DS-90A Roland monitors

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phosphene
  • Start date Start date
Phosphene

Phosphene

Horse Diaper
I posted this in "other" under the equipt. and got no bites, but I guess it belongs in here as well....

I was just wondering what everyone thought about these monitors. I've never heard anyone on HR talk about them, and I don't want to ask VSplanet for a biased opinion. I was just wondering if my monitors were a weak link in my chain. I use a VS1880 and I bypass the pres and converters with a Rosetta and Great River/Avalon pres. I was just wondering if there were way better monitors out there, or if they held their own.
 
They are completely flat...

I use Roland DS-90A's with a Roland VS-2480CD. To be completely honest I have had a really hard time getting adjusted to the DS-90s. There's no doubt that they're great monitors, but they seem to be very low on the bass end. I've learned to compensate somewhat... there's more bass to everything than you think. I suppose all the problems I've had can be explained by the fact that these monitors are completely flat, and I am used to monitors that put out more bass frequencies. It's all a matter of personal preference I guess... the more you listen to music through them the more you get to know them.
 
That's funny because I always thought they had too much bass, so I had to turn the bass down on the back a bit to compensate. (Unless I misunderstood you.) I turned the LF Trim down to -1, instead of being flat at 0. But they are pretty good monitors, but I know I need to treat my "control room" because I'm sure I'm picking up alot of unwanted bass/standing waves. Call it inexperience, but I mix one way on my monitors and I'm always finding out how different it sounds on other systems. But, I understand why, it just bugs me. I'm working through it.....I'm in a support group and I've been cutting down on the rot-gut whiskey.
 
Room treatment

Yes, I did say too little bass. It may be how I have them set up. They are nearfield monitors and sound much clearer up close, but when you stand a few feet back they're not as clear and the bass comes out a lot more. I tend to mix while listening up close. I also have spent a lot of time on speaker placement and treating the room. I have acoustic tiled ceiling, carpeted floor, sound absorbent material on three walls, and three diffusers along the back wall. The dimensions of the room are also not square in one corner to deflect bouncing sound. I'm sure all this contributes to the diminished bass sound... I have just had a problem with not being able to catch the really low frequencies on the monitors in that room. I've found the CSOM speaker modeling stuff to be a great way to test and refine my mixes.
 
I agree, they do sound different from further away. It's amazing how the sound changes. I have only lived in my house for 8 months, so I haven't gotten around to doing as good of a job as you on my sound treatment. It's in a basement, and I'm renting, so things aren't ideal for me yet. I use the Mopads on this Kmart "wood" desk. I'm not sure if they help...
I also haven't really used the COSM much more than just tinkering with it for a second. So,you strap it on the mix buss on insert and just listen and take notes? What modeling patch do you reference the most?
 
COSM speaker modeling

Yeah, I usually buss the entire mix down to two stereo tracks and then use the insert effect for the speaker modeling. I run the mixes through each speaker model and tweak the mix on each one. It improves mixes big time and makes for a well rounded mix that sounds good on a variety of systems. It's an extremely valuable tool.
 
Im using an 1880.....the 2480s are coming down a little in price...do you think I should dive into one sometime for the sake of better sound quality? Does it record at 96k? 24 bits?
 
Compresser on every channel...

I highly recommend the 2480. I don't know much about the 1880, but I've had quite a bit of experience with the 1680. The pre-amps on the 2480 blow away the pre-amps on the 1680, and every channel on the 2480 has a built in compresser. There's a lot to the 2480... it will take me a LONG time to learn everything it can do. You do have the option of recording at several different sampling rates... I do believe you can set the rate to 96k, but I usually stick to 44.1k. And yes, it is 24 bits.
 
If you were to ask at the vsplanet you would get mostly a thumbs down
on the ds-90's , I currently use them and have adjusted to them but if i had
to choose again i would get the mackie 624 or 824 . for the price they are underpowered, they are quite clear and flat but in a untreated room they
will sound worse. as far as the 2480 , its an awesome machine , if you would like to check out some tunes recorded using a 2480 and mixed on ds-90's
here you go.....Ray

http://www.songramp.com/view.ez?sampleid=12918
 
I'm sure you can/will adjust to them, but IMO there are better monitors for less. The D90s have a pronounced high end and a smiley face EQ curve. It tends to make them sound rather good/pleasant. Over long periods, I thought the high end built up to the extreme. Personally, I want my monitors to be flat or relatively flat. I don't want the mix to sound pleasant unless it really is. The D90s didn't do it for me. I've never owned them, but I've used a set at a friend's studio for a bit in forming my opinion.

My. $0.02
 
So which is it? Are they flat or is there a smiley face EQ curve? Since monitors is what i know absolutely LEAST about, can someone give me a point in the right direction towards maybe getting a better pair. I know that monitors are a very important factor in getting a good sound because, like REV said, I want to know EXACTLY how my tracks sound, and if thats bad, then I want to know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top