[paulo6891]

Hi,

I want to invest a decent amount of money in monitors, what I'm looking at at the minute are the KRK vxt8s, Adam a7x and focal solos. However there doesn't seem to be anywhere to try them out!

What do other people here do when ordering them or is it a case of reading reviews and hoping for the best?

Thanks

[seannash]

Personally I think its very hard to try monitors.whatever pair of monitors you get you have to learn them(I'm sure your aware of this so dont take it as me preaching)

Once you've learened them you can do a decent mixdown on an y monitor

[Neurojazz]

Originally Posted by paulo6891

Hi,

I want to invest a decent amount of money in monitors, what I'm looking at at the minute are the KRK vxt8s, Adam a7x and focal solos. However there doesn't seem to be anywhere to try them out!

What do other people here do when ordering them or is it a case of reading reviews and hoping for the best?

Thanks

Plus they will sound different in the location you put them in. All those monitors you've listed are all nice, but some may colour the sound in a slightly different way. If you want 'accuracy' then look into what high end studios use - Yamaha/Genelec etc, and then talk to the seller with your room dimensions as to what's best also - I know some places will take them back if you're not happy also, so it's not totally 'blind'

[paulo6891]

Thanks for the replies. Nowhere in this country seems to stock all the models that I was looking at, so looks like I'll be going down the reviews/crossed-fingers route.

Does anyone here have any recommendations for monitors in the 1-1.5k range? They would have to be close to top class or else there's probably not much point spending that kind of money!

I will be using them mainly for trance music, but I also try to produce some house when I get bored from time to time.

Thanks

[PaulBrewer]

X Music have KRKs -

Read Resolution's reviews for technical reviews based on scientific measurement.

'opinion' reviews are just that, one man's view, of limited worth, especially if the reviewer isn't of experience. Guys like George Shilling , however, do have authority in this area .

Of your list Focal are head and shoulders above all in your price bracket .

[paulo6891]

Thanks for the input! I think that there are 1 or 2 places that do the KRKs but nowhere that does all/most of the aforementioned monitors. Probably useless going to audition them if there's nothing to compare them to.

After thinking about it a bit more, I reckon that the focals aren't for me, mainly because I think I will need 8 inches for dance music. I do want something as accurate as possible though and have heard great things about the focals, but I want to avoid getting a sub.

Do you reckon that spending that kind of money is a waste when it is close to what you would spend on top end monitors like Genelecs or Events? Are they stuck somewhere in no-mans land, between entry monitors and top end monitors, or am I just being a gearslut?

[Neurojazz]

Originally Posted by paulo6891

Thanks for the input! I think that there are 1 or 2 places that do the KRKs but nowhere that does all/most of the aforementioned monitors. Probably useless going to audition them if there's nothing to compare them to.

After thinking about it a bit more, I reckon that the focals aren't for me, mainly because I think I will need 8 inches for dance music. I do want something as accurate as possible though and have heard great things about the focals, but I want to avoid getting a sub.

Do you reckon that spending that kind of money is a waste when it is close to what you would spend on top end monitors like Genelecs or Events? Are they stuck somewhere in no-mans land, between entry monitors and top end monitors, or am I just being a gearslut?

I've had the events - can verify those are f**king loud lol - nice warm sound also - probably the same as Adam. If spending that sort of cash, the separate sub would help a lot - it's all a bit muddy if trying to balance a mix through a single pair - especially for bass orientated music.

[paulo6891]

The reason that I'm trying to get away from a sub is that I'm a bedroom producer, and I am currently 'producing' on a system that includes a sub. The problem is that because of my situation, I can never turn the sub up as loud as I would like to. As a result, my mixes are always way too bass heavy because I try to compensate. Then, in my latest project, I had this in the back of my mind, and ended up having everything too bright.

That is my main reason for wanting to get away from subs. Maybe some reference headphones could help things. Plus maybe I will keep my existing system for ABing.

[Neurojazz]

Originally Posted by paulo6891

The reason that I'm trying to get away from a sub is that I'm a bedroom producer, and I am currently 'producing' on a system that includes a sub. The problem is that because of my situation, I can never turn the sub up as loud as I would like to. As a result, my mixes are always way too bass heavy because I try to compensate. Then, in my latest project, I had this in the back of my mind, and ended up having everything too bright.

That is my main reason for wanting to get away from subs. Maybe some reference headphones could help things. Plus maybe I will keep my existing system for ABing.

I had real problems with the bigger speakers in a small bedroom / home studio - I think they are designed for much larger rooms - maybe investing in some nice genelecs and some sound proofing will give you a better overall experience - don't get me wrong, but the Events were way to loud for bedroom production - I'd chat to people over in the main MP forum and give them the dimensions for your room and get a solution that you'll be very happy with.

A way to see it is that you'll have a shedload of bass waves rushing around your room messing with the sound and you'll never find a sweet spot that will give you an accurate representation.

On the other hand if you just want to send your mates deaf while you jump around like loonies, then get some Cerwin vegas

[PaulBrewer]

Musicmaker have Focals

[krd]

Originally Posted by paulo6891

The problem is that because of my situation, I can never turn the sub up as loud as I would like to. As a result, my mixes are always way too bass heavy because I try to compensate.

Have you tried turning your speakers down really low when you're working on your mixes?

At different levels, the speakers can reveal different things. Even crap speakers. At a lower level, sometimes it's easier to hear these things.

[shayleon]

you can take a mix that you know well and take it to a few studios that have the monitors you are curious about. you are welcome for a free visit here to check my Adams.

[paulo6891]

Thanks to everyone for your opinions!

Interesting point about mixing at a lower level, it's not something that I have tried before! Putting the volume up always makes a mix sound better in my experience.

I think I'm going to need to spend some money/time on room treatment as I'm just getting some terrible mixes done and it's disheartening. I may try to do some kind of movable mounts where I can take down some of the foam when I'm using the room as a bedroom or when I'm just composing etc. With the amount of time that I spend mixing, there's no need for anythink permanent.... I think.

Shayleon, which monitors are they that you have? Thanks for the offer!

Thanks for letting me know about the Focals Paul, I didn't realise they did them. I'll pop in when I'm in town next. It's a nice shop and I've bought plenty of equipment from them before (guitar/amp/pedals)

Neurojazz, thanks for the input again. As a dance producer, which of the Genelecs would you recommend yourself? In an ideal world, the 8050s would be mine, but I think they are probably too expensive, I'm not good enough to be spending that money yet. Ditto with the opals, would be wasted in my room. It would be even harder to justify that kind of expense when you see the likes of Sean Tyas (trance producer/DJ) and Avicii (amongst others I'm sure) doing their productions on VXT8s.

Thanks

[splitrmx]

I've got a pair of the Genelec 8040s and I really like them.

[DaDumTish]

focal

you will get away without the sub with them

take about a month to break em in though .