M-Audio SP5B owners

  • Thread starter Thread starter Middleman
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Middleman

Middleman

Professional Amateur
Thought I would pass along some discoveries about these monitors. First, don't follow the manual when setting these up for mixing!

Second, the speakers need to be within 6 inches of a back wall or you will not hear frequencies below 300Hz correctly. The cabinets are bass ported out the back and you need the wall bounce to mix the low end correctly. 6 months of poor mixes were corrected in 2 nights once I discovered this ditty.

The manual shows them within 3 feet of your head for mixing purposes. Forget it. Mixes come off harsh and boxy when you do this. Move them back at least 4-5 feet on both sides. You will suddenly hear things wrong with your mix that are not apparent at 3 feet.

Would like to hear others experiences.
 
Thanks for posting.

I have mine set up at ear level and the backs are about 12" away from a window with aluminum blinds installed. I'll try moving them around tonight.
 
Well this sucks, my desk is right up against the wall, and the speakers are on my desk, about 2 feet back from my head and 1 foot away from each side. No wonder my mixes suck.

Is there any way I can compensate for this other than pulling my desk out from the wall and getting monitor stands?
 
is there any reason I shouldn't take advantage of MF's price of $200 for these monitors? Or should I spend more for better quality monitors? I don't have monitors yet and am considering these. Small home studio (bedroom) for recording guitars & drum machines in Cakewalk.

thanks,

rpe
 
$200 is a really good deal on these. They are great monitors for the price.

demensia, what I have found with these is that if you make a larger triangle say 4-5 feet vs 2-3 then the mixes tend to transfer to different systems better.
 
Is that $200 each? I would guess it is, that's what I just paid about 3 months ago for them. Hell, for $200/pair they would be a steal! They are great little monitors.
 
Yeah, they are being blown out at $199 a pair all over. Getting ready for the newer models.
 
God I hate that. I just bought those stupid things 3 months ago for $400. Oh well.

I wonder if they will be unloading the 8 inch ones as well, I would like to move up. Either that or get the sub, the low end in the SP-5bs sucks, regardless of placement or anything else.
 
They blew the 8s out earlier this year. Before the new versions hit. They are doing the same with the 5s now.

I was just talking to a guy on another forum who has that sub woofer and says it does not help all that much. He went with the 8 inch versions. Suprisingly he also has a pair of NSM10s and says they are worse than the 5s for lack of bass response.
 
It actually surpires me how bad the bas response is in the 5b's. You can see the little cone moving about 1" trying to put out those low end notes, but you can't hear it.

I would like to get something that lets me really hear the low end on my Motif. I had just gotten my first track put together with it, and put it on a CD, I though it sounded pretty good. I then go out to my car and put it in, and I was blown away! I couldn't believe how much bass the Motif had put out. Now every time I play anything with any low end, I am wondering what it is supposed to sound like, and what I am missing.

So did your friend say that the 8s made a good difference there?
 
Yes, he felt the 8s gave him more working room on the low end and there were less surprises across other stereo systems.
 
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I got the 8bs at MF for $300. Great deal. The bass response is very good. Very pleased.
 
I'll buy if I don't return them and get the Event ps8.
They are on sale at the Fiend also. 300.
What do ya think anyone else?

Sorry to jump on this thread and ask another ? but it all stems from thoose sp-5b's
 
StevenLindsey said:
I got the 8bs at MF for $300. Great deal. The bass response is very good. Very pleased.
Click to expand...

mw too Steve w/ free shipping, great deal I thought. I was very pleased

larry
 
bullyhill

I suggest you get your favorite CD and get down there. Make them play your sounds through different sets. Quiet and loud. You'll know what to get.

Sometimes the quiet test is the most revealing as the clarity in the highs and mids can be judged, the loud test is for bass reviewing.

Let us know how it goes.
 
Thanks Middleman
I am back and actually went for the sp-5b's.
I can't say I liked them the best, I would've got the events with the 8" woofers and the 20/20 cross overs but I couldn't hack the bill right now.
I now also understand as above posted how important placement of these monitors and the person listening is.
I agree, take one step away from them and it was a different perspective but the others I listened to also seemed to react that way in different ways, I guess thats to be expected, Im new at this though.
I am lucky enough to be able to get them within 6-8 " from the wall behind them. I still think I'm missing something down low though. I remixed a sound that was done through pc speakers over and over to get an OK mix. I remixed it on the monitors and it for the most part came out much better but I may have to adjust for lack of low end reference that I didn't hear during mix down.
Oh yeah at 200 I had to say yes...for now.
Bring a mug I got the keg.
And I'm content.
 
monitor placement.

I'm still a bit confused about monitor placement. I finally said to hell with it and ran out and got my tape measure to place these things correctly.

I have them now 6 in away from the back wall, 3 ft apart from each other (from the edges) and 3 ft away from me from the back edge of the speaker.... This is as far away as my room will allow.

When placing the monitors am I supposed to measure from the outer and the back edges? or the inner and the front? know what I mean?
 
Your good, you will hear the sweet spot about there. I move in an out of this zone to check the mix from different places in the room anyway.

As another twist, I've been thinking of running some plastic tubes out from the back ports to throw the bass out the front. Will let you know how this works out.
 
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