Simplest method of powering a pair of monitors?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Muzzaman
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Muzzaman

Muzzaman

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Guys,

At the moment I don't have any studio monitors, I'm going to pick up a cheap set to start with (for home recording) and want to know the cheapest / simplest method of powering them?

Would a stereo HiFi amp do the job or is that a bad idea?

Cheers, Muzza.
 
Cheap set plus outboard power supply = cheap powered monitors. QED. :)
 
Starting out, you would probably be better off going with active monitors, which have a power amplifier built into them. That way you know that you are getting speakers and amplifiers that are designed to work well together.

Unfortunately, you're probably going to be looking at a minimum of $200/pr for anything even marginally useful.

But since it could be argued that your monitors are the most important part of your signal chain, you're probably better off just using some decent headphones while you save up for some good monitors as opposed to buying cheap monitors...
 
I'm betting you are not doing any critical mixing, and a good pair of home-audio speakers plus a decent, old-school (1970's or so) home-audio receiver or "amp" can sould darn good. You can pick up both dirt-cheap at a garage sale- the trick is recognizing what is good without necessarily knowing the make- there is a LOT of crap at garage sales. Generally, if the speaker cabs have areal wood veneer, and the receiver or amp has a real brushed aluminum face and manual tuning (if a receiver) you are probably good. You might be able to score such a trio for about $20-40, and even if the speakers need reconing, you will probably get in under a C-note.
 
stevieb said:
I'm betting you are not doing any critical mixing, and a good pair of home-audio speakers plus a decent, old-school (1970's or so) home-audio receiver or "amp" can sould darn good. You can pick up both dirt-cheap at a garage sale- the trick is recognizing what is good without necessarily knowing the make- there is a LOT of crap at garage sales. Generally, if the speaker cabs have areal wood veneer, and the receiver or amp has a real brushed aluminum face and manual tuning (if a receiver) you are probably good. You might be able to score such a trio for about $20-40, and even if the speakers need reconing, you will probably get in under a C-note.
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ditto.

A mistake I feel many make is to assume that anything with the words "Studio Monitor" in its' sales description is inherently flat and actually a good reference moinitor.
At the low end of the price range it's simply not so and decent home stereo stuff can be just as good if not better.
Now ..... if you're gonna spend a couple of thou on 'em then obviously that's the way to go. But at a couple of hundred dollars a pair of AR's and a decent reciever will perform every bit as well.
 
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