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Hey y'all. Just popped over from the computer side of things. Got that in order, now onto the REAL stuff. First order: My buddie and I are in the stage of having fun now, using computers, and live recording only vocals and guitars. Rest DI or digital. Hip Hop / Rock interbreed stuff. Really, 2 white collar college friends trying to find our urban old-skool roots. We're using 2 Bose shelf speakers to mix now. Ready to buy monitors. Any thoughts. As its just a hobby now, we'd not like to spend mega-bucks. Looked at Behringer Truth. Some YAY, some NAY. Price is right, but I dont' want to buy CRAP.
I guess in the long run, we're trying to pull off "two disgruntled engineers make it big on their own label using their home PCs and average equiptment!"

Thoughts?. .on the monitors?

THanks

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Comments

knightfly Sat, 03/23/2002 - 00:24

Hey Mike, at the price the Truths are selling, they seem to be a steal. There is a review of them and 9 others that are nowhere near the bargain price, on ProRec. When he reviewed them they weren't nearly that cheap, and they didn't do too bad against some pretty heavy hitters. check it out...

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.prorec.c…"]http://www. prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/0B7FAE7ED3205D3C86256AE100044F41[/]="http://www.prorec.c…"]http://www. prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/articles/0B7FAE7ED3205D3C86256AE100044F41[/]

At that price I may order a pair soon, just to compare to my KRK's. I can always use them for computer sound monitors... Steve

teddancin Sat, 03/23/2002 - 02:32

Whoa,

Well, that article that knightfly posted about monitors just proves my point even more about "What you hear is totally subjective and pertinent to only you. Every one hears things differently."

I agree with the review concerning the Genelec's. I a/b tested for like 2 weeks straight and bought a couple of different monitors before I decided on my final choice. I definately like the Genelec's the best out of all the monitors I heard (didn't hear dynaudio). Only problem is they're ass expensive.

That's probably where my preferences and theirs end. I really disliked the mackie's. I thought they had an obvious mid cut/boosted highs & lows.

I originally bought the Event 20/20 BAS's, but after closer inspection once I got them home I realized that "to me", they had a similar problem that the mackie's did. But it wasn't as bad as the mackie's. I thought that they were good monitors, but just not ultra non-colored. Great bass on the Events though (too much even).

Then, after listening more and more, I finally decided on the KRK V-8's, which got TRASHED in that article. That's the first time I've heard anyone say anything like that about KRK stuff. I didn't like the double woofer version of the KRK's. I think they're called the v8.8's. Too much bass, and it threw off the mids and highs cause the bass was unbalanced.

The only monitors that I have ever liked more than these KRK's were the Genelecs, which are WAY more expensive, and I only liked them a little more than the KRK's.

Like I said, what you hear is totally subjective, most people LOVE the Mackie's, and I'm sure that there's going to be people that look at my post and just get disgusted with my opinions. And they're right.... but so am I, cause it's all about what YOU hear, cause you're going to be the one translating mix's on the things.

Go with what sounds good to you, I just wanted to let you know what I thought so you'd know what other peoples ideas on the subject are. Hope I was some help

-teddancin
PS.I never got a chance to hear the truth monitors, but my thoughts on that are, it's kinda hard to skimp on sound quality, cause quality is what it's all about. But if you've been mixing through Bose speakers, anything should be better, and if the Truth monitors sound good to you, that'd be an awesome deal.

anonymous Sat, 03/23/2002 - 13:25

I agree with teddancin, monitors are best chosen by your own ears.

I also agree that the Mackies are anything but accurate, the Genelecs are very detailed and the KRKs are the best bang for the buck.

I work in rooms with Genelec 31A, Event 20/20bas and KRK V6 monitors. They all have their own strengths and weeknesses. But so do the acutal rooms and it's really about the combination of all the factors.

Acclimating to each room and the respective monitors has taken some time, but I can work with any of them now.

Anything will be step in the right direction after BOSE. They define colored sound.

Dave McNair Sat, 03/23/2002 - 14:11

In my opinion, accuracy is a very subjective and overused word when descibing the sound of recording or playback components, especially speakers. In addition, the room that the speakers are in has almost as much effect on the sound as the speakers themselves. I think you have to listen to a lot of speakers and find one that you like the sound of. Forget about finding an "accurate" speaker.

Kemble Sat, 03/23/2002 - 19:10

Ah yes, the room. (This is Jeff (JDitty) typing on Mikes machine) I spent quite some time on a room in my home fixing the disaster it was. All home-made for the most part. Lots of fiberglass insulation, diffusors (made 2 QRD quadradics), and tubetraps. We'll be doind the same at Mikes. (thanks, Master Handbook of Acoustics). I knew the Bose were bad, but the "Define Colored sound" really got me. I think we'll start with what we can- the TRUTHS. Thanks for all the posts of review sites. Kinda makes some things clearer on our mixes...like why they were crappy.
Thanks.

anonymous Fri, 03/29/2002 - 08:50

just a thought - Tannoy system 800's. I got a pair for $775 passive. Theys are really nice - I love mine - superb imaging, detailed bass response, clean highs. I had the reveals - IMHO not a great idea - they used some crappy caulk in my pair causing their frequency respose to change over time. Even when new, they lacked bass response, but hey, what do you want for $250?

anonymous Tue, 04/02/2002 - 22:19

If you can find em ... Check out the Hafler TRM 8's. Very even, non fatiguing, extremely underated and definitly reasonable.

I looked at all the usual suspects when hunting for monitors willing to part w/$ ... For me It came down to Hafler and Quested (also great and about twice the $). The Hafler's just made me smile every time .... And they still do :) :) :cool:

anonymous Thu, 04/04/2002 - 18:54

The Tannoy Reveal Actives are great monitors for the money--about US$650 for a pair. Their sound is detailed, quite accurate, and non-fatiquing. My main complaint about them is the weak bottom end, which rolls off at about 65 Hz.

For the last few months, my main monitors have been Mackie HR824s, and I love them. My mixes on them have translated well to other systems.

Cheers,

Glenn

anonymous Fri, 04/05/2002 - 22:58

I am very satisfied with my Dynaudio Acoustics BM6. Affordable, smooth frq response, easy on the ears.
And I agree. No monitor will sound good in a bad room. My approach is very unscientific, but works: I run a sweep ferq sinus tone through them and move about the room. Standing waves, reflections and cancellations become obvious. Then I move furniture and stuff around and Im able to smooth things out a bit. Actually works.

Divo Tue, 04/22/2003 - 00:18

For a cheap and relatively accurate nearfeild monitor setup check out the Emes Pink series. They are compact but they are a lot better than the "Truths" which sound no better than car stereo speakers. Behringer should be taken to court over the name alone. And yes we did test them against car stereo speakers. ( cheap ones ) If you find that the Emes are a little thin in the bottom end for the type of music you are doing you may have to spend a little more. I thought they were great for a home studio setup.

anonymous Wed, 04/23/2003 - 17:02

I went on a monitor search a few weeks ago. I found the truths were good value for money, though I couldnt stand to have to work on them.

They have something about them that sounds nice for about the first 3-4 seconds, then you want to turn them down, cuz they sounded like they were distorting.
I had to keep turning them down, then when they got to about 45 dB, they stopped distorting, but then the frequency balance had gone out the window.

To be fair, it could have been another component in the chain, as they were the only monitors in the shop being powered through a computer soundcard and a mackie desk. Perhaps you should investigate this a bit further.

I wasnt really looking in this budget range, cuz I think if youre serious, you should spend good money and get good stuff.

I went with the HR824s cuz I like them (that settles that) and I decided I am better spending the extra dough on a 001 instead of the BM15a, which would have been my first choice.

Doug Milton Wed, 04/23/2003 - 17:44

Jeff,

If you are working with a decent retailer, ask them to let you borrow a floor demo set of monitors to hear in your room. If the retailer knows that it will result in a sale, and if they understand building a relationship for future purchases, this shouldn’t be a problem.

All of us have different preferences in what we hear and the perfect monitor for me may be impractical for your room or budget. So recommending specific monitors is pointless. Nothing beats your ear and your preferences for you. I would suggest that you pick a handful of great sounding CDs within the genre of music you will be working with. Bring the speakers home, set them up and LISTEN.

Those monitors will sound different in your room than they did at the store. That’s ok because you’re not mixing at the store. The end result is the ability to make great mixes in your room. It may take a couple of different borrowing sessions before you find the right monitor for yourself and your room. It’s worth the effort…