Passive Monitors?

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scottn5388

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I have a really nice NAD stereo amplifier that I’ve got hooked up to my computer.

What passive monitors would you recommend?

I was looking at a pair of Bose stereo speakers and sub-woofer; will these do the same thing?

I would like to keep the price under 300 if I can.

Thanks,
Scott
 
No, Bose are very phoney sounding.

You need some reference monitors. Firstly, that NAD might not have the juice. What are its specs into both 4 and 8 ohms?

Slackmaster 2000
 
It's a NAD 7220PE.
I couldn't find specific specs for 4 or 8 ohms, but i did read that it has 35 watts per channel. I dont know what setting that is for.

Thanks,
Scott
 
Probably 8ohms...so maybe 50-60W at 4ohms? If it'll even do 4ohms, you might want to check. Some monitors are 8, some are 4.

One thing I learned the hard way is that when selecting a monitoring configuration, you have to have enough power to drive your monitors. Having to crank things up with an underpowered amp will cause distortion and possibly ruin the monitors.

I too am using an NAD amp, an old 3020. I believe it is responsible for screwing one of the woofers in my Event 20/20's. One nice feature of the amp, though, is that it has a preamp output on the rear so I can connect it to a more suitable power amp and still use its preamp features (volume, muting, input switching, etc). Your NAD might have a similar feature, so it's something to keep in mind.

How successful you'll be is hard to say, but since it is just a little 35W amp (mine I think is 25), just be careful to keep your levels within very acceptable margins. I never turn up past 50% anymore, and I rarely even go that far. It depends on the monitors too, and the kind of power range they like to work in. If you are careful, you can get your monitors now and your power amp later...but you probably can't get both for $300.

More suitable power amps are made by companies like Hafler, Crown, Alesis, and so on. The amp I'm currently looking into as it was recommended to me as a good entry level unit is the Hafler TA-1600, which is 75W at 4ohms (60W at 8 ohms) for ~$200....although Event recommends 100-150W per channel, oh well.

Maybe somebody more in the know will jump in here...

Slackmaster 2000
 
Thanks a lot for the help!

I think I’m going to buy some speakers and then go for a higher wattage amp later.

Does anyone have recommendations on a pair of speakers that will give me an accurate sound...but still sound good for playing music too? I’m going to be using these to record but I also want CDs n' stuff to sound good.

I'm relatively new at the whole home recording thing (im only 14), and I don’t need the best speakers out there. I just want some that will give me a fairly accurate sound and also sound good when I am playing CDs, mp3s, etc.


Thanks,
Scott
 
BTW - This is probably a really dumb question but...Is it ok to keep amplifiers on their sides?

-Scott
 
Unfortunately, the two can be mutually exclusive. Reference monitors are designed to give you an accurate representation of the sound (accurate is both an inappropriate and appropriate word in this case). They are tools designed specifically so that you can hear the things you need to hear, such that you can mix and that your mixes translate well onto other systems. As odd as it may seem, this does not usually result in a nice comfortable sound, like you'd expect from a nice home stereo system.

But, I will say this. I basically only listen to music on my 20/20's and I like the way they sound. It's cool to hear the subtle nuiances of good recordings, and interesting to hear little edits or problems that more forgiving speakers would have hidden. Plus, it's a good way to learn the monitors and the room!

All in all, yeah, I can just fire up a CD through my system and listen to it and I don't think, "gosh, I'm listening to reference monitors"....I'm just listening to some tunes, and more often then not it sounds pretty excellent. You won't have that low poppin thump "forget about every frequency over 300hz" crap that you'd get from a typical home system, but you'll get over that craving when you turn 15 :)

This is all subjective...some monitors may sound better than others. I think if you're into recording, you will thank yourself for getting monitors instead of stereo speakers in the long run. It's not a problem listening to music on monitors (um, they're designed for it), but it can be a problem turning out good mixes on hifi speakers.

Again, I use Event 20/20 passive monitors which go at around $300 a pair...pretty cheap but not the cheapest. Despite some people thinking they lack bass, I think they are very well-rounded and tight. There are lots of other brands/models and I'm sure others will chime in with some suggestions.

Whatever you do, I would not recommend a Bose system unless you are not going to mix on it.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I would not turn a power amplifier on its side (your NAD is an integrated amp, meaning it contains both a preamp section and a poweramp). The reason being that they do tend to get very warm, and are designed to be self-cooling. This design will often depend on the amplifier being placed level (e.g. heat rises).

Unless the amp is specifically designed otherwise, I would keep it upright, and always leave plenty of space above them for airflow.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Thanks for all the help Slackmaster!

I guess I'll take your advice and go for some monitors. I'll hang on to my nice computer speakers and probably end up using those for listening to music...or I'll grow to like listening to music through the monitors. But thanks again for your help.

-Scott
 
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