Alesis RA300 + Monitor One MkII...need advice

[jokku]

Hi people,
i'm planning to buy a pair of Alesis Monitor One MkII passive, i have a Kenwood hi-fi amplifier KA-2060R (2x70) ,that i hope to be able to use until I have the $ for a 'real' amp I'm looking at the Alesis RA-300 as it comes at very attractive price, but I wasn't able to find any reviews about it.. so have anyone here used it? How does it compare to other amps in it's price range? Any other brands to look for? Any recommendations? Thoughts?

I'm just beginning to build my home studio (used mainly for electronic music production/mastering), so any help will be much appreciated.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Alesis makes some great gear (HD24, Masterlink) - but their monitors and amplifiers don't qualify.

Look at the budget Haflers instead.... and for monitors Yorkville YSM-1s or the new Wharfedales are getting rave reviews.

 

[jokku]

I've just bought the monitors and i think they sound quite good with my hi-fi amp.. anyway I'm looking to buy some more powerful amp.. a friend of mine recommended Phonic, they are cheap but I suppose they are crap as well... these Haflers seem to be very nice I'll definitely take a look at them if they are available at the stores here ... Thanx for the advice!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

a friend of mine recommended Phonic, they are cheap but I suppose they are crap as well...

Stay away from anything by Phonic.... complete garbage, IMO.....

 

[AdrianFly]

Alesis Monitor Ones and Alesis RA-100 power-amp user here. (Bought it together as a package deal 3-4 years ago)

I have no problems as a Home Recording Hobbyist. If the rest of my audio gear was of greater quality then my monitors I would upgrade but considering my entire chain of gear is "basic home recording junk" I feel that a monitor upgrade would be a waste of money.

 

[hasbeen]

I like the Monitor Ones as well. I have an original pair I have used for years powered by a Crown DC300A. I tried replacing the Crown with an RA-300 and I wasn't as impressed as I hoped to be. I ended up selling it and using my Crown again, which I LOVE. It is as heavy as an anvil, but a tried and true classic. I saw one on ebay today with a current price of $49. Good luck.

 

[leddy]

Stay away from anything by Phonic.... complete garbage, IMO.....

What have you heard/experienced about them?

My monitor chain is the Alesis M1 passives powered by a Samson Servo 550 with a Phonic dual 31 band EQ in front of the amp to correct some room issues and widen the response of the M1's (The low end is not as good as the active M1's). I like the Phonic EQ so far. I have it tweaked to the point where the system is quite usable.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Even just looking at their website should tip you off as to the level of quality.......

I also suggest you look at acoustic treatment for your room as opposed to trying to correct room response anomalies with an EQ. Why, you ask?

- For one thing, a 32-band graphic EQ is not precise enough to compensate for room response coloration

- For another, the monitoring chain is what you use to make critical sonic decisions -- the last thing you want to put there is a bunch of junk that will mess with your sound (and therefore you ability to count on your monitor chain telling you what you need to hear... ie - does it really sound that way or is something in the monitor chain itself fucking up the sound?)

- Using EQ at anytime can introduce phase artifacts that mess with the sound far more than the room anomalies you're trying to correct. Cheap EQ units produce even more artifacts. Phonic has a ways to go before even reaching "cheap", it's several rungs lower on the totem pole, IMO!

- Finally, you can't use frequency-response variations to solve time-based sonic issues. A bad sounding room is that way because of sound wave reflectivity and room dimensions, resulting in peaks and valleys in frequency response at various points throughout the room. Even if you could create an EQ curve that sort of fixes the issue at a single spot, you move two inches over and that curve no longer applies.

I'd rethink the use of that EQ in your chain if I were you -- you're far better off learning to deal with your room's acoustics and compensating, than mucking up the monitoring chain worse than it was before............!

 

[leddy]

I'd rethink the use of that EQ in your chain if I were you -- you're far better off learning to deal with yoru room's acoustics and compesatingthan mucking up the monitoring chain worse than it was before............!

I can't disagree with any of that. I have done some room treatment. I have some obvious nodes in the room, and I have found that the sweet spot I can create with the EQ is quite small and not all that sweet. I have learned it though, so it can work (I'd like it to be better though).

I did not think about just the fact of putting sub-pro gear in the chain having a bad impact on the sound. You're right. I bought a Berhinger mixer once to combine signals on my live sound (I play upright bass and was blending a mic and pick up) and it was amazing how bad the sound got when it entered the chain. It took me about 30 seconds to pack it up and return it.

What would you recommend: The signal leaves my computer from a Delta 44 and goes to a Mackie mixer, to the Phonic, to the Samson amp, to the Alesis M1's. Too much crapola, huh?

Should it go Delta 44 right to the amp? I would like to have a mixer somewhere since I have other signals I need to hear (CD player, etc).

Thanks for the insight. I really appreciate the help.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

What would you recommend: The signal leaves my computer from a Delta 44 and goes to a Mackie mixer, to the Phonic, to the Samson amp, to the Alesis M1's. Too much crapola, huh?

Should it go Delta 44 right to the amp? I would like to have a mixer somewhere since I have other signals I need to hear (CD player, etc).

For inconsequential sound sources (like cd players, cassette decks, minidisc players, etc...) I use a small Yammie mixer to switch between them. Since these are non-critical, summing via a mixer is not a bad compromise. I then switch between sources using a Presonus Central Station that is a combination of line switcher, and monitor switcher. It's a bit pricy, but it doesn't get in the way of the sound quality of the monitor chain.

 

[leddy]

For inconsequential sound sources (like cd players, cassette decks, minidisc players, etc...) I use a small Yammie mixer to switch between them. Since these are non-critical, summing via a mixer is not a bad compromise. I then switch between sources using a Presonus Central Station that is a combination of line switcher, and monitor switcher. It's a bit pricy, but it doesn't get in the way of the sound quality of the monitor chain.

Thanks. I patched from the Delta 44 to the amp, bypassing the Mackie and the Phonic EQ. BIG improvement. It's funny how you start to go down the wrong road and get so far you forget the basics. Much like my golf swing.

Thanks again.