Poll: What Monitors Do You Use

Using Alesis Monitor 1 MkII's (passive) here, with a Samson Servo 300 power amp to drive them.
I can't say how they compare to the Events, but they offer a clarity that I had not previously experienced, and handle significant power well. I suppose this would qualify as an entry level system, but I am quite pleased.
Mixes seem to translate well to other systems, which is a plus. It's no good if it sound great here, but sounds like poo everywhere else.

Mackie HR824 mkII. A lot of people dis them, but they are accurate and don't require a sub in any reasonable sized project studio room. They are pretty large for near fields, but that's necessary if you want to fully represent the low end. You do need a very well treated room for monitors that have that much low end, or it's going to sound messy. They have plenty of adjustments for different positioning scenarios.

I seem to hear overall, better mixes from amateurs with home studios when they use smaller monitors. RobertB above compared to Dave King's 20/20's is a good example (go compare them at soundclick). Those little Alesis Mk II's are awesome little boxes if you have experience and a good ear. Unless you have a nicely designed mixing room, using 8" monitors will just get you lost most of the time.

As long as you sit in the sweet spot of a nice pair of 5" or 6" ers then the room does not matter... that's the whole point of near field monitors!

of course if you are into rap or drum and bass or some other style that requires deep bass, then you need to add a sub on the floor.

ORIGINAL: Dave King

Hey,

I'm curious as to what kind of monitors folks are using, if they like them (or not) and why.

As for me, my main monitors are Event 20/20's (passive) and I also have a pair of NS10's.

I prefer the Event's because they sound better and represent lower freq's better than the NS10's. Also, I find the NS10's more fatiguing.

Thanks.

Hi, Dave,

I used the passive Event 20/20's for quite a few years. I liked them alot. Then I got a pair of Mackie HR824's and, between the two, I *love* the Mackie's. They seem to have a clarity that I just never got out of the Event's, plus the bass response is considerably better than the Event's, too.

Unfortunately, my room is only minimally treated so I still have issues trying to get the bass balanced correctly in my mixes. But I'm convinced that when I'm able to do some serious bass trapping in my room, the Mackie's will be even more impressive. I know that the 824's I've heard in rooms with good acoustic treatment are quite spectacular---at least to my ears.

Best regards,
Bill

I use 4 sets at mix down,

Adam A7's

Avantone MixCubes

Radio Shack Minimus 7's

Mackie HR824's

I get pretty decent translation.

For one reason or another I'm still stuck with the 12 inch Tannoy Little Red Monitors that I bought in 1986. (They're probably older than a lot of people on this forum!) I guess I've got to know them well enough by now.
I understand they were designed to be near field monitors, despite their size. The dual concentric design does give a really large sweet spot and they work well for me positioned at the sides of my two VDUs, about 4 feet from my ears.

Mackie MR5 here in HK...back home in Brisbane I have M-Audio bx5's

Tannoy Active Reveals here (the original ones) with Wharfedale Diamonds and a Creek amp for checking on.

I like Tweak's Law regarding monitors: whatever your monitors are good at is exactly what your mix will be bad at.

Isn't that the truth.

He has a good little article at: http://www.tweakheadz.com/studio_monitors.htm

Behringer Truth B2031's - pretty good quality for the price for a home studio. Not pro-grade, but they do the trick! When you crank it really loud (which I know is not their purpose - they're near-field monitors) they don't handle the bass too well.

Dave

www.soundclick.com/steakbone

I like Tweak's Law regarding monitors: whatever your monitors are good at is exactly what your mix will be bad at.

Definitely why you need more than one pair in the studio. I have a little pair of Creative speakers as my second set, and I use a Central Station for monitor and headphone management. Those Creative speakers sound bad in all the right places. If you get something sounding pretty good on those, then go back and forth and find a compromise on those and the big speakers, it'll probably be pretty close.

The thing I always have to recalibrate myself on though is that you can't make the mix sound really good on the little speakers, because it'll sound really bad most other places, probably. I have to listen to something similar on the little speakers to get my head calibrated to what a good mix sounds like on them. Mainly though I use to deal with too much of that hissy high end, which it really emphasizes, the kind of hollow upper mids stuff, and the congested lower mids. Since it does all those things badly, if you get those things sounding good there, that's a pretty good start.

And of course I use headphones, two sets in the studio, as sanity checks. And some little M-Audios in my bedroom on the computer there. And some Polk Audio bookshelf speakers in the bedroom as well. So that's a fairly good representation. Listen to a commercial mix whose vibe you want to shoot for on each one, then listen to yours, and go back and recalibrate the ears often.

The Central Station actually has room for three sets, but I have nowhere else to put another set in the studio, though I guess I could put some off to the side as a kind of 'causual listening from a distance, mostly mono' type of sanity check.

Adam P11A's, standing on Mopadds, then on a pair of hollow, sand filled spiked stands.

Quite happy with the sound, apart from a lack of deep bass.

Adam P11A's, standing on Mopadds, then on a pair of hollow, sand filled spiked stands.
Quite happy with the sound, apart from a lack of deep bass.

Identical setup here, except for the sand. The transient response from those folded ribbon tweeters is amazing.

However, I wish I'd bought the P22s instead, as the P11 wimps out below about 45-50Hz - so close but not quite where it needs to go. But I added a cheap ($400) M-Audio sub and set the crossover at 50Hz and now I live in a happy full-spectrum world.

The biggest downside to all ADAM nearfields is they are extremely directional and have a narrow sweet spot. If I want to play something for another person I have to make them sit in my chair so it sounds right. But within the confines of that one spot, they sound absolutely wonderful.

.

For anyone interested, today's Musicians Friend Stupid Deal Of the Day is the Event ASP6 Studio Precision 6" Studio Monitor for $299.