Finally have the money: Please recommend monitors

[mikethedrummer]

2k can score you Adam A7xs with a sub. I would recommend them twice. I use them in my commercial studio and absolutely love them. They are very very clear, very flat, and dont fatigue your ears. Even without the sub they bump pretty hard but you will definitely want a sub to accurately mix the lowend on electronica music, regardless of what monitors you get.

[headspin]

Do you have room treatment? If not, I'd spend a grand on monitors, and a grand on bass traps.

[djmukilteo]

JBL This is what I would get with 2K....(I wish)
Use the left over for spot treatment

JBL LSR4328P Pak | Sweetwater.com

Sweet deal!

[mike vee]

oh man, i would literally make love to my Focal CMS65s if I could. please do yourself the justice of checking them out. They translate PERFECTLY. spend the spare cash on bass traps. Adam a7xs do not go as low. Focal's have such beautiful bass without a sub. I do all dance music and some hiphop and have never yearned for a sub (and i even had a sub before this setup.)

if i had 2 K i would save a few hundred more and go with the focal solo 6 though...never heard them but i cannot even imagine how sweet they are. Once you go above 2 grand you start to hit another league.

[dasnub]

Originally Posted by headspin

Do you have room treatment? If not, I'd spend a grand on monitors, and a grand on bass traps.

+1.

If you forego treatment, Focal makes great sounding AND incredibly well built products in that range. Cannot say the same for ADAM products, though they do sound good. I recommend the CMS 65 and use them myself, but you may want to look at the nicer solo6be too.

Definitely do NOT get 8 inch woofers unless you are in a moderately large, treated room.

[mike vee]

^ great minds think alike, and at the same time

p.s. just a few weeks ago i dropped my "desktop" 150K notch one level on the CMS65, and what a difference it made in my room. The very first mix i did like that was by FAR the most professional i ever did.

[piglet]

Originally Posted by dasnub

+1.

If you forego treatment, Focal makes great sounding AND incredibly well built products in that range. Cannot say the same for ADAM products, though they do sound good. I recommend the CMS 65 and use them myself, but you may want to look at the nicer solo6be too.

Definitely do NOT get 8 inch woofers unless you are in a moderately large, treated room.

This is interesting. I've been told that 8 inches is the bare minimum that I should have to move air to re-produce low frequencies for bass guitar without the speaker bottoming out. My room is treated, but even if it is a smallish room with large monitors, can't I just use them at a lower volume?


I suppose going for those Focals with a sub is the best idea. Does anyone know if I can connect the sub to the focal monitors? I have two inputs on my apogee duet 2 not 3...
Also, those focals go down to 45hz. My bass guitar goes down to 32hz...It seems that I need something bigger to move those frequencies, no?

[dasnub]

Originally Posted by mike vee

^ great minds think alike, and at the same time

p.s. just a few weeks ago i dropped my "desktop" 150K notch one level on the CMS65, and what a difference it made in my room. The very first mix i did like that was by FAR the most professional i ever did.

Same here!

[dasnub]

Originally Posted by piglet

This is interesting. I've been told that 8 inches is the bare minimum that I should have to move air to re-produce low frequencies for bass guitar without the speaker bottoming out. My room is treated, but even if it is a smallish room with large monitors, can't I just use them at a lower volume?


I suppose going for those Focals with a sub is the best idea. Does anyone know if I can connect the sub to the focal monitors? I have two inputs on my apogee duet 2 not 3...
Also, those focals go down to 45hz. My bass guitar goes down to 32hz...It seems that I need something bigger to move those frequencies, no?

An 8 inch woofer is not going to give you much at 32 hz either. It may technically reproduce the frequency, but not with any power. You will flat out need a sub for that kind of sub bass.

That said, you can professionally mix bass guitar on smaller nearfields. The core frequencies in a mix typically reside around 60-100hz.

As for your question regarding low volumes- it won't work, and it's complicated. Simple answer is that increasing the volume only increases the size of the waveform- not the wavelength. So, when in a poorly treated room, that wavelength will still cancel itself in certain places in the room, double it's volume in other places, and essentially cause the same problems.

Low bass + bad/small room= nightmare.

[piglet]

Originally Posted by dasnub

An 8 inch woofer is not going to give you much at 32 hz either. It may technically reproduce the frequency, but not with any power. You will flat out need a sub for that kind of sub bass.

That said, you can professionally mix bass guitar on smaller nearfields. The core frequencies in a mix typically reside around 60-100hz.

Very interesting. I guess there is no way of getting around not having a sub (which is okay). Is it possible to connect the sub to the other two monitors? I only have two inputs in my Apogee Duet 2.

I was considering Dynaudio BM15A but this might be too big...

[dasnub]

Originally Posted by piglet

Very interesting. I guess there is no way of getting around not having a sub (which is okay). Is it possible to connect the sub to the other two monitors? I only have two inputs in my Apogee Duet 2.

I was considering Dynaudio BM15A but this might be too big...

Check out my updated post above. For great info on this stuff, check out the Pensados Place YouTube channel. There is a video on room acoustics that's really good in there somewhere.

[piglet]

Originally Posted by dasnub

Check out my updated post above. For great info on this stuff, check out the Pensados Place YouTube channel. There is a video on room acoustics that's really good in there somewhere.

Thanks!

Is this it? - Pensado's Place - #21 - The secrets behind tuning your room! - YouTube

[dasnub]

Yes sir!

[Razik]

I use CMS 65 for mastering and they are the best at that price range. Highly recommended.

Focal Professional - CMS 65 - User review - Gearslutz.com

Razik Mastering

[John Willett]

At that price the Neumann KH120 would be top of my list - I think the Geithain RL906 (which would also be on my list) will be over budget, but I'm not sure of the exchange rate or price in your country.

[Puffpastry]

+1 for Focal. They've been building great drivers and speakers for a long time.

[AcoosticZoo]

Here's something radical, maybe skip the studio monitors and grab a set of good hi-fi stereo/boombox. 90% of the mixing is done on entry level speakers to produce real world results. It's a common way of getting mixes to translate. However, when it comes to full range systems, it's a good idea to grab a sub too.

That said, Hi-End Studio Grade monitors are still essential for checking harsh sibilance and other problem frequencies in mixes/picking out not so obvious mistakes (when mixing on lesser speakers) and analysing finer details.

The no. of options available today is mind bloggling, best try your mixes on any monitors before making a purchase. Good luck with it. (I use KRK v88, Yamaha HS 80M both with matching subs).

Regards
Josef Horhay
Mixing Engineer
www.acoosticzoo.com

[cheu78]

I never heard the new kh120, they are probably good..
The CMS65 is a great monitor..I'd go for the focals (I own also a pair of Solo6, the CMS are not too far from the solo's..)
Test them out and see what do you like best, since monitor is a personal thing..

Just my 0.02$,

Cheu

[muziekschuur]

Genelec 8040.

[piglet]

I'm in Toronto and unfortunately the closest Focal re-seller is in Montreal (very far). Also, in Canada they're charging a large surplus for Focal monitors...Makes me want to consider a more "generic" brand like Dynaudio.

[cheu78]

Originally Posted by piglet

I'm in Toronto and unfortunately the closest Focal re-seller is in Montreal (very far). Also, in Canada they're charging a large surplus for Focal monitors...Makes me want to consider a more "generic" brand like Dynaudio.

Try to find a local studio (or home studio) has them near you, so that you could listen to them..
I dunno if the current dynaudio range is on par with those... they're very very good IMO (for the price)..they translate great..

good luck!

Cheu

[sonic dogg]

Originally Posted by muziekschuur

Genelec 8040.

+2.

All the suggestions so far are spot on. I just happen to like the Genelecs better. And the 8040's do go low. The specs say 48hz but theres that perceived sub tones that seem to be present in them. As well as staying tight with music that requires that healthy thump.

[piglet]

Originally Posted by cheu78

Try to find a local studio (or home studio) has them near you, so that you could listen to them..
I dunno if the current dynaudio range is on par with those... they're very very good IMO (for the price)..they translate great..

good luck!

Cheu

Cheers. I was quoted 2800 Canadian including taxes to get it from Montreal. Quite a bit out of my budget...I could get a pair of Dynaudio BM15A's for cheaper.

[cheu78]

Originally Posted by piglet

Cheers. I was quoted 2800 Canadian including taxes to get it from Montreal. Quite a bit out of my budget...I could get a pair of Dynaudio BM15A's for cheaper.

Wow!That is expensive.. around here, but I think in the US also are around 700 each.. Which infact is a nice price IMO..
The BM15 is a good monitor even if it's not so detailed as these ones, you get a bigger woofer, so you won't need a sub..

Good luck with your search..

Cheu

[DavieB]

You got to try them out and see what works for you. I've had Tannoy, NS10's, Harbeth but now I use PMC's. I do swap my gear around quite a bit but these fit the room very well and I kinda trust them so...

[hardcoreCAP]

Originally Posted by piglet

This is interesting. I've been told that 8 inches is the bare minimum that I should have to move air to re-produce low frequencies for bass guitar without the speaker bottoming out. My room is treated, but even if it is a smallish room with large monitors, can't I just use them at a lower volume?

i've read that due to the low frequency drop on ported monitors, listening at lower volume drastically reduces the bass response...personally, i use a sub and i love it. granted it's a krk 10s sub with rokit 8s but they'll soon be replaced...my only issue is whether i go infinite baffle 2.1 or ported 2.1 so i'm looking at either a Sky System One or Focal cms65 with sub...maybe if i go sub-less i'll go with event opals....ugh, i'm in my own mess too :D

[piglet]

Originally Posted by hardcoreCAP

i've read that due to the low frequency drop on ported monitors, listening at lower volume drastically reduces the bass response...personally, i use a sub and i love it. granted it's a krk 10s sub with rokit 8s but they'll soon be replaced...my only issue is whether i go infinite baffle 2.1 or ported 2.1 so i'm looking at either a Sky System One or Focal cms65 with sub...maybe if i go sub-less i'll go with event opals....ugh, i'm in my own mess too :D

I'm in worse of a mess and most likely have no business buying such expensive gear! I don't even know what ported/infinite baffle means!

[hardcoreCAP]

Originally Posted by piglet

I'm in worse of a mess and most likely have no business buying such expensive gear! I don't even know what ported/infinite baffle means!

google is your friend. I've done way too much reading online about monitors lol .....at the end of the day the answer is to listen to the monitors in a decent environment and assess for clarity and stereo image. unfortunately i don't have access to a lot of brands out there so i might have to take an expensive stab in the dark

[heshambadr]

Hello dear

Please don't lose the chance to have Adam , ribbon twitter give you the separation with a perfect balanced tight low end , it will always depends on the room dimension .?
Please check the following link http://www.adam-audio.com/en/pro-audio/news
And than go to primacoustic.com it s in Canada for a London kit ARC

You will remix a lot of you did , this what was told to me

Good luck
Hetch