Stereo Main Monitors

[ndogg]

oi!

Where I work, we're planning a new 5.1 studio. We will mostly be working in stereo (for now) but it will be nice to handle the 5.1 work (which is appearing more and more) in-house. Most mixing will be done on near- or mid-field monitors (for both stereo and surround) but we have decided to put in stereo soffited mains mainly for the client 'wow-factor'.

Does anyone have suggestions for mains that sound ok but are fairly affordable? It would be nice to check the low end on them now and then, but I don't think anyone would actually spend much time mixing on them. So far, I've had someone recommend the Dynaudio M3's (passive with Bryston amps) which would probably fit the budget ok, but I have NO idea how they sound.

Thanks,
ndogg

[MIKEHARRIS]

look at the Dyn Air25...you should be able to integrate your 5.1 and WOW factor speakers with this system

[TonyBelmont]

What's your budget?? Genelec 1038's might be nice... or Augsbergers... or Tannoy DMT215's, etc.

[ndogg]

MIKEHARRIS:

We actually have Dynaudio AIR 20's in another room right now and nobody seems to like them. They can't seem to handle any power. Not that I monitor loud often, but I get clipping lights on them WAY too soon to be useful. That's probably why someone else recommended the passive M3's.

Also remember, we don't want a full 5.1 soffit-mounted system. We just want stereo mains, so AIR systems, with the built in calibration, etc, are not a really helping.

TonyBelmont: The budget is still a moving target. We've got drawings out to a few designers right now and are waiting to get a better idea of what $ can go where. No matter what, though, I'm insisting that the near-/mid-fields are a more important investment than main soffit-mounted speakers. They won't be used as often... again, they will be mostly for show.

How much difference in price are we talking about from M3's to Genelec 1038's to Augsperbers to Tannoy DMT215'S?

Thanks for the references

ndogg

[Darius van H]

I'd avoid the M3's ( i used them when i started out)..........very muddy sound (overly thick midrange)......might be ok as a main mon' if doing lots of dance/rap......(low-end is pretty good if your room can handle it).

[ndogg]

Aha! Thanks Darius...

What would you recommend in a not-too-ridiculous price range?

thnks
n

[Darius van H]

Weeell, after re-reading your first post (where you basically say you need some bigs for the bling factor {which i agree is very important if you want to [curtis mayfield falsetto]move-on-up [/curtis mayfield falsetto]})....then i say, the bigger the better.......look around for some second hand M4's or maybe ATC's if you're more concerned about the sound......i also like Quested, (but only their bigs - theirs smalls are perhaps the worst i heard in that price range)

[robmix]

I've got a pair of the Tannoy DMT System II's and I gotta say they sound pretty damn good. I paired them with a set of JBL 18" subs and it basically shakes the whole building when I turn it up. The Tannoys can be had cheap - I think a pair just went off on EBAY for under $4g's. I basically only use them with guitar players doing overdubs in the control room and to blow away clients when we're writing groove stuff and checking mixes. Mine are even free standing, we've got soffit mounted Augspurgers left over from the tennants before and they just never got them to sound good even with the best room tuners in town.

[ndogg]

Thanks for the input guys... kind of a difficult thing to decide on because it's kinda hard to audition mains that will be soffit-mounted in a room that doesn't exist yet.

More opinions for or against anything are welcome.

I bet the designer (whoever it ends up being) will have some ideas too...

ndogg

[Brad Lunde]

Originally Posted by ndogg

Thanks for the input guys... kind of a difficult thing to decide on because it's kinda hard to audition mains that will be soffit-mounted in a room that doesn't exist yet.

More opinions for or against anything are welcome.

I bet the designer (whoever it ends up being) will have some ideas too...

ndogg

Come to AES...all the speaker folks are there with demos to hear. You'll get a good idea of timbre and tone and maybe dispersion.....bring some CD's.
Brad

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by ndogg

TonyBelmont: The budget is still a moving target. We've got drawings out to a few designers right now and are waiting to get a better idea of what $ can go where. No matter what, though, I'm insisting that the near-/mid-fields are a more important investment than main soffit-mounted speakers. They won't be used as often... again, they will be mostly for show.

How much difference in price are we talking about from M3's to Genelec 1038's to Augsperbers to Tannoy DMT215'S?

Thanks for the references

ndogg

Yeah, but the bigs are always the most expensive... I have a feeling that a pair of Tannoy DMT215's would be you're best bet, as everything else I mentioned would be over $10k...

[Lindell]

the 1038's will not play loud enough, as will not the Dynaudios and ATC's..... Look into a pair of active Questeds.

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by Lindell

the 1038's will not play loud enough, as will not the Dynaudios and ATC's..... Look into a pair of active Questeds.

My friend has a pair of those and they are weak! No low end... might be his room though.

[djui5]

Originally Posted by TonyBelmont

My friend has a pair of those and they are weak! No low end... might be his room though.

It is..

Transcon's A and B rooms have active Quested mains, 4 12's in A, 2 12's in B....the one's in A are f'n loud.

The gene's sound pretty good, but agreed, probably won't be loud enough unless you have quite a small room.

[audiothings]

maybe you want to look into the jbl 6332s (with a sub or two). if your room is not too big they should be plenty loud. they are the cheapest soffit mountable (by design) monitors i've seen.

for nearfields, you may want to look at the pmc tb2s or db1s they have mounting brackets that can make 5.1 setup easy.

.02,
self.

[MIKEHARRIS]

As noted...the Tannoys are probably the best LOUD budget monitor...often combined with subwoofers for even more ballz. Surprisingly the Mackie SAS1500 works well with them...no need for everything to be expensive

[ndogg]

well, golly-gee-shucks, guys... thanks for the input. I'm looking forward to AES to maybe hear some options, but the room is going to be a big factor. The control room has the potential to be mid- to large-sized (maybe 24' by 24'), but the ceiling height won't be as high as one would hope for. Unless we dig down a bit... but I don't think the budget will allow for that.

Anyone else have anything good or bad to say about the larger Quested's? I know the local dealer would be quite happy to sell us a pair.

takereezy...
ndogg

[kittonian]

It may be a bit out of your budget but you may want to checkout Hot House - www.hothousepro.com - they make some amazing stuff.

[jhg]

Blue Sky is debuting their re-designed larger monitor, the Big Blue, at AES. Check it out. Lots of SPL, full range when coupled with their SUB12 subwoofers. I've found Blue Sky products to be excellent value for the sound(I've got a Sky System 1 2.1 setup)

[ndogg]

Okay... sorry to drag this back into the limelight.

Let's say the budget were somewhere in the range of $10k to $15k (USD) (including amplification if mains are passive).

Of course, even cheaper is not frowned upon... but what options would that narrow you down to?

ndogg

Disclaimer: the designer is STILL probably going to have some input on this decision.

[reid]

ndogg,

check out Funky Junks UK site (http://www.proaudioeurope.com/london...used_frame.htm)

They're flogging £26k worth of M4 5 way with BSS crossovers, racks, etc, for £7.5k with VAT, shippinand duties, maybe a little ov your budget, but it ge you into the 5.1 game straight away