What have I done?

[EdwardHimself]

In a moment of madness and complete lack of self control, I succumbed to the dark powers of GAS and bought a pair of KRK Rokit 8 G1 monitors. I figured my old ones were slightly buggered so it was only appropriate that I replace them. And I have always wanted a pair of decent monitors. So I am going to hope these are reasonably good. I'll let you know how I get on (not that I'm sure you're particularly bothered )

[urb]

They're great monitors - only trouble is - they're friggin' loud... other than that - all good!

[EdwardHimself]

THEY'RE HERE!

I've listened to them for a few songs and I must say they certainly are loud! I have them turned up literally to about 1/8th and they're pretty much at ok sort of volume. I think it is hardly fair to compare these to my old 6.5" hifi speakers but these are much more strong and punchy, have much more low end response and clarity and a lot more high end clarity and detail. I'm hearing things I didn't hear before. Pretty epic.

[Twigman]

I have a pair of Rokit RP6 G2.....and they are more than loud enough....


if you are not using a mixer on the output side I can highly recommend one of these [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/tc-electronic-level-pilot-monitor-volume-controller--60711"]http://www.dv247.com...ntroller--60711[/url] to sit between the soundcard and your monitors.
It allows you to leave your monitors at 0db and control volume analogue.
If you control volume from your software it generally does it by cutting the bit depth (among other things) thus losing quality.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Twigman

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1339168764' post='1684824']
I have a pair of Rokit RP6 G2.....and they are more than loud enough....


if you are not using a mixer on the output side I can highly recommend one of these [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/tc-electronic-level-pilot-monitor-volume-controller--60711"]http://www.dv247.com...ntroller--60711[/url] to sit between the soundcard and your monitors.
It allows you to leave your monitors at 0db and control volume analogue.
If you control volume from your software it generally does it by cutting the bit depth (among other things) thus losing quality.
[/quote]

Looks nice. I think what I would like though is something like that but that I can plug my headphones into as well.

[AndThenSome1]

Are there any topics out there recommending good monitors if you're a first time buyer? Looking to further my home studio set-up but i'm not really sure of what i should be looking for/looking to spend you see.

[OliverBlackman]

Ahhh so much GAS for Rokits!

[Twigman]

[quote name='AndThenSome1' timestamp='1339172075' post='1684906']
Are there any topics out there recommending good monitors if you're a first time buyer? Looking to further my home studio set-up but i'm not really sure of what i should be looking for/looking to spend you see.
[/quote]

Can't go wrong with a set of Rokit RP6 G2
[url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/krk-rokit-rp6-g2-active-studio-monitors-pair--68122"]http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/krk-rokit-rp6-g2-active-studio-monitors-pair--68122[/url]

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='AndThenSome1' timestamp='1339172075' post='1684906']
Are there any topics out there recommending good monitors if you're a first time buyer? Looking to further my home studio set-up but i'm not really sure of what i should be looking for/looking to spend you see.
[/quote]

Rokits are known to be bass heavy. If you want a natural sound with flat EQ you really want some Genelec's. Expect to pay £600 for a pair of good monitors. Also get at least 6" speakers, 5" don't really have the power and you can really hear it.

Make sure you spend well though, my monitors are M audio AV40's and cost £80 for the pair. They were cheap and although served me ok for my music tech A levels, they really aren't much good.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1339181658' post='1685113']
Rokits are known to be bass heavy. If you want a natural sound with flat EQ you really want some Genelec's. Expect to pay £600 for a pair of good monitors. Also get at least 6" speakers, 5" don't really have the power and you can really hear it.
[/quote]

That may be true, but I think it is fair to say that all monitors will colour the sound in some way; you need to listen to music that sounds how you want it to on your monitors to get an idea of what you should be aiming for when mixing.

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1339182425' post='1685134']
That may be true, but I think it is fair to say that all monitors will colour the sound in some way; you need to listen to music that sounds how you want it to on your monitors to get an idea of what you should be aiming for when mixing.
[/quote]

well the manufacturers claim they're flat but then how would they know what the sounds like without colouring? I do think that some colour more than others though.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1339183652' post='1685160']
well the manufacturers claim they're flat but then how would they know what the sounds like without colouring? I do think that some colour more than others though.
[/quote]

Well I think they measure the volume of the speaker at particular frequencies to see how "flat" the response curve is. I don't think that is really the issue though; speakers are always going to sound different depending on positioning and the acoustics of a room. Hence why IMO you should try not to worry too much about having the flattest frequency response possible and concentrate on getting a set of monitors that have as much clarity and detail as possible, so you can hear what is going on. Although I would agree that you are not going to get some really fantastic monitors for less than about £600 or thereabouts, I'm not sure it is entirely nessecarry for a home studio, which probably has less than ideal acoustics to start with.

[Rimskidog]

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1339181658' post='1685113']
Rokits are known to be bass heavy. If you want a natural sound with flat EQ you really want some Genelec's. Expect to pay £600 for a pair of good monitors. Also get at least 6" speakers, 5" don't really have the power and you can really hear it.

Make sure you spend well though, my monitors are M audio AV40's and cost £80 for the pair. They were cheap and although served me ok for my music tech A levels, they really aren't much good.
[/quote]

Genelecs are also pretty coloured as it goes. The only decent monitors I've come across at this kind of level are the Dynaudio BM5a and the Adam A7/A7x. Most low end monitors either have hyped low end or no low end. None of them have good mids (and that of course is where most problems lie). Bottom line is if you can't afford decent monitors that is fine as long as you acknowledge that they are less that ideal. You then just have to work much harder to get a good mix: check your mixes in lots of rooms (and cars) and note the problems in the mix each time. Where the same problems pop up on a number of the systems, that's a problem that needs sorted.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Rimskidog

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='Rimskidog' timestamp='1339191879' post='1685315']
Genelecs are also pretty coloured as it goes. The only decent monitors I've come across at this kind of level are the Dynaudio BM5a and the Adam A7/A7x. Most low end monitors either have hyped low end or no low end. None of them have good mids (and that of course is where most problems lie). Bottom line is if you can't afford decent monitors that is fine as long as you acknowledge that they are less that ideal. You then just have to work much harder to get a good mix: check your mixes in lots of rooms (and cars) and note the problems in the mix each time. Where the same problems pop up on a number of the systems, that's a problem that needs sorted.
[/quote]

I know what you mean. I definitely think the mids could be better on these. They are an improvement over the crap I had before though lol.

[EdwardHimself]

Ok so I went on the internet and ordered an SM-audio M-patch 2 which is basically the same as that other analogue volume controller but with a headphone preamp built in which is what I wanted. Also I ordered a pair of iso-pads for the speakers to sit on.

[EdwardHimself]

Well I took delivery of it today. I can certainly reccomend one of these if you don't have a volume control on your monitors. It's totally passive; the power is only needed for the lights and headphone preamp, which is a good thing because it came with a DeutschePlug so I can't use it at the moment lol.

[WHUFC BASS]

[quote name='Rimskidog' timestamp='1339191879' post='1685315']
Genelecs are also pretty coloured as it goes. The only decent monitors I've come across at this kind of level are the Dynaudio BM5a and the Adam A7/A7x. Most low end monitors either have hyped low end or no low end. None of them have good mids (and that of course is where most problems lie). Bottom line is if you can't afford decent monitors that is fine as long as you acknowledge that they are less that ideal. You then just have to work much harder to get a good mix: check your mixes in lots of rooms (and cars) and note the problems in the mix each time. Where the same problems pop up on a number of the systems, that's a problem that needs sorted.
[/quote]

Where would you rate Yamaha HS80s - low or mid end ? Reason I'm asking is I do most mixes on headphones (BeyerDynamic DT880s) but always cross reference with the monitors and they always sound a bit boxy if that makes sense ?

[MoJoKe]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1339169583' post='1684843']
Looks nice. I think what I would like though is something like that but that I can plug my headphones into as well.
[/quote]

The Behringer headphone amp works for me... and relatively inexpensive, with passthrough for the monitors and 4 headphone outs with a volume control for each...

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='MoJoKe' timestamp='1340821226' post='1710157']
The Behringer headphone amp works for me... and relatively inexpensive, with passthrough for the monitors and 4 headphone outs with a volume control for each...
[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestion. Too late though, I have already bought a monitor controller (see post #16)

Edited July 1, 2012 by EdwardHimself

[Rimskidog]

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' timestamp='1340817101' post='1710070']


Where would you rate Yamaha HS80s - low or mid end ? Reason I'm asking is I do most mixes on headphones (BeyerDynamic DT880s) but always cross reference with the monitors and they always sound a bit boxy if that makes sense ?
[/quote]

Sorry, missed this previously. I'd certainly put them in the low end category.

[charic]

I like the Yamaha's (I use HS50m's) as I was pretty much glued to the NS10's at uni.

They're not a nice sound but I find them easy to mix on myself, which in the end is kinda the crux of the whole matter. I personally know I don't like Tannoy and Mackie (from what I've heard). Genelecs are good but they're too "nice" sounding for me, I can mix on them (and are good for showing other people your mixes) but Yamaha's make things stand out like a sore thumb in my experience.

[paul_5]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1341569631' post='1721024']
Another +1 for the Adam A7s. Great monitors for the money.
[/quote]
[quote name='charic' timestamp='1341561580' post='1720851']
I like the Yamaha's (I use HS50m's) as I was pretty much glued to the NS10's at uni.
[/quote]

If you can get a mix to sound balanced on NS10s then you've pretty much cracked it!

[Stephen Houghton]

Just thinking about investing in a pair of active KRK RP6 G3s, £328, good move or a stupid one? Need advice, from what I have read for the money people seem to rate these, any advice or guidance appreciated Don't have any more dosh and these will be with me for a long time, so I don't want to buy the wrong monitors.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Stephen Houghton

[ironside1966]

I may look impressive to have big loud monitors but unless you have a large enough space with good acoustic treatment they can cause you a lot of problems. Smaller less powerful monitors will do you more favours in smaller spacers. when looking at [size=4][font=Arial, sans-serif]recommendations see what type of room they are used in and what type of music they are used for.[/font][/size]

Edited November 19, 2013 by ironside1966

[ambient]

I have a pair of Yamaha HS80's, I think they're really good quality, and certainly wouldn't class them as 'low range' monitor, mid range yes.

They got excellent reviews in Sound on sound [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun06/articles/yamahas80m.htm"]http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun06/articles/yamahas80m.htm[/url]

They're based on the legendary NS10's, though obviously are active but do share some of the same type of sound.

Edited September 6, 2013 by ambient