Monitor Comparison - Mixed the same song on 2 sets of monitors (clips included)...

[CyanJaguar]

as much as I wanted the cheaper combo to win, I must say that the v8 had a more pro mix overall.

The most important thing is, of course, the vocals, and the v8 mix presented a much tighter image, albeit a bit on the midrangey side.

THe brass was also not as loud hence not as annoying.

 

[Meshuggah]

Damned Bruce... I thought the small probs I heard with the first mix was mp3 artifacts.. then on the KRK mix, it's all gone... Drums have better presence and tone. The vocals sounds WAY more natural, and overall, it's a more open mix. And one'd have to be deaf not to hear the kick.... the bass is wonderful...

Great job, Bruce. And thx for the interesting post.

 

[iqi616]

Thanks for a great topic.

 

[nwsoundman]

One question Bruce,

How much much time did you have in front of each pair of monitors? Example: one year PS-6's, three months KRK's.

 

[Beathoven]

Shit Blue Bear, that's a f***in' great song!

I'm mostly in rap but damn! This song played almost an hour on my computer while I was reading on the board... and I liked it!

Keep up the good work bro!
Beathoven

(P.S.: I too see the difference between the monitors. The highs seems more clear in the second mix.)

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Re: One question Bruce,

How much much time did you have in front of each pair of monitors? Example: one year PS-6's, three months KRK's.

Good point... 1.5 years with the Events... maybe a month with the KRKs...

When I took mixes done with the Events and played them back on the V8s, I was still pleased overall, but there were now some things I would have mixed differently or changed tonally.

To me, the V8s are now allowing me to take the mixes one step deeper into tweaks - kinda like the Events got me into the ballpark enough that I could stop there, but now with the V8s it's like the mix is seriously under the microscope!

Bruce

 

[nwsoundman]

WOW

You have the same problem I have with my PS-8's. They get me in the ballpark but I have to keep cross-referencing my mixes too much. I have probs getting the low end clean and tight. You had a much tighter cleaner low end on your KRK mix than the Events. The highs on the KRK mix was nice. I really expected to hear similar high end presence in your mixes on the Events as I get on mine. I never have a prblem getting a nice shimmery high end. Maybe we go different routes in that area due to the low end mush?

You have me real curious now about some KRK's. I can get a pair cheap but never considered it till now. Thanks.

PS. With some more time on the KRK's I bet you'll get a little more energy in the lower end without it mushing like he Events.

Cool,
Kirk

 

[barefoot]

speaker geek questions...

Bruce,

Your V8's have "silk" tweeters, not kevlar right?

Those silk (actually synthetic) tweeters are the same as used in the previous Alesis M1 design. In fact, both the drivers in the KRK V6 are virtually identical to those used in the previous M1 design. Did you ever notice a kinship to the high frequency characteristics or your V8 and the M1, before Alesis changed the design?

I used to use the same 8" kevlar mid-bass quite a lot in my own speakers. Eventually I became convinced that 8" mid-basses simply cannot come close to achieving the midrange linearity (transparency) of the best 6" or 5" drivers regardless of the materials or design. So I abandoned that layout.

You can see some of my speakers here http://www.geocities.com/twbarefoot2000/index.html . The kevlar woofer designs are from about 7 or 8 years ago. The 1" soft dome tweeter is an absolutely outstanding British unit - it leaves the V8 tweeters in the dust.

barefoot

 

[nwsoundman]

barefoot,

Did you live in Santa Cruz in the early nineties? When I lived there I talked to a guy that was designing speakers with round enclosures. I wonder if that was you? Actually It was in Capitola. Are those your older designs? How do they sound?

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I heard Alesis M1s back when I was auditioning a mess of monitors...

They didn't strike as being similar to the V8s in any way at all.... maybe it was that I found they still had a mids-sucked-out kinda of sound and it threw me off, but I wasn't impressed at all...

Mind you - I've never cared for Alesis monitors!

People also rave about the Dynaudios, but I heard them (BM5???) and again, was not impressed at all.

The specs for the V8, according to KRK, is - as you said - a 1" silk dome tweeter, and an 8" Kevlar woofer.

I know the Meyer HD-1s outshine the V8s too, but I'm still terribly impressed with how much better the V8s let me hear what's going on!

Very nice site there Barefoot -- I like the style of your speakers.... I may yet commission a pair from you for a mastering suite, if I decide to go in that direction!


Bruce

 

[barefoot]

I heard Alesis M1s back when I was auditioning a mess of monitors...

They didn't strike as being similar to the V8s in any way at all.... maybe it was that I found they still had a mids-sucked-out kinda of sound and it threw me off, but I wasn't impressed at all...

Mind you - I've never cared for Alesis monitors!

Completely with you there. And I can definitely understand how all the blaring faults of the M1's would hide the common tweeter lineage. I don't like the V6's much either, but KRK did do a far better job with those same drivers than Alesis did.

"People also rave about the Dynaudios, but I heard them (BM5???) and again, was not impressed at all."
I'm with you on this one too.

"I know the Meyer HD-1s outshine the V8s too, but I'm still terribly impressed with how much better the V8s let me hear what's going on! "
No question that those guys over in Berkeley know what they're doing. But, don't the HD-1's cost a bazillion times more than your V8's? From that perspective the KRK's have to be given props.

"Very nice site there Barefoot -- I like the style of your speakers.... I may yet commission a pair from you for a mastering suite, if I decide to go in that direction! "
Thanks Bruce. I just put the site up about a week ago. I wish I had more recent pictures up there, but pulling out the camera just rarely occurs to me. My wife complains all time about me not taking enough family pictures too.

Yeah, if you decide that way, let me know early in the planning stages. As you know the speakers and the room are really flip sides of a single coin. I've been developing some killer designs lately. I'm trying to push the limits of low distortion and wide dynamic range. Pricey designs, but I build for fun these days so it's pretty much at cost. I just use other peoples money to sustain my expensive hobby.

barefoot