Need Active monitors that can handle LOWS..

  • Thread starter Thread starter gkowal
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gkowal

New member
and they need to be cheap.. UNDER 300$
from what i see they can me out of this list...

MAudio BX5 Powered Monitors
Samson Resolv 65a Active Reference Monitors
Event TR5 Tuned Reference Biamplified Studio Monitors
Fostex PM05 Powered Monitors

can somebody help me??
 
if you want lows like frequencies below 60hz your prolly gonna need a subwoofer to adjust it accurately
 
At that price range,, he is damn sure gonna need a Sub.

Hey,, get you a pair of monitors and learn how they translate.

The more you mix on them and play your tracks back in other environments,, the more you will learn about how your "lows" really work or sound or whatever.

Or if you already have monitors,, buy a Sub


Good Luck

Malcolm
 
Go for the Samson Resolv 65a

I upgraded a small project studio a couple of weeks ago and ran into space limitations that made me look at active monitors with 5" woofers.

After checking out the market, IMHO, there are NO monitors out there that can adequately represent bass frequencies with any presence or accuracy so long as they rely only on 5" woofers.

Without going to a subwoofer configuration, you need at least an 8" woofer for a substantial bottom end. For this, expect to pay upwards of $400 - $500 for an decent active monitor pair.

I did not have the cash, not the space for these larger monitors. I did not want a passive monitor+amp setup. I don't like subwoofers for monitoring. So I wound up looking at a number of 6.5" woofer equipped active monitors.

I bought a set of the Samson Resolv 65a monitors:

1. They are compact and built solid.
2. They have multiple connections, including TRS and 1/4".
3. They are front ported, which allows for more apparent bass and placement against a rear wall.
4. They have a mid-range frequency adjustment switch that allows you to tailor the sound to room characteristics or to mimic different speakers.
5. Although I cannot measure this scientifically, to my ears these monitors sound flat and uncolored. There are no unusual characteristics that would require long hours of ear training and compensation.
6. They are a bargain at the $299 you can pick them up for at any online dealer. Refurbished/returns/B-stock they are often available online for $255 - $275. I bought mine on Ebay for $225 + shipping.

Are the Samsons adequate for deep synth bass licks, pipe organ, sampled bass drum hits, tympani or string bass? No. You can't overcome the limitations of physics. Are they a great compromise taking into consideration size, price and audio performance. Absolutely.

If you have more money available, check out the Haflers. They are the best in their price range. When your music is covered by 50cent and the sky's the limit, go Dynaudio. In the meantime, the Samsons will more than do ya.
 
My soon to be released monitors go down to 36Hz and roll off at half the rate of a typical monitor. They go very LOW.... with very low distortion.

However... my target price is approximately $1900 each. This will actually be quite a bargain relative to monitors of comparable performance, but still way out in the stratosphere relative to your budget. Sorry.:(

Maybe after you're first record contract!:D

Thomas

http://barefootsound.com
 
Thomas,
Could you enlighten us on the design of your monitors.

Thanks!!!

T
 
Tonio,

Right now I'm trying to strike a balance between sparking people's interest and not giving away too many details before the release date in about 2 months.

I can tell you that my first product offering will essentially be the combination of an active near field monitor and sub in a compact, extremely accurate, and rather powerful single little package. It's geared toward professional studios and serious amateurs who want uncompromising monitoring performance across the entire musical spectrum.

Thanks for asking!!:D
Thomas

http://barefootsound.com
 
Hmmmmmm... combination w/ sub. Well I have to say that you have my interest!!

Tony

barefoot said:
Tonio,

Right now I'm trying to strike a balance between sparking people's interest and not giving away too many details before the release date in about 2 months.

I can tell you that my first product offering will essentially be the combination of an active near field monitor and sub in a compact, extremely accurate, and rather powerful single little package. It's geared toward professional studios and serious amateurs who want uncompromising monitoring performance across the entire musical spectrum.

Thanks for asking!!:D
Thomas

http://barefootsound.com
Click to expand...
 
Try to find used Tannoy DMT10, but these will go for about $500 -$600, plus you'll need an amp.

Cheers
 
oooo go get the Event TR5s. I was skeptical at first because they're so small, but last night my neighbor called the police with a noise complaint. I guess they're getting the job done. Seriously, they're great for the money.
 
Why not suggest an inexpensive monitor?

Thomas,

The original poster stated a very definite budget limit ($300), so suggesting options costing close to $2,000 aren't helpful.

I've read many of your posts, love the focus of the http://www.johnlsayers.com site... but while your comments are knowledgeable and very often helpful, they are definitely targeting people with the funds or skills to build higher end monitoring systems.

I have a lot of amateur musician friends that dabble in home recording. They would LOVE to have Mackies, Dynaudio or Genelecs. Their wives would walk, their children would starve and their beer supplies would disappear!

I have gotten to the point where I just hand them a short list of decent monitors covering different price ranges and tell them to keep checking music stores and auction sites for discounts and bargains.

What would you recommend to someone that has a budget of only $300? How about $500?
 
Last edited:
pjabber,

Well yeah..... I know my monitors are way out of gkowal's budget. That post was clearly a plug for my business. But, grant me a little leeway. I'm just trying to start a small business, pursue my true passions and talents, and create things I can be proud of at the end of the day.... things that help people get closer to their music! :) In some ways I honestly believe this is my little sacred endeavor..... my gift back to the universe.

Anyhow, as far as suggesting inexpensive monitors, I think there are already plenty of other people doing that.... people who have spent a lot more time making comparisons than I have. I'm not sure what I could add. You might also notice that I don't make many recommendations regarding expensive speakers either.

And when it comes to speakers, more than any other audio component, you really do tend to get what you pay for. The only exceptions to this rule are do-it-yourself speakers. In this case you can spend $400 or $500 and get monitors that easily rival those costing 2 or 3 times as much. This is my idea of great sound on a budget.... and I often do make recommendations for DIY kits. And I don't think the idea of people here building their own speakers from kits is radical. Most board members are very capable. After all, they're already teaching themselves how to record music and build their own studios!:)

Thomas

http://barefootsound.com


PS - If anyone knows how to actually get in touch with the Dragon, please let him know that I'm also interested in paying for board space to plug my speakers. :D He hasn't replied to any of my inquiries. :confused:
 
Fair enough, Thomas, though I would think the market for your announced price point might be better found at prorec.com or other professional recording sites. How about expanding the range of your prospective products and addressing the needs of entry level users?

Not to highjack the thread but what do you think of www.fostexspeakers.com and www.lowtherspeakers.com and the single driver setups on offer there? There are a couple of DIY projects there that might be an alternative to users.

Cheers!
 
Hey barefoot.

I was looking through your recomendations for kits, and looking through your website forum, and i saw the borealis project speaker from north creek music.
http://www.northcreekmusic.com/LoudspeakerProjects.html

It looks like it would be a really good speaker, i was looking at the Borealis unlimited project for $1049. Would this be really difficult to build for someone with no experience, and if i make a small error, will it basically destroy the whole speaker? Is it easy to avoid those small errors?

Also would this be much better than a prebuild speaker from other big brands in the same price range? I'd like to use it has a listening speaker for hi fi, and also for mixing and stuff like that. Would this speaker be one of the ones you were saying which would be as good as one costing around 3 times as much?

Thanks.
 
ambi said:
...Would this be really difficult to build for someone with no experience, and if i make a small error, will it basically destroy the whole speaker? Is it easy to avoid those small errors?
Click to expand...
The designs are complete, the crossovers come pre assembled, so the main challenge with any North Creek kit is building a nice solid cabinet. If you can enlist a friend who has some basic power tools and experience with woodworking it really shouldn't be too difficult. The designs don't call for any fancy joint work. The only way you could really screw it up is by building a loose cabinet that vibrates and/or radiates a lot of sound.

Would this speaker be one of the ones you were saying which would be as good as one costing around 3 times as much?
Click to expand...
Yes, definitely.

However, I personally wouldn't recommend the Unlimited version. I think the standard version is a much better value. If you have the $1049 to spend, then I'd recommend putting in another $50 and building the Rhythm instead.

North Creek has skillfully engineered excellent speakers, but they seem to also have some peculiar superstitions. They apparently believe that huge, expensive inductors are a key to good sound. I just don't see it in the measurements, or hear it in the end product. Even intuitively it doesn't make sense. You have speaker voice coils that weigh only a few grams, have a DC resistance of several ohms, and are expected to dissipate 95% of the energy in the circuit. The standard inductors weigh hundreds of grams, have DC resistances of 10ths of an Ohm, and dissipate only a tiny fraction of the circuit energy. Doubling the number of voice coils (halving the energy dissipation in each) is clearly going to have far more linearity benefits than doubling the size of the inductors.

Anyhow, the crossover components used in the standard systems are very high quality and are on a par with most any kit or commercial speaker you will find.


Thomas
 
So even though the rhythm is a floor standing speaker, with 2 woofers and a tweeter, it would still work for monitoring as well as a home stereo speaker?

My father has a lot of power tools and does wood work/construction stuff for a living.
I've done a little bit, so i think we could make something really nice.

Yea so you think the cheaper one is the better value, or the rhythm?

I wonder if they ship to canada
 
" hum "

Interesting.

Good link and posts guys. Ill keep watching for more info.


Malcolm
 
ambi,


Sounds like you have the cabinet construction issues covered.

For straight nearfield monitoring at 85dB, the Borealis is probably the better value. If you also want to rock the house a bit more, then the Rhythm is the better choice. The dual woofer format has a few other advantages besides loudness, but you would have keep your monitoring position at least 1 meter or more. Actually, I'd recommend that for most speaker, single or dual woofer.

There would be nothing at all wrong with turning the Rhythm upside down and sitting on the mixer bridge like any other nearfield. A slightly more advanced approach would be to make the cabinet shorter but deeper. As long as you maintain the same cabinet width, internal volume, and don't mess with the port dimension, every thing is cool.

pjabber,

I'd love to be able to offer high quality "entry level" monitors, but this is an almost impossible business for a small manufacturer to compete in. In order to get the costs down one needs to build in high quantities. And to build in high quantities one needs a lot of $$$. I just don't have that kind of starting capital.

As far as the Fostex and Lowthers, I don't know of any full-range drivers suitable for "serious" monitoring. I've posted a design for an updated Auratone type monitor on John Sayer's Recording Studio Design Forum, but these are definitely intended as "supplemental" monitors. I consider single driver full-range speakers as more of a cult novelty than anything serious. Multi-way speakers definitely have their problems, but dollar for dollar, pound for pound, they still easily trounce the performance of full-range speakers.

Thomas

http://barefootsound.com
 
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