Studio monitors. Woofer, a must?

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11miles

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I've been doing some research about the monitors. What should i buy. I would like to buy something good, but not to pricy.
I har good things about Tannoy reveal, or behringer Truth. Both active.

But a friend of mine suggested me to get a setup with the subwoofer included?

What dou you think?

The Tannoy's and co., dont produce the right bottom, should i be worried?
 
There would be endless opinion on this... Get the best monitors or loudspeakers you can. Add a sub if you feel that it's needed later.
 
This is just me but...

I have Tannoy Reveal Actives with the Tannoy 110 powered sub. I wouldn't dream of mixing without the sub, and my mixes all translate very well. Keep in mind that a large reason for all of that is I've been mixing for close to 3 years on that same setup so I know it very well, but great results can come with Tannoys and a sub none the less.

Yes, you can get better. I'm just saying what works for me.
 
I personally dislike mixing with a sub. I always have it turned off when I am mixing at a studio with a sub.

Look for a pair of used Event 20/20bas powered monitors. Amazing monitors for the price new and used they are even better.
 
Massive's suggestion is right. Don't skimp. I started with a pair of reveals, and they worked well. I did however, when I was starting out have trouble mixing low end with them alone. I would take mixes to the car and they were all out of whack!@!@!@!. Got the sub and that helped plenty.

The reveals are decent for the money, but they don't extend to the low end really well, despite what the manual telling you about there great bass response.
 
So the reveals are good?

What about some M-audio stuff?

And the good old NS-10 Yamaha?


Would just any sub do?
 
Well, good is a relative term. They are not really high end. For the price they are not bad.

Never heard the m audio.

Personnally I still like NS10's. I know a lot of people on this forum talk negative about them. Say that they don't sound good (which is true, you wouldn't use them as a home theatre speaker.) However, I find them beneficial. You can hear lots of little details, that you can't hear on some mid priced speakers. I feel that they still have a lot of use. You would probably still want another pair of speakers though. And when you look in magazines and such, you still see a lot of big pro setups, with a pair.

No, you shouldn't use just any old sub. Its just like the speakers, you want something of good quality, or it will not help you. When your looking at subs in a budget range, the smaller one will typicallly have more punch, and larger ones will be bassier. Not a rule, but what generally happens with budget subs.
 
I forgot one thing. Some people find that the NS10's really fatigue their ears, when used for long periods of time, more so then other monitors.
 
So for the bang the Tannoy reveals are still good option?

I can get new for about 600$
BEhringer truth a bit ceaper.
But its not a system with a sub!
 
As for monitors I decided to buy Behringer Truths. They are not best as for the sound but they are quite good. Right now I would recommend Tapco S5 since its sound quality should be even better than Truths.
I would agree with all other types of monitors suggested here by other guys but Yamaha NS10 is a dangerous choice.

As for sub my recommendation is NOT to use it. Several serious problems with sound can occure when you use two systems for playback of music in one room. It is for the looooong article. If the sub is from the same company like monitors it can be ok, but in other case you are in danger.

What wrong can happen? You can miss some frequiencies in the sound, some frequiencies can be louder, some frequencies can be smudged, etc.

Check the basses on headphones and use only monitors.
 
fova said:
I would agree with all other types of monitors suggested here by other guys but Yamaha NS10 is a dangerous choice.


Why is it a dangerous choice? They've been used for years

fova said:
If the sub is from the same company like monitors it can be ok, but in other case you are in danger.



It makes no difference if a sub is from the same company or not. You can have a sub that's made for your set of speakers, but if placement or calibration is wrong they are going to be as messed up as any sub.


fova said:
Check the basses on headphones and use only monitors






Headphones for bass?!?!?!?!?!?!?
 
Many people use and used NS 10 but here are some cons:
You must accustom yourself to them because they have weak basses and strong midsts. Before you recognize this fact your records will be bad. Next, because of strong high tones you become little tired after long work with them. Good like second monitors to your studio but not like the first one. They are awesome for singing - you hear exactly all problems with voice. I would choose some other product.

As for subs I wrote "it can be OK" bot it is not sure that it will be. I agree with you. Again, issue of subs is for long article and English is not my native language so it would be quite complicated to express it all.

As for checking of basses on headphones it is my opinion. Why is it a problem for you?
 
The good 'ol NS10 doesn't let you hear much detail and the bass response drops 10db from 100 to 50hz.

Besides that they have a +7db peak at 1.5khz and the fatique you'll get is significant.

The only thing the NS10 is really good at is showing mud in your mix.

And you definitely need a good sub with them.

But I still have them on the bridge! :D
 
On nearfields, it's probably not a concern. Most consumer audio set-ups lack a good subwoofer anyway. However, the job is to satisfy the all of the above.


In which case, your mains will usually tend to have a good subwoofer system to show all possible ends of the spectrum.
 
You can't mix well what you can't hear or can't hear accurately.

If a monitor is coloring your mix in a negative way, the mix won't translate well on other systems (at least until you learn to compensate). So first you need to invest in a good pair of nearfields so that you're hearing the mids and highs correctly. Add the sub later when you can afford it if you find that you can't judge the bottom end well, or your mixes have a tendency of being "bottom heavy".
 
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