Best way to choose a monitor?

[greggybud]

A few months ago I purchased Mackie HR 824s. I like them. I have to admit however there were some comparisons where I couldn’t distinguish between brands. I purchased them because many project studios have them including some of the big boys like Masterfonics. Plus the frequency response charts look so flat I decided to frame each certificate to impress the chicks. I thought of bringing a snooty hi-fi friend who has the best of everything however he is a purist and doesn’t believe in anything other than classical music.

My question is how you can accurately judge between different monitors when they are sitting side by side at Guitar Center? For me at least, the spatial difference made it impossible to concentrate on the tonal differences. Maybe the spatial difference EFFECTS the tonal differences? I read in EM magazine about a new facility that eliminates this problem by mechanically moving each monitor into the exact “normal” position for listening however this place sounded very expensive.

Would it be best to simply listen to just one monitor and do an A/B for a comparison? Is there any practical way to eliminate the spatial difference bias?

 

[Gidge]

Best way to test them is to bring them home and play a few CD's you are very familiar with......

 

[greggybud]

Gidge, how will that eliminate the spatial biases? And will Guitar Center let me haul home 4 or 5 different pairs of monitors?

 

[Gidge]

because u will not only audition them in the same room u will be mixing in, you will put them each in the best position for THAT monitor.....the monitor that sounds best in GC might not be the one that sounds the best in your mixing area....

 

[dachay2tnr]

Let me throw out a hypothesis...

Assuming you purchase a (relatively) quality brand monitor with a fairly flat response, the actual choice of monitor makes little difference in the end.

Ultimately doesn't everyone "learn" their monitors?

You listen to recorded music on your monitors and try to emulate the sound. You listen to your own stuff and tweak it. Then you take it and play it on various systems to see where you went wrong. You start to adjust accordingly. Eventually you figure out what the stuff needs to sound like on your monitors to have it "translate" well.

Plus many monitors have adjustments on them. So if you find you constantly have too much bass on your mixes, tweak the adjustments on the monitor accordingly.

Maybe this is a bit nieve (sp?), but I would think if people can mix on NS-10's, you can probably mix on anything. I suspect ear fatique plays a part with some monitors, but otherwise don't you simply "learn" what the mix needs to sound like??

I've tried mixing with a pair of computer speakers. Eventually I can get what I want even from them (although admittedly my 20/20's do make it a tad easier ). What's your thoughts? Are the homerec marketing types cringing?

 

[Gidge]

Right now Im still mixing on my home stereo speakers, so I agree with you on all of your points dachay.....but I think you should enjoy listening to the monitors you choose and auditioning is the only way to find that out.....

 

[barefoot]

Originally posted by dachay2tnr
Ultimately doesn't everyone "learn" their monitors?

This may be true but why start out with more of a handicap than you need to?

Music stores are relatively dead sounding spaces, so neither the room nor slight differences in proximity should be a big concern in distinguishing the tonal characteristics of monitors. Just make sure there are no obvious obstructions close by. If there are, ask them to move things around. And they should at least have the monitors placed at approximately the same distances apart.

like this [A][C][D] [A][C][D] not like this [A][C][D] [D][C][A]


Having said that, I can tell you for the price range and configuration of monitors you are looking at, all of them have clear problems. Mackies -vs- 20/20's -vs- Yorkville -vs- whatever, it doesn't make a great deal of difference. They all produce significant amounts of distortion (anything which deviates from the signal you put in) by virtue of their basic designs. First and foremost are those 8 inch polypropylene midbass drivers - wrong. This is not the right material for an 8", plus this size driver is too big to produce upper midrange linearly.

There are a bunch of other things, but I need to get back to work. Basically I'm saying, they all sound a little difference, but none of them is much more 'right' than the other.

Good rule: Stick with a 6 1/2 inch midbass or smaller.

If you want bass, buy a sub.... but only if you can set it up properly... it's not trivial.

barefoot

 

[greggybud]

And they should at least have the monitors placed at approximately the same distances apart.

like this [A][C][D] [A][C][D] not like this [A][C][D] [D][C][A]


Having said that, I can tell you for the price range and configuration of monitors you are looking at, all of them have clear problems. Mackies -vs- 20/20's -vs- Yorkville -vs- whatever, it doesn't make a great deal of difference. They all produce significant amounts of distortion (anything which deviates from the signal you put in) by virtue of their basic designs.

Now that I think about it...yes Guitar Center does have them set up wrong. Amazing...duh! The first configuation makes sense! You need to shift yourself a bit for each comparison, but that really seems right. It's strange that Guitar Center would have them set up wrong.

Thanks for the tip barefoot, and I'm just wondering what monitors you use?

Dachay...yes i think everybody "lealrns" their monitors at least to a certain degree...I cant say anything about the MS-10s since I have never used them.