Pro Producer Midfield Monitor

[jayfield]

I would most definitely throw the K&H 0410's into the mix!

[pardonmytone]

Also check out the Genelec 8260a. They sound stunning - so much more depth and mid-range info than the other two-ways in the Genelec range. I demo'd these in a less than perfect room for about three hours (tested pop, rock, orchestral) and now i'm finding it hard not to get a pair!

Also, many people swear by ATC speakers... Probably worth looking at those too.

Best of luck.

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by jayfield

I would most definitely throw the K&H 0410's into the mix!

Yeah, I thought about those too. I know a lot of people love them for mixing & engineering. However, as I was saying, I believe them to be totally analytic. Which is great if you are an engineer, but not necessarily if you are on the lookout for inspiration while programming/producing. I don't want the typical "customer pleaser" monitors neither. Yes they should reveal the flaws in my mix. But they should also have that little "sexyness" to them and a little club feeling. However, thanks a lot for your input, I know the K & H are great speakers!

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by pardonmytone

Also check out the Genelec 8260a. They sound stunning - so much more depth and mid-range info than the other two-ways in the Genelec range. I demo'd these in a less than perfect room for about three hours (tested pop, rock, orchestral) and now i'm finding it hard not to get a pair!

Also, many people swear by ATC speakers... Probably worth looking at those too.

Best of luck.

Hmmm....I read rave reviews about the Genelec. However, the older models got great reviews too and I know a lot of people that worked on bigger and smaller models.
But my experience with the older Gens, is that they make everything sound equally nice and don't translate too well.
I know them as the typicall monitors for showing off to your advertising-company costumer.

So when I read that they have the "typical" Gen-sound, it puts me off a bit.
Although I am aware they were completely re-designed and offer more depth and re-solution.

How is the bass-extension of these? (I don't mean the specs, I have read those) The monitors I have listed have a big low-end, which is important for the vibe when I am doing my clubby stuff. Do the Gens compare? They seem rather underpowered, but this doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Thanks a lot.....

[SirJoe]

Anyone else care to comment? Anybody working with the monitors I listed? Especially people doing elctronic stuff, or any kind of dance music?

[pardonmytone]

I haven't mixed on the 8260a's so I couldn't give you an honest answer on whether they translate. I am aware that a few people say that this is one of their strengths... Just give them a listen and check for yourself. Resolution Audio Magazine of the UK does good speaker reviews and they have reviewed the 8260a's positively.

As a producer (vs. mixer), you should be aware that they have a 4-5ms delay due to the DSP processing (and an additional delay for the time of flight due to the midfield speaker distance of 2m) which affects perceived latency. So if you like real-time, super tight keyboard responsiveness then this might be an issue. However, I have a classical piano background and I feel this won't be a problem for me at all.

The bass extension is excellent and you really feel the kick "thump", and I think they are more than adequate in the volume department.

Hey, you might not like them but they are at least worth listening too! Let me know if you have any more questions!

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by pardonmytone

I haven't mixed on the 8260a's so I couldn't give you an honest answer on whether they translate. I am aware that a few people say that this is one of their strengths... Just give them a listen and check for yourself. Resolution Audio Magazine of the UK does good speaker reviews and they have reviewed the 8260a's positively.

As a producer (vs. mixer), you should be aware that they have a 4-5ms delay due to the DSP processing (and an additional delay for the time of flight due to the midfield speaker distance of 2m) which affects perceived latency. So if you like real-time, super tight keyboard responsiveness then this might be an issue. However, I have a classical piano background and I feel this won't be a problem for me at all.

The bass extension is excellent and you really feel the kick "thump", and I think they are more than adequate in the volume department.

Hey, you might not like them but they are at least worth listening too! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Sorry for asking, but if you haven't mixed on them as yet, how do you know how they sound? Or do you mean you use them for monitoring your playing and programming only? Or did you not hear them yet and have ordered them? I definitely will add them to my list.

[KRStudio]

If the MM27's are out because of price try the smaller (but still loud) MM35's. I own the MM27's and tried several others in my room before I bought them. I tried the Focal SM9 and Adams older 7 series and they were both VERY nice. The low end was what got me with the Barefoot.

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by KRStudio

If the MM27's are out because of price try the smaller (but still loud) MM35's. I own the MM27's and tried several others in my room before I bought them. I tried the Focal SM9 and Adams older 7 series and they were both VERY nice. The low end was what got me with the Barefoot.

Thanks for your input!
I would have thought the SM9 compare well with the Barefoots in terms of low extension.
I heard the Adams and there is no comparison of their low end and the older models (because of their doubble low woofers).
Well, if I opt for the Barefoots, I will go with the "real" thing and get the MM27, as I heard from loads of people they are better.
The MM27 are still in my budget, but all I was saying, is that if there is no big difference for me after auditioning them, I'd rather economize.....

[pardonmytone]

I went to the local Genelec distributor's place and listened to various CDs on them, comparing them to 8240a's, for an afternoon. As I said, the room wasn't ideal but I liked them a lot...

[Bassmankr]

The purpose of moniter speakers in a studio is to let you hear what is really truely happening however in your post it sounds like you only want a certain percentage of the truth and a certain percentage of a speaker that makes everything sound good. The most useful studio moniters will have a good sounding source sound good and a bad sounding source sound bad. Detail, frequency balance, phase, and image will be easy to hear (provided the room/acoustics/etc. are correctly setup as they all interact to form a monitering system). It's a tool to hear what is wrong in the first place so you can then fix it. Speakers that make everything sound good are useless tools in the studio (kind of like every girl in the bar at 2am is a 10). Whatever you classify yourself as or the type of music you specialize in will not change these thruths. Perhaps it would be best if you had proper studio moniters within a tuned monitering system to use as a tool and for the times when you want whatever you put through it to sound great switch in a compressor and an EQ with the typical smiley curve. One thing you should research though is whether for your setup using two larger speakers or two smaller speakers with a sub would be best for your space and application. You should list a budget number too or the list of suggestions will be large.

[asinla]

You should really try the Dynaudio BM15A's for the type of music you do. Huge soundstage and bass with enough clarity to make good judgements on EQ. A great balance between true and great sounding.

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by Bassmankr

The purpose of moniter speakers in a studio is to let you hear what is really truely happening however in your post it sounds like you only want a certain percentage of the truth and a certain percentage of a speaker that makes everything sound good. The most useful studio moniters will have a good sounding source sound good and a bad sounding source sound bad. Detail, frequency balance, phase, and image will be easy to hear (provided the room/acoustics/etc. are correctly setup as they all interact to form a monitering system). It's a tool to hear what is wrong in the first place so you can then fix it. Speakers that make everything sound good are useless tools in the studio (kind of like every girl in the bar at 2am is a 10). Whatever you classify yourself as or the type of music you specialize in will not change these thruths. Perhaps it would be best if you had proper studio moniters within a tuned monitering system to use as a tool and for the times when you want whatever you put through it to sound great switch in a compressor and an EQ with the typical smiley curve. One thing you should research though is whether for your setup using two larger speakers or two smaller speakers with a sub would be best for your space and application. You should list a budget number too or the list of suggestions will be large.

Thanks for the clarification, however, being a professional producer for over 15 years now (and having my fair share of successful records), I believe I know what the purpose of a monitor is. I was not talking about "speakers that make everything sound good". However, even if most monitors in this price range give you an approximation of the truth, some do so different than others. And some are more "fun" to work with. And I am 100% sure, that you will still be able to hear all the flaws in your mix on those as well. So yes, I want a box that lets me hear what I'm doing wrong, but that still gives me a little "sexyness". And a smiley curve on an EQ is definitely not what I meant. Every monitor brand has its own sound, due to the cones they use, tweeters, box design etc. So what is the truth in your oppinion: the ribbon tweeter highs of the Adams? The bass-reflex low end of the Quested, or the passive radiator and Berylium tweeter of the Focal? Which one will be lying ? They will all sound different!!!
It is simply not true, that my type of music is irrelevant to my choice of monitors. I do club music, so I will need monitors with a lot of bass pressure to give me a little club feeling while programming. I am not a studio-engineer, who needs his monitors for mixing purposes only. I already own midfield speakers, I am not a big fan of subs in a studio setup and my room will be perfectly treated and with the right size, as stated in my original post. The monitors I listed will give anyone with a little insight a pretty good idea of my budget: about 6000-8000€
Thanks

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by asinla

You should really try the Dynaudio BM15A's for the type of music you do. Huge soundstage and bass with enough clarity to make good judgements on EQ. A great balance between true and great sounding.

Thanks for the input! I have a friend who has the Dynaudio Air 20 in his studio, have the BM15 got a similar sound?

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by pardonmytone

I went to the local Genelec distributor's place and listened to various CDs on them, comparing them to 8240a's, for an afternoon. As I said, the room wasn't ideal but I liked them a lot...

Thanks, I will put them on my list too

[Sqye]

.

Somebody's gotta say the obvious, so it might as well be me.

Until you have the right speakers correctly oriented in your room playing your music, you'll never know.

And at this point, there are so many speakers to choose from, you will go mad!

So good luck and enjoy!

Oh, and welcome to GEARSLUTZ!

I built my own slamming custom dipole mains, and bought audiophile speakers for 5.1 near/midfields.

Each set has it's own pair of custom subs, fed by individual custom 3-way and sub crossovers.

I'm feeding each driver with 200 watts of discreet power - using 3 Emotiva XPA-5 surround amps.

Each dipole main has front and rear tweeters made by SEAS, SEAS midrange speakers, and twin Peerless woofers, subsequently extending out to 12" custom subs. So each of those drivers is getting it's own 200-watt feed.

It's pretty amazing to hear CRYSTAL CLEAR music with huge bass and stunning imaging like this.

.

[Bassmankr]

The moniter that translates the best in your particular room size/geometry/materials/treatment along with the amp and speaker positioning will be the moniter that speaks the truth the best. With your wanting no subs and still having "Club type" low end usually means getting a bigger box speaker (I would think at least 12" woofers as they aren't using 8" woofers in clubs). Low end can also just be a factor of a volume setting, not necessarily the voicing of a particular speaker so watch out there. Add the JBL LSR32 or the newer version with added shielding the LSR6332 to your research list.

[warhead]

The Focal SM9 are insanely matched to your description, if budget allows I can say with confidence they deliver.

I can't sit here and say I can compare to everything in the world, but we hear tons of stuff and the combination of sealed cabinet (with the midrange side separate from the bass side internally closed off) the transient response is extremely revealing and the passive radiator gives a deep, but seemingly controlled bass response. The ability to switch to a 2 way mode is nice as well...

War

[nickelironsteel]

order a demo and try em all! get down to business. "what is best for..." threads are so Noughties.
that being said, MM27s are great crowd pleasers.

[mu6gr8]

Originally Posted by SirJoe

I do club music, so I will need monitors with a lot of bass pressure to give me a little club feeling while programming....I am not a big fan of subs in a studio setup....

From your list of choices, I only know the Focal SM9s, so I can only speak for them. I am also not a fan of subwoofers for mixing, but they are fun for programming or cutting bass tracks. I owned a Focal SM8S subwoofer until I traded it for a microphone last week. With the SM9, I simply do not need an external subwoofer.

Here's what you need to know: It takes a generous amount of time to run in SM9s before the subwoofer sounds totally integrated to the sound. At first it sounded like a separate subwoofer that was a bit too loud for my taste. After 20 hours of run in, I simply heard an extra lower octave than I heard with SM8s and no sub. The volume and detail were good. Great mixes and masters will sound great; those with undefined low & sub frequencies, however, will sound nasty. SM9 will encourage you to tighten and define your entire sonic world below 80 Hz.

The real payoff happened after two weeks, about 150 hours: the SM9s opened up and now sound so articulate AND natural that I could easily forget that I am listening to speakers. It is very easy to listen to SM9s. Further, there are no surprises when my mixes go to mastering.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your speaker search.

[warhead]

Agreed, virtually all of the Focal line benefits tremendously from the first 20 hours or so of break in, then seem to settle in around 100 hours in our experience. The SM9 is no exception.

War

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by mu6gr8

From your list of choices, I only know the Focal SM9s, so I can only speak for them. I am also not a fan of subwoofers for mixing, but they are fun for programming or cutting bass tracks. I owned a Focal SM8S subwoofer until I traded it for a microphone last week. With the SM9, I simply do not need an external subwoofer.

Here's what you need to know: It takes a generous amount of time to run in SM9s before the subwoofer sounds totally integrated to the sound. At first it sounded like a separate subwoofer that was a bit too loud for my taste. After 20 hours of run in, I simply heard an extra lower octave than I heard with SM8s and no sub. The volume and detail were good. Great mixes and masters will sound great; those with undefined low & sub frequencies, however, will sound nasty. SM9 will encourage you to tighten and define your entire sonic world below 80 Hz.

The real payoff happened after two weeks, about 150 hours: the SM9s opened up and now sound so articulate AND natural that I could easily forget that I am listening to speakers. It is very easy to listen to SM9s. Further, there are no surprises when my mixes go to mastering.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your speaker search.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences! This is the kind of feedback I was hoping for. The SM9 will definitely be among the pairs I will try here.

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by warhead

The Focal SM9 are insanely matched to your description, if budget allows I can say with confidence they deliver.

I can't sit here and say I can compare to everything in the world, but we hear tons of stuff and the combination of sealed cabinet (with the midrange side separate from the bass side internally closed off) the transient response is extremely revealing and the passive radiator gives a deep, but seemingly controlled bass response. The ability to switch to a 2 way mode is nice as well...

War

Thanks for sharing your experience with them. I already did some research beforehand, that is why I had them among the pairs on my shortlist for testing in my room. However, it is great to have the feedback of actual users!!!

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by nickelironsteel

order a demo and try em all! get down to business. "what is best for..." threads are so Noughties.
that being said, MM27s are great crowd pleasers.

Just as I wrote in my original post, I WILL test 3-4 pairs of monitors in my room.
But I want to make sure the pre-selection is the right one!
I dont know if your comment about the MM27s is positive, or negative.
Do you mean "crowd pleaser" beacuse they make everything sound good, or do you mean they are sincere, but fun to use?

[SirJoe]

Any Quested or Adam users here that want to share their 2 cents?

[SirJoe]

No one else care to comment ?

[loopy]

Originally Posted by asinla

You should really try the Dynaudio BM15A's for the type of music you do. Huge soundstage and bass with enough clarity to make good judgements on EQ. A great balance between true and great sounding.

+1
They do need some room to breathe but are great monitors. A little scoop in the upper midrange but that adds to the low fatigue factor when listening for extended periods.

HUGE sound stage and true full range, honest response.

I suggest you listen for yourself.

[Lsixtysix]

Another vote for the SM9's here.

I have had my pair for around 6 weeks now and can say they are by far the most revealing monitors i have heard to date!
I feel with these that my judgement has improved significantly and i trust myself heaps more and that's an awesome feeling helps build a relationship with them.

I am producing and mixing a video game soundtrack for handheld devices at the moment (tablet/phone) and i have had no surprises with translation so far.
In fact my mixes have improved dare i say a very big amount(but still an amateur). No regrets at all thus far and definitely worth my the money i paid for them!

I check my mixes in mono and activate the two way switch on the side and so far all the mixes i have done have been spot on in translating to the real world.

I have heard the barefoot MM35's in the same room and much preferred the SM9's, i however have not heard the MM27's so can't comment on those.

Just a side note i am also producing with these and it has helped me get the patch/sample right from the source so when mixing time comes it's quick and painless.

[SirJoe]

Originally Posted by loopy

+1
They do need some room to breathe but are great monitors. A little scoop in the upper midrange but that adds to the low fatigue factor when listening for extended periods.

HUGE sound stage and true full range, honest response.

I suggest you listen for yourself.

Thanks for this. Can you please tell me how these compare to the Dynaudio Air 20 ? Is the sound similar ?