CoolCat
Well-known member
Thought someone might enjoy this article.
Instead of Remember the Alamo!...in the mixing world it's Remember the Auratone!
The full article reminded us of why "small cube speakers" were introduced by the Pro's in the 1970's and still in use today;
To duplicate/replicate the average listeners stereo, which was in the 70's the car stereo was turning out to be a huge seller.
(Millions of HiFi cassette players in the car, man...can you dig it!).
Also, summarized..Near Fields are desinged for close range listening (near field), and Home type speakers are designed for long throw listening (why they don't work real well), and how we home recording nuts want a flat speaker response so the mixes are more universal from the crap/evil WalMart boom boxes to average joe's BestBuy Home stereo.
ARTICLE/excerpt:
This point was brought home to me recently as I chatted with ace mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge. With multiple platinum credits to his name, Lord-Alge certainly qualifies as an “expert” on the subject of monitoring, at least in the sense that he knows what it takes to turn out mixes that sound great across the board, from boom box to high-end audiophile system. And just as surely, Lord-Alge has attained success enough to acquire and use any monitor he wants. So what monitors does he use? The latest, greatest, most expensive ones available? Not at all. Rather, Lord-Alge uses the same monitors he has mixed on for most of his career: a pair of Yamaha NS-10Ms. “The key thing with any monitors,” explains Lord-Alge, “is that you get used to them. That's ultimately what makes them work for you. And 25 years on NS-10s hasn't led me wrong yet.”
CAN OF WORMS
This brings us to a can of worms I'd just as soon not open — but open it we must if we're to inquire seriously into the nature of reference monitoring. Anyone who has searched for the “perfect” monitor has run smack into this dilemma, which is best summed up by these questions: Who, ultimately, are you mixing for? The snooty audiophile with speakers that cost more than most folks' cars? Or the masses who listen to music on cheap systems?
Lord-Alge's answer is enlightening: “Ninety-five percent of people listen to music in their car or on a cheap home stereo; 5 percent may have better systems; and maybe 1 percent have a $20,000 stereo. So if it doesn't sound good on something small, what's the point? You can mix in front of these huge, beautiful, pristine, $10,000 powered monitors all you want. But no one else has those monitors, so you're more likely to end up with a translation problem.”
Similarly, I learned a few years ago that John Leventhal, who was one of my heroes at the time, did the bulk of his mixing on a pair of small Radio Shack speakers. (Leventhal, a New York City-based guitarist, songwriter, and engineer, made his mark by producing Shawn Colvin's acclaimed 1989 record, Steady On.) Leventhal owns both a pair of Yamaha NS-10Ms and a pair of Radio Shack Optimus 7s. But he prefers the latter.
So COOL? yes?..pumped up?...running for the garage sales to find some old unwanted Mini 7's for $10 a pair, are you?....think how many Optimus 7's you could buy with one Platinum mix!
So yes, I blew the dust off my garage sale Optimus 7's ($5)...did a few mixes...and I'll be damned if the mix didn't fly alright in my car stereo. I also have a NS10 copy Nearfields.
The 7's are a nice compimentary speaker set if you don't own Auratones. Will they be my favorite like JL's?
The 7's don't play too loud, so it prevented some ear burn out.
Now for the tech heads.. there are different flavors of 7's...Minimus 7's, Optimus 7's..and the current RCA 7's model (with bass port?)..~$60.00 pair.
Will the originals become collector items?
...does this mean I saved $10,000 on studio monitors.? hee,he
Instead of Remember the Alamo!...in the mixing world it's Remember the Auratone!
The full article reminded us of why "small cube speakers" were introduced by the Pro's in the 1970's and still in use today;
To duplicate/replicate the average listeners stereo, which was in the 70's the car stereo was turning out to be a huge seller.
(Millions of HiFi cassette players in the car, man...can you dig it!).
Also, summarized..Near Fields are desinged for close range listening (near field), and Home type speakers are designed for long throw listening (why they don't work real well), and how we home recording nuts want a flat speaker response so the mixes are more universal from the crap/evil WalMart boom boxes to average joe's BestBuy Home stereo.
ARTICLE/excerpt:
This point was brought home to me recently as I chatted with ace mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge. With multiple platinum credits to his name, Lord-Alge certainly qualifies as an “expert” on the subject of monitoring, at least in the sense that he knows what it takes to turn out mixes that sound great across the board, from boom box to high-end audiophile system. And just as surely, Lord-Alge has attained success enough to acquire and use any monitor he wants. So what monitors does he use? The latest, greatest, most expensive ones available? Not at all. Rather, Lord-Alge uses the same monitors he has mixed on for most of his career: a pair of Yamaha NS-10Ms. “The key thing with any monitors,” explains Lord-Alge, “is that you get used to them. That's ultimately what makes them work for you. And 25 years on NS-10s hasn't led me wrong yet.”
CAN OF WORMS
This brings us to a can of worms I'd just as soon not open — but open it we must if we're to inquire seriously into the nature of reference monitoring. Anyone who has searched for the “perfect” monitor has run smack into this dilemma, which is best summed up by these questions: Who, ultimately, are you mixing for? The snooty audiophile with speakers that cost more than most folks' cars? Or the masses who listen to music on cheap systems?
Lord-Alge's answer is enlightening: “Ninety-five percent of people listen to music in their car or on a cheap home stereo; 5 percent may have better systems; and maybe 1 percent have a $20,000 stereo. So if it doesn't sound good on something small, what's the point? You can mix in front of these huge, beautiful, pristine, $10,000 powered monitors all you want. But no one else has those monitors, so you're more likely to end up with a translation problem.”
Similarly, I learned a few years ago that John Leventhal, who was one of my heroes at the time, did the bulk of his mixing on a pair of small Radio Shack speakers. (Leventhal, a New York City-based guitarist, songwriter, and engineer, made his mark by producing Shawn Colvin's acclaimed 1989 record, Steady On.) Leventhal owns both a pair of Yamaha NS-10Ms and a pair of Radio Shack Optimus 7s. But he prefers the latter.
So COOL? yes?..pumped up?...running for the garage sales to find some old unwanted Mini 7's for $10 a pair, are you?....think how many Optimus 7's you could buy with one Platinum mix!
So yes, I blew the dust off my garage sale Optimus 7's ($5)...did a few mixes...and I'll be damned if the mix didn't fly alright in my car stereo. I also have a NS10 copy Nearfields.
The 7's are a nice compimentary speaker set if you don't own Auratones. Will they be my favorite like JL's?
The 7's don't play too loud, so it prevented some ear burn out.
Now for the tech heads.. there are different flavors of 7's...Minimus 7's, Optimus 7's..and the current RCA 7's model (with bass port?)..~$60.00 pair.
Will the originals become collector items?
...does this mean I saved $10,000 on studio monitors.? hee,he
