bookshelf speakers as monitors idea

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sae

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So I was thinking to myself...I have no money :( So could I use my book shelf speakers as monitors and then I said NO YOU CAN NEVER USE REGULAR SPEAKERS AS WON'T GIVE AN ACCURATE PROTRIAL.

but i'm thinking what if I use an eq (like a standard 8-12 band home theater eq) and "TUNE" it until my room is flat. I have access to a gizmo that when you play static hiss (like a radio station with no signal) and it measures which frequencies are high and which are low and then you adjust your eq accordingly.

Would this work?
 
It would help to bring them closer to nearfields, but I doubt if the low end would be accurate at the volume levels you should be mixing at.

Also bookshelf speakers tweeters may smear the high end, and no EQ can correct how accurate the tweeters are.

Probably not a bad idea if you have no money!

As long as you are aware of the shortcomings, you can make it work until you get some monitors.
 
:) It could if you can flatten the response of the speakers by using the EQ. The SPECTRUM ANALYZER will send out the PINK NOISE through the speakers, the CALIBRATED MIC listens to the response from the speakers, then displays it on the SPECTRUM ANALYZER DISPLAY, you then continue to make EQ adjustments until the DISPLAY shows the ressponse is FLAT. One must also take into account the ROOM RESPONSE as well.
Set your mix channels to flat/defeat or what ever SO AS NOT TO COLOR THE PINK NOISE, which can alter what you are trying to accomplish.

Generally home speakers are optimized to make music sound really good on your home stereo set up.
STUDIO MONITORS are optimized to reveal the true response of your recording efferts, without artificial coloration interfereing with the actual sound you are trying to get to the recording medium your'e using. whew!

time for fire hydrant



da MUTT
 
No... EQ'ing your speakers is a bad idea - usually does more harm than good.

This thread has more info........
 
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They will work if that is all you have. The best thing you can do is to get to know the speakers. Listen to tons of music on them and use that as a reference when you do you mixing.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
No... EQ'ing your speakers is a bad idea - usually does more harm than good.

This thread has more info........
Click to expand...

The funniest part of that thread was you and Boray going to town :D
 
look into the Boston Acoustics for bookshelfs that could work as a monitor speaker.....they have a site
 
cavedog101 said:
look into the Boston Acoustics for bookshelfs that could work as a monitor speaker.....they have a site
Click to expand...

Why do you say boston accoustics are better for monitors than others?

I actually have a set of boston's that i am using for my theater now but might replace them with others and use them as monitors
 
I wouldn't use bookshelf speakers not because of lack of flatness but because the drivers generally sound bad apart from EQ issues.

I took a pair of Bose speakers and trashed the drivers (and the 'crossover'). Next I got some good quality drivers from a reputable shop after I told them I wanted flat response monitors, they designed & assembled the crossovers and picked the drivers for me. The map of the response curve they gave me is nice and flat until 150 hz, then it dips 3 dB by 100 and 12 dB by 50, but it's only a 6.5" driver. So I listen to my mixes at first flat and then with +3 dB on the bass in the monitors. Usually the +3 sounds better, but I know that's because the monitors are a little small, so I don't end up with a bassy mix.

It only cost about $150 in parts, cheaper if you assemble the crossovers, plus the cabs but it ain't hard to find cheap bookshelf speakers to salvage for cabs.

Someday I'll get real monitors, but these are soooo much better than bookshelf speakers that it was worthwhile.
 
By the way, I just read nearly all of that Boray thread, and I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly. Who was that BG guy anyway?
 
Well, if you don't have a choice and can't afford monitors (I know it took me long enough to afford them), just make sure you know the speakers you are using (listen to hours of pro stuff), and then test your mix on every single boom box, car sterio, hi-fi system, etc. that you can get your hands on before saying the mix is done. Each different system will reveal different flaws. Find a flaw, take it back to your "mixing" speakers, change the mix, take it back out to all those other systems, repeat.

And if you are serious about recording, don't buy 1 more effect, stomp box, instrument, etc until you have real monitors. :)
 
that wouldn't be new to me that's waht I have been doing the whole time
 
As long as you can "read" your speakers it doesn't matter what they are. The yamaha NS10 was never meant to be a studio monitor. They were all over the place like a rash.
Gregg Jackman
 
gregg jackman said:
As long as you can "read" your speakers it doesn't matter what they are. The yamaha NS10 was never meant to be a studio monitor. They were all over the place like a rash.
Gregg Jackman
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I always thought that aside from being a very cheap alternative they were used in high end studios for a reference to home stereos.
 
moresound said:
I always thought that aside from being a very cheap alternative they were used in high end studios for a reference to home stereos.
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basically yes although the truism that bookshelf speakers can't be used as monitors is crap .

Unless you're spending say, 1500 bucks or more, the budget monitors so many of us use are nothiong more than bookshelf speakers.
 
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I m so use to my Yamaha HS50M's that I think that I would fail with a very expensive monitor!
 
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