Ported Monitors

[zenkonami]

I've been on the prowl lately for some inexpensive, yet still relatively accurate monitors for a home recording setup. Problem is it seems the M-Audios, the KRK Rokits, etc...are all ported monitors. I'm not sure I like the idea of "bass reflex for improved bass response", particularly since I'm under the impression that ported monitors have poorer transient response at low frequencies and may misrepresent low frequencies anyway. Also, though I would hope most of these companies take this into account, I'm concerned that I might experience phase issues.

Long story short, I would appreciate it if anyone:

a) would discuss their knowledge, stories and/or experience about ported monitors (particularly on the lower end of the price spectrum)

and/or

b) could recommend some relatively inexpensive but accurate sealed enclosure near-field monitors.

I know that my ears in a good room are the ultimate test, but a little information in advance might help narrow what I'm looking for (or alleviate some of my concerns.) Thanks in advance!

- Zen

[O.F.F.]

I can think of only two small monitors with sealed enclosures at all.
Those made by Blue Sky and the Quested S6.
Haven't heard either, so wouldn't like to comment on the sound quality.

But given your particular worries about conventional bass loading I would have a look at the smaller PMC monitors which are transmissionlines.
I've had some experience with these and very good they are indeed!
Especially the bass is very clean and extremely well extended (for size) without ever being bloated. First time I walked into a studio with those running I was searching for a
non-existant sub-woofer so I could look clever and comment on how well it is integrated with the 'sats'!

[zradioman]

I have the KRK rockit 8's, and at first I too worried about the "ported bass sound" and the amount of air being pushed around. . .after all, this ain't no car radio system. . .anyways, tight bass response and accurate reproduction is what I have in the KRK's and this is what I desire. . .M-Audio BX8's sounded to good to be accurate and a little woshing bass sound...I like the KRK's, even over Events, Truthes and the higher end KRK's

[kingofswing]

Ported over Sealed - No winner IMO.

I have found that well designed front ported boxes can sound great, such as the Adam S Series, Genelecs, Dynaudios, etc.

Generally the budget end of ported monitors cannot compare with the design of the more expensive ported boxes. Its all about the design decisions, and quality of build, etc.

I have tried sealed boxes like the K&H 0300ds (One of the best 3-way nearfields with a big sound). I found that the bass response is deep, but not as tight as the front ported Adam S3a's (again another top notch 3-way studio near/midfields.

Also consider front vs back ported designs, as you may find that the latter is not suited to your room (especially if you are in a small room, and forced against walls)

Most studio monitors have design compromises, and you have to decide which ones work best for you.

FWIW, i actually prefer ported designs over sealed.

[Bob Olhsson]

I definitely prefer sealed monitors. By far the most common one is the NS-10!

Porting seems to make speakers much more sensitive to room placement and this makes them more unpredictable in the low-end.

[Jim vanBergen]

I've heard great sealed and great ported monitors. My most recent addition to the monitor stable is (to my surprise) ported Dynaudio, which I realized was ported after 1)a blind listening test, 2) buying them, 3) installing them, 4) loving them 5) taking the front off to realize they were ported, (and the ports were stuffed.)

JvB

[zenkonami]

Thanks for the responses, all. Keep 'em coming if you've got 'em. It's providing me with some good perspective and some considerations that had not crossed my mind.

I presume most rear ported monitors would give you a bigger problem with bass build-up if you had to have them near a wall (due, say, to having a small room.) Would I also be correct in assuming that even if the space behind those monitors was treated that it still may not help much (depending on proximity of the wall, of course) due to the wavelength of lower frequencies? Or would that depend more on the density and type of treatment? Would front ported monitors be a better bet in this kind of space (if one went with ported monitors at all.)

And now that I'm thinking about it, how much does port placement affect the bass at all given the omnidirectionality of lower frequencies?

Thanks, again!

-Zen

[matt thomas]

With speakers its all (mostly) down to what you like and what you are used to

yes, ported speakers are going to be intrinsically less accurate, but the majority of people listen to music on ported speakers, and the majority of studios use ported speakers.

Listen to the speaker and judge it for its sound, not how it is designed

A relevant question would be, why do you want a speaker that has the properties of a non ported design? do you have different needs than the majority of other people out there?

narco

ps. I use non ported speakers : lipinskis and ns-10's

[DrDeltaM]

Don't mix up 'ported' with 'bass-reflex' tho. While 'bass-reflex' is a type of ported speaker, there are others like 'transmission line', who are ported too. Bassreflex tends to have more undefined bass and fast rolloff below flat curve, while transmission line has tight defined bass and slow rolloff.

[kingofswing]

Just to clear up:

By 'design' i am not talking cosmetics. Design as in how the box is put together, like the example above of PMC's transmission line technology, or like Genelecs 8000 series curved design (allowing better sound dispersion), or a nice 3-way monitor design with each driver running at different x-over frequencies. It goes on.

A speakers design reflects its sound, and the way its going to behave in different environments.

[ersheff]

I noticed today while listening to Tortoise that my KRK RP5 Rokit's bloomed like crazy on a particular bass note, however I also have them in my bedroom and know from other speaker experience that certain low range in my room just does that. I find the low end on my KRK's to be very good for the price and size.

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by mopppish

I noticed today while listening to Tortoise that my KRK RP5 Rokit's bloomed like crazy on a particular bass note.

that sounds like its probably your room, not the speakers

narco

[Jim vanBergen]

Originally Posted by mopppish

I noticed today while listening to Tortoise that my KRK RP5 Rokit's bloomed like crazy on a particular bass note, however I also have them in my bedroom and know from other speaker experience that certain low range in my room just does that. I find the low end on my KRK's to be very good for the price and size.

That's certainly a node due to the room dimensions. Laws of physics, bro.

[max cooper]

ATC-20's: sealed (oh, ok, infinite baffle!)

Tannoy System 800: ported

both work great here.

Don't forget that with sealed boxes, the size of the box has something to do with the freq. response.

IIRC, the low freq. resonance peak goes up as the box size goes down.

I'm certainly well over my head now.

[jbfunk]

I see so many threads on various sites about which monitors to buy and I used to be caught up in this hype as well before I bought a used pair of Event TR5's. Here's the bottom line: I don't have experience with "High End" monitors in a "High End" studio, but I don't doubt the impact a quality room, audio connections, and amplification, and high quality monitors would have on my mixes, but bottom line is I have not the money yet to invest in these. If you are looking to spend less than $500 and some might say $1000 on a pair of monitors, just go out and get a pair of monitors that look and sound good to you and stop sweating your monitors. Honestly, I don't think bass ports or no bass ports will be a deciding factor in how good your mixes are at this point in the game. As I have learned for myself, my used TR5's I got for $200 in like new condition have opened up a whole new world for me in terms of identifying what I need to learn about mixing, EQing, working with filtering out unneccesary frequencies, and panning my tracks. My mixes have improved dramatically and my simple set up is still showing me I have much more to learn before I shell out the big $ for a proper studio set-up. I have also discovered in terms of size, I do have small monitors but I don't even come close to driving my speakers to their sonic limits due to my studio be inside my apartment and so close to my neighbors. The most important thing is take some music with you and have a listen to the monitors and pick out the ones you like the most without breaking the bank.

[tINY]

The main difference between ported (the single frequency helmholtz resonator type) and acoustic suspension (where most of the resonant behavior is due to the volume of the box and not the suspension of the driver) is what happens at very low frequencies.

The ported designs use less power to deliver the bass frequencies, but below the port frequency, lose 24dB per octave. Acc Susp designs roll off at 12dB per octave. Either design can be misaligned (but the Acc sus is more forgiving of driver differences).

Any studio monitor is going to be deisigned well enough that ringing and poor transient response are not an issue.

The location of the ports doesn't matter on smaller cabinets (less than 2 feet in the smallest dimension) unless it makes whistling or breathing noises. Again, this won't be a problem on studio monitors.

Personally, I have mostly ported monitors. It is a better choice when using smallish 2-way systems. My sub woofers are sealed.




-tINY

[nadsatrebel]

Originally Posted by zradioman

I have the KRK rockit 8's, and at first I too worried about the "ported bass sound" and the amount of air being pushed around. . .after all, this ain't no car radio system. . .anyways, tight bass response and accurate reproduction is what I have in the KRK's and this is what I desire. . .M-Audio BX8's sounded to good to be accurate and a little woshing bass sound...I like the KRK's, even over Events, Truthes and the higher end KRK's

+1!

Those Rokit 8s are pretty good for the money. Don't sweat the port.

[DaveSullivan]

I've been using Tascam VL-X5 monitors because they came free with my US-2400. I am pretty sure they suck. At least, I like them much less than my home stereo speakers. At the time, I thought something was better than nothing. tutt Now I'm not sure.

These units have a strange (to me) front-port design. Has anyone else heard these units? any feedback?

[ghellquist]

In my ears it is not so much about the technique used as about how it is executed. There are good ported monitors as well as bad says my ears.

I did do a walk-around in all the music shops listening to all the monitors. All sounded different. A few in the budget segment sounded well below what I find as acceptabel.

On pure chance I stumbled over a used pair of ATC-s and fell in love on first sight, or maybe listening. These were the ATC SCM20ASL Pro model, a hefty 30kg moulded closed cabinet. If you ever get the possibility I really recommend a listening to these.

Gunnar