Monitor Speakers - how good?

[Kwong]

My Korg D1600 needs powered speakers for monitors. Now...I know everyone will probably cringe and cry out about this but....I have no realy need for expensive monitors but would like to hear what I have done without the headphones and would like a few folks to listen before I finalize stuff to CD. Could I not use these Harmon/Kardon PC speakers as monitors?

And before we run off here and tell me what great little monitors for really cheap I can get.....I live in Saudi Arabia and pickings are slim. They DO sell powered monitors downtown but I don;t particularly want to drop $1,200 on a pair...which is what they have!

Ken

 

[SPINSTERWUN]

Well Kwong, monitors are VERY important piece to have for the mixing puzzle.

But.......

If you don't have the money for a pair of monitors, then you just don't have the money for monitors.

So....

You must use what you have already, to monitor your mixes.

Remember "music is the key".

You must do what it takes to create music, with or without monitors .

Good luck and happy mixing.

spin

 

[Rubo4]

Look on Ebay, for around $150 you can get Alesis Monitor One and for another $150 Alesis RA-100 Amp. If you have a home stereo you can use it as your amp - that's what I do till I can afford Genelec 1029s.

 

[Cyrokk]

..don't know if this will help you any.. but maybe it will give you some ideas.. so here it goes:

A DOWN AND DIRTY MONITOR SYSTEM

Take your favorite professionally recorded CD and record a sample of one of the songs to a quality cassette tape.

Play the tape in different tape machines, like your car stereo, boom box, home stereo, etc. Listen to see where EQ adjustments can be made to make the cassette recording sound better..

Using an EQ between the CD and tape deck, record the sample again..

Repeat the steps above until you get what you feel is the best sound recorded to cassette..

You now have an EQ setting that when hooked to your speakers compensates for some of the sound deficiency that would have been picked up by studio monitors..

It takes a bit of trial and error to get the settings right (but what's improvement without trial and error?)...

I don't have monitors yet.. so I had to take this approach, and I can honestly say that the results improved the quality of my recording by 200%

Cy

 

[Leeking]

Hi Kwong,

Is it difficult to get recording stuff in Saudi?

It is difficult here in Malaysia.... but Malaysia has loads of Yamaha stuff.... that's why I got myself Yamaha MSP5 monitors (US500 a pair)... it's not the best, but certainly better than any PC speakers.

BTW, are you a local in Saudi? cos your name looks like Chinese...

have fun!

 

[Kwong]

HAHA! NO...not a local

Thanks all.....for the tips and such, though still don't have the answer as to whether PC powered speakers WILL work...

I am not a Saudi...am an American expat living and working here. There is minimal availability in the way of home recording products, which is really not surprising as the Saudi culture is not that music oriented and there is no such thing as public entertainment.

And it is not as if I cannot afford powered monitors....I just have a hard time justifying the cost to myself. I do like the idea, and thought about, using a small stereo as a monitor....so my monitor out signal would go to a stereo input. And thanks for the EQ advice to compensate for the difference in quality....good idea!


I suppose....eventually...I can see this happening.....I WILL end up getting very nice monitors. After all...I started out looking at 4 track tape recarders to just do some simple recording and wound up buying the Korg D1600......rationalization is a wonderful thing.

Ken.....oh....Kwong is a joke between my fiance and myself. I love to cook and put on a Japanese accent....started out as Kenny Wong the Oriental Chef and became shortened to Kwong! Have no oriental blood in me at all...in fact my mother is from Iceland so I am rather at the opposite end of the spectrum!

 

[The Green Hornet]

Ahh, so, Kwong:

If you invented your own monitors, you would have a great marketing line:

YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH KWONG!!

But, since you probably have friends in the USA, get a pair of Yorkville YSM-1 monitors -- stateside about 108.00 each. Total: 216 pezzutos. You can hook them up to about anything and you will have a reasonable platform to mix your stuff and you will hear what's going on quite well.

Yeah, there are better monitors out there but for the $$ your won't beat the sound quality of the Yorkvilles -- and, Kwong, I am not a Yorkville sales person.

Old Chinese proverb: Man who kiss girl on side of hill not on level.


Green Hornet

Kato still lives.