monitors, what am i looking for when looking to purchase?

[phili blunt]

my budget is $300-400 cdn. not looking for the best pair of monitors but something that will get the job done, nicely.

what am i looking for when looking to purchase monitors?

of course quality.

there are monitors that can be powered through mixers? i forgot the term that its called that people use.

is there a difference quality wise between powered and the other term?

can anyone help me out, as i am lookin to cop a pair after the christams holidays (being that they will probably be on sale or there will be a little discount % after the holidays).

 

[Calwood]

Go to the store and listen to different pairs of monitors,....buy the ones that you like. If you cant and your forced to order them from a catalog,..well,..then its a crap shoot my friend.

Sorry,..I couldnt be more help,..but if you do even a little research on this site,..you will see that monitor buying is a subject which has way too many sides to it. Best,..thing is,..buy the ones that sound good to you.

Good luck,...


Later,..
Calwood

 

[kylen]

Best,..thing is,..buy the ones that sound good to you.

I would add to what Calwood said by mentioning that once you've picked a pair out that sound good in the showroom then you have to pick out the place where they sound best in your room.

Here's some keywords for seaching and research on this forum and you can pick a few new ones out of google this way too:

acoustics, modes, standing wave, diffraction, boundary effect

Those are the ones I'm working with right now although I'm beginning to think boundary effect is one of the smaller details to worry with - the last %15 in other words.

Happy Holiday with your new monitors !

kylen

 

[grinder]

Actually, buy the ones that sound the best, in a store with a thirty day return policy, 'cause in your studio they'll probably sound differant.Unpowered speakers are passive, powered are active.You'll need a good, clean power amp if you get passives. Check out the Yorkville ysm1p's (active), made in good ole' Canada.They sound great to my ear and are very well reviewed.They also make a passive version but, I can't comment on those.

 

[chessrock]

what am i looking for when looking to purchase monitors?

Ideally, what you are looking for is something very clinical and boring sounding. Something that doesn't overhype certain things or de-emphasize others. You want something very honest.

At least that's kind of the text-book idea.

The important thing is you have to be listening through something that allows you to hear everything you need to hear. The idea isn't to get something that sounds good with Okay Computer going through it, because anything sounds good with that.

Basically, if you do a 3 db EQ change, you want to be able to dramatically and immediately hear the difference it makes. You want to be able to hear minor buzzes, beeps and random clicks and pops. You want something that allows you to hear the kind of space in which everything was recorded. Was it a small room? Large? Medium? How about the reverb? Can you tell if it's real (room accoustics) or digital? Can you tell what kind of verb it is? Large hall? Plate? You also want to be able to tell very clearly where every instrument in a mix is placed. Can you hear the difference a 10-degree pan/shift makes on something in the stereo spectrum, for instance?

These are all signs of a good monitor for you.

 

[grinder]

Good points, Chessrock.

 

[malcolm123]

Good points, Chessrock.

YEP,

one of the best informative replies I have seen yet.

 

[chessrock]

Thanks guys. Every once in a great while, I post something non-harrassing.

The proof is really in the day-to-day use. You should be able to clearly hear what small boost and cuts are doing to your audio . . . or you'll wind up overdoing things. I've learned that one the hard way.

A reverb boost of 20% should sound like . . . you've suddenly got 20% more reverb. Very simple ideas, really, but they're the most important. Even with monitors that aren't flat, your ears can can learn to adapt and translate . . . as long as they can hear what you're doing, and as long as everything's there for them to hear. Don't dismiss a monitor that sounds "funny" to you. It's very likely that really hearing your audio the way it is will seem very strange and foreign at first.

A good way to test monitors would be to burn a bunch of copies of the same audio; but apply a +3 db increase at 1khz to sample B, a -3 db decrease at 200 hz to sample C and so on. Try the same thing with Reverb levels; sample A 20% wet, samle B 40% wet, etc. and so on.

Bring the CD to wherever you're auditioning, and listen to it on each set of monitors you're testing. When it comes down to it, the best monitors for you are probably going to be the ones where you could most clearly distinguish the differences between your samples . . . where the changes are most evident and tangible to you.

 

[kylen]

A good way to test monitors would be to burn a bunch of copies of the same audio; but apply a +3 db increase at 1khz to sample B, a -3 db decrease at 200 hz to sample C and so on. Try the same thing with Reverb levels; sample A 20% wet, samle B 40% wet, etc. and so on.

Good grief - what a great idea ! Not only in the showroom but to see if your listening room is set up so you can hear small adjustments...good one chessrock !
kylen

 

[grinder]

Yeah, very cool idea!

 

[malcolm123]

Yep !!

Hey, somebody go ahead and make one. LOL

I would , But ,, I am actually starting back to record now.

sh@t, I have been down for about 5 months.

Plus Im still learning the ins and outs of the new mixer.


Malcolm

 

[phili blunt]

seen

good lookin out chessrock. good tips on what to look and hear for. imma have to make that cd and put it into effect.

hopefully i'll be able to tell the difference which i should. been working with stereo speakers for too long...

whats the difference between nearfield and midfield if there is any? does it depend on room size etc?? im a little sluggish and tired so mind me for not really knowing. i think i know the general idea but still not really sure about it. can anyone explain? if not i'll just check it out on google tommarrow