monitors for use with laptop

  • Thread starter Thread starter LI_Slim
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LI_Slim

LI_Slim

voice in the wilderness
This is probably a stupid question. I am used to plugging studio monitors into an interface. However, lately I picked up a tascam portastudio for certain recording situations. I have transferred my tracks to my Dell laptop so I can use my mixing software. However, the laptop just has a USB out for speakers, and I don't know how connect my (active) nearfield monitors.

What should I do? Should I just get some decent multimedia speakers?
 
TimOBrien said:
NO to gamer speakers.

You have to replace that 40cent soundcard and get a usb audio interface, the stereo ones aren't that expensive.
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I kinda agree here... you'll have a hard time finding a laptop to match your old Aardvark interface.

Here are a few ideas... especially if you have a cardbus on the laptop; it's way faster than USB.

http://www.shop4tech.com/user.htm?go=view_item&id=8278&r=183

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41998&Category=Audio_Interfaces

http://www.smproaudio.com/produkte/...sb-audio-interface-und-stand-alone-mixer.html

But this one may make the most sense and be most intuitive:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41562&Category=Audio_Interfaces
 
LI_Slim said:
This is probably a stupid question. I am used to plugging studio monitors into an interface. However, lately I picked up a tascam portastudio for certain recording situations. I have transferred my tracks to my Dell laptop so I can use my mixing software. However, the laptop just has a USB out for speakers, and I don't know how connect my (active) nearfield monitors.

What should I do? Should I just get some decent multimedia speakers?
Click to expand...

You could get a y jack and come out of the headphone jack.
But the QT will be something else.



:cool:
 
Treeline said:
I kinda agree here... you'll have a hard time finding a laptop to match your old Aardvark interface.

Here are a few ideas... especially if you have a cardbus on the laptop; it's way faster than USB.

http://www.shop4tech.com/user.htm?go=view_item&id=8278&r=183

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41998&Category=Audio_Interfaces

http://www.smproaudio.com/produkte/...sb-audio-interface-und-stand-alone-mixer.html

But this one may make the most sense and be most intuitive:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41562&Category=Audio_Interfaces
Click to expand...


So I guess what everyone's trying to tell me is that if I just use a y jack from the headphone out the quality will be too poor for me to hear it properly when I am mixing.

Sometimes I wonder if this sort of thing really matters any more since everything is reduced to .mp3 anyway. Maybe I'm better off mixing at that quality level!
 
LI_Slim said:
Sometimes I wonder if this sort of thing really matters any more since everything is reduced to .mp3 anyway. Maybe I'm better off mixing at that quality level!
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The majority of inaccuracy with MP3 encoding is in the >15k range. It's still important that you have speakers that can reproduce what's happening in the rest of the range properly, even if everything you ever mixed was only going to MP3. Add to that the idea that you'll also want speakers that aren't going to fatigue your ears to the point where you get tired of mixing something and wind up phoning it in just to get it over with.

IMHO, FWTW, the MP3 phenom has no bearing on the decision for what gear to use. Plus, MP3 isn't going to last as a standard any longer than vinyl, cassette, or CD did. Considering MP3 has been da thing for close to fifteen years now, I'd say it's not going to be around that much longer before being replaced by the next big money-making technology for the manufacturers to glom onto.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
The majority of inaccuracy with MP3 encoding is in the >15k range. It's still important that you have speakers that can reproduce what's happening in the rest of the range properly, even if everything you ever mixed was only going to MP3. Add to that the idea that you'll also want speakers that aren't going to fatigue your ears to the point where you get tired of mixing something and wind up phoning it in just to get it over with.


G.
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I get this, although it's not the speakers we're talking about. It's how to get from the .wav files in the laptop to the speakers
 
LI_Slim said:
I get this, although it's not the speakers we're talking about. It's how to get from the .wav files in the laptop to the speakers
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For 80 bucks, get the Lexicon and be done with it. Use it like a monitor mixer even though it is a full interface. Should work fine.
 
Treeline said:
For 80 bucks, get the Lexicon and be done with it. Use it like a monitor mixer even though it is a full interface. Should work fine.
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What's in there anyway? Wouldn't a quality sound card cost more than that whole unit?
 
LI_Slim said:
What's in there anyway? Wouldn't a quality sound card cost more than that whole unit?
Click to expand...

Well I expect Lexicon worked out the circuitry with a 4-input unit, then repackaged as an entry level 2-input unit. It won't have converters like an Apogee, but hey - Lexicon is a decent marque and the thing isn't costing a grand. I have a buddy up here who is using one like this and loves it. Give it a shot.
 
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