Recommendation about speakers.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Whozi
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Whozi

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Hi everyone!
This week i'm going to buy a new pair of speakers and I choose the Samson BT4 Mediaone, and I dont know if they are good for a beginner producer. I cant afford expensive ones so I dont know what to do, Im not from EE.UU and in my country the equipment is very expensive.

What do you think about these monitors?
And also, Do I need an audio interface ? Is it really necessary? (im not recording anything external) Maybe there are other affordable options.

Thank You!
 
Don't get the Samsons. Try Yamaha, Adam, Genelec, etc, and an interface is necessary.
 
Why? Are they really bad? or it is for other reasons?

And also, what interface can u recommend me not so expensive and good?

Thank u!
 
I'm no pro nor expert but you have to consider what you will be doing with your choice of monitors: mixing, mastering, listening, etc.

For interfaces consider number of inputs, outputs, USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt, onboard preamps, etc. so do your research as Google and YouTube are your friends.
 
Im not at the point where i can buy different monitors for a different use haha, so what im looking for is for a monitor that could do all these things maybe not in the best way but like i said, im only a beginner producer and im looking to improve my sound quality not to reach a professional level, i know that this Is impossible without a good equipment.

Thank u!
 
Monitors for different uses are not a necessity though many producers and mastering/mixing engineers do so.
 
One set is enough, but always look to upgrade. The Samson BT4 Mediaone may be okay. The reviews are good on it so people seem to be happy, but I do notice they only have a stereo RCA connection (the red white connection). This is also known as unbalanced. A lot of monitors have a balanced connection with XLR and/or a quarter inch. .... but ya, getting a clear sound is the most important. I would say for now, you'd be happy with them but try to upgrade in the future if you get more serious about producing.

With these Samson ones, no you wont need an audio interface. An audio interface is mostly for getting input from your instruments but does also serve as the output to your speakers. These speakers look like they plug in with a normal headphone jack.

I hope that helps. (there's a little more info in the next post)
 
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OGBama says "and an interface is necessary."

It's not.
Monitors (speakers or headphones) can just plug into your headphone jack. Make sure the output in your software DAW is set to your headphone jack. They can go through an audio interface (through the the interface outputs). If you connect them to an audio interface make sure the output in your software DAW is set to the audio interface. lol I hope this helps. The audio interface is not necessary for speakers, but can work with them ya.

OGBama says, "For interfaces consider number of inputs, outputs, USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt, onboard preamps, etc. so do your research as Google and YouTube are your friends."

lol... um, If you're looking for a small single channel audio interface, you can buy one on amazon or other online stores for around $25, but don't buy one just to connect speakers. it's not necessary. The main purpose of an audio interface is for instrument recording. They convert the signal sent from instruments into something a computer can understand (with 1 and 0s).

Here's a cheap one:Behringer U PHORIA UM2 Audiophile 2x2 USB Audio Interface with XENYX Mic Preamplifier | Full Compass
but again, this is not necessary for speakers on their own.

Have fun making the tunes. :)
 
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Epsilon-144 said:
One set is enough, but always look to upgrade. The Samson BT4 Mediaone may be okay. The reviews are good on it so people seem to be happy, but I do notice they only have a stereo RCA connection (the red white connection). This is also known as unbalanced. A lot of monitors have a balanced connection with XLR and/or a quarter inch. .... but ya, getting a clear sound is the most important. I would say for now, you'd be happy with them but try to upgrade in the future if you get more serious about producing.

With these Samson ones, no you wont need an audio interface. An audio interface is mostly for getting input from your instruments but does also serve as the output to your speakers. These speakers look like they plug in with a normal headphone jack.

I hope that helps. (there's a little more info in the next post)
Click to expand...
Ok, thank u a lot.
So the samsons are ok for now?

Why you are saying that I dont need an audio interface? Can i Connect the Samson Monitor using a RCA/Mini Jack Connector and get the same sound quality that I would get with the interface?
 
ya, the speakers are functioning on their own. You could run the signal through an interface to the speakers to clean the sound quaility maybe a bit? I don't know how good/bad the sound coming out of your computer is. heh, i bet that they'll run through your laptop or desktop just fine. They're a start... for a decent price. :)

I'm just going off the reviews, they appear to be around the 4 star range (out of 5).
 
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Epsilon-144 said:
ya, the speakers are functioning on their own. You could run the signal through an interface to the speakers to clean the sound quaility maybe a bit? I don't know how good/bad the sound coming out of your computer is. heh, i bet that they'll run through your laptop or desktop just fine. They're a start... for a decent price. :)

I'm just going off the reviews, they appear to be around the 4 star range (out of 5).
Click to expand...
OK Thank u, im not sure yet but I think I would buy these, do you know if with these cheap monitors I will improve my mix and mastering of my songs? (Im using cheap headphones now) or there are too cheap to notice a real difference?

Also, I have Heard that without and interface the monitors will have a lot of noise, they'll clip and other stuff :( i dont know if this is true...

My laptop is this:
ASUS X556UQ-XO1194T.i5-7200U.12GB.1TB.15.6.NVIDIA.940MX.2GB.Windows.10
 
um, they shouldn't. And the interface might actually create a little noise. Some people say the behinger ones do because they're budget interfaces. You have to understand what an interface is and what it does. Here's a pretty complete article about audio interfaces from dubspot (they do a lot of lessons about production/certified Ableton instruction): Understanding Audio Interfaces: DACs, Bit Depth, Sampling Rate, Analog vs Digital | Dubspot

And check out the recording revolution with graham. He has a lot of good info.

woot woot.
 
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Epsilon-144 said:
um, they shouldn't. And the interface might actually create a little noise. Some people say the behinger ones do because they're budget interfaces. You have to understand what an interface is and what it does. Here's a pretty complete article about audio interfaces from dubspot (they do a lot of lessons about production/certified Ableton instruction): Understanding Audio Interfaces: DACs, Bit Depth, Sampling Rate, Analog vs Digital | Dubspot

And check out the recording revolution with graham. He has a lot of good info.

woot woot.
Click to expand...
Thank u so much, i will read that article as soon as possible!
 
right on. You're welcome.


(in short the audio interface is converting signals from analog to digital so the signal can communicate with a computer. A digital audio workstation like Fl Studio, protools, etc cannot understand an analog signal. The signal has to switch into digital for the computer to understand it. Computers operate in the digital world using binary (with 1s and 0s). An interface switches the analog signal into a digital one. That's the big thing behind an interface...along with other benfits, mic pres, etc. The article will help).



Keep in touch,
 
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Technically there almost always is a small "audio interface" in every computer - otherwise you wouldn't be able to hear any sound from it (because as said, digital 0s and 1s don't sound like...anything without going through a D/A converter). The term "audio interface" is what used to be called "external soundcard", which is a bit more descriptive - basically, usually, a box with different audio connections and those D/A & A/D converters. So this is why you don't necessarily need it in the first place, it just makes things a lot easier as those built-in interface chips tend not to be designed for music-making.

As for the Samson BT4s, dunno. They're definitely low-end, "multimedia" speakers and there are no detailed specs available, so first-hand experience is the only way to tell if they're any good. But chances are that while they probably sound "nice", they're unlikely to be very flat or neutral, which is what you want for mixing - they're built for games and movies, so I'd expect hyped bass and whatnot. At this price range there aren't any really good options, but I'd probably take a look at the Alesis M1 Actives or the Fostex PM0.3Ds - both of those are at least meant for monitoring, instead of being all-purpose.
 
ya, i was thinkin' that they may have more bass added because regular (non producer) people tend to want that for some reason. Most systems are a little bass heavy. But to mix on, it should be neutral without any added boosts. The appearance is definitely more for listening and movie watching, as opposed to mixing and doing work on. The flat/neutral explanation is a good way to put it.
 
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