Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

[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-monitor-speakers/rokit/rokit-8.html
http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/products/a7/description
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov06/articles/adam.htm
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioEX66ReferenceMonitor.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. Are there other monitors you would suggest looking at?

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

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

Hmm maybe this thread belongs in the Off Topic Section...

 

[PRSfan nym 1985]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

do a search on a forum like gearslutz the most important thing you can do is set a specific budget based on what you said I'd suggest Yamaha HS80M but spend as much as you can afford best thing to do is compare monitors in person and decide what your ears like best

but gear aside nothing will really sound that great unless your recording/playback environment(s) are acoustically treated

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

+1 on the HS80m.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

The Adam speakers are great and I'm a fan of KRK too.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

I'd certainly take a look at what Genelec are currently offering. I'm using a pair of their 1029a monitors with the 1091a sub and do a pretty decent job for the size of space I'm working in. For a larger space, then I'd perhaps want to go up their (current) range to see what they have to offer and see if you can't do away with the sub that that the 1029a's most definitely need. Something like the 8030a might suit, or the 8040a if the budget will stretch.

From your list, I'd definitely want to audition the Mackie's, but then again you should do that with anything you're considering. You want accuracy at the end of the day, not something that will flatter your source material (or other equipment), which is what HiFi speakers are aiming at. Look for something that will allow you to find the warts in your output, before a paying public does.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

I just got KRK 6s they are awesome. I got them with a subwoofer which really brings things to life as it can be on or off as there is a crossover function. It would be nice for the dance music as you described.

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

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??

 

[everdrone]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

you need low end sub to carve out the unwanted frequencies etc

 

[Stratman]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

Have you thought about KRK’s?

I have a pair of ROKIT 6 with ERGO - sound is fantastic.

http://www.krksys.com/

BUT between us folks - I really wanted to purchase the ROKIT Powered 10-3 but no one had them in stock….

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

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??

I had a pair of Yamaha NS10's for years. There's a reason people use them because they sound like s__t and if you can make a mix sound great on them chances are they'll sound good anywhere. When I auditioned a pair of KRK's they closely resembled the NS10's. One more thing to think about! Haha

For dance music knowing a few tricks if you don't know already like side chaining compression on the kick and bass, parallel compression and frequency cutting in the right place will do a world of good. Look up Junkie XL and some of his techniques, he does low end as good as anyone.

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

I had a pair of Yamaha NS10's for years. There's a reason people use them because they sound like s__t and if you can make a mix sound great on them chances are they'll sound good anywhere. When I auditioned a pair of KRK's they closely resembled the NS10's. One more thing to think about! Haha

But what about impressing clients? If they're in your studio with you, it doesn't seem wise to be mixing their track on speakers that sound like ****e. I get the idea behind it, but often what I'm trying to do is blow clients away on the spot with sweet-ass beats. Quick gratification style. Most people don't know the value of mixing, or what mixing even means, they just want to hear great-sounding stuff.

 

[PRSfan nym 1985]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

that's why I suggested the HS80M they are one of the few monitors I've found that is honest enough for me to listen to yet it's got flattering qualities that make it an enjoyable listen

as I said before the best thing you can do is audition some stuff in person with some well selected source material (take in some stuff you know inside out). You can't shoot blindly with monitors. While it's nice to try them in your own space you can get ideas for the overall character without taking them home (when you get home if they are like a night and day difference from the store for the worse use your ? day return/exchange policy).

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

But what about impressing clients?

Then I would get the best 8" speakers with brand name awareness I could afford. You could invest in some Auratones or something like an NS10 for your own use to check mixes on and have the 8" monitors for the client playback.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

I've used the Mackie HR824s . . . they're very nice, maybe slightly bass heavy. Using them, if your room is properly treated you can clearly hear as low as you would need for most rock / funk / jazz kinda stuff without a subwoofer.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

If you're good at what you do and believe in your work, I would have a cheap $100 boombox or a set of honest speakers there, so you can play it in "real time." The majority of people don't have a killer home theatre system, top end products. They'll be listening to their recordings via IPOD or CD player in car.

You can have a killer HiFi setup and the customer will walk away stoked, but as soon as they get their product, if it doesn't sound "as good as your speakers but rather If it sounds flat on car speakers" they'll walk away disappointed.

I'd rather have someone play an honest representation of my music, so I know exactly what it's going sound like when i play it in my car rather than being blown away by what it could sound like thru such and such.

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Semi-Pro Monitors - thoughts?

If you're good at what you do and believe in your work, I would have a cheap $100 boombox or a set of honest speakers there, so you can play it in "real time." The majority of people don't have a killer home theatre system, top end products. They'll be listening to their recordings via IPOD or CD player in car.

You can have a killer HiFi setup and the customer will walk away stoked, but as soon as they get their product, if it doesn't sound "as good as your speakers but rather If it sounds flat on car speakers" they'll walk away disappointed.

I'd rather have someone play an honest representation of my music, so I know exactly what it's going sound like when i play it in my car rather than being blown away by what it could sound like thru such and such.

True dat, all around. I like to have people listen to it on their laptops (or my laptop if they don't have one).

Its not always easy to say "hey client, you can't hear your music right now, I have to make adjustments when you're gone".

At the same time, I want nice speakers for MY listening purposes. Mixing and all that is sure important, but that can be achieved by listening to a ton of different speakers, and dangit, I want some speakers that I LOVE to listen to.

So I guess ideally I'd have a set of speakers that make it an absolute joy to create music (for me thats a big sound), then a set of speakers for the honest representation (nitpicking those frequencies), then all the sets of speakers out there that most people already have (computer, car, TV, etc).

This leads me to KRK 8s for the big sound and impressing clients, and potentially a smaller set of Genelecs or Adams (5 inch or 3 inch) for hearing EVERYTHING in the mix. Then all those speaks I already have.

Thanks so much for your conversation, everyone!