Some ideas on light and mobile monitors

[Royer121]

Hey there,

I'm thinking about getting a pair of (active) monitors for
recording mobile. I cannot expect a good room to set up
my stuff, when recording bands in rehearsal rooms or
recording at live venues, but I hope to get a seperate
room mostly.

Do you have suggestions for a budget of 400 $ ?
Or should I just get some super closed Headphones,
like HD25 or Beyer dt770 ?


thx

ray

[minus-sounds.com]

The small Fostex would be fine. But still get some headphones for the times that no speakers could be used.

[tINY]

You have to have sealed headphones in a set-up like that - better yet, IEMs. The Senn HD-280 are prett good and about $100. For IEM, the etymonic e6i is a pretty good sounding set, but not as durrable as the Shure E4.

If you have an amp in your rack, the ST-6 from KRK are excellent and can be had for about $200/ pair.

I guess that leaves $100 left over for a used 60w stereo amp with headphone outputs......



-tINY

[minus-sounds.com]

Originally Posted by tINY

You have to have sealed headphones in a set-up like that - better yet, IEMs. The Senn HD-280 are prett good and about $100. ...

Aaah. I hate those. The mini jack on the headphones side of the cable is so fiddly and usually goes bad and needs replacement.

[Royer121]

You're both probably right...I will have to buy both in the long term.
I think I will go for a sealed headphone first, but I do not really trust in
that hd280...:P

What do you think about a Beyer DT770 & some Avantone Mixcubes with a Power Amp....?

[tINY]

I have a set of the HD-280 that I've been beating on for about 18 months now. There was a little crack in the headband that a bit of electrical tape took care of. They sound really good and isolate reasonably well. Nothing else out there for under $200 is even close.

Mine don't have a mini-jack on the "headphones side of the cable" - an overmolded plug on one end and a good sized strain-relief solidly mounted to the can on the other side of the cable.

You must be thinking of a different set of cans, minus.......



The DT770s are a bit more strudy, but at more than twice the cost of the HD280pro, they should sound better. Oh, and they are around 250ohms, so driving them can be tough.


The mixcubes are not really meant to be your only reference - you'd be better off with something else first.




-tINY

[Royer121]

I have a pair of Event PS8 on custom built speaker stands at my home studio....just need something light and useful when recording mobile...

And besides: There are two versions of the dt770, one with 80Ohm and one with 250...so thats not a problem..=)

But thanks for your ideas...

To all others...keep em coming !

[tINY]

The 80 ohm pair may be the answer if you like the tonal qualities of the 770.

$400 is tough, especially in the EU.....




-tINY

[nick66]

I have a pair of Tapco S5s ($300) that fit nicely in a carry on style suitcase with wheels and a handle (slightly marked from TJ Maxx!). They sound good and help to set up a good vibe when a band gathers round to listen to takes. I don't usually have a separate room. A friend has some ESI nEAR 05 monitors (not the eXperience version) which are smaller but sound nice and are very cheap.

[Royer121]

thanks for your thoughts...That was mine too....it is not only important for the engineer but also for the customers to hear the stuff...=)

I will keep the Esi Near05s in mind...

greets
ray

[golden_goose42]

Originally Posted by Royer121

it is not only important for the engineer but also for the customers to hear the stuff...=)

It is kind of touchy when you've got, say, two musicians who want to hear the playback, and you have to ask them to share a pair of headphones 8^) I've been tiptoeing around this by carrying a little Rolls headphone amp with four outputs and a couple spare pairs of cans. Considering that I had the other headphones already, it only cost me about $50, and it works, but it's not the ideal solution.

[Acoustic Cloud]

Roland MA-8 Pair. Been using them on the office PC for about 8-9 years. Good powered little guys. Good sound. 2way with little bass port. Has mic input also with volume.

This is a way better idea than trying to furnish location clients with enough "Cans" to listen. Gets rid of the headphone amp need, and you just bust them out, there they are. Look nice, black or white.

[JEGG]

After having to fix my AKGs one more time (admittedly after many years), and not being able to judge image accurately on Sonys, I decided to try some HD280s. I tried on every closed phone in the store, and the 280s blocked out the most noise, they were $80 on a promo, and I thought-how could I loose?

I was shocked. Closed headphones are not supposed to image well, and have all sorts of irregularities. The HD280s are incredibly easy to "translate" -in fact- they sound a great deal like my monitors.

Frequency response works very well. Again, it's a piece of cake to translate. Bass is extended and doesn't seem to be hyped. The extreme(!) upper end is elevated very, very slightly. Again, easy to translate.

In a live noisy room, you can listen at very moderate levels and you'll be in your own world.

Headphones are totally personal, because we have very different ears-and that's only on the outside. I found the AKGs to have a boost in the "mud range" which made everything sound overly "full." They didn't image well at all. With the Sony's, I always felt that I was listening to something through an Lexicon reverb set on a hall algorithm.

The 280s are really great for me.

One picky thing-these things are big! They're difficult to pack, and no bag (a al Sony) is provided. I love 'em! Easy to drive, too........ Not expensive-I don't have to worry about them!

Edit: Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I like my Sennys!

[dbssound1]

I would highly recommend the NHT M00's. Smal light and the sound incredible for their size. Much flatter than the KRK's and not as fatiguing as genelecs.

[amfortas2006]

Originally Posted by Royer121

Or should I just get some super closed Headphones,
like HD25 or Beyer dt770 ?


thx

ray

I have DT770, the 80Ohm version for two years now, and am very happy.
I also have etymotics 4P and those are good, but I preffer the DT cause they are more comfortable and better sounding for my ear. So the Etymotics I use only when not wanting to carry an extra piece of gear...

[rmx16]

Originally Posted by dbssound1

I would highly recommend the NHT M00's. Smal light and the sound incredible for their size. Much flatter than the KRK's and not as fatiguing as genelecs.

[audiothings]

the nht m-00 is on my shopping list. that said, the most portable monitors that come recommended are the audio engine a2s. you will certainly not want to mix, or do anything critical on them, but they should serve you fine as a reference point on the road.

[hughesmr]

NEWS FLASH for all Slutz:

If you're looking to buy NHT M-00s, go to ListenUp.com. They have a deal running now for a M-00 pair for $399 ($100 off usual street price). They also have a special running on the S-00/M-00 sub/sat 2.1 system. $699!! ($300 off street).

ListenUp: Computer Speakers

I just made the plunge for a pr of M-00s, looking forward to getting them this week.

[valleysound]

I've got the HD280's. Been using them for years. I highly recommend!