps write some songs and record them. And you'd like to have a good idea what they sound like. Am I right? I've been doing this for a few years now. I work in a 12 x 10 room with some wall treatment that's crammed full of bookshelves (these also act as treatment) and other stuff like keyboards, guitars, computers, a rack unit, and of course monitors. Should also point out it got the Auralex treatment. The room is horrible. Welcome to the money pit.

Small rooms are a b**** to work in, and to treat. Even a treated room that size is going to have dead spots. It's the nature of the beast. Buy a new house with a large room for mixing and get it treated. Can't afford the house payments? Okay. IK Media ARC2 system can help you out a lot. It's a lot better than the first ARC system. I'd actually go for a pair of Yamaha HS-8s. Yamahas are more like real speakers than reference monitors. They have good mid definition, and the thing I like about them is that the bass port is in the rear so you don't get that bass blast in your face. Pretty much if you can get a mix sounding decent on these it'll translate well elsewhere. 5" monitors will have better midrange definition, but you'll be burning a ton of CDs to take to your car etc. so you can get an idea what the bass is doing. I'd also think about investing in a subwoofer in the future. So I'd go 8" Yamahas. HS-8. Contact Sweetwater.

Keep in mind that rooms and gear take time to learn, and that you can produce a decent mix. While it might not, and probably won't compete with the commercial houses, you can do it. Don't forget to ask about the ARC2 system. The reviews are mixed, but in a small craptastic room it's a must.
 
For me, I am allowed to go with smaller size monitors 6" because I have a a huge subwoofer. Without a subwoofer 6 inches would not be fine with me. The subwoofer I just need, even with the bigger monitors I need to feel the bass drum for my style of music and mix it well as well as the bass guitar.

I have them calibrated well now. So I don't get too much bass. I get a real world mix. I also turn the sub off to check how it sounds without it. But if I didn't have a subwoofer I'd probably be using 10 inch monitors.
 
Hi all,

Noob here. I am looking at buying either the JBL LSR305 or 308s. $300 for the 305s and $500 for the 308s. My room is 12 x 10, pretty sound-proof. Just starting out with a Focusrite 2i2 & MXL 990 mic. Just wondering if the 5" vs 8" is significant and worth the extra money. Thank you.

I have the 305's in the same size room. I like them for my type of singer songwriter music. I just finished some simple tall bass traps so far for 4 corners (What a diff so far!). Have more work to do with reflections and more traps. With no treatment, the fake bass will be blasting in your room no matter which you buy. Like the others said: Treat the room first. After all is said though, I like the 305's. I don't mix other folks music so they work perfect for me. :)
 
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