Studio monitor

[El Baroda]

I am just starting to learn about home recording. Based on my readings, I need good studio monitor speakers to do the job properly. I will be recording on my PC using a dynamic mic, but my ultimate goal is to produce good quality CDs which I will play on my hi-fi system. With this purpose mind, why do I still need good (and maybe expensive) studio monitors with wide frequency range, etc. As I understand it, the monitors don't actually affect the recording, like a mic does Please advise before I buy a pair. Thanks and best regards.

 

[gecko zzed]

You are right. Monitors don't affect the recording.

However, when you are mixing your recorded vocals with your backing, the quality and accuracy of your mix is determined by how well it is played back. You need good monitors to get accurate playback.

One way of looking at it is this:

Good headlights on a car have no affect on how well the engine performs. But, the better the headlights, the more of the road ahead gets illuminated at night, and the more able you are to see where you are going and control the car more effectively.

 

[El Baroda]

Thanks for the advice, mate. I like the analogy. Now, more readings to do re choice of headlights (I meant, monitors). Cheers.

Good headlights on a car have no affect on how well the engine performs. But, the better the headlights, the more of the road ahead gets illuminated at night, and the more able you are to see where you are going and control the car more effectively.

 

[MG Eddie]

like gecko said the moniters effect the accuracy of what you recorded. with this in mind I usally just monitor with the built in speakers. Once I have a mix I like I take it and play it on various stereo setups to see how it sounds. Listen to it on things like a ghetto blaster, Ipod, car stereo, home stereo, and even switch up the kind of head phones you use.

 

[John Willett]

I am just starting to learn about home recording. Based on my readings, I need good studio monitor speakers to do the job properly. I will be recording on my PC using a dynamic mic, but my ultimate goal is to produce good quality CDs which I will play on my hi-fi system. With this purpose mind, why do I still need good (and maybe expensive) studio monitors with wide frequency range, etc. As I understand it, the monitors don't actually affect the recording, like a mic does Please advise before I buy a pair. Thanks and best regards.

Yes and no.

You are correct in saying that monitors are not in the recording chain like a microphone is.

BUT - you are making recording decisions based on what the monitors are telling you. So poor monitors can adversely affect the recording if you rely on them for recording decisions.

 

[El Baroda]

BUT - you are making recording decisions based on what the monitors are telling you. So poor monitors can adversely affect the recording if you rely on them for recording decisions.

Thanks a lot, John. I will be getting an entry-level monitor (maybe, the Behringer M16) very soon. Hopefully, it will do a good job. BTW, I will be recording with my dynamic Sennheiser e835. Again, I hope this will be adequate.

Until now, I have been recording with either my Zoom H2 or my video camera. While my recordings are acceptable for Youtube and Facebook, I plan to go the PC way hoping for a significant improvement. Any comment or suggestion?

Regards.

 

[El Baroda]

Thanks, Eddie.

 

[Seidy]

I really suggest you to wait a little and get better monitors. These little Behris don't help at all ...Unless you don't have speakers at all

 

[El Baroda]

I really suggest you to wait a little and get better monitors. These little Behris don't help at all ...Unless you don't have speakers at all

Hi. What monitors do you recommend, possibly in the same price range or a bit higher? I already have a pair of computer microphones and a Behringer HPS 5000 headphone(sounds good but not comfortable). Thanks in advance.

 

[Pahtcub]

In that price range you are better off mixing and then A-Bing on different playback sources is what they're saying. I hate to sound like a broken record but when mixing, the environment you mix in actually makes a bigger impact on how well your mixes translate then the quality of monitors.

If you like the car analogy then think about a nice engine with an exhaust path that is too small or big will keep the engine from performing to it's peak i.e.:too much or too little back preasure on the engine (if you really know how induction works)

 

[John Willett]

I really suggest you to wait a little and get better monitors. These little Behris don't help at all ...Unless you don't have speakers at all

I would agree - when I started I only used headphones for a year or two until I could afford decent loudspeakers.

I would get some decent headphones like the Sennheiser HD 600 or HD 650 - or maybe the AKG K701 or 702.

 

[grimtraveller]

I will be getting an entry-level monitor (maybe, the Behringer M16) very soon. Hopefully, it will do a good job.

You are, by your own admission just starting out and frankly, it is unlikely that you're going to have such a developed ear that you can diffrentiate "a good set of monitors from a bad set of monitors". Besides which, that is a subjective judgement.
It's better that you just get started - all the advice in the world won't alter the fact that as/if you progress in this game, you will change various bits of gear, even if they're world renowned. I'd be surprized if anyone that's been recording for 10 years has only and exactly the stuff they started out with. You progress, you change, you acquire, you get rid of.
Your ears and tastes are your ears and tastes.
In terms of monitors, I would recommend that you begin with at least 5" bass cones, 6 if you can stretch to it. Those little ones you mention are moreorless computer speakers and while it's not impossible to get good mixes using such, it's unusual and would take a long time to get to that level. Seidy and John Willet both recommend avoiding them and I'd agree.
Just out of interest, where are you based ? And which DAW are you using in your computer and what sort of interface are you using ?
Recording can be simple in it's complexity and complex in it's simplicity.

 

[El Baroda]

Sorry for the late reply. I am based in Sydney and up till yesterday, I've recording my songs live via videocam or zoom H2. I still have to do my first recording via computer. I have Mixcraft 5 (is that a DAW?) and still trying to figure out how it works. As I mentioned earlier, I've got dynamic mic Sennheiser E835 and headphone Behringer HPS 5000.

Just out of interest, where are you based ? And which DAW are you using in your computer and what sort of interface are you using ?
Recording can be simple in it's complexity and complex in it's simplicity.

 

[Armistice]

Sorry for the late reply. I am based in Sydney and up till yesterday, I've recording my songs live via videocam or zoom H2. I still have to do my first recording via computer. I have Mixcraft 5 (is that a DAW?) and still trying to figure out how it works. As I mentioned earlier, I've got dynamic mic Sennheiser E835 and headphone Behringer HPS 5000.

Bloody Australians... they're everywhere now...

What part of Sydney... and what's your monitor budget?

Head to your nearest Allans / Billy Hyde and see what's actually available - that chain, which is the biggest we have, just went into receivership and I'm waiting for the fire sale. They may take offers although they're trying to trade out of their problems, I imagine cash is king at the moment...

Hell, I could even sell you my 8" Behringer Truths if you have a reasonable budget.. I've been meaning to upgrade for a while...

 

[El Baroda]

Bloody Australians... they're everywhere now...

What part of Sydney... and what's your monitor budget?

Head to your nearest Allans / Billy Hyde and see what's actually available - that chain, which is the biggest we have, just went into receivership and I'm waiting for the fire sale. They may take offers although they're trying to trade out of their problems, I imagine cash is king at the moment...

Hell, I could even sell you my 8" Behringer Truths if you have a reasonable budget.. I've been meaning to upgrade for a while...

G'day, mate. I am a based in Southwest Sydney. As you can see, I am a complete newbie so I don't really know what budget I should have for a studio monitor. Still gathering as much as information as I can. Cheers.

 

[Armistice]

You have to realise that everything is more expensive over here than our American friends will quote you. It's not as bad as it used to be but it's still pretty bad....

Problem with small speakers is bass response... I would scrounge a second hand hifi system with amp and decent sized speakers before I bothered with 5"or 6" drivers. My usual response to this type of question is 'save more'...

I use Behringer Truth 2031s, which fall into the "not bad for the price" category... they go for about $450 each new these days, although maybe they're discontinued, and have an 8" driver which is much better for bass response. I'd say to get anything decent, new, you'd need $500 for a pair here and that would be a stretch. BTW, don't think when they say a monitor is $X that they're talking about two of them, usually it's one only...

If you really get into recording, the rest of your life is about upgrading gear, to a point anyway... don't jump too soon, make sure any purchases you make have long term uses...

 

[El Baroda]

You have to realise that everything is more expensive over here than our American friends will quote you. It's not as bad as it used to be but it's still pretty bad....

Problem with small speakers is bass response... I would scrounge a second hand hifi system with amp and decent sized speakers before I bothered with 5"or 6" drivers. My usual response to this type of question is 'save more'...

I use Behringer Truth 2031s, which fall into the "not bad for the price" category... they go for about $450 each new these days, although maybe they're discontinued, and have an 8" driver which is much better for bass response. I'd say to get anything decent, new, you'd need $500 for a pair here and that would be a stretch. BTW, don't think when they say a monitor is $X that they're talking about two of them, usually it's one only...

If you really get into recording, the rest of your life is about upgrading gear, to a point anyway... don't jump too soon, make sure any purchases you make have long term uses...

Thanks a lot for the advice. To be honest, I'm still a bit "unconvinced" at this stage whether I will be seeing any big improvement in my recordings if I go the computer way. As I must have mentioned earlier, I've been recording my songs (my vocals with backing tracks) using either my condenser Zoom H2 mic (you've heard of it, right?) or my HD videocamera. So far, I'm happy with the results. The Zoom H2 records very well but without video, while the videocam has excellent video but not as good audio as the Zoom. I have tried recording a song using a DAW. The result is clean but the process is a bit complicated compared to what I've been using. BTW, I have a good hi-fi system with floor speakers and an active 12" subwoofer. Do you think this set up will work well with my computer? Thanks for being so helpful. Cheers.

 

[Armistice]

I monitor stuff that I cook up in Reaper (I still work mainly in a standalone) via the PC's headphone out and a splitter cable off to my monitors... someone might shoot me down here but if I actually create a wav file via this method without the monitors plugged in, then it's unlistenable, but if the monitors are plugged in (irrespective of whether they're turned on or not..) I think the soundcard gets disengaged and so the quality is fine. The PC soundcard is your enemy with this stuff...

Just bear in mind that stereos aren't intended to be flat response, they're intended to flatter the music. Monitors should have a flat response. But if you do a lot of comparisons on whatever stereo systems you can access, including hifi, car, ipod, other people's equipment, you can over time get a decent mix. Doesn't help you with tracking however and getting the right sound at the source...