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Gear / Technical Help => Post-Processing, Computer / Streaming / Internet Devices & Related Activity => Topic started by: StarkRavingCalm on October 09, 2014, 05:05:04 PM
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Maybe better suited in Playback forum but since I will be using these speakers primarily for post-processing I put it here instead.
Saw this thread awhile ago:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=162392.msg2038745#msg2038745
And since then have had my eye on these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EO7UNXO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AJFLJ7J2AIXGD
What are peoples opinion of them?
I have a friend who has KRK 6s and he says they are "bassy"
(I'm not a fan of bassy. Hate all Beats products for that very reason.)
I was really hoping for a very flat-response type reference speaker.
Others I am considering are in same price range:
http://www.amazon.com/Mackie-MR5mk2-Powered-Reference-Monitor/dp/B004H7SO46
Or maybe some one of the MAudio models.
What do you like to use in mixing, etc.. that is very flat.
Thanks!
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I really like my JBL Control 1 Pros, but think they are a little light on bass. They may suit you.
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I love my Tannoy Reveal 402's, one of the best purchases I've made for post production work. I think they sound amazing, but I have no side-by-side listening of other studio monitors to assert they're better than comparable monitors. I see they're $20 cheaper than when I bought mine!
http://www.amazon.com/Tannoy-Reveal-402-Studio-Monitor/dp/B00HU7F59C
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This is a rather generic statement, but typically I find most any small ported speaker or monitor is rarely linear enough in the bass region to my ears to really asses things critically (regardless of it's mid and high frequency behavior). The port is a way of getting a bit more bass extension in a given cabinet volume, but it nearly always introduces phase and overhang problems. Unfortunately the current trend is for almost all small monitor to be ported, simply because it subjectively produces more bass and sells more speakers. It's now somewhat rare to find small sealed acoustic suspension designs, but personally that's one thing I'd look for in a monitor used for critical listening and mixing.
Otherwise, you can stick a sock in it and the bass usually tightens up and becomes more predictable (and will shelve down from a slightly higher corner frequency with a less steep slope). That also often makes integration with subwoofer(s) easier. If you want to get techy you can re-EQ the bass flat again to somewhat regain some of the loss in low end if you have the tools to do that accurately, at the cost of headroom and ultimate SPL. Works well for average mixing and more sane listening levels though.
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Interesting, I learned something today. I notice that the Mackie linked in the OP has a port on the back rather than the front. A little research into speaker ports suggests that can help with some of the less desirable side effects but doesn't necessarily get rid of them all.
Have you noticed the port location making much of a difference?
Sticking a sock in it is certainly an easy workaround. I'm using some nice PC speakers lately as part of my processing as opposed to just using headphones. Planning to get some small monitors at some point so this is a timely discussion for me.
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Putting the port on the back can reduce 'chuffing' noise from air movement in the port and it's mouth, mostly because it's not facing the listener and those non-linear distortions become less audible, but the port's location on the cabinet doesn't effect I'm talking about above. The problem is the resonant behavior inherent in using a ported bass-alignment to begin with, or at least most implementations of it. It can be done well enough to mostly hide the problems, but more often than not it isn't, especially in less costly designs. All things equal a larger sealed cabinet is almost always better behaved for covering the same frequency range.
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Sure, if designed correctly for the identical sealed cabinet volume a different driver would've been used. Plugging the port doesn't correct that design flaw, it only makes the poor behavior of a badly designed resonant system less objectionable so the monitor becomes easier to use and the not so good little speaker rolls off earlier and sounds a bit flatter. It's helped a number of the ones I've tried it on which had those kinds of issues. My big speakers are ported but properly designed and plugging their ports doesn't improve them but degrades things.
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After owning a pair of Equator D8's for about a year, I would highly recommend them.
http://www.equatoraudio.com/Default.asp
They are ported on the front, and are coaxial. The coaxial factor really helps with alot of phasing issues.
These are some of the most accurate, but still pleasant sounding, monitors I've ever heard. I mix on them, and have found that the mixes translate really well to all kinds of playback systems.
They also make a D5, which sound great too, but are a little light in the low end.
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Quick update.
I went with these:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/JBL-LSR305-5--Powered-Studio-Monitor-109318063-i3225344.gc?source=4WWRWXG9&kwid=e08db0479c8e4719bcf3b8041f96b7f0&gclid=CKGRvcPkicICFSgQ7Aod8X8AJQ
I brought a playlist with songs showing qualities I was looking for.
The Rokit's sounded like complete mud.
The MAudio's had nice bass response on some songs and very bright. Song vocal were a little more up-front than the JBLs.
All in all, the JBLs were very "flat" and very "balanced".
And at a great price point....
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JBL's LSR range is generally well respected, and tends to have a flat response and well-behaved off-axis behavior. Those will probably make for nice small monitors.
If there is a JBL sub designed to work specifically with that model you might look into adding one for more accurately gauging the bottom and low mids in your recordings, which is where the small 5" woofers will begin to get weak.
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The number one, go to speaker for mixing and post processing has historically been the Auratones, a cheap 5" mixing cube which was the primary speaker for "Rumors" and "Thriller"
Its developed quite a used market these days, although Avantones a modern equivalent, has taken up the slack.
The bottom line for me is that
Nearfields
Headphones
Mixing Cubes
Listening Speakers
are all part of the process, and how much weight you place in each is up to you.
Quincy Jones and Ken Caillat would say Auratones!
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The Avantones are pretty decent for their purpose. I have the original passive model. But i agree that you still need to use good near field reference monitors. They are meant to compliment each other for post. I use an old pair of NHTPRO A-10s for reference.
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You guys are crazy. Those cheap chinese made plastic speakers all sound like crap.
Save up.
Buy something like this: http://www.harbeth.co.uk/uk/index.php?section=products&page=monitor20.1pro&model=Monitor%2020.1%20Pro
or a BBC clone of some sort: http://www.gini.com/index.php?id=337
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The KRKs sound meh IMHO. I 'interviewed' several side by side and ended up with Audioengine 5+ active speakers. I thought I'd need to spend 2-3X more to get something that sounded significantly better.
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Ultimately you'll want speakers that allow you to make mixes that you can trust will translate well and are not fatiguing for you to work with. The old Yamaha ns10m's were in every studio back in the late 80's early 90's. So I had a pair and while they did allow for mixes to translate they were extremely fatiguing to work with in the process, so mine are: gone, gone, gone!
Avantones were popular for checking how mixes would translate to typical car radio and television speakers of the day and same would hold for modern equivalents. Good to check your mix on but as primary monitors not so much. GD stuff is mastered using Meyer studio monitors with a sub, but yikes check the price on them, way out of my budget.
Lot's of opinions and choices out there and it is subjective. What works for one is not necessarily going to work for all. Monitor positioning, height, isolation and your listening distance, listening/mixing/mastering decibel level are all important factors not to mention room size and acoustic characteristics/treatment or budget.
You really have to audition monitors yourself in your own working environment using material you are intimately familiar with to make your own best choice.
What is the best flavor of ice cream? What is the best brush to paint with? What is the best car to drive?
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Coffee or Butter Pecan, Ox or badger hair, Mazda Miata with the top down
B&W 802 M3
;)