I've been the proud owner of a pair of Mackie HR824 monitors for the last year but now I'm considering something else. First of all, I record and mix in the same room, which happens to be very tempermental. I've treated it adequatelly with foam, layed down some carpet, etc., but the way the room is configured limits the ways I can set it up to only one.
To make a long story short, if I'm too close to the Mackies while mixing, I quickly get ear fatigue and the buzzing begins, even when mixing at low volumes!
If I move back a ways, I'm now too close to exterior noise that filters through the window, and disables me from hearing the little details in the mix.
So my question is, could it be that - as good as they do sound on playback - these speakers are maybe to much for the environment I'm working in? They are rather boomy and I feel they're over-hyping the sound, so I've thought about selling them.
Only problem is, what to replace them with under $1k? I'd rather try something other than the Mackie 624's.
Tanny Reveals, Alesis Mk2, Beghringer Truth, Even PS6? Any opinions?
I'd love to hear comments on this situation, perhaps I'm not the only one to experience this...
Thanks
pk
Comments
Yeah, what Doc said - First, have you considered building an ins
Yeah, what Doc said - First, have you considered building an insert for your window? with most windows, you can use 2x4's ripped down to a width that allows you to put two layers of 1/2" sheet rock on each side, fill between with fiberglas insulation, and put two Stanley barn door handles on the inside, screwed thru the rock into the frame to make it easier to remove - self-stick foam weatherstripping around the edges and accurate construction for tight fit, and you can improve the transmission loss thru the window to about that of the walls.
Also, replacing interior hollow core doors with exterior solid core improves transmission loss thru interior paths, especially if you weatherstrip the door and add a bottom seal.
It sounds like your room may be rather small by your "one way only" comment - if so, that is most likely why your Mackies sound boomy - too close to walls will do that with any speaker, but especially with the mackies' passive rear radiator.
Also, with a small room, dimensions are more critical because of wider spaced modal response, which will make problem frequencies stand out even more. Unfortunately, bass traps that would help even out the response would make the usable space in the room even smaller.
If tight space IS the problem, maybe some speakers without rear ports or passive radiators would lessen the problem. In one bedroom studio I was able to get good sound using a pair of KROK's (passive nearfields from KRK - and a Yamaha YSM-120 dual 8" sub. The sub has a 24 dB/octave crossover, so no mud on the bottom, just extended bass by an octave or so.) You might consider a small sub with a pair of KRK V-6's - That way, less bass-in-the-face with the smaller woofers, then let the sub handle the lows which you could dial down to a level that works in your room.
'Nuff idle blather - let us know if any of this makes sense, or... Steve
It sounds like your room might be your problem as much as anythi
It sounds like your room might be your problem as much as anything else- ambient noise prevents you from listening at lower vols, lose detail, etc. I realize changing the room might be costly- have you tried mixing w a good pair of cans? I am not saying it is the ultimate solution, but it might help short term. I suspect you are going to find that changing speakers won't address your real problem- the room. If you are in for the long haul you are going to have to isolate your environment better, and make sure that your treatments are doing what you need them to do. Cheers, Doc.