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studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:03 pm
by 3rdCheddz
Soo I've been mixing on hi-fi speakers for a while now and I thought it was time that I actually got a set of monitors. The problem is I only have about £140 to spend on monitors. I've found a pair of fluid audio f4 for £125 I was just wondering if there was anything else I could check out within my budget.

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:33 am
by Nick Shepherd
i mixed on Alesis Active 520 for the last couple of years and just recently got some Adam´s.

They are 5" speakers so dont expect a lot of low frequency detail, but the mids and highs are are pretty good once you got used to them.

Alesis M1 Active 520 - £175.68

http://www.thomann.de/gb/alesis_m1_active_520.htm

The Fluid Audio speakers seem to be allright after quickly checking some revies, but a 4" woofer leaves you with pretty much no bass at all...

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:21 am
by Psychoactive_Music
I'm also looking for studio monitors. Interested to see what people recommend

I'm looking at Genelec M030's , I've read a lot of great things about Genelec monitors on sound on sound, gear slutz ect

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 4:43 pm
by Sional
3rdCheddz wrote:Soo I've been mixing on hi-fi speakers for a while now and I thought it was time that I actually got a set of monitors. The problem is I only have about £140 to spend on monitors. I've found a pair of fluid audio f4 for £125 I was just wondering if there was anything else I could check out within my budget.
A lot of hi-fi speakers are used as studio monitors (even professionally) and there are studio monitors which are also sold as hi-fi speakers (but will have a wood veneer finish as opposed to black).
If the price of your current hi-fi speakers was in the region of £140 I doubt there is anything to be gained from spending £140 on a speaker advertised as being a monitor (unless your hi-fi speakers are very old).

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 5:52 pm
by 3rdCheddz
Hey cheers mate,
I seen these in a proper professional studio and I actually rate them just its a lil out of my budget but I like the look of m-audio bx5 d2 I've read a lil about the they seem good any opinions?


And yeah I really think monitors will benefit me because I mix on my hi-fi then my song songs very different on other systems... which is quite embrasing when I want show my productions off

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 7:24 pm
by Sional
3rdCheddz wrote:Hey cheers mate,
And yeah I really think monitors will benefit me because I mix on my hi-fi then my song songs very different on other systems... which is quite embrasing when I want show my productions off
I don't believe that spending £140 on a pair of "monitors" will change your situation. Getting your mixes to translate well on other systems is all about knowing your speakers, knowing your room acoustics and experience. Sure if you have the money for top quality speakers/amplifiers (regardless of whether they are advertised as monitors or hi-fi)and the best room treatment it may speed up the process of consistently getting good translations.

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 7:27 pm
by H20nly
Sional wrote:
3rdCheddz wrote:Hey cheers mate,
And yeah I really think monitors will benefit me because I mix on my hi-fi then my song songs very different on other systems... which is quite embrasing when I want show my productions off
I don't believe that spending £140 on a pair of "monitors" will change your situation. Getting your mixes to translate well on other systems is all about knowing your speakers, knowing your room acoustics and experience. Sure if you have the money for top quality speakers/amplifiers (regardless of whether they are advertised as monitors or hi-fi)and the best room treatment it may speed up the process of consistently getting good translations.
agreed.

put that money to the side and save up a little more... then maybe look at something with a flat response like these:

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/ ... escription

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 7:56 pm
by 3rdCheddz
I do plan on getting acoustic treatment and getting flat frequency speakers was the original idea of buying monitors hifi have quite a bit of eq colouring

Infact if I save the money for another two week I could probably raise my budget by about another £140 after buying acousic treament monitor stands cables n stuff for my condenser but I'm not looking to spend loads on my first set of monitors

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 8:16 pm
by chrk
3rdCheddz wrote:...I mix on my hi-fi then my song songs very different on other systems... which is quite embrasing when I want show my productions off
Listen to those people.
And in the meantime, when you 'show off' on other peoples' systems, listen to what's different and learn translation.

If you absolutely want to burn the money, invest it in some decent headphones for checking your mixes.
A mastering engineer I know did a shoot out of more than twenty pairs of cans about two years ago and gave the Shure SRH840 very good reviews in terms of linearity and spacial representation, and it's well inside your budget.
The Focal Spirit Professional that came last year has get got a lot of praise from various sources on quite the same terms, it's about 80£ more.

I'm interested in that myself, but I still haven't made up my mind if I want another closed back to the AKG 271 MK II I already have, which is very sober, but may lack on the low end.

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 8:21 pm
by Sional
3rdCheddz wrote:because hi fi have quite a bit of eq colouring
Oh really, what evidence do you have to support that statement.

The adjectives manufacturers use to describe their products don't tell you anything about them, the associated specifications might tell you something. There is no standard with regard to using the terms "monitors", "studio", "professional" etc. so any manufacturer of any speaker can apply one or more of these terms if they so wish. Hi-fi is an abbreviation for high fidelity which means faithful reproduction. In terms of audio quality, there is no reason that a hi-fi buff would want anything different from his speakers than a mix/master engineer from the speakers they used.

If £140 is your maximum budget you may be better served with a decent pair of headphones

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 8:39 pm
by 3rdCheddz
I always thought open back headphones was better for mixing and stero imaging is no the easiest with head phones though I guess my hifi could be used for that untill I save up a bit more money for a better set of speakers

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:49 pm
by H20nly
3rdCheddz wrote: I could probably raise my budget by about another £140
i'm not sure what the current rate of exchange is, but i'm pretty sure you'd be in the ball park for the Adam F5 monitors i posted in link above if you had another 140.

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 11:16 pm
by andydes
3rdCheddz wrote:I do plan on getting acoustic treatment and getting flat frequency speakers was the original idea of buying monitors hifi have quite a bit of eq colouring

Infact if I save the money for another two week I could probably raise my budget by about another £140 after buying acousic treament monitor stands cables n stuff for my condenser but I'm not looking to spend loads on my first set of monitors
Save for another 2 weeks.

I know people say spending too much on monitors without acoustic treatment is pointless, but has anyone in the world ever treated a room for £140 monitors? It's all about finding a balance.

The difference between the absolute cheapest you can find and the £300 area would probably be the difference between always wanting to upgrade and being more of less happy for several years.

And don't expect that buying monitors (especially in the low budget range) means your mixes will magically translate perfectly to everything. You'll still need to check on other systems and learn the quirks of what you have.
H20nly wrote: i'm not sure what the current rate of exchange is, but i'm pretty sure you'd be in the ball park for the Adam F5 monitors i posted in link above if you had another 140.
Exchange rate? It doesn't really work like that when it comes to buying stuff. However:

£306 from DV247

or

£327 incl 2 stands

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 11:37 am
by Sage
If you're serious about this, then spending as much time saving and researching what is out there will do you more good than rushing to get a pair of monitors now.

Re: studio monitoring speakers

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 4:52 pm
by H20nly
andydes wrote:
H20nly wrote: i'm not sure what the current rate of exchange is, but i'm pretty sure you'd be in the ball park for the Adam F5 monitors i posted in link above if you had another 140.
Exchange rate? It doesn't really work like that when it comes to buying stuff. However:

£306 from DV247

or

£327 incl 2 stands
what i meant by exchange rate is... i know how much they cost in the states and i wasn't sure how close £140 was to the price of one. with pounds its usually about 1.5 times the dollar amount, but that's just lazy math. i didn't know what DV247 was referring to... so i googled it! the interwebz told me... the cost of a single Adam F5 there is £153.00... or £306 for the pair as you stated. 8)

- hope you're still enjoying the German landscape and aren't too homesick.