Studio Monitors

[Kingofpain678]

STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM THOSE ALESIS M1 320'S!!!!!



Those were my first pair of monitors and they have NO low end and the midrange sounds fucking TERRIBLE and the high end sounds "fake"


I got by with them but I always hated my guitar tone thinking that it was my guitar/amp/mic/speaker when the whole time it was my shitty ass monitors. (Keep in mind that the guitar is a mid-range instrument).

Seriously.... Don't get them.

 

[leaningpine]

Also don't go with anything smaller than a 5" woofer. Go larger if you can.....

 

[grimtraveller]

There's alot of good advice in these forums regarding monitors but there's alot of "don't buy this, don't buy that" when in reality, it's all personal preference. It can only be. Technical specs don't mean much if you are happy with your monitors. Or if you hate them. The ears and informed choices and usage of an expert can become confusing when another expert comes along and disagrees. What if you end up hating their recommendation ? What if you love the set that the majority hate ?
Somewhere along the line, you're going to have to take a plunge and until you've done so and had a go with whatever you've chosen, you'll not know. There's an element of risk whatever you do when choosing.
Me, I took a chance with active nearfield monitors I'd not heard of, the guy in the shop {it was their own brand} said he had a pair and liked them but that he'd never rely solely on them. In the end I took the plunge and I like them, I've gotten used to them and maybe one day I'll think they're crap and upgrade {a not unusual occurence in our hobby/gig}. But for where I'm at now, they do the job.

sound the mutts nuts now

For those in confusion, a variation on "the dog's bollocks".

 

[kcearl]

yeah forgot


means good

 

[CFox]

lol

lol

The MS40s were my first monitors, complete rubbish..I ended up just using my AT phones, got far better results

I havnt met too many people who dont complain about their first monitors. What has improved is your skills. I bet you could go back now and do a decent mix on those MS40's

the mids and bass are all mud and having the tweeters on the same side on both monitors really helps getting accurate HFs in the stereo field..I mean the woofers arent even 5"...good luck with any sub bass

Yeah - they dont go down to 20Hz. I would go headphones on the subs anyway, stereo field is not important and you wont upset the neighbours. Not an issue for me though as I roll off everything but the kick.*Btw, try band splitting your mix or a song and solo the high frequencies, then come and tell me if the tweeter alignment makes that much of a difference.

like I said they are little better that PC speakers and even at that price range there is better...in fact old high end hifi speakers would provide better results and probably cost less

I must have just got lucky. Made an emergency purchase of some MS20's a couple of years back and had them hooked up to my lappy ever since. Have listened to a lot of tunes through them and trust myself to pull off a decent mix if I had to. In fact I might just do that

I dont think I ever come across hifi speakers that werent affecting the sound in some way. Also, if you lose or damage those old hifi speakers you are likely screwed trying to get replacements.

oh an i have plenty of behringer gear that I use daily before we go all gear snob on my ass

In your current profile pic your nose sure looks up in the air to me. Hahahahahehhehehe ......hahaha. .....ha.



For what it's worth ( which is truckloads cos I am awesome ) I recommend the Truth's or the best KRK's you can afford.

 

[kcearl]

i still have the MS40's, they still suck

some older high end hifi speakers are flatter than many monitors nowadays, not perfect but better than 4.75"woofer $120 behris for sure

I would recommend Event Electronics PS8's....and why not lol

 

[docz]

Ok, so if I got this right:

http://www.sound1.no/dokumenter/slx_audio/M-serie-Monitorer/M-serie.pdf

Page 8 has the specs. The 808s has 45 - 20khz @ +/- 1.5db that should give me a pretty good coverage yes? Seems that is the same specs as the KRK 8"s

These are no-name brand monitors, and are probably sold under another brand in other countries.

I couldn't find this type of information on the Phonics.

But given that those specs are correct, I should expect them to perform on par with the KRKs?


DocZ

 

[leaningpine]

If you can afford those get the 8's. They should be the most accurate but don't limit yourself to one set, listen to different brands.

 

[Monkey Allen]

I heard that you can learn to mix on just about anything really...even the ones referred to as garbage. If you fix up your room and learn your stuff even those cheap Mackie MR5's can get the job done.

That's what I heard

 

[dintymoore]

I heard that you can learn to mix on just about anything really...even the ones referred to as garbage. If you fix up your room and learn your stuff even those cheap Mackie MR5's can get the job done.

That's what I heard

You probably could in the same way that a person who was good at making houses could probably make one with crappy tools. It would be a huge pain in the ass and it probably wouldn't come out as good but he probably could if he had to. Not much fun.

On the other hand, try to decide if there's the right amount of bass on speakers that put out hardly any bass whatsoever.

Good tools almost always make the job come out better and make it way easier.

A lot of times you can use crappy tools if you're already good at something (and swear the whole time you're working) but trying to learn on crappy tools is another thing altogether - it's very hard.

 

[kcearl]

it not about getting the job done, its about how quickly you can do it....damned if half the bass stuff i do just now isnt guess work

 

[TeyshaBlue]

Why don't you go to your local music store and test out some of the options you have listed? It is always best to test before you buy, especially when you're buying monitors.

^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^


When I bought my last pair of monitors, I auditioned about 8 pairs using my own source material.....material that I was very familiar with. I listened for a couple of hours on an early Sat. morning, at Guitar Center, no less. I picked the monitors that:

a. Revealed detail better.
b. Response profile fits the projects I usually am involved with.
c. Seemed predictable...that is, when I cranked them, they didn't get shrill or boxy.

So, I picked the KRK RP5. While not the best on the market, and at $300/pair, why would anyone think they would be, they did a more than adequate job of replacing my old, tired Tannoy PBM 6.5's. I've owned them for a few years now and I'm ready to replace them as well.

This is important to remember...you will, as you gain experience and develop a decently critical ear, outgrow your budget monitors. Right now, I'm flat in love with the Adam A7's that I am working with in another studio. I think they might be my next choice.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Last poster nailed it. Your hearing will change and grow (improve!) and your understanding of what tools will serve you best will improve as well.

Don't sweat the decision too much. At that price point, you're not going to find a silver bullet. Grab a set that you feel like gives you useful information (audition using rough mixes or imperfect material if possible, not commercial stuff!) and start shedding away.

A good mixer can *learn* to mix on even crappy monitors. Complement your choice of monitors with a decent set of headphones and be methodical in developing your listening skills... and off you go!