Budget Studio Monitors

caesura

Hey folks,

Thinking i might start chipping a little cash by to purchase a pair of monitors. They'd need to be the cheapest i could get without wasting money and i was thinking of the following:

M-AUDIO AV40 STUDIOPHILE http://www.thomann.de/ie/maudio_av40_studiophile.htm

Or should i just wait until i can afford the cheapest KRK Rokit which seem to be the monitors of the moment...i think the cheapest Rokits would be the RP5: http://www.thomann.de/ie/krk_rp5_rokit_g2_bundle.htm

Saying all that i have to be honest i had meant to buy a pair of decent headphones as i'm currently using normal - listening to your favourite CD through headphones bought in D.I.D or Peats -type headphones (Philips) so...i don't know...would i be better off waiting until i can get a decent set of (aye budget!!) cans first? Maybe something in the AKG range?

It's mainly for mixing that i intend to use.

Thanks
C ;-)

MilanPan!c

caesura wrote: »

Hey folks,

Thinking i might start chipping a little cash by to purchase a pair of monitors. They'd need to be the cheapest i could get without wasting money and i was thinking of the following:

M-AUDIO AV40 STUDIOPHILE http://www.thomann.de/ie/maudio_av40_studiophile.htm

Or should i just wait until i can afford the cheapest KRK Rokit which seem to be the monitors of the moment...i think the cheapest Rokits would be the RP5: http://www.thomann.de/ie/krk_rp5_rokit_g2_bundle.htm

Saying all that i have to be honest i had meant to buy a pair of decent headphones as i'm currently using normal - listening to your favourite CD through headphones bought in D.I.D or Peats -type headphones (Philips) so...i don't know...would i be better off waiting until i can get a decent set of (aye budget!!) cans first? Maybe something in the AKG range?

It's mainly for mixing that i intend to use.

Thanks
C ;-)

IMO - I could never recommend mixing in headphones and the KRKs (even the 5s) are pretty damn sweet (for the $$$)

PMI

MilanPan!c wrote: »

IMO - I could never recommend mixing in headphones and the KRKs (even the 5s) are pretty damn sweet for the $$$)

I 100% would mix on headphones rather than a set of monitors in an untreated room

If you can wait try and get at least the KRK vxt's they are alot better....

even vxt4's would prob do the job alot better than the rokits etc.. a few guys on SOS rave about them...

i57dwun4yb1pt8

as PMI said -
dont even THINK about getting monitors unless you are going to treat the room with bass traps / relfection traps and maybe some diffusion

you are p1ssing against the wind - better off with good phones.

but bass traps at minimum- and large ones at that.

Sandvich

Hi; I'm looking for the same. However I'm essentially just looking for a pair of good speakers rather than something for hi-fi production - I don't feel comfortable wearing headphones listening to music at home.

I was told there were basically no monitors below €100 but there seems to be a load on thomann. What ones are best to get, and where's the best place to order them from?

The subwoofer in my current cheapo logitech speakers have finally conked out.

MilanPan!c

Meh...

I think the weird mixes that come out if phones are pretty awful and that decent work can be done with cheapish monitors if you KNOW how your room ****s with the sound.

Not pro work, but good work.

It's just a bit harder.

But man, headphone mixes are pretty poop.

Just my opinion. Obviously.

There's no way I'd EQ in cans, that's fer sure.

madtheory

Yes, headphones are the way to go. As has been mentioned, you can't just put speakers in a room without treatment.

Sennheiser HD25 II Pro are excellent. Top class headphones at a very very reasonable price. Better than Beyerdynamic DT-150 or AKG K-271 in my experience. Here's a review of loads of cans, from SOS mag:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan10/articles/studioheadphones.htm

Mixing on headphones is an art though. Read more here:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan07/articles/mixingheadphones.htm

Best thing is to audition a few different brands yourself, bearing in mind that the little HD25 is becoming something of a standard. They hit the balance of reliability, price point and sound quality very well. Sennheiser have an Irish factory too

BTW small ported speakers are pants (IMHO any ported speaker is pants). It's the transient response...

seannash

DaDumTish wrote: »

as PMI said -
dont even THINK about getting monitors unless you are going to treat the room with bass traps / relfection traps and maybe some diffusion

you are p1ssing against the wind - better off with good phones.

but bass traps at minimum- and large ones at that.

whilst i do agree to a point i think its wrong to say youll be pissing against the wind without a treated room.


ive never had a treated room.that being said my tracks could be better and maybe a bit of room treatment would help but to say im pissing against the wind would be wrong.

also Jtsuited was working in an untreated room(he still might be) and his stuff is fantastic sounding,id even go as far to say that people in perfectly treated rooms would be hard pressed to better the overall sound his has from his tracks.

oh on the budget monitor front get yamaha hs50m's

Sandvich

I'm unlikely to ever have a treated room and to be honest; while I produce music I'm not that interested in hi-fi production, my crappy sinusitis/eustachian tube dysfunction ravaged ears would most likely not notice the difference as much or interpret it the way they should.

I don't think I ever have my speakers turned up loud enough for the LF reflection problem to be that much of an issue. Standing wave might be more of an issue given my tiny apartment.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

fair enough

i learned the hard way

i guess you want to as well

caesura

Thanks for the info guys!

Right so here's the thing...i'm living a fairly nomadic existence at the moment (moving from place to place every few months), so can i assume that given the fact that i really won't be able to treat a room for at least another year i possibly shouldn't consider the monitors option. In other words i need to look at suitable budget headphone options?

I think that's the general consensus.

I'm also getting the sense from this thread that when i can get myself a pair of monitors (which my aching ears will be very grateful for :P) some form of KRK's would be the best entry level options.

So if i do go the headphone route would the Sennheiser HD25 II Pro be the way to go?

seannash

DaDumTish wrote: »

fair enough

i learned the hard way

i guess you want to as well

no not really.i accept that a treated room will help but all hope isnt lost because of less than ideal listening enviroments.

now i dont think too highly of my tracks but i do know that they sound better than some people who have treated rooms.

like i said to proclaim your pissing against the wind is wrong when i can name alot of producers who have untreated rooms and are getting well above average results.

monitors will help him even in an untreated room.

also in response to the original question:

**** krk there ****
get the yamahas.best budget monitors available

madtheory

Mixing in an untreated room is definitely not impossible, but "pissing against the wind" is a good analogy I think- it will take you a lot longer to carry out a fairly simple task! Room treatment makes the task of mixing a lot easier. Without it, you're using a large amount of mental energy compensating for acoustic issues. It's tiring.

Furthermore, with room treatment you are less likely to end up with the odd mix that doesn't translate, and will require more time in mastering. So it will save you time, and therefore money. Or give you more quality time with the wife

Question- why are KRK's so often cited as a good budget monitor? Is it their marketting or what? It's a brand that I have completely missed, for some reason.

MilanPan!c

madtheory wrote: »

Question- why are KRK's so often cited as a good budget monitor? Is it their marketting or what? It's a brand that I have completely missed, for some reason.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug04/articles/krkrokit.htm

they're good, that's why

Chloroplast

If your serious about your music you should make a higher budget.

from what i can see these M-AUDIO AV40 STUDIOPHILE are cheap. if they are so good then why so cheap ? aswell the link to the review above is from 6 years ago. there are many good monitors out there. try and go by your room and your needs, rather than your budget.

i bought a pair of Adam A7 , and i use them in a bedroom at home,untreated room, i also have a pair of headphones, i go between the 2 of them frequently.just because my room isnt treated that doesn't mean i wasted my money, not at all. so save up some more and get a good set.

madtheory

caesura wrote: »

some form of KRK's would be the best entry level options.

I think ported (a.k.a. reflex) speakers are never good, but there's nothing for under EUR1000 isn't ported.

And yes, the Sennheiser's are probably the best, but read those articles and do your own listening tests.

Dravokivich

I've a set of these in my Room.

http://www.thomann.de/ie/edirol_ma7a.htm

Not too bad.. don't bother using the treble / bass EQ's on them. Needed something cheap and not too loud... they're louder then I expected'em to be though :P

If you need something to hear through without earphones on, I'd say they'd be fine enough.

If you're mixing in your bedroom, I don't don't really see the point in using a Subwoofer. But you can connect 1 up to these if it's a route you want to take.

Got mine through X-Music, don't seem to have it on their site any more though.

PaulBrewer

Sandvich wrote: »

I was told there were basically no monitors below €100

Aren't you missing an '0' at the end there ?