Consumer speakers for home studio?

[Motorbreath]

Hi folks,

First, I just want to say I'm happy I found this site. I've done a lot of reading, but I can see I have a lot more ahead of me.

I needed speakers for my little setup. Not having an abundance of cash, I picked these up at my local Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11007729&m=1&cat=15&scat=16

In case the link doesn't work, they are Sony SSMB105 speakers. They're "bookshelf" speakers. I've noticed that if the bass sounds good through these speakers, it's booming through anything else (computer, van, boom box). Also, effects lke reverb and that are too much. If I compensate for this, I can sort of get what I'm after. I know what good CD's should sound like, so listening to them through these speakers gives me a reference for my own stuff. Still, it's a little too much thinking at times.

My guess is that since these are "bookshelf" speakers, they are counting on the book shelf, wall, bookcase, or some other furniture or structure to help carry the low end. I am concerned that the specs say there is no midrange. Should I be?

Did I waste my money, or can anyone suggest anything to try to make listening with these speakers a little more normal? I thought about lining the table with books and stuff to make it more like a bookshelf. I probably should have waited and saved up, but now I'm trying to make the best of the situation.

Thanks for any feedback. Blessings!

 

[DavidK]

Hey Motor,
for 59 clams? Sony makes good consumer stuff, you
are set for a while. No Midrange means there is
only a woofer and a tweeter, it doesnt mean the
midrange isnt going to be represented.

"Bookshelf" means small speakers, no more. I
have a Small pair of Tannoys that could knock
a hole in my neighbors wall If I cranked them.

The only thing you need to do is keep them a few
feet from a wall, and make a triangle shape with
the speakers and your head.

I got lot's of sony stuff around the house;
got my girlfriend a Sony Digital Camera for
Christmas, that Sucker is Badass, even takes
some small movies.

You made a wise choice with the sony's. For the
price they cant be beat, and I bet they would
compare to speakers that cost much more.
Blessings to you too, David

 

[robert jaybird]

even big studio's will have a cheap pair of speakers around to see how their work will sound on the average joes setup.

im using some fostex monitors i got on clearance.but, i also have a few pairs of stereo speaker..all different brands.
when you dont have good monitors to give an unbiased sound it helps to listen to your stuff on lots of different speakers to see what youve done with your mix.

still i would reccomend looking into different monitors as well.mackies or yamaha's or somethin'

the thing about some speakers is they actually enhance certain frequencies such as the bass.you DONT want this because then youll think you have enough bass but find with other speakers thats not so...

 

[MGS]

Motorbreath,

Ultimately you will have to invest in a pair of nearfield monitors so that your mixes will translate well through a variety of systems. Tell us what equipment you use for recording and what you record.

Mark

 

[Motorbreath]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I agree, some studio quality monitors are in my future, but I don't know when. I think I might need a compressor/limiter first.

My studio setup: Yamaha MT120 4 track, Peavey multieffects unit (used sparingly), 16 channel board (brand name escapes me), various microphones (some weathered from the road life, some in better shape...brand escapes me again but I remember they are not from radio shack , the aforementioned speakers, DX7 keyboard, elec guitar & bass, Zoom 707 effects pedal, Alesis SR16 drum machine, and my PC, to which I mix to wave file (using SAW for recording and editing) for eventual burning to CD so I can torture family and coworkers alike with the sounds I make.

I want to record pop, punk pop, and soft guitar music. I've just been turned onto "normalizing" after reading through the various message boards here and am looking forward to trying that this weekend with some stuff.

Thanks again! Happy New Year!