$400 for 2 monitors/preamp. recommendations?

L

ledzeppelin8852

New member
I have about 400-440 to spend and I am looking to get a pair of studio monitors and a preamp. I realize this isnt the largest budget, but what should I get in this price range? I would also probably be getting the stuff used off ebay so maybe base your calculations for the combo of monitors/preamp as costing 600 new. Thanks for the help
 
what kind of equipment do you already have? do you have a power amp, or do you need active monitors?
 
right now all i have is a shure sm57 and a m-audio delta 66. i do not have a power amp, i was planning on getting active monitors(is this a good idea?) i am just starting to build up my recording setup. any advice/suggestions that you have are greatly appreciated
 
Active monitors would be a better/cheaper way out.Just dont go too low on the monitors,maybe from $400 to $600 each ,that will put you on the 2nd level,rather than just getting some cheap monitors and upgrade them later and loose money.(speaking from a huge experience) not a good thing i guess.

Since you have the delta,you can plug your actives in it,and monitor through it.Now to put the sm-57 to use,you will need a good preamp.Any will do ,but again it will be buy and sell game with loosing money if its too cheap.

Heres a tip i learned ,which i should have learned 5 years ago,instead of waisting my money.If you buying too cheap of a gear,get it used so you wont loose too much money selling it...believe me ,you will sell it because all cheap gear have their dead ends.

Do a lot of searching on this forum,and you will find a best equipment for the price. ;)
 
just 2 more cents..
get a good used monitor setup, even a hifi is better than those $99 plastic..er...I mean studio Pro monitors labeled things at GC. imo.
You'd get better sound form a used Onkyo and some nice 3-way's.

Used gear is a good option in this price range,
a passive monitor setup I had was:
JBL Control 5's/ pair $125 ($500 new),
a mint 300 watt Tascam Studio Quality Power Amp $150 ($400 new)
for example.
I added a used $80 ADCOM pre-amp/switching. very nice.

keep $200 for the preamp. DMP3 is highly touted.
good luck..
 
My experience with gear has always been to get what I can afford in order to keep doing what I'm doing - but then I don't make a living with my home project studio. It's a hobby I love and will never stop (and if I make a few bucks doing it - it all goes to more gear and bills anyway.)

If I waited to buy the gear I really wanted each time - I wouldn't own any gear yet. It doesn't help that I rarely have cash to spare either.

My first 4 track was a piece of shit and so was my first radio shack mic - and I would not trade the experience for anything. I wouldn't consider it a waste of money even though I've sold all that and upgraded since - but it's almost never up to high quality gear that I want.

I think it boils down to a lot more than great gear anyway. If your source is good - and you have good recording technique (which is something you learn from doing, and reading, and experimenting, etc) - you can make sub par gear sound pretty damn good.

So if your choices are that:
1) you monitor with your current pos computer speakers
2) you save up another $1000 to get some good low-mid "pro" gear
3) you spend your $400 on some "pro-sumer" or just straight up budget "studio" monitors

I would probably get the cheap monitors. I'm being honest here - and this may or may not be "good" advice - but there it is.

If this is your first "studio" setup - then at least you'll have the components - and you'll live - you'll learn - you'll get experience - you will probably upgrade down the line if it's important to you to do so.

Good luck!
Todd
 
thanks for all the replies. ill try to save up another 200 so i can get some decent(maybe not by everyones standards) monitors and preamp. ill browse these forums to see what equipment i need has the best bang for the buck
 
gbondo9 said:
My experience with gear has always been to get what I can afford in order to keep doing what I'm doing - but then I don't make a living with my home project studio. It's a hobby I love and will never stop (and if I make a few bucks doing it - it all goes to more gear and bills anyway.)

If I waited to buy the gear I really wanted each time - I wouldn't own any gear yet. It doesn't help that I rarely have cash to spare either.
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Bingo. There is a give and take between it all, you get what you can. Use an old stereo if thats all you got. Chances are, it would take years to even need fancy monitors, you have to learn what to do with them first. A pair of KRKs would be perfect for the thread starter. For 400 bucks you could get monitors and a pre. Unless you are using super mics in a super room, its not going to matter as long as it's not crap.

My philosophy: give someone starting out $1000 worth of gear or $50,000 and either way the recording will sound about the same. ;) One can make a VERY good recording with an SM57, a software program, some KRKs and an m-audio pre. If you cant, you suck :D If you can, then its time to move on to better toys. It takes years to be able to "move up" from that level.


I am to the point where I am very serious and starting to make some good money. I dont think I can "outdo" my meager setup yet. My recordings are still improving, when I reach a plateau I will jump to the higher level. You can do some amazing stuff with cheap gear if you put in the time.
 
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