Studio Monitors

[Kromium]

I would like to remind everyone that you can compare specs of the monitors all you want but every monitor will have its own imperfections. Those imperfections combined with the size and shape of the room your in, the funriture in your room, the position you sit in the room, the postion the monitors face you, the soundcard and even the wires you use will all change the sound. You will never get a perfect mix that way so you must learn your speakers and how they sound compared to every other audio system/location out there. When you think this way its doesn't matter so much what speakers you get but how much time you spend listening to them.

Also the reason why monitors are so subjective. Also I don't think that wires would change the audio quality by much. The TRS/XLR balanced cables sound almost the same as my unbalanced RCA connectors. I hardly get any interference where I live.

[Diss Order]

Kronium, I really need decent bass representation in monitors for the kind of music I make. Distorted kicks, reverse basses, pitch kicks, etc.

The music itself is pretty much all bass. So if the monitors lack in quality in the lower register, I'd be le screwed.

[Rainbowjack]

I got the JBL LSR2325Ps and broke them in five minutes by flicking the red switch on the back that says voltage select and I'm getting it replaced tomorrow

[Acsii]

I got the JBL LSR2325Ps and broke them in five minutes by flicking the red switch on the back that says voltage select and I'm getting it replaced tomorrow

YAY you'll get to listen to stereo music once again

[Rainbowjack]

I only broke one of them so I haven't been able to pan anything but got the broken one replaced today.

[Facade]

I only broke one of them so I haven't been able to pan anything but got the broken one replaced today.

haha nice it must be hard dealing with mono while mixing xP

[Spirit]

I produce using bass bins and club speakers
GET ON MY LEVEL MLR
On a serious note, i feel like the only person who prefers using headphones to mix with that monitors, although ive never had a chance to use monitors truly

[Raddons]

What is everyone's opinion on M Audio monitors?

[Acsii]

What is everyone's opinion on M Audio monitors?

I would like to know this too... as I am getting some soon

[Icky]

I've heard mixed things about the M-audio monitors, personally wasn't a huge fan of the M-audio AV20s and 40s, but I've heard the BX ones are decent (although they seem to break a lot)

[PrincessAddictia]

i feel like the only person who prefers using headphones to mix with that monitors, although ive never had a chance to use monitors truly

How can you prefer it then?

On M-Audio Monitors, I heard one pair (don't remember the actual name) and they were okay'ish, not bad but not great either.

[the4thImpulse]

What is everyone's opinion on M Audio monitors?

I know its an old question but I will answer it this way: you get what you pay for. M-Audio is cheaper than most other monitor brands and it will really show in the sound you get out of them. That said if you don't have monitors now and have a really limited budget then sure get them but its always best to wait a few months if you can double your money and get something much better.

[Acsii]

Hmmmm seeming m-audio aren't that great what smaller sized monitor would you recommend?

[the4thImpulse]

Hmmmm seeming m-audio aren't that great what smaller sized monitor would you recommend?

I imagine price is a factor so check out these monitors:

Yamaha HS50's
Mackie MR5's
Behringer Truths
Tannoy Reveals

[Acsii]

Hmmmm seeming m-audio aren't that great what smaller sized monitor would you recommend?

I imagine price is a factor so check out these monitors:

Yamaha HS50's
Mackie MR5's
Behringer Truths
Tannoy Reveals

Actually the main factor is the amount of room I have

[Acsii]

I found a pair of Yamaha ns10's
ERMAHGERD!!!

WOAH

[the4thImpulse]

I found a pair of Yamaha ns10's

They are quite common in the used market nowadays.

[Icky]

I found a pair of Yamaha ns10's

They are quite common in the used market nowadays.

Keep in mind the NS10s are not good main monitor speakers. They're used as reference speakers next to your main monitor speakers. The reason they got so popular is because they sound terrible, "if you get it to sound good on these it'll sound good on anything"

[Applejinx]

I found a pair of Yamaha ns10's
ERMAHGERD!!!

Envious! I want to try NS10s as primary mix references. I'm using Avantones with really good amplification and a sub, and could easily switch over to NS10s. Chris Lord-Alge mixes everything on NS10s, REALLY QUIET. And the reason they're so popular is that they are incredibly revealing- listen to some of my stuff like my Remix War entry on them! (because I can't wait to do the same thing when I finally get some NS10s)

[the4thImpulse]

I found a pair of Yamaha ns10's

They are quite common in the used market nowadays.

Keep in mind the NS10s are not good main monitor speakers. They're used as reference speakers next to your main monitor speakers. The reason they got so popular is because they sound terrible, "if you get it to sound good on these it'll sound good on anything"

Not that they sound terrible; they stress the frequencies that stress the human ear and more truly reveal everything wrong not just with the mix but with every individual instrument and voice. They are in ways outdated and will not have the fidelity required to make modern electronic music and thus should only be used as a reference.

[Applejinx]

Um... as much as I'd like to see this become the conventional wisdom...
The deal with NS10s is, partly because they're sealed boxes and partly because of the driver and crossover choices, the things have super super low group delay and incredibly good time domain performance. They're unusual in this way- the best way I can describe this type of behavior (not unlike electrostatic speakers) is that when you stop driving sound into them, the sound stops REALLY fast. The overall tone is obnoxious but you can really hear into stuff and it's partly due to where it's crossed over, partly due to things like how that white cone is folded and glued paper rather than formed already in the cone shape- the seam affects how the cone vibrations work.

What you lack is any hint as to what the real subs are doing, which is a big concern with a lot of modern electronic genres, yeah- but then it's also a sealed box speaker with slower roll-off, and with the low group delay you're hearing the midbass with a lot of immediacy, it's 'quick' and shows you what's really there. So in some ways they really do have the fidelity required to make modern electronic music, can't be outdated, and you can work around the lack of subs (I already run a sub: that'd work, though it'd be so much 'slower' than the NS10s it'd be strictly about understanding the correct relative level: at no point would the subs and the rest of the sound seem like the same mix, but there'd be subs)

Still want some, got to admit

Oh, also since I was reading up on them- the reason the tweeters blow so easy is they're crossed over super low (good for intensity of sound, bad for power handling) and the woofer voice coil is apparently Kapton (good for rigidity, lousy for heat dissipation). So playing them super quiet like Chris Lord-Alge is probably the smartest thing (and have an amp way more powerful than whatever volume level you do use)

[the4thImpulse]

Lets all stop derailing this thread further (I know I was part of it, sorry).

Hmmmm seeming m-audio aren't that great what smaller sized monitor would you recommend?

I imagine price is a factor so check out these monitors:

Yamaha HS50's
Mackie MR5's
Behringer Truths
Tannoy Reveals

Actually the main factor is the amount of room I have

If the factor is the room you have then monitors will likely be a poor place to put your money. Small rooms have a much bigger effect on the sound than large rooms and having monitors in that small room will require lots of acoustic treatment to be all worthwhile (at least in my opinion). I also have had poor experience with small monitors, they just don't have the same sound as full sized ones. I suggest you instead invest in proper studio headphones and since money isn't much of a factor go big and expensive and reap the benefits.

You should also look into good soundcards with headphones preamps as studio headphones are often have high resistance and require a fair amount of power to be useful.