5 inch vs 6 inch monitors

[TheSpanningTree]

Right now I'm mixing on maudio AV30's and all my tracks sound very muddy. I cannot decide between 5" and 6" monitors. I have a pretty decently small area for my "studio" so I think the 5's would be good enough, but the 6's would give better bass. Thoughts?

 

[Mr. June]

Do commercial mixes sound "muddy" thru the AV30's? If so, there's a problem with the speakers. If not, then... As far as 5" vs. 6" woofers, there won't be much difference in bass. 5 or 6 vs. 8" - there is quite a significant change. I'd advise taking some music you know really well to your local store and auditioning different sets of monitors. Good luck!

 

[miroslav]

The difference is....about 1 inch.







While 6" will in most cases have a bit more extension in the low-end than 5" monitors...there is MUCH more to considering monitors besides just their speaker size.

What monitors are you looking at?

 

[TheSpanningTree]

Do commercial mixes sound "muddy" thru the AV30's?

No, just my mixes after I have "finished" them and listen on other systems. If they sounded bad before I posted them I don't think I would let them out.

What monitors are you looking at?

I don't have a specific brand I'm looking at but my budget is about $350max(yeah im cheap)

thanks

 

[MrWrenchey]

KRK Rokits are apparently pretty good. Go for a pair of those.

 

[guitaristic]

KRK Rokits are apparently pretty good. Go for a pair of those.

What most people don't realize is that the KRK 6's are actually 6.5"! Win

 

[mjbphotos]

No, just my mixes after I have "finished" them and listen on other systems. If they sounded bad before I posted them I don't think I would let them out.

You've got to 'learn your monitors' and how to mix better - if the commercial mixes sound ok, and you think your mixes sound ok, but then they don't sound ok on another system, you have to adjust your mixing techniques. Don't rely just on that one set of monitors. Mix, burn to CD, then listen on other systems, make notes, go back and adjust the mix, repeat ... When you get a mix that osunds good on other systems, pay attention to how it sounds in the monitors at that point - that's what you need to shoot for in yoru mxing.
You said your mixes sound muddy - mud is usually low-mid 'clutter'. Scoop some frequencies out of the guitars, (for example) to help that.

 

[stevieb]

The difference is....about 1 inch.

And as any woman will tell you, size matters.

 

[rocksure]

I prefer 8" monitors as my main near field monitors, with smaller ones as a second reference.

 

[TheSpanningTree]

I have always heard people talk about going back and forth and back and forth listening to different mixes, and making adjustments. I will listen to the song on three different systems (monitors,headphones,car), but I still feel like having such a small set of monitors is hindering me. I wish I could get 8" but I think they would be to much for my room. Maybe if I got some 6" monitors I could use them as a "mid-field" set and use my AV30's as the the "nears"

 

[Greg_L]

Your technique + probably a bad room = bad mixes.

 

[TheSpanningTree]

what do you mean by my technique?

 

[Greg_L]

I mean your mixing practices/process is off somewhere. That includes properly treating your mixing environment.

 

[TheSpanningTree]

I can definently agree with what you are saying about the environment

 

[Supercooper]

Like others have said, I'm not sure there's much of a difference between 5" and 6". Maybe try a different monitor pair out and you could get results you like more

 

[Greg_L]

I can definently agree with what you are saying about the environment

If your room is bad it doesn't matter what monitors you use.