Good Moniters and Soundcards

[K-Alert!]

what are some good moniters for beginners and a good soundcard?

[jlgrimes]

what are some good moniters for beginners and a good soundcard?

For a sound card, describe your needs.

Do u record vocals, guitar? Do you have hardware synths?

Do u prefer USB 2.0, FireWire? What OS are u using? Is portability important?


Monitors are more subjective. They are pretty important to have. If you want to produce bass heavy music, u should probably go with at least 8s.

I would recommend the M audio BX 8a (I use these) but I had to get mine serviced pretty quickly cause of bad components. Newer models could be better though.

Best to go to music store and play music on monitors and see what u like. As a beginner I would recommend something that sounds good to you over what somebody else prefer.

Many people say good monitors should reveal the flaws in a mix, but I think if u are a composer/producer first u might want something more inspiring.

[ewok_1968]

i have a macbook pro, akai eie pro audio interface, tannoy 501a monitors, and a yamaha hs10w sub. this setup is way better at making music than i am. didn't break the bank either.

cheers!

[darkenedsoul]

I recommend the M-Audio BX8a's as well for overall flat response (powered studio monitors w/adjustable volume on the back + XLR and 1/4" inputs as I share them between 2 desktops, 1 of which is my DAW system). Pricing is probably $500 for the pair unless you can get them on sale (I paid $349). KRK Rockit's are pretty nice but much more expensive for 8" (like maybe $499 each) but they also have 3 inputs vs 2 (RCA/XLR/and 1/4" if I recall). Yamaha makes some decent ones around the $500 range for 8", 5" run around $299 for a pair usually (powered, maybe 70w vs 130w M-Audio or 140w KRK's if memory serves).

But as stated, go to a local music store and listen to them, if there is a CD in system connected bring in some of the music you want to make/listen to to get a better spectrum of sound reproduction via them. And if instrument(s) connected noodle on them too.

Mike

[H20nly]

wow, i've read a lot of these threads over the years and this is the first time i've seen the BX8a model mentioned... i have them myself. i've had them for about 8 years. never needed any servicing... i turn them on and they work.

i don't know that i would recommend them over any other monitors... i was just shocked to see them mentioned not once, but twice in the same thread.

@ K-Alert! - jlgrimes is right, without knowing what your intentions are all we can do is recommend what we have or what we want as far as interfaces go.

on that note i have this:

http://www.tcelectronic.com/desktop-konnekt-6/

i'm really happy with it. the quality is solid. it comes with a nice reverb. the price has gone down over time... i record vocals, bass, and guitar with it.

[darkenedsoul]

i don't know that i would recommend them over any other monitors... i was just shocked to see them mentioned not once, but twice in the same thread.

Shocked? Because two of us mention them in the same thread on the same day? Co-in-kee-dink I say! Shenanigans? Nope, I do own them, have had them for a handful or so years I guess. Price was right at the time, even though I wanted the KRK Rockit 8's due to the 3 inputs, roughly same or slightly more power but they are hooked to 2 desktops, how loud you going to crank them? But I think they sound decent.

Mike

[eddiex]

i have the maudio bx5 and an apogee duet 1.
the apogee is excellent....sounds so good for the price, the bad, it has this break out cable, which can be a little annoying, and no midi input/output.
i love my maudio bx5's like H2O said about the bx8as, i turn them on and they work.

[login]

BX have too much lows, dosn't sound flat at all.

Which is your budget?

[H20nly]

i don't know that i would recommend them over any other monitors... i was just shocked to see them mentioned not once, but twice in the same thread.

Shocked? Because two of us mention them in the same thread on the same day? Co-in-kee-dink I say! Shenanigans? Nope, I do own them, have had them for a handful or so years I guess. Price was right at the time,

well that was what shocked me... the coinkeedink.
i've seen a lot of monitor threads on this forum over the years.

i know these monitors will rock a house party loud as hell and sound good doing it. what i am not 100% sure of is how flat/true their response is when compared to other monitors as it pertains to mixing... i.e. Genelec or Adam for example.

two reasons for this for me...

1) the space i have has never been ideal for reference monitors - i.e. the desk is in the corner or one side of the room. <-- this kills the true sound you need to mix.
2) they are really big, so they require a lot of space for proper placement. see item 1.

so i do my best to make a mix sound good on them and then i switch to head phones... ATH M50, or Beyer 770 DT, and then back and forth... finally i go grot box style with several trips to the car with my mix on a CD, iBuds, laptop speakers, and back again.


having said all that i do like my BX8a monitors

if i won the lotto though... i'd buy a set of Focal and never look back.

[darkenedsoul]

They do have some good low end, it depends on what you are listening to, and I'd think the other studio monitors would behave similarly (listen to death/black/doom metal on them then some dark ambient, then blues/rock to get a comparison). I would probably get a pair of them or if I could afford it the KRK Rockit(sp) 8's. But at twice the price for 10W more power and 1 additional input, I think I can live with the BX8a's. And I think I have Senns* headphones or Beyer, DT770s I think is model. Snug fitting over ears (or I have a big noggin lol). Now you are making me go look at the model/brand of my headphones lmao! the Beyer sound right since I did pay $200 for them some time ago and I see they are still going for that or more...

Mike

[Tysonviolin]

i have a macbook pro, akai eie pro audio interface, tannoy 501a monitors, and a yamaha hs10w sub. this setup is way better at making music than i am. didn't break the bank either.

cheers!

Tannoy makes great drivers. Pelonis 4288s utilize them and make superb monitors for electronic or any music. Flat from 25hz to 25 kHz. I highly recommend. For an audio interface for Mac. It's hard to go wrong with the apogee duet or ensemble. Apogee is clearing out ensembles for $1500 and they still hold their own. I own and have extensively used the focusrite pro40, echo Layla, as well as the presonus Studiolive and the ensemble is my go D/A for Ableton Live. I also use a duet for backpack shows.

[störgeräusche]

good monitors will sound fantastic in a room with proper acoustic treatment
the most expensive monitors in the world won't sound very good in a non treated room, so consider using a part of your budget to buy some material to build some basstraps and absorbers. they'll help you a lot!

[Tysonviolin]

I bought 12 of these. Best investment ever
http://www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-A ... -1047.html

[102455]

Do they come in 50 shades?

[Tysonviolin]

Do they come in 50 shades?

Hehe. Sure, but if you want to build them yourself you might feel sexier