Studio monitors choice

Better studio monitors

  • Infinity SM-80

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Eris 3.5

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • Total voters
    1
H

HobbyProducer94

New member
Hello guys.

I have an option to buy some old studio monitors (Infinity SM-80) cheaply. I'm wondering did anyone had a opportunity to work with those?

I'm choosing between them (Infinity SM-80) and new pair of Eris 3.5 (the price is the same. Any opinion on this matter?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Mile
 
From my quick search it looks like the Infinity set are just "speakers" and not [self] powered like the Presonus pair? If that's what you actually are looking at, then you have to have a separate amplifier.

The 8" woofer on the Infinity speakers will definitely provide more bottom for you to hear, but their output, if still accurate (it looks like they must be 30 years old, give or take) may not really be tuned for studio monitoring.

Regardless, I'd probably go with a new pair of powered monitors from a company that's primarily in the business today. You won't get any real bass out of a 3.5" speaker, or probably much from a 5" one (like I use), but it's a place to start, depending on what you are mixing. It depends on your space, too, what size can work best.
 
A 30 year old pair of budget hi-fi speakers vs a pair of ultra budget 25W powered speakers? What a strange comparison. What do you want to do with them?
 
keith.rogers said:
From my quick search it looks like the Infinity set are just "speakers" and not [self] powered like the Presonus pair? If that's what you actually are looking at, then you have to have a separate amplifier.

The 8" woofer on the Infinity speakers will definitely provide more bottom for you to hear, but their output, if still accurate (it looks like they must be 30 years old, give or take) may not really be tuned for studio monitoring.

Regardless, I'd probably go with a new pair of powered monitors from a company that's primarily in the business today. You won't get any real bass out of a 3.5" speaker, or probably much from a 5" one (like I use), but it's a place to start, depending on what you are mixing. It depends on your space, too, what size can work best.
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Thank you very much for your answer, i think I'm gonna go with Eris ones. :)
rob aylestone said:
A 30 year old pair of budget hi-fi speakers vs a pair of ultra budget 25W powered speakers? What a strange comparison. What do you want to do with them?
Click to expand...
I want to mix for hobby, just wanted to ask you which ones are better for this price range (plus i did not know the old ones were also budget :))
LazerBeakShiek said:
What price range are you talking about? There might be a better choice.
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For about 120euros i don't think there is much better solution. I might strech my budget to 200euros if there is something that's better solution (if you know some studio monitors that are good at this price range, please write it replay, it would mean a lot to me :), but at this point i don't want to spend so much money on this hobby of mine (i have a lot of hobbies :D).

Thank you all for replays.

Best regards,
Mile
 
HobbyProducer94 said:
...

For about 120euros i don't think there is much better solution. I might strech my budget to 200euros if there is something that's better solution (if you know some studio monitors that are good at this price range, please write it replay, it would mean a lot to me :), but at this point i don't want to spend so much money on this hobby of mine (i have a lot of hobbies :D).

...
Click to expand...
Well, we don't know where you are, but if you're looking in Euros I went to the Thomann site Mackie and Alesis have pairs of 5" monitors with a bit higher wattage that might give a little better value. And, if you have patience, JBL 305 (pair) sometimes go on sale (at least in the states) and you might find those around your upper limit.

Good luck.

p.s. (edit): what/how are you recording/mixing, what interface are you using, and do you have a good set of headphones? Monitors are important, but sometimes there are other things that make a bigger difference when starting on a limited budget. Just my $.02.
 
Mackie and alesis would be worth considering but you’re looking at something unusual for recording enthusiasts who often find speakers designed to sound good a problem?
 
In my online Webinars I see A lot of Rokit KRK 5 's.

Not sure about how great they are, but by far the most common I seen.
 
Don’t know how readily available they are in your location, but the Kali LP 6 seem like an incredible monitor for reasonable money. 300usd
 
I have a pair of the JBL 305s and they really sound pretty good for a small speaker. Thomann has them for 111 Euros, so not much above your target. Some careful shopping and patience might net a pair for <200. I got a pair for $210 just by waiting for a sale. Watch for used speakers in the local sale sites like Craigslist. I got a pair of the 308s used for $300 a few years back.

I have heard the Eris 3.5s, and while they sound ok, they just lack too much bottom end for me. The 305s go down almost a full octave lower than the Eris.
 
I went through monitors several years ago and found the 5" or smaller had no bass worth much of anything for music with the low end.
When I added a subwoofer the separate 5" were like a really good system together.

then the 8" vs 6.5...7" was the normal "nearfields" and 10" were considered midfields....so 6 to 8 seemed the NEARFIELD 3ft triangle etc..

so I tried a bunch of different sets and brands until someone said changing monitors all the time prevents one from getting familiar with any set. Ended up and grabbed a Yorkville YSM set from suggestions here on HR.
Then bought some SurfCity California KRK V6 beaten and used but work fine pair for $200!
then years later a mint pair of DYNAUDIO from some large sound company in Craigslist popped up, mint for $180 pair!
Just saying there are great deals USED sometimes...for cheap. I agree with T-R post above.

All the work in the room and costs and building kind of got overwhelming...and financially not going to happen with kids and college and more happening..(and no income from this hobby). ,..so last years I pretty much dont do anything with the speakers & room and use headphones and a nice headphone amp.

with that said Bob Clearmountain could probably mix better on computer speakers than I could with $10,000 monitors.
 
We look back fondly on old mics but speakers have changed so much. We now expect mega bass from 6”drivers, and often, we seem to get it!
 
mega bass is in.
my sons mega bass stuff and its all from a Smart Phone Juke box, no more CD's in the car for years....
the mega bass, I like that term.....and as impressive as it is, my 2011 car speakers take it, but everything in the car rattles.

I often think about monitors, the history, why the Auratones became something, then later the NS10's, and the Home recording world...
then Active monitors took over in HR..... but physics and materials and science keep progressing. my ears keep digressing, lol

one of the best sets of monitors I had were BM5A with a Sub....without a sub they were so blah....but the sub removed the bass work from the small cones, and man, midrange and hiend was really crystal clear.

I think I went 6" just because it was the "nearfield" , Ethan Winer 3ft kind of setup, in a small room.
I had some 8's more bass, less midrange as I recall.

My son finally blew out some YSM1's and now he has my old KRK version 1 V8, and those take volume,
but werent designed for MEGA BASS back in those days.
 
I think it was around 2004 when I started making a decent home studio. Try to spend enough to get something decent, I thought.
I bought a pair of 'Event TR8's, which I have been very happy with, and some cheaper 'Samson Resolv 80a's which I am less happy with (not enough high end).
I also recently bought a pair of 'Tannoy Reveal 502's, which perform well, but do not have silent power up and down.
 
I've got a pair of TR-8s but I've only been able to use them at lower volumes in my apartment. Sound good, though.
 
I liked the Event TR8. By the time I was ready to buy something, they were getting as hard to find as the proverbial hens teeth. They moved upscale in price as well.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
I also recently bought a pair of 'Tannoy Reveal 502's, which perform well, but do not have silent power up and down.
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You mean you switch things off? My studio power amp was installed here in 2004. I don’t know if it has silent power up, I’ve never switched it off, or indeed, anything in the rack!
 
I've decided to post pone buying studio monitors for a while (enough for budget to set to about 400 dollars). I've done mixing on headphones ATH-M20x and although it's also a budget variant it was very big update on my previous scarlet solo studio headphones (first mix that i got to sound ok was during this headphone update). When I saw how much this simple update can make a difference I've decided to wait a little bit longer for monitors that can be ok for mixing.

Thank you all for your good suggestions.

Best regards,
Mile
 
Remember that cheaper headphones are designed to make poor material sound better - so when you mix on them, other people may hear things very differently. I can not mix on the monitors in my video studio - if I get a great mix there, back in the audio studio, on my MacBook and on the TV, via YouTube - the mix is thin and lacking and often very bass heavy. Doing without decent monitors, with enthusiastic headphones can be a real problem?
 
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