Mackie HR624 or HR824 in small room?

[pennylink]

I'm looking at getting my first decent set of monitors. I like the sound and quality of the Mackies. I also think they'll keep their value well, being somewhat of an "industry standard".

Here's where I'm torn:

My studio room is fairly small, approximately 12' x 12'. I will be placing the monitors approximately 4 1/2 ft apart, on shelves INSIDE and NEAR THE CORNERS of an entertainment center, with little room around them.

I know, hardly ideal... but placement is not negotiable, since the studio doubles up as a spare room and my wife and aestetics dictate I can't change that!

Assuming their placement will tend to boost bass response, will HR824's just be overkill in the volume and bass department? Would HR624's be a better choice, or would you recommend something totally different? BTW I would prefer not to use a subwoofer.

My budget tops out at $1,000 (new or used).

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[SonicAlbert]

The kind of boosted bass response you'll get is not the kind you want though. Uncontrolled would probably be the best way to describe it.

Really, if you are going to set up your speakers that way I'm not sure you need to be too concerned about one model versus another or even spending up to $1,000 on them. Why spend money on your first good speakers if you handicap them from the start? They really should be out in the open and away from the walls by about a foot.

If they *must* go in the bookshelf then I'd suggest treating the bookshelf above, below, to the sides, and in back of the speakers. Use Auralex or some similar acoustic foam that will deaden the bad stuff a little bit. Cut the wedges to fit. That will not look too good to the wife either, but with a little artistic flare it could possibly be made presentable.

I own a pair of 824's and do like them. Probably the low end of the market for good monitors, but worth the money in my opinion. I don't think your room is too small for them, although you probably could get away with the 624's. I personally wouldn't want to use the 624's without a subwoofer though.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[pennylink]

Thanks, I was afraid "uncontrolled" bass was going to be a problem...

Great suggestion, I'll definitely treat the surrounding surfaces with foam, regardless of which monitors I get.

I understand I won't get the full benefit of the Mackies, but if I do get them, it will give me an excuse to push for a better (dedicated) studio space, hehe.

 

[Ethan Winer]

Penny,

> Assuming their placement will tend to boost bass response, will HR824's just be overkill in the volume and bass department? <

I'd definitely go with the 824s, which are flat to below 40 Hz. If you get the 624s you'll need a subwoofer to get down to the lowest range, and a pair of 624s plus a decent sub costs a lot more than a pair of 824s!

I agree with Albert that you will have severe response problems in that room, but I disagree about moving the speakers away from the wall. Speakers against a wall have a shelving type bass boost, which you can compensate for with the built-in speaker switches. When you put them away from the wall you then get a comb filter effect which is much worse and nearly impossible to compensate for.

In either case you need serious room treatment - particularly bass traps - and nothing made of foam will do a good enough job at the lowest frequencies. The good news is with enough some decent treatment even a 12x12 room can be made quite useable for mixing.

--Ethan