Well, a very subjective topic that will be a fun and full of passion. But when it comes to DAW's, its also much like discussing Apple or PC. I love Apple but I don't use it for music anymore. I threw that out with Pro Tools and have never looked back.

Something else that needs to be included is budget and workflow. We often choose something because we have something else attached to it. Or, are forced to continue because its too late to turn back.

In 2005 I finally got fed up making decisions based on trying to keep a 50 grand house of cards standing so I threw it all away and started over. I read and researched for 5 years before investing in anything substantial. I now only invested in things that stand on their own, that look like they have a future with other products.
Each decision I make now is based around stability and integration. Does this thing work on its own and integrate with other things. Is it a good investment and does it make my life better.

In 2010 I bought Sequoia because I am interested in recording, mixing and mastering high end acoustic and electronic music. Even though I'm not a mastering engineer, I wanted something that was considered the finest mastering program available. I am also extremely interested in electronic music so midi had to be included. I am also very interested in hybrid concepts and this is where Sequoia dominated the industry. And finally, if I even reach into the world of gaming and video, this is where Sequoia excels as well. Sequoia is a recording, mixing and mastering program that integrates with hardware and software. It is also designed around Windows, another OS that welcomes third party integration.

So, Sequoia wins hands down for the DAW. Once you use Sequoia you will never turn back. There is no need for any other DAW and very little need for additional plug-ins.
If I take it all away, everything I have invested in today can be sold on its own. If I take all my hardware away, Sequoia still works like the day I bought into it all. Its cool as a DAW on its own and its amazing as a full blown recording, hybrid mixing and world class mastering system. The DAW is all about math and that's what Sequoia is all about.

The rest is over at the hybrid forums.

i have always used what i had to the best of my abilities ... i have been fortunate enough to acquire some of the best gear in the world at various times but i would never say that anything i have/had, is/was, "the best".

"the best" is such a subjective term. the best for who? what? what's the best for one thing might not be the best for others ... mics are a perfect example. in some cases a lowly sm57 on a guitar amp is "the best". in others a pair of 421's and a U87 in figure of 8 behind the amp and another nice LD out in the room is "the best" (makes sense for an open back amp but senseless for a Marshall cab). it's a matter of whatever works. (sorry Terry Manning).

I had a client once who was showing his girlfriend the studio .. he points to my LA2a and says, "That's the goodulator, everything you run through that thing sounds better." i smiled because i know or at least think that nothing we use really improves an audio signal ..it only modifies it. every step of processing degrades the signal.

best case; mic preamp, recording device, power amp, speaker.

that's still 5 things the signal passed through and at each step distortions, sonic footprints are introduced. IMO there's no such thing as The Best in sound or music ... Except for Louis Armstrong. He was the best.

My idea was not to open debates but rather open a sharing thread. Telling people why you use and still use certain tools might inspire some to consider these product differently.

btw, sequoia seems nice. ;)

Kurt Foster, post: 403634 wrote: "the best" is such a subjective term. the best for who? .

I'm interested to know why it's the best for the users Kurt. Who knows one might say he likes that worst crapy mike from wallmart because when it hits the floor it makes a hihat sound !! I don't know :wink:
Just share, that'll be interesting for sure.

No worries on defending the term "best" we know what you mean.

The older we get, the more we realize how "not the best" we are but rather how well we are able to make do with what we have, and be satisfied. Thus, why a little cabin in the woods is calling for me. I'd be happy with that and could share a pretty cool story about my little cabin in the woods here one day.

And why I use Sequoia, it's like a little (well built) cabin in the woods to me. You can leave it as is and it will be standing for years or add onto it and make a farm that produces whatever you plant. Its all you need. Pro Tools is like Walmart to me. A big store that was focused on putting everyone else out of business.

But, I could make do with Reaper or Studio One and a StudioLive 24 and be happy as punch.

[h=2][/h] My idea was not to open debates but rather open a sharing thread. Telling people why you use and still use certain tools might inspire some to consider these product differently. ......

I'm interested to know why it's the best for the users Kurt. Who knows one might say he likes that worst crapy mike from wallmart because when it hits the floor it makes a hihat sound !! I don't know :wink:
Just share, that'll be interesting for sure.

i'll play. i think the best speakers ever to mix with are NS10's ... not because they sound good (because they don't). because the sound so bad that if you make something sound good on them it will sound good on anything. i seen it a thousand times. no matter what size room, how it's treated or set up. mix on NS10S and your mix's will travel.

i think the best mic in the world for my voice is a SM7A. it is what works for me.

my Martin D35 is the best acoustic i have ever played.

i think tweed vintage fender deluxe's are the best sounding guitar amps ever .. bar none.

Tre' Sabateni is the best drummer i ever recorded with. my best friend John who passed away a few years back was the BEST by far of any drummers i have ever been in a band with.

There is no "best"....only different.

There is "more expensive"..."more exclusive"..."more colored"..."more subtle"....etc-----> oh and "mo betta".

Having mo betta is a good thing but only if using it makes you happy and gives you the feeling you made a great choice in your money-spent department.

At a certain level, all things become equal in the physics and engineering of sound reproduction. It becomes a matter of familiarity and also one of choice-of-taste. True that different approaches in engineering bring different results with the same or similar input, but this is where the choice becomes you and what your ear wants to hear.

Take the Big Three for example. (There's actually a Big Seven but thats, again, the choice thingy)....API, Neve, SSL. ( I would add Helios, Trident, MCI, and Harrison to this mix....) Anywho....NONE of the aforementioned manufacturers build devices that don't do the job asked of them in a professional way. In the hands of highly skilled and inventive personnel they are capable of reproducing a magical vision of sorts, limited only to the ability of the end-user. They can also be quite pedestrian according to the input.

Its tools. Thats all. Tools. Some REALLY expensive tools but tools none the less.

Some tools are chosen based on a persons needs. A DAW fits this category. I chose ProTools. Other than it interfacing with hundreds of other rooms in my area, thats the only reason. Would I have chosen another had it been the DAW of choice in this area or everywhere? Yes. I have no faithfulness to a computer program. It is all 1's and 0's in the end. The difference in sound is mostly about the conversion and the clock and how these are integrated into a system. I can 'hear' the difference in systems but it makes little difference in the long run if the signal you are applying to the DAW is what you want in the first place. I know this will spark discussion and I cannot disagree with either side of this issue. But you asked about "best for me". In my business, PT is best for me. Certainly not the 'best' by any stretch.

My mic collection is becoming the 'best for me'. Every time I add something it finds a use. Every time I use something it gains yet another function. I try things on everything cause there are no rules.

My preamps collection is becoming 'the best for me'. I will add this. Whatever you do, find a signal chain that works well for specific signals and go there first time every time. I have a vocal chain that will work for me on many types of voices. Every time. Its the best for me. The mic is the biggest variable here. It should be. Its should be the personality of the vocal chain. Is this 'best for others'? I dunno, its 'best for me'. I've had opportunities at various points in my life to sample and use lots of gear. When I bought the ViPre I knew my needs were going to be met every time I plug something in to it. 'Best for me'....maybe others too, but I don't need confirmation from outside sources to make my choice okay.

Enough with the ramblin....

audiokid, post: 403640 wrote: No worries on defending the term "best" we know what you mean.

Reading posts that followed you, I guess we don't !! I'll try to rephrase...

Kurt Foster, post: 403646 wrote: i'll play. i think the best speakers ever to mix with are NS10's ... not because they sound good (because they don't). because the sound so bad that if you make something sound good on them it will sound good on anything. i seen it a thousand times. no matter what size room, how it's treated or set up. mix on NS10S and your mix's will travel.

That's the kind of story I was looking for. Specially this one because I'm thinking of changing my monitors. I read the NS10 were discontinued. Anyone knows a good replacement ? I really like that Idea of bad sounding monitors that makes you mix right ;)

pcrecord, post: 403666 wrote: That's the kind of story I was looking for. Specially this one because I'm thinking of changing my monitors. I read the NS10 were discontinued. Anyone knows a good replacement ? I really like that Idea of bad sounding monitors that makes you mix right ;)

well that gives you the jump on me ... it took me a couple of years to get that.

i have heard nothing as of yet that does what NS10s do ... look for a pair used EBay

Isn't risky to buy used speakers on ebay ? I'd fear they've been overdriven or modified or repared with wrong parts ??
The only one I see who ships to canada is 829.99USD for the pair, used.

I'd rather buy new from a store. (I bought a lot online but speakers:confused:)

I've always wanted a pair of NS10 but fear when they arrive the cones will be shot. Where do you get replacements?
I also know you need a great amp to make NS10 complete. I know some get by with less desirable but a Bryston 3b would be my choice for those.

Not to side rail Kurts suggestion, because I think its a really smart choice, I mean, how many hit recordings have been mixed on NS10's. Astonishing numbers a suspect.
If we are suggesting monitors now, I just received Opals and all I've got to say is WOW! These are awesome.
Keep in mind, my room is pretty accurate too so that makes a difference.

[="http://vintageking.com/recording-gear/monitoring/replacement-drivers/yamaha-ns10-replacement-woofer-xn542aa0"]

[/]="http://vintageking…"][QUOTE][/]

I've always wanted a pair of NS10 but fear when they arrive the cones will be shot. Where do you get replacements?[="http://vintageking…"]

Yamaha NS10 Replacement Woofer XN542AA0 [/]

[URL=http://www.speakerr… Diaphragms, Replacement Speaker Parts,

i am sure there are lots of great speakers .. i'm looking at some KRK 6" things for my laptop rig ...

i just sold my NS10's ... truth is they need an amp and the whole thing is just too involved .. i'm looking for simple so powerd mons are in the future. but still, if you ask "what is best" (for me)?, nothing compares to NS10's.

Damn, I could have gotten a pair not long ago. Thanks for sharing that link.

it seems there are PLENTY of replacment drivers ... the price has skyrocketed since they went out of production. there's tweets too . looks like the only things you can't buy are the cabs ...

Anyone else want to share what tool(s) makes a big difference in his/her studio ?

I use a pair of JBL Control 1's for nearfield's and they're fantastic IMO.

Heavy duty magnets on those little guys, they weigh in really heavy and give you the impression that you could drop them or knock them over and they'd still keep going. Good solid sound that comes in between "good honest monitors" and "hi fi". Meaning, they're not totally flat, they are a little colored, but there's not a Hype of the lows/mids/or hi's that you can get with a lot of other monitors. My setup adds a little more color because I'm amping the monitors with a Sansui AU-505. I love that little amp but your taste may be different and there are certainly modern low-watt amps that are cleaner.

What trips me out about the JBL's is the bass is really solid, and they can handle a keen dose of power unlike some other monitors in they're category. My mixes translate pretty to the car stereo, mp3's, etc.

Here's something random about a recent discovery; I bought a pair of Dreamland mics from Wildwood mics. They're handmade in the US by a one man operation. The mic body is wood, so...wow! No cheap metallurgy resonance problems to deal with, right? I bought them through Odyssey Pro Sound and got great service. The mic is a pair of omni pattern electrets, so you get a nice stereo image from just a single mic. Use them as a pair and hard pan them and you get a fantastic image. The mics are quiet, smooth, and flattering while still offering a high level of detail. They are high impedence mics so you have to make sure your preamp can handle that; my ZED14 (for instance) doesn't handle them well at all. Through my EHX 12AY7 tube mic pre's the sound is great though, and I get a surprisingly nice sound using them with a 2i2. The 2i2 seems to dig high impedence mics. People I've talked to (on the phone - not the internet) have told me they love amping them with the Great River ME-1NV. My poor 4033's and 012's have been sitting idle since I bought the Dreamland mics. Acoustic guitar, effects percussion, guitar amps, hand percussion, even a Tambora; the mics have just chewed up everything I've thrown at them so far. Including my vocals. At $250 each, I think they're "the best".

For DAW software, I use Sonar X1 and have been a Cakewalk fan since Pro Audio 9. YMMV, but I enjoy the crap out of Sonar.

And to think I bought my Ns10's for around $300 new ( for the pair..consecutive serial numbers, LOL) back in '95 or so...

Apparently, Yamaha discontinued them after they weren't able to get the right materials anymore... as I recall, something about a protected tree or something that was used for pulp in the production of the speaker. (?)

FWIW, These days I'm using Alesis Monitor One's, and an ancient pair of JBL 44's, both powered by a Hafler Transnova.

yeah but now there's plenty of paper for replacement drivers at a buck and 25 ... :rolleyes:

This is turning into an NS10 thread. Does anyone really know how they became so popular? Here's my story. They were a bookshelf speaker before they were black in color. Yamaha was introducing lots of digital rack gear and gave these away as a dealer incentive. Someone mixed a couple of great records using the 'free' monitors and pretty soon they were on every bridge in the majors. But they were FREE at that time. Most everyone will give something thats FREE a shot....I bought a pair in 92 or so. Never did 'like' them. But I understood immediately what they brought to the table. Much like Kurt said...If you can make a mix sound good on these it will travel....They require a buttload of power to do what they do....They will handle extreme transients....They will hurt your head after extended time....There are at LEAST 10 other bookshelf speakers that will do the same job that weren't ever free.

Apparently, Yamaha discontinued them after they weren't able to get the right materials anymore... as I recall, something about a protected tree or something that was used for pulp in the production of the speaker.

i thought it was because they discontinued the toilet paper brand that bob clearmountain used over his tweeters one day, which made them impossible to mix on :) Those things are cool, i've used them a few times they do what their reputation is, which is exactly what kurt said. it's the same idea of using cheapo cpu speakers, a phone, earbuds, boombox ect.

My favorite expensive speakers to use are meyer hd 1's. i don't find them 'easy' to mix on, but you can hear everything, and they're not harsh. A good mix sounds 'really' good on those. the best low/mid priced monitors to me are alesis monitor 1 mk2's/mackie hr 8's (which i own).

My two desert island mics are the akg 414 xls, and the sm 57. They are the most versatile mics in their categories, that i have ever used, i own the 57's, and a 414. Since we're talk best, how bout 'worst', Which i give the rode nt 1a, is the worst ldc i own. I also get a ton of mileage out of the rarely talked about senhiesser 441. It's got the best off axis rejection of any mic i have ever used. And a nice response. The most overrated/priced mic is the Neumann u87ai, although is you have 3500 for an acoustic guitar/ outside kick mic, i put it around the top of the food chain. Unless...you happen to work with world class singers daily, which i don't. The C-12 is the best vocal mic i've used, but it could just as easily be a 58. Vocal mics are like trying to find the most comfortable pair of shoes for the person, could be any one on the shelf. SDC, i like the rode nt-5's for bang for your buck, but they don't have a pad, so that limits there use. If you haven't noticed, i like things that sound 'good' on a variety of things, cuz while i use the same basic setup, i like keep it interesting by moving mics around.

The best stock plug-insi've heard come w/ adobe audition. (i've tried most, but not sonar, sequoia, or studio one). I look at daws as fancy tape machine, you can pretty much adapt the same work flow w/ most of them, cut paste move duplicate new track. I use Digital Performer cuz i work at a place that uses it, ya know it's always a learning curve, but it mixes in surround, has video capabilities, and it's manual pitch correction is 2nd to none, antares/melodyne included. I'm pretty sure it has a very similar 'take comping' feature to sonar. It basically does everything i would need from pro tools HD, except charge me twice as much, and become unsupported every 3 updates.

waves makes the best sounding plug-insi've used. Bang for your buck channel strip, eureka channel gets slept on.

Best pieces of audio advice i've gotten in the past five years, 'rooms make a big difference' 'use lots of headroom in the digital world' 'comb filtering does wonders for whisltes in guitar tracks'

Power: Hafler Transnova 1500, and an old Crown SA 20-20

Monitors: Alesis Monitor One's (Passive) JBL 44's, Yamaha NS10's.

Mics: Neumann U89i, AKG 414 EB, AKG 414 XLS, AKG "The Tube", EV RE20, SM57's/58's(6), AKG C1000s(2), Sennheiser 421's (4)

Guitar Amps: Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10, Line 6 Combo 1x12

Guitars: 1995 American Standard Tele (sonic blue), 1988 American Standard Strat (black onyx), 1989 Rickenbacker V64 12 String (Fireglo), 1985 Farrington/Spector Bass, Washburn Acst/Electric Cutaway, Washburn Delta King Tobacco Burst 335 knock-off, Gibson 1913 Mandolin

Drums: 1990 Yamaha Recording Custom 6 pc, 1968 Ludwig Blue Oyster Pearl 3 pc., Ludwig Brushed Aluminum Snare, Ludwig Black Beauty Snare, Canon 7" Wood

Progs: Sonar, Samplitude, PT, Sound Forge

Audio I/O: Tascam 1641 USB

Analog Decks: Studer/Revox B77 2 Trk, Tascam 48 1/2" 8 Trk, Nakamichi MR2B Cassette (don't even know the last time I even powered that up... LOL)

Console: Yamaha 02R Digital (works just fine... just not currently in use). I miss my Neotek. facepalm

Synth Libraries: Native B4, Native Pro 5, Native Electric Piano, Garritan PO, Garritan Big Band; East-West Colossus, BFD

Plugs: Waves, Sonitus, Voxengo, Blue Tubes, Lexicon, Amplitube, Vandal.

Is all this stuff "the best"? Of course not, but it suites me for what I'm currently doing.

Next on the list? A nice Ribbon Mic. ;)

fwiw
-d.

Groove Tubes Vipre/Glory Comp combo is my best signal chain.The variable impedance and bridge/unbridged input transformer settings are usefull on everything from and sm58/57,to my RCA Varicoustic.My U87 is designed to see a bridged input(most modern gear),so it sounds the best to my ears with this setting.I use this chain with a 57 on snare when tracking drums(I usually like my TAB V676 ,but it's on the fritz).
I have noticed that just having the glory comp in the chain attenuates the top a little,I'm not thrilled about that when using a ribbon mic.

DonnyThompson,what do you think about the JBL 44s,I use a pair of 4406s near field,and 4408s midfield.I've heard that they were built to compete with the NS10m.Awesome power handling,bass rolls off pretty early,and even with 3db hi freq roll off on the pad,often mixes translate a little too dull.Perhaps some 4425s or 4435s for mains.
Perhaps some TP for my tweeter.diddlydoo

4406 was bulit in the same era to compete against the NS10 but it is a completely different animal. built to "sound good" and easily driven by low watts.

NS10 are opposite in every way. they need a lot of power (at least 100 watts) and they just "sound ugly" period. i would never listen casually to NS10s .. that is if i want to sit down and drink a beer or a cup of coffe and listen to some tunes, the NS10 is not a speaker i would choose. if i wanted to work on a mix then i would choose them.

I'm gonna agree with Kurt on this one... to my ears, the difference between the NS10's and my 4406's is night and day. That's not to say that perhaps JBL wasn't trying to tap the NS10 user market, but again, to my ears, I can go a LOT longer mixing on the JBL's than I ever could on the Yamaha's - and without that obligatory fatigue that the NS10's always made me feel after a few hours...sometimes even in less time than that.

The JBL's don't require nearly as much power to drive as the NS10's do, and they are much smoother sounding, with a warmer and more defined bass, and silkier highs...

But, like every other project studio in the 80' and '90's, I had the NS10's above the meter bridge, and I did mix more than a few projects on them, although for the most part I used them primarily to check the translation of mixes as a reference. I just needed to watch how much time I spent on them, toilet paper or not. ;)

-d.

I don't think the NS10 was planned like that. Its one of those products that fluke'd out. Trying to designed that would most likely be imposable to do without thinking against the grain.

This may be considered a racist point of view, but,I've heard people say that the Japanese scales differs so much from Western scales that what sounds good to them,in terms of harmonic content,differs from the Western ear.That is why the early PM1000type EQs sound terrible to us.The center frequencies,are based on Japanese scales.Perhaps the NS10M sounds good with traditional japanese instruments,and arangements.:wink:

nooo....facepalm

NS10's were cheapo bookshelf speakers.. designed to be given away free on a promotion .... some genius brought them into a control room and started using them and the rest is history ... that simple.

They were a bookshelf speaker before they were black in color. Yamaha was introducing lots of digital rack gear and gave these away as a dealer incentive. Someone mixed a couple of great records using the 'free' monitors and pretty soon they were on every bridge in the majors.

the guy who maintained all of my gear, Michael Gore (he runs Analog Rules) kept telling me every time he came to the studio, "You gotta get some NS10's". I told him i didn't like how they sounded and he answered "Well that's the whole point. They sound so bad, when you get a mix to sound good on them, it sounds good on everything."

they sound horrid (they really do) .. they also help you make a decent mix. no one knows why. like Chris says, it was fluke of luck. serendipity. no matter how hard Yamaha and others try, they will never duplicate the NS10's success.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soundonsound.com%2Fsos%2Fsep08%2Farticles%2Fyamahans10.htm&ei=aWtzUfrsI8K8igKImoHYCw&usg=AFQjCNFZr6LcEVKpx-V6WrDfHzA-PamVKQ&sig2=Gy0MYYrpeBBeXIicnmkSOQ&bvm=bv.45512109,d.cGE

SOS NS10 story

it's pretty interesting that a company like yamaha who makes such an insanely diverse amount of respected products, can come out renowned, w/ even a 'failure'. amazing.

Audiofreek, post: 403791 wrote: http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soundonsound.com%2Fsos%2Fsep08%2Farticles%2Fyamahans10.htm&ei=aWtzUfrsI8K8igKImoHYCw&usg=AFQjCNFZr6LcEVKpx-V6WrDfHzA-PamVKQ&sig2=Gy0MYYrpeBBeXIicnmkSOQ&bvm=bv.45512109,d.cGE

SOS NS10 story

I read that article too. Interesting. The "free" part in my story was told to me many years back by a person who would know these things and I had read this same scenario in print a few years back confirming the "giveaway" part by Yamaha reps in the late 70's. But now, all vestiges of this have disappeared. I guess its more romantic to think of them as a failing design that suddenly changed the face of an industry they had no business, originally, of being part of. Also in the SOS article, they mention the NS1000M's. These I have heard. One of my old audiofile buds swore by them and probably still does. It appears that the rest of the audiofile industry still does too according to the used prices on these. I mention them because they are designed by the same engineer that did the NS10's.

For those who read this and don't have the experience with these speakers but want to get your feet wet, there are a couple of things to understand. The first release speakers were not designed to lay down on their sides and there are left and right ones in a pair. I don't know how many I have seen for sale that were two 'lefts or two rights being sold as a pair. They are also an infinate baffle. No porting. Explains the the rather constipated sound of the low-end. And the rather shockingly clear reproduction of the mids.

For my money, If you can find a pair of Acoustic Research AR18's, Celestion Model 3's, EV Sentry 100's, JBL Model 5's, or even a Boston Acoustics Classic in real wood, you could attain the same level of creating a traveling mix. Its all about the fast power any ways. An amp that is quick enough and powerful enough to reproduce transients in a clear and complete way.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://rover.ebay.c…"]Yamaha NS 1000mm Slightly Used | eBay[/]="http://rover.ebay.c…"]Yamaha NS 1000mm Slightly Used | eBay[/]

I have a set of Avantone Mixcubes which are the same philosophy as the Yamaha NS10's . Bass deficient very mid sounding speakers that are very accurate . I have been mixing with Mixcubes for at least five years and once you get used to them it is very natural , and as it as been said - when the mix sounds good on the Mixubes it sounds good on all manner of speakers and systems . Ii remember in the 80's and 90's that I would mix a track onto a disc or whatever and immediately head out to my car to see if the vocals were loud enough or if the drums had that balanced sound , etc - the NS10's , Avantones eliminate the need for all of that !

Bass deficient very mid sounding speakers that are very accurate .

how can bass deficient mid heavy speakers, be defined as accurate?

Ii remember in the 80's and 90's that I would mix a track onto a disc or whatever and immediately head out to my car to see if the vocals were loud enough or if the drums had that balanced sound , etc - the NS10's , Avantones eliminate the need for all of that !

to me that just means your comfortable w/ them, no? i'm pretty sure any speaker you get used to delivers the sense of security of how the mix would travel. since there are relatively few single driver systems, i'm not convinced that the mixcubes are really super relevant to todays world.

just my opinion

kmetal, post: 408563 wrote: how can bass deficient mid heavy speakers, be defined as accurate?

to me that just means your comfortable w/ them, no? i'm pretty sure any speaker you get used to delivers the sense of security of how the mix would travel. since there are relatively few single driver systems, i'm not convinced that the mixcubes are really super relevant to todays world.

just my opinion

to the contrary. i agree with this philosophy and practice. i have had mixcubes (actually Auaratones) and NS10's and the approach really works. if you can get stuff to sound good on NS10s chances are 9 out of 10 it will sound good on other speakers as well. it's just one of those serendipitous things.

To be able to mix the low end of the NS10's, you have to know what it's supposed to sound like. Someone once told me the low end is good on the NS10's when you start to hear them fart. Lol. I like the Avantone's for referencing since I'm not sure how I would do with speakers that small, I can't imagine I'd get the low end right.

And yes, this has turned into an NS10 thread so here's what works for me:

KRK Rokit 6-yes, I know they're not the best NOW, didn't know that when I bought them years ago. I learned them really well and now the mixes translate as good as if I was mixing on a pair of NS10s. How do I know this: because I also have a pair of NS10's with a Haffler amp that works just fine, but my speakers pop whenever I turn them on/off...several people tell me that's ok, but it still makes me nervous.

Apogee one-I won't spend money on Apogee products anymore, but I had to start using it because I can't stand the stupid mbox I've always had. The Apogee needs a new cable tho because if you touch it, it'll disconnect it. Yes, apogee sucks. I'm looking at several other upgrade options now, but working in a pro audio shop, there are waaaayyyy too many options to consider. I'm kind of leaning towards a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 as my Chandler Germanium, Distressor, API 512 and OSA 500 series modules are currently not in use (only for my mobile projects for now)

SM Pro MPatch+-that I now have to upgrade to an MPatch 2 soon since I can't use the NS10s til I do so. I LOVE it and always recommend to people looking for a passive monitoring solution. No passive monitor controllers should be THAT expensive

Late 2010 MBP (that I will soon be upgrading the RAM on) as I'm getting DAE errors left and right when I'm not using UAD plugins.

ProTools 10 (I have 11 but still scared to switch, I just can't fathom learning another DAW besides PT and Logic)

UAD Duo Satellite with NFR's of every UAD plugin-Yes, I'm lucky but I have to sell this stuff so I get to try it and no the Duo isn't enough, I want a quad because I'm selfish like that.

Slate VCC/VTM bundle-I love slate...not just because I'm a girl...he makes awesome plugins too.

Other plugins not worth mentioning at the moment (Waves, McDSP, SoundToys)

And the NumPad app for iPhone as I am too lazy/cheap to go buy a number pad and I need to move to my markers.

to the contrary. i agree with this philosophy and practice. i have had mixcubes (actually Auaratones) and NS10's and the approach really works. if you can get stuff to sound good on NS10s chances are 9 out of 10 it will sound good on other speakers as well. it's just one of those serendipitous things.

i don't disagree w/ ns-10's either, they move around well, but that doesn't mean they are accurate.

accuracy and how they translate are two different things. i like the ns-10's, i guess if you wanna split hairs on the term 'accurate' then they are accurate to the response of a regular speaker (ya know cuz they were one)

but there are inarguably speakers out there that have less cancellation and better response to the frequency range, which in the proper room would deliver a more 'precise' definition of its input.

ns-10's are good at just 'cutting the crap', why wouldn't anyone like them? they're just fine.

so i guess, its what people define as accuracy.

accurate - schmackurate. what matters is how it translates. does it sound good when you play it on other systems?
you can get close to accurate but how many other playback systems will be the same? not many i would say. it's most important to make mix's that "travel". in my experience the way to do this is to use mid heavy bass deficient monitors a pair of mix cubes and then something big to check bass. switch between the three sets but stay mostly on the NS 10's (or other speakers of the same ilk).
 
"there's no accurate in the real world!"

i agree sir. just wanted to acknowledge the claims of short selling accuracy. obviously translates well wins. wft good is accuracy is it doesn't move around well?