Monitor Placment

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jimmychalk

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I have two Mackie HR824s in an open, non-sound treated room, I know it is not the "ideal" but it is all I can do! Does anyone have any tips on which way to place the monitors? They are on a wood table, is this a no-no? Thanks!

Jimmy Chalk
 
It is pretty common to place nearfields at head height with the space between them being about equal to the distance your head is away from them. Example, if you are five feet away from the monitors they need to be about five feet apart from each other. As for being on a wood table, as long as the monitors are not back far enough on the table to cause reflections from the drivers soundwaves bouncing off the table you should be ok. You want to avoid reflective surfaces directly in front, below, above or besides your monitors. Oh ya angle them in slightly towards your ears.
HTH
 
A bit more info:
Asumming you are using a untreated room !.

First off - I would choose a monitor that has a weaker bass response or else you are looking for trouble.......

Turn the tweeters a bit inside angled to your ears if you are the single listener.

Place them along the longer walls a few centemiters away from from the wall.

Keep them away from corners !.
If you must have them near a corner then try to make sure that the distance from the floor to the back wall to the side wall are all different (as much as you can).
 
This thread came at a good time...im getting ready to get my first set of real monitors for a very poor sounding room....i was pretty set on Yorkville YSM-1's but Im considering these now since they have a very weak bass response, the Hafler M5's

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ex/shop/home/010721110132024004254166411422?pid=607003

Im not doing anything terribly serious outside of songwriter demos so would these be ok?....

Somewhat off topic, Im trying out a Marshall MXLv67 and its very,very,very nice sounding but this dude picks up anything and everything and really shows how bad of a room I record in...the only way to get a good sound is to close myself in the closet...Im not to sure about this....I hate to send it back, but I had better luck with my SM57...any comments?......
 
At the very least, decouple the monitors from the table they are on by 3/4 to 1 inches of open-cell neoprene.

Bruce
 
Gidge said:
This thread came at a good time...im getting ready to get my first set of real monitors for a very poor sounding room....i was pretty set on Yorkville YSM-1's but Im considering these now since they have a very weak bass response, the Hafler M5's

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ex/shop/home/010721110132024004254166411422?pid=607003

Im not doing anything terribly serious outside of songwriter demos so would these be ok?....

I haven't heard those ever but it is better to go with a
weaker bass response in a bad room.


Somewhat off topic, Im trying out a Marshall MXLv67 and its very,very,very nice sounding but this dude picks up anything and everything and really shows how bad of a room I record in...the only way to get a good sound is to close myself in the closet...Im not to sure about this....I hate to send it back, but I had better luck with my SM57...any comments?......
Click to expand...

Maybe you should consider investing a bit in room treatment even a bit here and there can make vast improvments.
Simple things like using a bookshelf with differet sizes of books all mixed up as a diffusor and home made bass traps.
Or... there are simple ways (if you want to put a drop of work into it) to build out of a single corner using the shape of a triangle to isolate it from your room alike a ISO booth. It doesnt require to much work and expense.

Dont send the mic back.
 
The original post stated he did all he can do so room treatments didn't seem to be a option.

Bruce, Why decouple the speakers? So many studios have many pairs of monitors on homemade wood stands and some on the meterbridge itself.
 
To reduce unwanted coloration due to resonance and vibration thru the console, especially when monitors are mounted on the console or meter-bridge! (which is why you need at least 3/4" open-cell neoprene - anything less is too thin to be effective)

Bruce
 
Bruce are you saying that wood monitor stands are not good, what is all this talk about
which is why you need at least 3/4" open-cell neoprene - anything less is too thin to be effective)
Click to expand...
. What the heck does all that mean... When I get my monitors I am thinking of building monitor stands my self, and they would be made out of wood.


F.J.A.
 
FYI

Totally agree with all said above but...

If you place a speaker on the floor or a table, the overall bass response in the room will go up +3dB. If you put it in the corner (I mean the walls or shelves are close to the speaker) the bass response will go up twice as much i.e. +6dB.

This are the measured facts - handle it with care or you'll end up with poor bass when playing the record on your home stereo:)
 
frank_1 said:
Bruce are you saying that wood monitor stands are not good, what is all this talk about . What the heck does all that mean... When I get my monitors I am thinking of building monitor stands my self, and they would be made out of wood.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I was a bit unclear... when mounted on stands behind the console, you wouldn't have to worry about using neoprene - it's only when nearfields are mounted on a console directly that they should be decoupled to avoid resonance and vibration thru the console itself.

(For example, decoupling neoprene is supplied when you buy Westlake monitors if they are to be mounted above the meter bridge of a console)

When using stands, you are likely using triangular "feet" which will decouple the stands from the floor, so you won't have to worry about it.
 
You can tweak your monitors using controls on backplate, and modify bass response.
They have settings " near wall, in corner, in free space " ( or something)
 
With a monitor like the Hafler M5 being weak in the bass, how hard is it going to be to get a good bottom end mix....i already like to mix bass heavy as it is.....
 
Dont worry.
study them and get to know them. Slowly you'll know when its enough. Just compare them on a different set to be sure.

Just look at the NS10's. No bottom end. I've done full albums on them.
 
these M5's have less bass than the NS10's...in fact, under "normal" mixing situations, its reccomended to use a subwoofer with them...is this going to be too little bass and should I go with something with a more similiar low end to the NS10's, like the Yorkville's?......
 
hmmm using a sub during normal conditions isnt that normal.

Check them out first using a cd you know well.
Then decide.
 
Ok, Ill quit whining now.....

Shailat, thanks for the info....you da man.....
 
Shailat,

I will check out those Hafler's with a few CD's this weekend.....thanks again......
 
Late response - this is really a situation where bi-amped monitors come in their own, as some of them, especially the Mackie's and the LSR25's, have excellent configuration possibilites for different scenarios, even including placement near walls and in corners.
 
I have two pics of where I am planning on putting my monitors when I buy them. Tell me if this a bad spot for them... I do NOT plan on using that table, like I said before I will build my own monitor stands out of wood.


...If you want me to post larger photos just say so...
 
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