Best monitors for 300-400?

CubaseRox said:


I seen everyone saying "8's" I was assuming they were talking about the 824's. Unless there is another set of 8's that I dont know about. I know there is the 6's too.
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the 8's are the 824's and the 6's could be either the 624's or the 626's (6" --> thus 6's) but usually people talk about the 624's.. (when referring to mackie) :)

I've heard good things about the Tapco monitors (yes, they're manufactured by Mackie as stated before in this thread)


@ BThrowd:

my best advice would still be: if possible go to guitar center or another store where you can listen to each set of speakers.. take a cd with some of your beats, as well as a commercially available cd with you so you can actually listen to your songs and compare to already mastered songs etc etc..

but remember, that you don't want them to sound good, you want them to sound flat...

cheers
 
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The Mackie 8s are in fact not particularly flat. You see them a lot in HipHop/Rap studios, but not in serious mastering/mixing facilities, because of the hyped low response.

In the up to $400 range you might be able to snag a pair of M-Audio BX8. I'm happy with my pair.
 
So many choices. Im just gonna have to spend alot of time listening to em i guess. Thanks for yalls help i have a good idea which ones i need to be considering now.
 
Giganova said:
The Mackie 8s are in fact not particularly flat. You see them a lot in HipHop/Rap studios, but not in serious mastering/mixing facilities, because of the hyped low response.
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i don't know what to call this frequency response except for "flat":

HRfreqresp.gif

(mackies 824)

serious mastering facilities (at least those i've seen) use monitors faaaar more expensive than the mackies.. ;)

i.e. the ADAM mastering monitors (11k$ a piece) or dynaudio confidence c4 (16k$ a pair) or even the dynaudio evidence master (astonishing 85k us $ a piece!)
 
Thats good baggy,

I never even saw the graph to those monitors and when I heard them they were flat.

I guess my ears are still working.
 
Originally posted by baggysound
HRfreqresp.gif

(mackies 824)
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is there anywhere where they have graphs like this for other monitors? this is good info
 
Yeah goto the manufacuters website, he probably grabbed that off the Mackie site.

I was about to goto alesis to find one for my monitors.
 
post your graph for the alesis if you get it. Im gonna look for a few graphs and post em for anyone else reading
 
that graph's off the mackie website.. i didn't see it for the 624's though or any other brand yet (well i didn't search for it either ;))
 
this is a nice monitor info thread, im in need of some monitors and looking to spend between 3 and 4 bills too.

In another note, baggysound i checked your audios , and i see that u rap in german huh? well it so happens that i rap in spanish, (Spain) and i would like to collab with chu for a lil german spanish rap collabo, im always up to new things like this, what do u say?
 
Young City said:
this is a nice monitor info thread, im in need of some monitors and looking to spend between 3 and 4 bills too.

In another note, baggysound i checked your audios , and i see that u rap in german huh? well it so happens that i rap in spanish, (Spain) and i would like to collab with chu for a lil german spanish rap collabo, im always up to new things like this, what do u say?
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hey young city.. well it's actually not me rapping, it's my best friend (i do the beats) and i'd have to talk to him first, but i can't imagine him saying no to a good collabo..

do you have some tracks we could check out?

i'll talk to him and i'ma hit you up with a pm afterwards, alright?

:cheers: ;)
 
personally, i swear by event monitors. i looked at a bunch before i bought my first Ps6 monitors and they sounded the best. very nice...its been a while but i recently bought the 20/20 versions 2 to supplment mixing with heavier sounding stuff since my 6" woofers on the PS6 get taxed quite a bit when the stuff starts getting louder and bassier.

overall, very happy with events Project Studio and 20/20 series.
 
Notice that Event monitors often tend to be flawed. This includes 20/20 and TR series.

Studiophiles have too much bass, which is also muddy. People say that KRK RPx are worth of their cost. Concerning Alesis... too much of different opinions on them. But never heard of something critical.

Remember that good monitors cannot cost $300-400. Any model will have enough flaws, it's just up to your ears to choose whatever flaws you can uphold easier.

A decent advice I hear everywhere - don't waste your 3-4 bills on that sh*t. Just accumulate another 3-4, and you will be able to buy a really decent pair. For example, Dynaudio BM5 or BM6P with at least Alesis RA-100 amplifier. RA-100 is crappy indeed, but good amplifiers like Bryston cost thousands. That's 700-800, but it eliminates anything same priced. Even with RA-100 Dynaudios will SOUND.
 
Its true that good monitors dont cost 300 - 400 but who can afford $10,000 dollar monitors.

I think you can do a pretty good job with only a set of $300 dollar monitors.
 
Don't forget a decent soundcard and years of mixing experience. Still, I am not telling you about $10000 ones. Most of the electronic scene producers I know around work on decent nearfields: Genelec 1030A (Zirrex), KRK V88 (Sensorica), Dynaudio BM15A (ex-PPK), KRK V8 (Aquangel). These systems are in $1000-2000 zone.

But if we talk about cheap monitor speakers... I talked to some of the above-mentioned producers about it. No one of them recommends $300-400 systems. Sensorica had to recommend Studiophile in the past, but when he really heard them, he changed his mind and adviced me to accumulate some more money and to buy at least KRK V6. PPK said: BM5/BM6P + RA100.

It is true that you can squeeze the right sound out of $300 monitor system. Yet you need tons of experience to achieve that. There are some bands (Cosmic Tone, for instance) that run Alesis M1 or something similar, but in general their sound appear to be kinda worse.

Still, I do not thrust my opinion to anyone. Have fun.
 
Geryon said:
Don't forget a decent soundcard and years of mixing experience.
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I stress that issue always, a good soundcard is essential to accuratly translate the sound to your monitors. There should be NO color added throughout the whole signal chain.

Still, I am not telling you about $10000 ones. Most of the electronic scene producers I know around work on decent nearfields: Genelec 1030A (Zirrex), KRK V88 (Sensorica), Dynaudio BM15A (ex-PPK), KRK V8 (Aquangel). These systems are in $1000-2000 zone.
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Technically those are still entry level monitors if you compare them to the $10,000 units.

But if we talk about cheap monitor speakers... I talked to some of the above-mentioned producers about it. No one of them recommends $300-400 systems.
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See I disagree here simply because the Yamaha NS-10's have to be one of the worst moniotrs ever sold. But yet many pro-level studios house them and track and mix on them as well. So getting $1000 monitors may not be as imperative as you think. The $300's will do just fine.

It is true that you can squeeze the right sound out of $300 monitor system. Yet you need tons of experience to achieve that.
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Experience is the key word here, So for an amateur to have expensive monitors is useless if he lacks the ability to mix let alone use an EQ or compressor etc.
 
CubaseRox said:

Technically those are still entry level monitors if you compare them to the $10,000 units.
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Well, let's not mix the gear for mastering studios and for home/project ones. These people I am telling you about mostly work at home, still obtaining great results.


See I disagree here simply because the Yamaha NS-10's have to be one of the worst moniotrs ever sold. But yet many pro-level studios house them and track and mix on them as well. So getting $1000 monitors may not be as imperative as you think. The $300's will do just fine.
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The NS-10M aren't that bad you think of them, especially when utilizing them along with a good amplifier, like Bryston or Crown. NS-10M + Bryston and NS-10M + RA100 - these are quite different systems. Whatever studio you pick up, their setup will be like NS-10M + Bryston/Crown as nearfields. And somewhat else as midfield/mains. For example, the studio I sometimes collaborate with (one of Russia's best, as far as I know) uses Genelec 1032A + NS-10M in large room and Genelec 1030A in small room. See? No $10K monitors. Still they produce excellent sound.

But enough of this. We were talking about home studios...


Experience is the key word here, So for an amateur to have expensive monitors is useless if he lacks the ability to mix let alone use an EQ or compressor etc.
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Useless? The better monitors an amateur is possessing, the faster he/she will learn, I assure you.
 
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