Can you be too close to your monitors?

GOODLAND

GOODLAND

New member
My current monitor setup is a pair of KRK V8 IIs and they are about 3 feet apart from each other. My ears are also about three feet from each monitor. Am I too close? Would having a pair of V6s or Event Studio precision™ 6s give me a more accurate representation of the mix? I was also thinking of upgrading to the Studio precision™8s. Any thoughts on those in comparision to the V8s? Thanks.
 
I was reading some Scientist pdf that seems to get accepted around the forums. its quiet boring but there's some dumbed down things about nearfield and farfield.

http://www.audiodiycentral.com/resource/pdf/nflawp.pdf

and search Bryston there's an article on subs, but its discussing near and far and distance and using ETF to measure things, some graphs... etc..

Maybe reword the question?

this ????, is kind of up there with, turning the monitors on their side or not? or the woofers, in or out?
 
yes, you can be too close. can you identify where various sources are placed (left to right) in the soundfield? does something 1/2 way between left and center actually sound like it's there? in too close and your phantom center will disappear--things like vocals will sound like it's coming from hard left and hard right, but not in the center.

ya dig?

as for whether an upgrade will help you, only you can tell that for yourself--get some of the "options" in and give em a test drive.

personally, i run a set of event asp8's and i think they're wonderful. they were an immense upgrade over my m-audio sp5b's, but then again, they oughta be, considering the $$ difference. :D the asp8's, though, are more mid-field monitors than near-fields. they have a very wide sweet spot--i wouldn't place em any closer than 4ft apart (and be any closer than 4ft to em)--closer than that and the L/R image collapses.


cheers,
wade
 
mrface2112 said:
yes, you can be too close. can you identify where various sources are placed (left to right) in the soundfield? does something 1/2 way between left and center actually sound like it's there? in too close and your phantom center will disappear--things like vocals will sound like it's coming from hard left and hard right, but not in the center.

ya dig?

as for whether an upgrade will help you, only you can tell that for yourself--get some of the "options" in and give em a test drive.

personally, i run a set of event asp8's and i think they're wonderful. they were an immense upgrade over my m-audio sp5b's, but then again, they oughta be, considering the $$ difference. :D the asp8's, though, are more mid-field monitors than near-fields. they have a very wide sweet spot--i wouldn't place em any closer than 4ft apart (and be any closer than 4ft to em)--closer than that and the L/R image collapses.


cheers,
wade
Click to expand...

My stereo image is fine. But, I've never had my monitors more than 3 feet apart, so I can't really compare. I have the Producers Station Desk and place each monitor at each end of the highest shelf on the desk. I'm kinda dissapointed because I was looking forward to getting a pair of the ASP8s, and since my monitors can only be 3 ft. apart with the desk I have, I'm kinda screwed. Although, I am using the V8s and those seem to have have a good stereo field, and they have close to the same charactaristics as the ASP8s. Can anyone help me here? I'm not sure what to do. I was under the impression that as long as you have a Equilateral triangle formed from the speakers to your head, It didn't really matter how far apart they were. (within reason)
 
Last edited:
I have to make a decision on new monitors fairly soon. The quicker the responses the better. This seems like a reasonable and fair topic.
 
Im at about three and three as well.

I monitor quiet for the most part.

Then jack it up and step away to check things at times.

Just dont kill yourself with the volume.
 
Would the Event Studio precision™ 6s be more acurate at the distance I'm monitoring at? Or would the Event Studio precision™ 8s be a wiser choice regardless of my 3 ft range.
 
when i was auditioning monitors, I didn't like the sound of the ASP6's nearly as much as the 8's. the 8's just stood out to me to be head and shoulders above the competition (the dyns, 824s, asp6's, KRKs, etc). it's a personal preference, of course.

you "should" be ok at 3ft. if not, you can always buy stands ya know. :p you're not limited to having to have the monitors on your desk.

two things to keep in mind:
1. the ASP8's are physically BIG. and they're heavy too. i was really surprised. depending on the size of your room (mine is 14x21) they may be "too much" for the room.

2. the ASP8's are (or can be) VERY loud. i'll echo finster about not killing yourself with the volume--it's very easy to do, even with the volume attenuator around the back set to "zero".

i monitor on the quiet side too (85dB at 1khz), and turn them up and down to see how things are shaping up at various levels. i've got one spot in my room where the bass likes to collect, so i'll go back there and get an idea of how it sounds in the "bass trap". obviously i need more bass trapping. :D

as far as your comment about the triangle size "not mattering", that's largely true. all i can tell you is based on my experience, which says that the asp8's seem to be happiest when they're moving some air, which is why inside of 4ft might be too close (too loud). YMMV.


cheers,
wade
 
I think I'll go ahead and grab a pair of the ASP8s. If I have to, I'll get some stands. How you think they compare the to the Mackies?
 
GOODLAND said:
How you think they compare the to the Mackies?
Click to expand...
personally, i can't stand the mackies. the low end's unnaturally inflated, the mids are weird (and seem to have a hole where the crossover is) and the highs are harsh/hard. i can't mix on em to save my life.......but lots of folks can and do on a daily basis.

it also seems that there's a bit of a difference in sound between the older HR824's (made in the USA) and the newer ones (made in China). i haven't had experience with this, but it certainly could explain why the people who've had em for years love em so much and people looking at the new ones these days have different opinions. this could also explain why some folks think that the Beri truths can compete with the mackies--b/c maybe they CAN compete with the chinese ones.

FWIW, the ASP8's are made in the USA. for some folks, that's a big deal.

of course, you may find that the mackies are exactly what you're looking for. just b/c i like the ASP8's doesn't mean they're the right fit for you. that's why monitoring is a personal choice. my advice would be to demo several sets of different monitors from a place that'll allow returns and keep the ones that work best with you and your way of working.


cheers,
wade
 
mrface2112 said:
personally, i can't stand the mackies. the low end's unnaturally inflated, the mids are weird (and seem to have a hole where the crossover is) and the highs are harsh/hard. i can't mix on em to save my life.......but lots of folks can and do on a daily basis.

it also seems that there's a bit of a difference in sound between the older HR824's (made in the USA) and the newer ones (made in China). i haven't had experience with this, but it certainly could explain why the people who've had em for years love em so much and people looking at the new ones these days have different opinions. this could also explain why some folks think that the Beri truths can compete with the mackies--b/c maybe they CAN compete with the chinese ones.

FWIW, the ASP8's are made in the USA. for some folks, that's a big deal.

of course, you may find that the mackies are exactly what you're looking for. just b/c i like the ASP8's doesn't mean they're the right fit for you. that's why monitoring is a personal choice. my advice would be to demo several sets of different monitors from a place that'll allow returns and keep the ones that work best with you and your way of working.


cheers,
wade
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.
 
You may want to check out my review of the asp8's. it's at the end of the thread.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=230126&page=3

I too am not a fan of the HR824's. I thought I would be for sure with thier reputation for low end. But when I plugged in several mixes along with Van Halen: Mean Street (any thing but a boomy mix) All I heard was low end rumble and resonance. All of the speakers I tried where set up terrible (and the same), but others survived it well. Honest to god my wife told me afterwards that every time I switched to them everyone in the room got sour looks on thier face. So it wasn't just me.

Don't bother flaming me. I own lots of mackie stuff and love it. I honestly thought I had a good chance of taking some 824's home with me. If they work for you more power to ya. Much better mixes than I have ever made have been made on 824's and I know it.

F.S.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top