Reference Battle.....Auratone vs NS10?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jiggz
  • Start date Start date
J

jiggz

New member
Ok, i'm on the hunt for one pair or the other.

Could someone tell me who has experience with both sets which ones they think are better at referencing mixes on?
At the moment i'm kinda leaning towards the NS10's as i've heard they have a greater dynamic range and have a slightly higher power rating which will suit the occasions when i made need to do general monitoring on them, but i heard the Auratones have a better transient response. Is this correct, or is there an alternative?

Cheers
Jiggz
 
They are kinda references for 2 different things. The auras are used to hear how your mix will sound on a cheap car stereo, the NS-10s for a more "standard" stereo system. IMHO neither is the way to go without having a better set monitors.
 
masteringhouse said:
They are kinda references for 2 different things. The auras are used to hear how your mix will sound on a cheap car stereo, the NS-10s for a more "standard" stereo system. IMHO neither is the way to go without having a better set monitors.
Click to expand...


In addition:

You find horra tones used more for mono referencing. NS-10s where popular nearfield monitors probably through out the 90s, but clearly these days there are more options to choose from.
 
what really made the ns-10 famous is the claim (i don't personally know if this is true or not) that they sound the same (or very nearly) in any room. and they became such a standard that you could bet whare ever you went you'd find a pair, so if you were used to them, you could have a monitor in any (dam near any) pro studio you walked into that you could rely on and were used to.

they are not made any more but yahama has kept a stockpile of the speaker cones to fix monitors in existance.

something about the paper for the cone being made out of a kind of wood that is starting to dissapear.

when the ns-10s stop being everywhare they loose thier super-power
 
giraffe said:
they are not made any more...

...when the ns-10s stop being everywhare they loose thier super-power
Click to expand...
No loss -- they were dreadful speakers!!! ;)
 
i thought that was the super power
to sound that bad and still sell so many pairs :D
 
Yeah, i'll probably go down the NS10 route, out of the two it seems they will be the most bareable for longer periods of monitoring.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
No loss -- they were dreadful speakers!!! ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, but they always had brand-new tweeters...

Sometimes every other week! :eek:
 
jiggz said:
Yeah, i'll probably go down the NS10 route, out of the two it seems they will be the most bareable for longer periods of monitoring.
Click to expand...
Just curious - why? There are so many better options available now - even on a budget!!!
 
I agree with Bruce. You can find a pair of actives that sound better and cost less than a set of NS-10s.

BTW, what were you planning to power the NS-10s with?
 
And where are you planing on getting new tweeters every two weeks? :eek:

Sorry - Couldn't resist... :D
 
jiggz said:
Ok, i'm on the hunt for one pair or the other.

Could someone tell me who has experience with both sets which ones they think are better at referencing mixes on?
At the moment i'm kinda leaning towards the NS10's as i've heard they have a greater dynamic range and have a slightly higher power rating which will suit the occasions when i made need to do general monitoring on them, but i heard the Auratones have a better transient response. Is this correct, or is there an alternative?

Cheers
Jiggz
Click to expand...
Is this a post from 1989? I haven't seen a pair of Auratones in 15 years. They were terrible. I sold my NS-10's a couple years ago because I couldn't stand using them, they sucked as well.
 
I still say that a $20 pair of plastic boxes from RadShack or some KLM surround speakers make a nice "crap" set.
 
When I used NS-10s (years ago) the trick was to insert a fuse between the the amp and the NS-10s. They stopped blowing tweeters after that.

A local studio used to use old NS-10 tweeters as magnets on a metal door to hold up notices (kinda like a refrigerator). They could hold up quite a few notices! :)
 
jiggz said:
Ok, i'm on the hunt for one pair or the other.

Could someone tell me who has experience with both sets which ones they think are better at referencing mixes on?
At the moment i'm kinda leaning towards the NS10's as i've heard they have a greater dynamic range and have a slightly higher power rating which will suit the occasions when i made need to do general monitoring on them, but i heard the Auratones have a better transient response. Is this correct, or is there an alternative?

Cheers
Jiggz
Click to expand...

Are you talking about those Auratone cubes?

Every studio seems to have them in the pictures I see. They are the most dreadfull sounding crap I have ever heard. Mine sit there above my bigger monitors so that they get captured in my studio pictures. Like the big guys. They probably use them as often as I do.................never.
 
Thanks for all the responses, and i realise there are nicer sounding powered monitors available now, but that's not what i said i was looking for.

To my knowledge - there are still no better mix references available today, and none being manufactured (exept the Pyramids) that simulate what your final mix will sound like accross a broard spectrum of listening environments.

Both the NS10 and the Auratone are noted for their extremely rapid transient response times and their skewed mid range frequency response, and if anyone can point me to a cheap consumer speaker which shares the exact same characteristics as these then i will happily consider them as final mix references - although if there was such a speaker then i would imagine it would have considerable notorioty by now.
 
AURA-NS10-Poop

NEARFIELDS:
...........so the Eng wanted to
hear what the mix would sound like to the masses on their average Joe
units....

so early early days...(pre-stereo 1940's and 1950's)
my understanding is Auratones were for a "car radio" checkout/test out,
yes Mono and begining of stereo. short-greasy hair, well, it seemed long...


but as consumer units improved 60',70's STERO-PHONIC man!!
.... NS10's became even ,more
popular nearfield and better resembled the "average Joe" home-sound....
yeah, some used their old Auratones..becaus ethey "knew the translation"
they knew the speaker. and NS10's went better with beads and afro's(this is key..do you have an afro?? or bell bottom pants?? you must to use NS10's).

so now in 2005....I'd put $5 on 2 smalls and a Sub, as thats what
most home-consumers will listen to your mixes thru. oh and you must shave your head and wear little thick blacks glasses..kinda like mini-Buddy Holly glasses... goatee's are optional, IPOD's are cool too.

but don't listen to me I don't have any GOLD RECORD exp...just reading.

why would you want to learn how to translate mixes on an extinct speaker?
i understand old guys who already "know" them and don't want to relearn...

or are you going for that 70's sound???


There are some small SONY's with Kevlar...$50 pair hook with a cheap-sub..
and there you will have a "simulated" avg Joe listeners setup of 2005.

but i know you won't lesten to me..because you've seen too many pictures
of Geroge Martin with Paul McCartney sitting in front of a mixing console..
and there are those Aura tones..yep...little crap speakers....

i think your missing the "idea" and being blindsided by the "label-fame". IMO
.
 
Last edited:
I noticed that on American Idol (I have to watch the show, my wife and daughter like it) Desmond Child was using NS-10s in the studio where he was.

And Desmond had those thick Buddy Holly glasses too ...
 
mm

JBL Control series moinitors (very common in TV land)...

they have white cones too..so that means they are better than black
cones...i like yellow cones their the sht!!
 
Ah, shows you how much I was paying attention to the show ...

Didn't Frank Zappa warn us about yellow cones?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top