I think my monitors must suck (or is it my ears?)

[jnorman]

so, go ahead and laugh, i am using a pair of original alesis active monitor one's. (short pause while you amuse yourself at my expense)...

i listen to lots of mic test samples, reverb samples, etc, and i dont seem to hear a lot of the negative stuff that some other folks seem to hear. such as, listening to EW mics, or little DPA 4061s, yes, i can hear a bit of hiss compared to schoeps cmc62s, but it doesnt really bother me any - while others are adamant that they could never use such noisy mics for any "real" work.

and reverb tails - i read comments about how grainy or crappy some reverb tail is, and i just dont hear what they are talking about.

on the flip side, i just posted a sample of some cell phone noise in a recent recording that really bothered me, and yet several people posted that they could not hear the "bzz" noises... go figure.

so, i am over 50 - is it most likely my ears that just dont hear upper freqs like they should? or are my monitors really that bad? what kind of affordable monitors would give me a definite improvement? thanks for any thoughts/comments.

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by jnorman

so, go ahead and laugh, i am using a pair of original alesis active monitor one's. (short pause while you amuse yourself at my expense)...

...

so, i am over 50 - is it most likely my ears that just dont hear upper freqs like they should? or are my monitors really that bad? what kind of affordable monitors would give me a definite improvement? thanks for any thoughts/comments.

So... we're in a similar boat. My experience was moving (at my video edit suite) from a pair of large Advents (decent hifi speakers, especially in the midfield, but not critically accurate) in the mid-90s, to the best local deal I could find in a hurry about 8 years ago (HHB Circle 5s) which only (for my purposes) lacked a wee bit of upper-mid clarity and solid extension below 100Hz (for sorting wind noise/rumble in location pickup in video production). I still "like" them... but no longer use them at edit.

When I decided I needed "better" monitors, I listened to a lot of stuff (Dynaudio, KRK, JBL, M-Audio, Yamaha, etc) in the $1K/pr range. My "reference" was a couple of days listening to clips through B&W 801 Series IIs at Sonare. Based on what I heard there (and the similar program material), I also listened to Rich when he suggested I look for a pair of Tannoy Series 800a (his onsite monitors)... because they translated well to the 801s.

I found a set, used, for $800, with the matching sub, on a local Craigslist deal, and bought them. Until I find a pair of 801s I can afford, I'm satisfied. I produce weekly live sound and VO video clips for playback through a large PA into a not-perfect-by-a-longshot room, and edit mainly acoustic music performances to DVD. The Tannoys provide the accuracy and clarity I need, and extend far enough into the bass region to get accurate info for EQ where it's needed.

Since I've been editing audio "seriously" for only the past 15 years or so (age 42 onward) I must rely only on what I hear (without a real reference to "what I heard" when I was 20) and the advice of others when they listen to what I produce... and the Tannoys were definitely the best "bang for the buck" I was able to find. The result: fewer problems, and, predominantly, kudos for the work I release to clients... based on what I hear (and what pleases me) in the edit bay. That all said, this is "part-time" work for me. Serious part-time, but I don't do it for the lion's share of my income, nor do I spend the lion's share of my time doing it.

YM, of course, will V. Perhaps the process will be helpful.

HB

[fifthcircle]

Probably not your ears, but your monitors.

The Alesis Monitor 1 was never known as being a particularly high resolution monitor. Try listening to some different monitors and see what else you can hear. If you listen to enough speakers, you'll find that there are traits of some speakers that you'll love and traits that drive you nuts.

For me, I like an accurate sound that does not give extra "punch." I also need to be able to hear small adjustments of sound in things like reverb, eq and such. There are some speakers that sound fantastic out there that I've never been able to do good work on because they sound make everything sound too good. Small adjustments are lost. Others that don't sound as good are brutal at showing those small changes.

The speakers I use are not particuarly high-end. (don't bother finding them, they haven't been made in over a decade). I think they were a bit more than $1000 for the pair. That being said, though, they show everything. I have had clients complain that they don't give that "mix vibe" but at the end of long hours of listening, they still like what they are getting.

Beware, though, upgrade your monitor setup and you may realize that the work you liked before has some rather significant problems.

--Ben

[jnorman]

thanks for the helpful comments guys.
"you may realize that the work you liked before has some rather significant problems." - ouch...

[fifthcircle]

I speak from experience. A recording that I had really liked and had put on my demo reel was discovered to have major phase issues that I missed until I upgraded my monitoring rig. Other recordings have EQ or reverb issues, etc... My room is sounding the best that it has and the speakers/amps/converters are great too. Means that a bunch of stuff came off my demo reel.


--Ben

[NorseHorse]

When I first switched from consumer monitors (Fostex PM1) to prosumer monitors (BlueSky ProDesks), the difference was not readily apparent to me. After listening for several days on the BroDesks and then switching back to the PM1s, the difference was huge. I've hardly powered on the PM1s since.

Having sat in nice rooms with nice speakers, I've had the experience of being able to grasp the quality of something right of the bat, but many things require a gradual appreciation. For instance, if I listen to mp3s for days, they don't bother me. However, if I listen to WAVs for several days, listening to an mp3 can be quite jarring. Same goes with 24-bit and 16-bit.

Study success, and mistakes will show themselves.

[AlexK]

Your room is also part of it. In my student accommodation (plus Adam A7s), I struggle to hear the difference between converters and preamps, often with no audible difference at all. Move into the studio at uni (HR824s) and the difference is obvious. Heck, even move my A7s into the kitchen where the acoustics are a million pounds better, and the difference becomes obvious.

Unfortunately, the kitchen is for people to cook, not for me to monitor.

[Sheikyearbouti]

Yes, the problem mostly likely is in your speakers/room. And while both in my opinion are a must for serious work it reminds me of the fact that very often we as engineers have not only the ears but as well the conditions to hear details that almost no consumer would.

P.S. Alex, I used to put my A7s in the kitchen as well. I think that it could be some sort of gearslut decease

[DannyL]

The Alessis Monitor 1's were ok. I still have mine, I use them in the living room to listen to TV. But they lack definition and they are the most awful color blue.....

Danny