high end monitoring

EstateMatt · 14th November 2007

A very experienced friend recently convinced me to rework my monitoring scheme. it ended up $1-2k. In the beginning I was already very skeptical about cable-branding etc. I HATE monster cable with a passion. but I was willing to be proven wrong. I wanted the presonus box, but the sales guy agreed heavily with my friend that it was a bad idea and I went with the coleman. I'm usually not this malleable. I've hated on cabling myths for years. But my monitors have never been as accurate as I'd like so that made me open to suggestion.

my old one:
196--> Digi DB25Cable-->1/4 patchbay-->TT patchbay-->smokey mackie 24•8-->1/4patchbay-->pair of 1/4" patchbay cards--> different brands of 1/4" to xlr--> genelecs.

New One 196-->DigiLinkCable-->1/4"toXLR adapter-->mogami xlr-->coleman monitoring switch-->mogamiXLR-->genelecs

I ABed these two schemes on the new Coleman. I have to say that aside from a bit of noise at the top 3 detents, I couldn't percieve a difference. certainly not a $1000+ difference. maybe a tiny tiny tiny tiny imaging difference... Every time I thought I heard something, it would end up being the mackie that sounded better! I think its low end distortion. The noise change, I feel can be completely attributed to the number of cables.

I'm a very very experienced engineer. Am I deaf? The same friend is also working on an acoustic treatment. Could that make the "all-the-difference-in-the-world" that I've heard about.

I'm not angry about it but I wish I had wasted less money. I'm thinking of returning the coleman.

uosdwis · 14th November 2007

Sorry to hear you didn't get the improvement you were hoping for. I don't know how elaborate your setup is, but if all you need is a straight and clean path between your 96 io (right?) and your Genelecs, I strongly suggest spending the money on a quality stereo DAC instead (Benchmark, Lavry, Mytek, Apogee).

A used Benchmark DAC1 can be had for about $700 and will get you one pair of XLR out, one pair of RCA, two headphone outputs and a nice pot to control it all (you can go fixed/calibrated, too).

Not only will you benefit from the improved conversion (which I bet will make a bigger difference than any cable swap), you'll also have the absolute shortest path between your (digital) music and your monitors/headphones. And you can always keep the old Mackie way of doing things for any other pair of monitors/sources you might have, now that you found it doesn't make a world of difference.

Treating the room itself is always a good idea.

14th November 2007	#1
EstateMatt Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 606 Thread Starter	high end monitoring A very experienced friend recently convinced me to rework my monitoring scheme. it ended up $1-2k. In the beginning I was already very skeptical about cable-branding etc. I HATE monster cable with a passion. but I was willing to be proven wrong. I wanted the presonus box, but the sales guy agreed heavily with my friend that it was a bad idea and I went with the coleman. I'm usually not this malleable. I've hated on cabling myths for years. But my monitors have never been as accurate as I'd like so that made me open to suggestion. my old one: 196--> Digi DB25Cable-->1/4 patchbay-->TT patchbay-->smokey mackie 24•8-->1/4patchbay-->pair of 1/4" patchbay cards--> different brands of 1/4" to xlr--> genelecs. New One 196-->DigiLinkCable-->1/4"toXLR adapter-->mogami xlr-->coleman monitoring switch-->mogamiXLR-->genelecs I ABed these two schemes on the new Coleman. I have to say that aside from a bit of noise at the top 3 detents, I couldn't percieve a difference. certainly not a $1000+ difference. maybe a tiny tiny tiny tiny imaging difference... Every time I thought I heard something, it would end up being the mackie that sounded better! I think its low end distortion. The noise change, I feel can be completely attributed to the number of cables. I'm a very very experienced engineer. Am I deaf? The same friend is also working on an acoustic treatment. Could that make the "all-the-difference-in-the-world" that I've heard about. I'm not angry about it but I wish I had wasted less money. I'm thinking of returning the coleman.

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14th November 2007	#2
uosdwis Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2003 Posts: 206	Sorry to hear you didn't get the improvement you were hoping for. I don't know how elaborate your setup is, but if all you need is a straight and clean path between your 96 io (right?) and your Genelecs, I strongly suggest spending the money on a quality stereo DAC instead (Benchmark, Lavry, Mytek, Apogee). A used Benchmark DAC1 can be had for about $700 and will get you one pair of XLR out, one pair of RCA, two headphone outputs and a nice pot to control it all (you can go fixed/calibrated, too). Not only will you benefit from the improved conversion (which I bet will make a bigger difference than any cable swap), you'll also have the absolute shortest path between your (digital) music and your monitors/headphones. And you can always keep the old Mackie way of doing things for any other pair of monitors/sources you might have, now that you found it doesn't make a world of difference. Treating the room itself is always a good idea.