Mixing with Computer Speakers

Cool!

The local theatre here installed a D&B Audiotechnic line array about a year ago and it sounds very nice indeed! I must admit to often spending my lunch hours behind the console playing back any recent mixes I have available. Muchly fun!

(My "250,000 watt" is an example of lies, damn lies and statistics by the way. It's absolutely true that, if you add up every amp available you get to that number--but you're including all of FOH, amps available for monitor purposes, amps for side fill an under balcony fill and so on...sounds impressive though!)
 
Bobbsy said:
Back in my working days we used to receive a daily satellite feed from a notable American broadcaster and suddenly started to hear LF hum on it every day. When we queried it we got the usual "it's okay here--must be on the satellite". Finally, after a couple of weeks of problems we finally traced it back to their control room (cough ABC New York cough) because they'd replaced their big studio monitors with much smaller ones which, it turned out, couldn't reproduce below about 100Hz. The had an earthing problem but couldn't ever hear it for themselves.
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I've heard a lot of TV shows, usually locally produced public TV shows, with issues in the LF that almost certainly come from using small monitors. Some shows have really annoying plosives causing LF thumps that I can hear but apparently the producer could not.
 
Another reason why I haven't gotten studio monitors is because everyone tells me any pair under $500-$600 is not worth my time and that if I don't have room treatment, I should just forget about monitors all together. I live in an apartment so I can't get room treatment.
 
Magnawolf said:
Another reason why I haven't gotten studio monitors is because everyone tells me any pair under $500-$600 is not worth my time and that if I don't have room treatment, I should just forget about monitors all together. I live in an apartment so I can't get room treatment.
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Broadly speaking I'd agree with the price thing. There's certainly a point below which I'd just as soon use a good 'Hi-fi'.
Regarding treatment, it's never ever a bad idea to take care of that, but my room isn't treated and I get on just fine.

Knowing the environment and the speakers is key. Also I sit quite close to my monitors; Probably closer than is advised, but it keeps listening levels and reflections down.

Man, my room at uni was AWWFUL, but again, I got on just fine.
Pretty much wore my Mackies as ear phones, but I got there! :p
 
Yeah I think I get by pretty well just by knowing my speakers really well. Surely I would do better with great monitors and room treatment but when you're a poor college student, that just isn't a possibility.
 
Magnawolf said:
There's a pair of ROKIT 5's going for $200 on craigslist near me. I'm just trying to decide if I should drop the money on them, it's a pretty good deal.
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The Rokit 6 and 8 are great but the 5 proves that you can't get around the physics of a tiddly box without having an audibly tuned port. They're better than most speakers that size but I'd keep saving.
 
Sennheiser are the best reference headphones in my opinion. If they are HD598 or similar range then theyare fine.

I defo wouldnt be using the computer speakers to mix though. they cant reproduce a flat frequency response so you are hearing a coloured effect. When others will listen on their systems they will hear harsh sounds you cant hear and wont hear sounds you can hear also. but yeah keep them as as a reference when you are listening to your mix on multiple systems afterwards. as many systems as possible are always the best but only after you mix on a proper pair of flat studio speakers well placed in a good environment.
 
Don't go with the Rokit 5s. I made that mistake. Waste of money. They are much better than the Klipsh 2.1s I was using, BUT...
Have to agree with the $500-600 range being minimum. I listen to everything through several sets of speakers before I'm happy with a mix. My Caliber has a great sound system, and I've got a Bose set in the living room, Pioneers, the aforementioned Klipsh hooked to my wife's computer and a set of Cheapo Cambridge 5.1's on the kids' game machine. When my mixes sound good on ALL of these, they're good enough for me to work with. (Most of my mixes are for me to sing and play guitar/keys with).

BTW - your mix sound good. This is not approval of your system of recording, but if you can do that well with a Vega, think what you could do with a Ferrari!
 
not at at all you can get a set of alesis active monitors m1 cheap from Thomanns, and they are near perfect. Just get the low wattage ones
 
Redlad_ said:
not at at all you can get a set of alesis active monitors m1 cheap from Thomanns, and they are near perfect. Just get the low wattage ones
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no ..... they are not 'near perfect'.
Fact is NONE of the inexpensive monitors are 'near perfect'.
 
Redlad_ said:
if hes using computer speakers and doesnt have the money yeah Alesis are fin, and they are as flat as you can get for that money
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I didn't say they wouldn't be fine .... what I said is that they're not 'near perfect' and they're not. And actually some decent stereo speakers would likely be flatter but you're absolutely right ...... nothing that cheap is very flat.
 
i've been doing the same thing , and the mix's sound good on everything else i listen to them on, but i still feel like i need to get some studio speakers, and will do soon, even if it means "learning" them again.
 
Hey guys
I know you can find info on the frequency range of a monitor e.g. 48hz to 20khz. but do monitor manufacturers supply information so that you can see how "flat" its response is? I would think this would just be a graph of eq on x axis and dB on y? I suppose that would require some sort of standard like ASTM or something too?

Anyway is there any statistic so that you can compare the "trueness" of a monitor without going in and hearing them side by side?

Also if you were going to compare some in a shop, would you just arm yourself with some well know songs, standard setup (e.g. distances from ear etc) and the best level of quietness you can get in a shop... lol. I was thinking about taking a sickie or going during the next AFL derby for that last point.

sorry a very dry post... and its only post number 2.. let me know if ive like missed the plot too as im pretty new to this

Thanks

Karl
 
Karl_ said:
Hey guys
I know you can find info on the frequency range of a monitor e.g. 48hz to 20khz. but do monitor manufacturers supply information so that you can see how "flat" its response is? I would think this would just be a graph of eq on x axis and dB on y? I suppose that would require some sort of standard like ASTM or something too?

Anyway is there any statistic so that you can compare the "trueness" of a monitor without going in and hearing them side by side?

Also if you were going to compare some in a shop, would you just arm yourself with some well know songs, standard setup (e.g. distances from ear etc) and the best level of quietness you can get in a shop... lol. I was thinking about taking a sickie or going during the next AFL derby for that last point.

sorry a very dry post... and its only post number 2.. let me know if ive like missed the plot too as im pretty new to this

Thanks

Karl
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Yes, most good manufacturers will give you an EQ curve chart. Yes, bring a CD of songs you know to the store when auditioning speakers/monitors, but note that the room they have them in may not be perfectly set up to *hear* them properly, and not all of them are going to be in the ideal position, either.
 
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