speakers for listening and mixing

[retractablezing]

hi everyone,

i'm getting a new set of speakers, but i really want to get the right thing here as sadly, i can't audition anything.

these will be used for everyday listening as well as mixing (only my stuff, nothing too fancy or anything). i'd say they will be used for a lot more listening than mixing..

powered by a McIntosh MA-230, so passive is a must. 30w on stereo operation only but i really like the sound of this amp.

i always hear about the Proac 100s Studio as a good mixing/listening compromise, and i guess at 1250 euros (new) they more or less top my budget for this. i suppose i can stretch out to 1500 if totally necessary, but i'd really rather avoid that.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. i'm looking for a very even and natural sound across the freq. range, as opposed to absolute flatness i guess.

the only thing i'm really not sure about is whether i prefer nearfields or something a little bigger. this will be used in a rather small room, but that won't be for very long.

thanks.

[cooker]

Dynaudio's are nice to listen also you can check JBL or maybe tannoy.

[leebridges]

i love my proac's. tons of fun to listen to...if the stuff sounds good.

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by cooker

Dynaudio's are nice to listen also you can check JBL or maybe tannoy.

any specific ones you might be referring to?

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by leebridges

i love my proac's. tons of fun to listen to...if the stuff sounds good.

cheers..do you by any chance have the 100s?

[leebridges]

Originally Posted by retractablezing

cheers..do you by any chance have the 100s?

yes. sorry, i did not specify. i have the 100's.

[u b k]

I love the old jbl's, 4310/4311 /L100 etc. They rock, and they reveal just enough get you somewhere sweet without inundating you with details that let you tweak minutae to the gills but ultimately (imo) are unnecessary for building a mix that's loaded with vibe, energy, impact, and mystery.

the bigger 3way dyns are cool too, but don't rock as hard. jbl's bass is so damn satisfying to listen to, they really give you sense of the true energy of the track.

pair them up with a pair of passive avantones on a speaker switcher and you'll want for nothing.


gregory scott - ubk
.

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by u b k

I love the old jbl's, 4310/4311 /L100 etc. They rock, and they reveal just enough get you somewhere sweet without inundating you with details that let you tweak minutae to the gills but ultimately (imo) are unnecessary for building a mix that's loaded with vibe, energy, impact, and mystery.

the bigger 3way dyns are cool too, but don't rock as hard. jbl's bass is so damn satisfying to listen to, they really give you sense of the true energy of the track.

pair them up with a pair of passive avantones on a speaker switcher and you'll want for nothing.


gregory scott - ubk
.

thanks gregory. i'll look into those. those 431x jbls..they're active right?

[leebridges]

Originally Posted by retractablezing

cheers..do you by any chance have the 100s?

i forgot to mention that the 100's really depend on the amp to rock. they sound great hooked up to any amp, but if you find the right combo, they're amazing. i use a bryston 4b st...but there's a thread around here somewhere that a lot of people listed amps they enjoy matched with the proac's.

[cooker]

Originally Posted by retractablezing

any specific ones you might be referring to?

Sorry, thing is I'm mostly experienced with active monitors but from various threads specially dynaudio's are said to be much better with a good amp instead of an active version.

Thinking again, your McIntosh MA-230 seems to be a fairly colored unit. You stated you can't try speakers but it seems to me its too risky to take chances. You know, even a fairly flat speaker may sound not as expected with it.

Maybe you should ask the mastering guys as they are more familiar with various amps? maybe not extremely flat but B&W's could be a good choice as though not many, some engineers prefer to work on them.

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by leebridges

i forgot to mention that the 100's really depend on the amp to rock. they sound great hooked up to any amp, but if you find the right combo, they're amazing. i use a bryston 4b st...but there's a thread around here somewhere that a lot of people listed amps they enjoy matched with the proac's.

cheers for that Lee...after reading a bit more about them, that indeed seems to be a recurring theme. i'm afraid that at 30watts, my MA230 won't be able to drive them to have them actually come alive a bit.

maybe i should humble out a tad on the speaker department. sad though, i was beginning to get really enthusiastic with everything i've read about them.

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by cooker

Sorry, thing is I'm mostly experienced with active monitors but from various threads specially dynaudio's are said to be much better with a good amp instead of an active version.

Thinking again, your McIntosh MA-230 seems to be a fairly colored unit. You stated you can't try speakers but it seems to me its too risky to take chances. You know, even a fairly flat speaker may sound not as expected with it.

Maybe you should ask the mastering guys as they are more familiar with various amps? maybe not extremely flat but B&W's could be a good choice as though not many, some engineers prefer to work on them.

cheers cooker...

well for one, that's more or less why i wanted a fairly flat set of speakers but not absolute flatness. in theory (and this is only theory), i figure the combo would sort of balance itself out.

as i'm not recording seriously these days, the listening pleasure part is a bit more crucial to me, and this is an amp i've worked really hard to find (and pay) in mint condition.

the proacs really do look like the best of both worlds.

[cooker]

Originally Posted by retractablezing

cheers cooker...

well for one, that's more or less why i wanted a fairly flat set of speakers but not absolute flatness. in theory (and this is only theory), i figure the combo would sort of balance itself out.

as i'm not recording seriously these days, the listening pleasure part is a bit more crucial to me, and this is an amp i've worked really hard to find (and pay) in mint condition.

the proacs really do look like the best of both worlds.

I understand, one last thing that came to my mind, lucey from here Welcome to Magic Garden Mastering started using this for sometime now Immedia - Sonics by Joachim Gerhard - Allegra for mastering and thought you might want to get an opinion from him couse he's also using tube amps (you can't find a lot of tube amp users and I believe he's someone you can trust with such a relative subject)

[abtech]

Originally Posted by retractablezing

thanks gregory. i'll look into those. those 431x jbls..they're active right?

No. they are passive, but I think 30 watts per channel may be a bit anemic for them. I run mine with a 250 watt per channel SAE 2401 and they work very well with tons of clean headroom.

[Transistor]

A set of B&W 805's might be within your budget?

r,
j,

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by camus

Harbeth SHL-5s. Woody, open, detailed, crisp and oh so sweet. Seriously, demo these if you can. No "professional" studio monitor I've heard has ever come close to these.

The Harbeth Monitor 20,30 and 40 are also worth auditioning - all passive, 40 also available active.

I use the 30 Actives (but these are no longer available).

[retractablezing]

thanks for all the sugestions folks.

i think i'm pretty set on the Proacs though. i'd just like to understand if my 30 watt mcintosh is gonna handle them (not very high volumes or anything) decently at all...any opinions on this?

i suppose that, even if this system isn't optimal, i'll later retire this amp to a secondary system and upgrade with a "real" amp to feed these, so i guess it's sort of a win-win...unless that is that 30 watts with these is a complete no-no.

[chet.d]

Originally Posted by u b k

I love the old jbl's, 4310/4311 /L100 etc. They rock, and they reveal just enough get you somewhere sweet without inundating you with details that let you tweak minutae to the gills but ultimately (imo) are unnecessary for building a mix that's loaded with vibe, energy, impact, and mystery.

the bigger 3way dyns are cool too, but don't rock as hard. jbl's bass is so damn satisfying to listen to, they really give you sense of the true energy of the track.

pair them up with a pair of passive avantones on a speaker switcher and you'll want for nothing.


gregory scott - ubk
.

I like that reasoning Greg. Resurrecting this as I stumbled on a pair of L100's locally today. Kinda wondering if they might work w/ an Adcom 535 I have.
I do have a more critical pair, as well as avantones, but for listening and some mixing along w/ another set, maybe...

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

You might consider Dunlavy IVs or Duntechs, but I don't know about the 30 watts though, not much headroom.

[chet.d]

Originally Posted by Bill@WelcomeHome

You might consider Dunlavy IVs or Duntechs, but I don't know about the 30 watts though, not much headroom.

you might be right there. probably worth a try though.