Speaker quandry

  • Thread starter Thread starter stevethemusicma
  • Start date Start date
S

stevethemusicma

New member
Hi There,
I have a bit of a problem. I have my own project studio (24 track hard disk and a 48 channel mixer with a bunch of hard synths). I use Sonar and Sibelius for everything.
Right now I have a pair of Event 20/20 BAS speakers which I love and still intent to use. However I was just given a Mctintosh 2300 amplifier in great shape. I want to utilize it in the studio but I can’t afford real expensive studio monitors.
Looking around with my small budget, I’ve seen a few brands like the Yamaha BR15 or the Yamaha BR12 which are pretty inexpensive. There are a few other brands like Peavy that have a similar product at a similar cost.

A few friends of mine told me that with the Mcintosh I really should be using a better studio monitor rather than the PA speakers I can afford.

Is it worth it to get the lower cost PA speakers or should I just bite the bullet and sell the Mcintosh (they are going for $1700 and up and stick with my 20/20 BAS.

Thanks,
Steve
 
Keep the amp for the day you get wealthy enough to buy decent monitors. PA speakers can be used, but you will most likely not be satisfied with them.
 
Passives are on CL now and then, not many in the Guitar Mart stores these days.
B&W 300 or 600series are good fit for that amp I bet...
Old Yorksville passives if you can find them.

Man! thats a nice amp, some power under the roof on that old Macintosh.
 
Hi again,

more discussion about speakers for my Mcintosh 2300. My Brother in law has a pair of Design Audio ps 10's that he's going to give me. One of the woofers is dead. I was thinking that if I get the speakers and buy 2 matching woofers and install them myself it might be a good match for the Mcintosh. I believe that the speakers as they are take 100 watts a channel.

Do you think that by buying woofers with a higher wattage rating and perhaps a new crossover would make this ideal for my studio? As I mentioned in former posts I already have a pair of Event 20/20 BAS speakers but it would be nice to utilize the Mcintosh with another pair of good speakers.

Thanks,

Steve
 
The BR series are Yamaha's bottom feeder line. The horns in them are a joke and have a distinct nasal sound to them. Not very flat either. The last thing you want to use to mix is PA speakers of any kind, and especially not these.

Not familiar with Design Audio, but if you haven't any experience with speaker design, down load some share/free ware like WINISD and run your replacement woofer candidates through the program with your box dimensions and look for maximally flat response with good bass extension. Xover design can be tricky too because you want minimal phase shift and sharp cutoff with out ringing, which can be mutually exclusive.

A good set of stereo speakers designed for play back would be preferable to PA speakers. Shop used and read reviews before buying. Look for speakers that aren't hyped in the bass or treble and have decent detail in the mids. Some real bargains can be had that will hold you over until you can afford a good set of monitors. I am using a pair of ADS L420s for nearfields until my ship comes in.
 
Last edited:
Those BR's are ported with a fairly high Fb and a F3, too. They'll have very little response below 60hz, and a prominent bump in the midbass, too. It will skew your mixes if you do any EQing based on them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top