monitor recommendations?

[ursatz]

This may not be the right forum for this question, but it seemed closest --

Anyway, right now I\'m just using a pair of medium-quality headphones to monitor my music, and I\'d like to get something better. What do you folks use? What would you recommend? I\'d be interested in knowing what people think is the best value for the money, as well as what you\'d get if price were no object. (I like to have something to shoot for!)

Thanks,
Bill

[Simon Ravn]

I use a pair of Mackie HR824 reference monitors which I really like. They sound pretty close to Genelec 1031a which is THE standard (apart from Yamaha NS10 who sound like crap - but are still reference http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif). You should really get a pair of monitors like these - they will make you hear details you never knew were there, and therefore also makes it easier to spot problems in your recordings/mixings.

Simon

[ursatz]

Thanks, Simon!

Wow, quite a price difference between Mackie and Yamaha. Sorry to hear that the Yamaha sounds like crap! Is it really *that* bad? I was tempted to get it, based on price and the few user reviews I\'d seen....

[LHong]

How about the Roland DS90-A monitors with digital-input optional, of course they have the balance analog inputs as well. I\'m also having the Mackie HR824 reference monitors. I like the Mackie!

[Lougheed]

Event 20/20\'s. The monitors, of course, are only part of the equation. You need a high quality power amp to drive them.

Lawrence

[stheri]

I use to use the alesis point 7\'s, but the low end suffered and I wound up overcompensating on my mixes. I later bought the alesis M1 (active) and have been very pleased with these. I think you should reconsider the yamaha ns10\'s. They are an eyesore and sound harsh at first, but the do help you notice more subtleties in your mixes. IMHO.

Stephen

[Doc]

there is another school of thought, monitering on consumer speakers. If your mixes sound like other well recorded CD\'s / albums you probably are in the ballpark of a good balanced mix. The key to any moniter speaker is being on a first name basis with it. You must know how it sounds by listening to it so much that a good sound is just ingrained. Some speakers just get you tired listening to them for any length of time, your ears dont stay fresh for very long, those are the ones to stay away from. For a decent cheapy consumer speaker, check out the Sony MB215 at a local Best Buy, they are $90 a pair, and have fantastic imaging (even in mono). these suggestions may narrow the field but you still have to listen to a speaker before you buy it, try to use the same source material (a favorite CD you know backwards) and the same electronics, so that you are just A/B-ing the speakers themselves. Remember to keep the loudness the same, as your ear will trick you into thinking the louder speaker sounds better. Good luck on your quest for the holy grail . . . .

[ursatz]

I finally had a chance to hear some of these monitors this weekend. I listened to Yamaha NS10, a couple of other Yamahas, Event 2020BAS, the Mackie, and a pair of Hafler TRM8\'s. I didn\'t care for the sound of the Yamahas at all - they all sounded muddy and spikey to me. The Mackie sounded awesome, but it\'s out of my price range for now. Similarly the Hafler - it sounded wonderful, maybe even better than the Mackie, but it\'s in the same price range so I didn\'t do a careful comparison. The Event 2020s sounded very clean, so that\'s what I\'m going with. We\'ll see how they work out.

Thanks again to everyone who wrote!

Bill

[Kenn159]

Don\'t you think that the concept that you must have flat response speakers for a studio is largely advertizers hype?
If you look at a frequency curve on all the different flat response speakers brands they all have a different response.Although they tend to be flatter over all than Hi fi stereo grade speakers. But if your used to one brand and then you go to another studio and use another brand your lost.
It seems to me if we wanted to stop being lead around in a circle by advertizers and we wanted to standardize this thing .And save money at the same time .Here\'s the alternative.
Starting with the monitoring system,
you start with a power amp or like in my case a hi fi stereo reciever that has a source direct switch on it [it bypasses the EQ for a flat response from your amp].
Then get some good quality hi fi speakers[you get a better price/performance ratio on the used market I bought some $550 DLK\'s and paid $95 for them].
Now for flat response from your speakers I bought a used 20 band EQ with a built in spectrum analizer ,white noise generator and mic[I paid $50 ,there are a ton of them out there on the used market].
Then I sent the pink noise generated signal out the speakers and had the mic were my ears are when Im mixing.
And adjusted the EQ so the speakers were flat response .

[Kenn159]

There\'s also the very valid school of thought mentioned by Doc.
In both cases there doesn\'t seem to be the need to spend the big bucks on studio monitors.

[Kenn159]

Oh yeah something else just came to me that I would like to mention.
I used to have a pair of Tannoy 6.5 studio monitors that cost $450 new.
And through the course of owning them a couple years me and my girl friend blew every speaker in the cabinets athough not all at the same time .
They were two way cabinets [6.5 and a tweeter .
When I called my local store and gave them the model # of the Tannoy\'s ,they gave me a price of $70 for the wolfer for one cabinet and $50 for the tweeter of also one cabinet.
Through futher investigation I found a 1-800 mail order speaker company that would sell me the same speakers , $30 for the wolfer and $18 for the tweeter .
And here\'s the kicker ,they are just hifi speakers made by a company caller Vifa!
So what makes these Tannoy\'s flat response?
Well the cabinets are just typical partical board covered with formica.So I would say it\'s the crossover EQing a flat responce .
Sounds like I was doing with my external EQ.

[Doc]

Kenn, good pointers, can you list that 1-800 number for the rest of us, I like to go through a wholesaler whenever possible but dont know of one for replacement speakers, sounds like you have found one. If you buy a used speaker check the outer edge foam ring for cracks, it can be replaced and typically they dont last long in certain climates, but you may be able to knock the price down if you know you will have the immediate expense of replacing them.

[Doc]

Kenn, one other thing, the Tanaloy circuitry probably has is some time alinement and something to minimize phase cancellation of the speakers (separate EQ for each driver in the speaker), besides just a crossover; but good speaker placement in the room and good EQing where you dont introduce more phase problems is a cheap way to get close to the same thing with a good consumer speaker. When you think you have a mix right, make a CD or tape and try it out in the car and friends stereos to see if it cuts it or whether some ajustment to your monitering is needed.

[Dee Faulds]

You mention using headphones for monitoring...obviously you are aware of the down-falls of using phones instead of monitors. However...what i thought i\'d share with you was this:-

If you like using headphones...then get a good pair. A pair i just recently purchased were (top of the Senheiser range) HD 600\'s. Ok ...they are not cheap....but you will never get any better sound without spending $2500 plus. The sound is staggering. Check out the net for reviews..there blinding!

I got the phones in UK £170. This was a great deal as they usually sell for £250.

well recomended
dee

[Kenn159]

Hi Doc
I had the catalogs tucked away but I found them .
Here\'s the # of a couple places that Ive dealt with .
Parts Express
1 800 338 0531

and MCM
1 800 543 4330
these #\'s are probably only valid in the US.

[Doc]

Kenn, thanks for posting the phone numbers