Ableton Forum

I'm finally moving from headphones to good quality monitors. I've narrowed it down to the Adam A7X monitors. However the frequency range only extends to 42hz. Is this common for near field monitors? If so how is the 20-40 hz range monitored?

https://www.production-room.com/product ... ve-Monitor

For small to medium sized nearfield monitors it's not that uncommon for them to start to roll off quite quickly around 40Hz, so I wouldn't worry about that. How is 20-40Hz monitored then? It's not!

You can keep an eye on things with a spectrum analyser, but if your speakers are down 6dB at 47Hz, you're not going to hear 20Hz most likely.

Thanks Tarekith.
So I've seen $15 headphones with a specified range of 20 - 20hz. Is that just a matter of quality?
Is it common to use mono subwoofer?

How do you typically monitor kick drums which can have a fundamental at under 49hz?

Tarekith wrote:For small to medium sized nearfield monitors it's not that uncommon for them to start to roll off quite quickly around 40Hz, so I wouldn't worry about that. How is 20-40Hz monitored then? It's not!

You can keep an eye on things with a spectrum analyser, but if your speakers are down 6dB at 47Hz, you're not going to hear 20Hz most likely.

dhpetrescu wrote:How do you typically monitor kick drums which can have a fundamental at under 49hz?

Put the $15 headphones on!

The key is to become familiar with your new monitors. Listen to tracks that you know really well. See how they sound on your monitors. Compare your mixes to those tracks.

LIsten to your material on as wide a range of speakers (and headphones!) as you can. Submit it to others, so they can check it on their systems.



As for the $15 headphones, do you really expect something at that price to offer a perfect playback response? If it seems too good to be true....

A 20Hz-20kHz spec is no good unless it's accompanied by a -/+dB figure to show how accurately that range is reproduced. The bass end could be 60dB lower than the mids and highs.

dhpetrescu wrote: Is it common to use mono subwoofer?

How do you typically monitor kick drums which can have a fundamental at under 49hz?

I monitor subs in my head phones. Not perfect, but you get a feel for where it sits. I since sold my monitors in order to get new ones (That go far lower), so only on head phones for now. The Sub bass spectrum is hard to get right in a room and takes a lot of effort with damping and analysis to get reliable. There's also the Subpac and similar.

102455 wrote:

dhpetrescu wrote:How do you typically monitor kick drums which can have a fundamental at under 49hz?

A 20Hz-20kHz spec is no good unless it's accompanied by a -/+dB figure to show how accurately that range is reproduced. The bass end could be 60dB lower than the mids and highs.

Exactly this.

Thanks everyone I think this makes sense. While we're on this topic, what are everyone's favorite monitors? Which ones do you have? Does anyone have opinions about the eighth A7Xs?

Tarekith wrote:

102455 wrote:

dhpetrescu wrote:How do you typically monitor kick drums which can have a fundamental at under 49hz?

A 20Hz-20kHz spec is no good unless it's accompanied by a -/+dB figure to show how accurately that range is reproduced. The bass end could be 60dB lower than the mids and highs.

Exactly this.

Might I suggest you brick wall high pass a track you are working on to 40 hz and see the difference, you'll be surprised how minimal it actually is.

As for what monitors I use, I have a pair of Yamaha HS7's which I'm very satisfied with. But obviously you are looking for something more high end.

Although I don't own them, I know the A7X's well. Very good monitors indeed!!!!

You won't regret buying them, as they are very precise and detailed. But all the same it is recommended to have a good set of cans as second opinion.