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Small monitors


xgsjx
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I'm in the market for a small set of monitors, that's easy enough, there's plenty of great options out there...  Here's the hard part - They need to get past the Mrs!

So...  I was gonna opt for a pair of Presonus Eris e5s, but the Mrs saw a pic & said that they wouldn't be going in the spare room.  She doesn't want some "hideous big black speakers" in the house.

I looked at several monitors & showed her a pair of Audioengine A2+ in white (& red).  She said the white ones would be fine.
However, for the price of them, I could spend a touch extra & get a pair of KRK Roket5 G3 White Noise.  Basically the same as the usual Rokit 5 but in white with a white cone.  Downside is, they're 11" high compared to the A2+ being 6" high.

Any suggestions for a good small monitor that isn't much more than £250 a pair (preferrably less)?  Would the A2+ be a good monitor for mixing on, or should I take a bit of grief & go for the KRKs?

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Haha! Well this is a somewhat unconventional quandary when it comes to monitors 😂

I honestly can’t think of any within your budget (or any budget) that don’t look like a pair of fairly bland, black bricks. So my tip would be to prioritise sound quality/flatness over aesthetics and knit yourself some funky covers as suggested by Douglas. Win:win 👍🏻

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Those soundskins might get too much moggie attention.  xD

I've got a nice big shed that already has lekky which could be turned in to a studio, but it would need a good clear out, insulated, internal walls, flooring, a ceiling & heating.  AKA not going to happen, as I'm selling the place this coming year.

However...  After talking with the Mrs & telling her that £200 odd on small PC speakers would be a waste of money, she'd be happy with me getting these...

5.jpg

Yamaha HS5.

I showed her the KRK Rokit5s, & they're a no.

 

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2 hours ago, lurksalot said:

It's alright for you , you do it in your garage 😜   My Mrs holds no influence over the state / management / or contents of my garage either 😂😂

The rest of the house is her’s; but the garage is the one domain where I get to dictate the colour of my monitors! 😂

2 hours ago, xgsjx said:

After talking with the Mrs & telling her that £200 odd on small PC speakers would be a waste of money, she'd be happy with me getting these...

5.jpg

Nice choice! They certainly match the wallpaper ;) 

Can’t go wrong with Yamaha in that price range. Solid value for money.

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17 minutes ago, jposega said:

I find the idea of buying monitors based on look rather than sound to be absolutely absurd. 

So do I, but for me to have a home "studio" there has to be a compromise.  Though I don't understand why there's not much of a selection.  Why do so many manufacturers forget about looks?

I mean, those Genelec 8010As have a great bit of design in the base, but the rest is modelled on a milk carton.  The KRK Rokit series sound great, but again, it looks like the looks department has been given to Justin Bebier.  The majority though just look like black boxes.  Why? 

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1 hour ago, xgsjx said:

...The majority though just look like black boxes.  Why? 

They only look like black boxes when they're being used. These are small boxes. Why can't they be put in a cupboard, or sideboard, or wherever until you're wanting to listen to them, then taken out, plugged in, enjoyed at their best, then tidied away when finished..? At worst, make a cardboard, or ceramic, or sculptured 'something' to slide over them, thus hiding them from view, then expose 'em for listening. Scope for 'out of the box' thinking here, I would suggest, so as not to too compromise the acoustic qualities that are the 'raison d'être' of such an investment.

Doubtless there'll be some reason why such an approach doesn't meet criteria :sad:, but that's how I'd go about resolving the issue.

Hope this helps.

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2 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

They only look like black boxes when they're being used. These are small boxes. Why can't they be put in a cupboard, or sideboard, or wherever until you're wanting to listen to them, then taken out, plugged in, enjoyed at their best, then tidied away when finished..? At worst, make a cardboard, or ceramic, or sculptured 'something' to slide over them, thus hiding them from view, then expose 'em for listening. Scope for 'out of the box' thinking here, I would suggest, so as not to too compromise the acoustic qualities that are the 'raison d'être' of such an investment.

Doubtless there'll be some reason why such an approach doesn't meet criteria :sad:, but that's how I'd go about resolving the issue.

Hope this helps.

That's actually not a bad idea.  I'll discuss that with the Mrs.

 

2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Why not just get a really good pair of headphones?

I've already got a good set of headphones.  I want a 1/2 decent set of monitors.

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22 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Why not just get a really good pair of headphones?

You really can't reliably assess certain things on headphones - e.g. bass, reverb, etc. Clearly sometimes headphone mixing is necessary, but I can't imagine not checking mixes on speakers (preferably multiple sets).

I would say it's really important to hear as many speakers in person as you can. Ultimately you do need to build a pretty intimate relationship with the speakers for them to be a truthful tool - so getting speakers that sound right to you is a good starting point :-)

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20 hours ago, xgsjx said:

I want a 1/2 decent set of monitors.

I'm afraid that for £200 that's all you'll get!

But Juno are doing these little fellas (Equator D5, less than 10" high) for £399 - not an enormous amount of bass but they have DSP and excellent stereo imaging:

IS457891-01-01-BIG.jpg

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^ Those Equator D5s seem nice based on the reviews.

I was faffing around with my own monitors over the weekend and it reminded me of three tips I think I've posted here before, but will reiterate for convenience:

  1. Be sure to isolate your monitors somehow; don't just leave them resting directly on a hard surface like a desk - because the desk will reverberate and mess up the sound (sometimes significantly). At the very least put them on acoustic foam pads or better still on isolated speaker stands. I did the latter with my own monitors and the difference in sound clarity was HUGE, like having a new set of monitors. Money very well spent.
  2. Don't be tempted to buy monitors that are too big! I did this - I'm currently using 8" woofers in my room at home - and it's causing havoc with the low end frequencies. Too much bass is the #1 problem for home studios (in fact any mixing room). Whilst it might be tempting to have a nice big pair of bass bins, they're pretty much the worst thing for detailed mix work and tend to have frequency responses that look like the Himalayas. I'm currently using room correction software (Sonarworks) to compensate for mine but will be replacing them will smaller, flatter and more accurate monitors at my next opportunity.
  3. Be prepared to deal with the 100-150Hz dip which is explained very well in this article on SoundOnSound. Basically, every nearfield monitor results in a frequency dip around 100-150Hz (caused by reactions with the room) that no amount of acoustic treatment can fix. The dip can be considerable; up to -15db and can span from as low as 60Hz (I've measured the frequency response of my own room and it shows a dip of up to -10db around 100Hz). This is partly the reason why fixing the low end is such a notorious problem for mix engineers. The solution is to use a subwoofer to 'fill in' the low end (something I'm considering) and/or use room correction software, which is set to boost the frequencies that are lacking (not ideal, but better than nothing). Doing this can take a lot of the guesswork out of mixing and avoid the constant need to reference mixes on multiple systems - something I myself have to do. Checking your mixes with headphones is also a good option.

Hope that helps.

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The monitors are on hold for the mo...

We're putting the house up for sale in the next few months, so there's no point in buying monitors until I move.  So I might have better funds or even better flexability!

I've not got space to get my keys out, so thinking about selling them & getting a Roli Rise.

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52 minutes ago, xgsjx said:

I've not got space to get my keys out, so thinking about selling them & getting a Roli Rise.

I've heard very good things about them from various keys players. Let us know if you end up getting one; I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on it.

In the meantime, all the best for the house move! Try to bagsie/barter permission for a music room with your better half... :) 

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2 hours ago, Skol303 said:

I've heard very good things about them from various keys players. Let us know if you end up getting one; I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on it.

In the meantime, all the best for the house move! Try to bagsie/barter permission for a music room with your better half... :) 

I've played a rise a few times now & not just in a music shop.  One of my friends has one that he controls his various analogue synths with.  It's a fantastic piece of kit.
He got the Rise 25 & wishes he would have got the 49.
I wish I would have got the Rise 25 instead of the NI S88.  I've used the damn thing twice.

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