Semi-Pro Monitors

[alex1fly]

Hey all, I am looking for a little guidance regarding studio monitors. I'd like to first tell you a little bit about my setup and what I'm trying to do with it, then I'll name some speakers I've researched that seem to fit with my line of thinking.

I have a home project studio that I am upgrading. Long operating with the cheapest gear I could find, recently I've made a number of investments in my equipment. This includes non-pirated DAWs, a fast and new computer, a few nicer cables, some acoustic treatment, and a decent interface (Apogee Duet). Buying for life I hope, or at least the next long while. The rest of my setup is a couple keyboards, a couple guitars, a couple miss, monitor stands, you get the idea. Its my personal gear collection. I turned the closet into a vocal booth (removed the door) and the room is maybe 200 sq. feet, decent size.

I produce mainly Loops/Beats/Dance/Electronic/Pop/Top 40 Style/Hip Hop/FunkJamTastic and record vocals for mix tapes and sampling.

My monitors are meh. Lowest line M-Audios. They get the job done, I can balance levels on them just fine, but they don't sound any good. Last part of my signal chain that isn't a "budget" model.

Internet research is only so helpful, and its not easy tracking down specific models of speakers to listen to in person. So here are the characteristics I want in a monitor:

Larger than life sound.
Effective for lower volume mixing.
Fun to listen to at higher volumes - actually sounds good!
Alive, 3-D sound.
Enough (accurate) bass in the monitors themselves so that I don't have to use an external subwoofer to hear and feel those lower frequencies. It's Dance Music!
Built to last.
Respected company that will take care of me if need be.

This way, when people come to my studio, they'll remember not just how much fun they had, but how good everything sounded. Or I can have a respectable set of monitors to take to other studios or work on projects elsewhere.

Mackie HR824s, Rokit 8s, Adam A7s, and M-Audio EX66s are all seeming pretty awesome. $500-$1200 is roughly the price range.
http://www.mackie.com/products/hrmk2series/a
http://www.krksys.com/krk-studio-monito ... kit-8.html
http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/ ... escription
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov06/articles/adam.htm
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/M ... nitor.html

Mackies are industry standard. Rokit 8s, I hear them regularly at a buddy's, and they sound Killer. The M-Audio EX66s have a cool design and seem like a suitable upgrade within the same company. Adams are known for their clear sound quality, apparently in the highs. One of the links I posted is a review, it has the exact wording.

Whatchall think? I want to get as close to pro quality as I can, with monitors that wouldn't be out of place in a commercial studio. So they need to be suitable for my home, but good enough to move into a legitimate studio if I move up to that level.

Thanks for making it through my brain dump.... Alex

[alex1fly]

I should add that if there are other monitors you would suggest looking at, please add!

[Goddard]

HS80M... I use them together with HS10W, but it's absolute not necessary...
Avoid M-Audio... Mackie makes good mixers, but their monitors sound like hifi - too nice to be the reference.
Greetings.

[102455]

At the end of the day, the choice is down to you and your ears.

I'd suggest though, that if you've got people coming and going, then KRKs would be a good choice as they're
about as ubiquitous as it gets right now (Yamaha NS10s were the last ones I remember).

[Komodovaran]

Adam A7X (not the Adam A7! The new revision is supposed to be heaps better!)

Hands down. Read the reviews. Everyone loves them. It says like 42 Hz - 50 KHz on the spec sheet but in reality mine go down to like 35 Hz. Tested it in Ableton (which I hope wouldn't lie about frequencies). The bass is tight and present, and not like a fat hi-fi padding like the KRKs. You won't need a sub with these as near-field monitors.

VERY good 3D/stereo imaging.

I listen to music and make lolmusic on these. I can listen music on these for many many hours a day, just doing nothing but listening to the music. They're very clear and detailed. No sound will drown out or fall behind with these monitors.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhv35ebMXf4
I have no problems hearing/feeling the deep hum at that starts at 3:05. On top of that, this song sounds wicked on these speakers.

[alex1fly]

Thanks all. I always like to consult this board with my gear questions. I've been reading around a lot. Gearslutz has some pretty good threads on the models I'm interested in.

I wish it was easier to audition gear side by side in your own space. Everyone hears differently, and everyone wants to hear different things in their music. Of the producers I know, the trance/electronic guys like KRK, the funk/analog enthusiast guys like Mackie, and the Christian Rock/Coldplay Style producers like M-Audio.

Not to mention the difference between mixing vs listening, each with their own set of preferences.

I want to hear honest mixes AND have them sound damn good. Its about more than just adjusting levels - its adjusting sound quality. It doesn't help when no mixes sound that good because the speakers just aren't that good.

Maybe I'm asking too much. Maybe I should put my set of bumpin' home stereo speakers in my studio, and then switch over to them when I want to impress clients with awesome sound. Keep my low-end monitors/sub combo for mixing.

But I'd rather have speakers in the studio that sound killer AND are honest enough for mixing. Too much to ask from one set of moderately priced monitors??

[ark]

Your price range is enough to cover a pair of Genelec 6010A active monitors and companion 5040A subwoofer.

[Komodovaran]

I wish it was easier to audition gear side by side in your own space. Everyone hears differently, and everyone wants to hear different things in their music. Of the producers I know, the trance/electronic guys like KRK, the funk/analog enthusiast guys like Mackie, and the Christian Rock/Coldplay Style producers like M-Audio.

Lies. What if I put iTunes on shuffle and a Coldplay song came after a Tiësto song? Am I supposed to rush over and twist all the knobs until it sounds good once again?

On topic: You should really check out some stores. The music shop near me had Adams, Genelecs and Rokits. I instantly knew that the Adam A7X were for me and largely preferred them over the other two brands. So after surfing around for reviews and seeing that the A7X got top grades in just about every review, I went and bought them. Investment of the year. I mostly listen to trance, and these speakers are just amazing.

But I'll stop the self praise now. Audio is very very subjective, and we all have different ears and expectations to what we hear. It's like food. Just because everyone else like it, you might not.

[jmouse]

Hey Alex
I've just been through the same thing and ended up buying a pair of
Dynaudio BM5 Mk2s.AU$1250.00
Great Bass response(45hz) and easy on the ear for long mixing sessions.
You can read the review at
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may11/a ... -bm5a-mkii
Also for about AU$550..there's the Fostex Pm05s..not bad for a tight budget.

Cheers
jm

[jmouse]

ps.sorry.My link may be incomplete but you'll find it on the sos site
under May 11 reviews.

[simpli.cissimus]

HS80M... I use them together with HS10W, but it's absolute not necessary...
Avoid M-Audio... Mackie makes good mixers, but their monitors sound like hifi - too nice to be the reference.
Greetings.

Totally agree with that...!

Have the Yamaha HS80's too but without the sub.
Good enough and totally honest monitors.
I do sound design and the guys I work with,
have Adams7 and tell me that my sounds are good.

The Yamaha advertisement is telling that if anything sounds good on the Yamaha HS80's
it sounds good on any other system too, ...and I can confirm that...!

But I will definitely buy me the Adams A8X one day.(along with the Yamaha's)
I wouldn't go for less then 8inch because of bass frequencies.

So I can recommend Yamaha 80HS(about 500Euro's) or suggest to go for Adams 8(about 1200Euro's).
But keep in mind that the Adams are not magnetically shielded.
You need a bigger room to work with the Adams, to keep them away from your PC/MAC.

Both, the Yamaha's and the Adams are very honest and maybe some kind of harsh.
They won't lie to you !

If you can find a place where you can listen to both, then go.
Take a CD you know well and give both a try.

...and when you finally have them at home.
Listen to the new monitors loong, looong time before you mix anything important.
You need to know them well and that's best done by listening to many well produced music on CD.
100-200 hours...


Good Luck

[jestermgee]

I've been using KRK for years... Seem good to me, but again, that is what I have used for years and am use to it.

This tends to get shot down a lot when raised (probably because people don't think it's important) but to get the best out of monitors, you really do need room treatment to tame the rooms acoustic shortfalls. Monitor speakers are designed to produce as close as possible the actual sound that has been created in the DAW so that you can hear what needs attention without amps, EQ or frequency response and resonance of the speaker and cabinet affecting the sound. When the sound comes out the monitors it is then affected by the room as well which is a big factor of why some people think they have a great mixed track that either lacks something when played on another system or has just too much bass.

I'm not saying you should run out and treat your room first, but it is always an overlooked part of getting accurate results if that is what your aim is. I'd do a little research to get an understanding first.

EDIT: And hats off for choosing to use LEGITIMATE software too. Honestly, Ableton is one of the most affordable and capable DAWs around. Can't think in terms of "Professional" if using cracked software.

[alex1fly]

I've been using KRK for years... Seem good to me, but again, that is what I have used for years and am use to it.

This tends to get shot down a lot when raised (probably because people don't think it's important) but to get the best out of monitors, you really do need room treatment to tame the rooms acoustic shortfalls. Monitor speakers are designed to produce as close as possible the actual sound that has been created in the DAW so that you can hear what needs attention without amps, EQ or frequency response and resonance of the speaker and cabinet affecting the sound. When the sound comes out the monitors it is then affected by the room as well which is a big factor of why some people think they have a great mixed track that either lacks something when played on another system or has just too much bass.

I'm not saying you should run out and treat your room first, but it is always an overlooked part of getting accurate results if that is what your aim is. I'd do a little research to get an understanding first.

EDIT: And hats off for choosing to use LEGITIMATE software too. Honestly, Ableton is one of the most affordable and capable DAWs around. Can't think in terms of "Professional" if using cracked software.

Room treatment is important. I put up some 2 foot by 6 foot fiberglass panels and it made so much difference. But then, there's only so much you can do to a bedroom in a home, you know?

Plus, one of my AV40 tweeters is blown. Sounds like shite.

[newboss]

Larger than life sound.
Effective for lower volume mixing.
Fun to listen to at higher volumes - actually sounds good!
Alive, 3-D sound.

you are not looking for studio monitors..you want hifi speakers with chrome spoilers..


but from your list you might be most happy with the krk´s

[Peevy]

Went from a set of Behringer B2031Ps to Adam A5x monitors & the difference truly is night & day. The Adams are so clear & precise with an almost 3D quality soundstage, adjusting EQ, reverb, Delay & panning is so much easier to do & my mixes are sounding a lot better than before.