Hi - so I just purchased studio monitors, which are being controlled by an outboard audio interface. As there are no EQ settings, what sort of device do I require in order to adjust the low/mid/high frequencies quickly, as desired? I'm well aware that monitors are intended to represent a flat. clean signal output, but these are also my music-listening speakers, and for practical day to day use, I need to make quick adjustments to suit what I'm listening to (for example when I listen late at night, I often need to wind the bass back so as to maintain some volume, but not rattle the apartment block I live in at 3am in the morning!)
Looking at pre-amps - do I need one of these ? I was of the mind that a small output device into my monitor amplifiers could be unwise. All I really want is quick control of the frequencies, as with a Hi-Fi amplifier.
Not keen on a graphic EQ, and would prefer a rack-mounted device for future studio expansion plans.
Do I need a Pre-Amp?
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 327 posts since 24 Jul, 2013
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- KVRAF
- 3080 posts since 17 Apr, 2005 from S.E. TN
Congrats on your new monitors!
Do you have a mixer? At least a small mixer would seem maddening to do without for doing electronic music, and depending on how you wire it up with your other stuff, and the mixer features, it ought to easily control the volume and tone of the monitors along with numerous other potential benefits. A mixer would be a "swiss army knife multi channel preamp".
The more modest mixers can be very inexpensive nowadays.
Do you always play music into the monitors from the computer now? What kinds of inputs and outputs do you use for making music? Keyboards, guitars, microphones? Such details would be useful to assist in determining the feature set a mixer should have in order to be beneficial.
Do you have a mixer? At least a small mixer would seem maddening to do without for doing electronic music, and depending on how you wire it up with your other stuff, and the mixer features, it ought to easily control the volume and tone of the monitors along with numerous other potential benefits. A mixer would be a "swiss army knife multi channel preamp".
The more modest mixers can be very inexpensive nowadays.
Do you always play music into the monitors from the computer now? What kinds of inputs and outputs do you use for making music? Keyboards, guitars, microphones? Such details would be useful to assist in determining the feature set a mixer should have in order to be beneficial.
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 327 posts since 24 Jul, 2013
Hey JCJR - I always appreciate a response from you, as I feel that the more basic questions are often overlooked by many members.
A small console is a way down on the list of gear I need/want, and when that time comes, I won't be going for the absolute budget end of the range. I'm also more of a composer than a mixer, so for the basic stuff I am happy for now to map virtual mier controls to my MIDI controller. Further to that, I'll soon be buying another controller that provides seamless integration wil my DAW, which offers more flexibility for mixing.
Perhaps this question would be better served if we ignore the fact that I'm a musician, and consider that I'll be listening to the thousands of CD's in my collection that have long been ignored. In fact, let's say that I wish to have a CD player connected to the monitors, and my computer does not exist (although in reality, my audio interface is controlling the volume, and the CD player will be on one of the input devices - computer will only be on to power the interface, nothing more).
I'm just not aware of the dangers in a pre-amp being fed into the monitor's amp(s)... now I'm thinking though... a console is a preamp anyway, right?
The other aspect is, I want a simple bass & treble style of control over music listening so others who are not familiar with studio equipment can easily use, in a similar manner to a HiFi amp control. I certainly DON'T want people touching too much gear without knowing what they are doing.
A small console is a way down on the list of gear I need/want, and when that time comes, I won't be going for the absolute budget end of the range. I'm also more of a composer than a mixer, so for the basic stuff I am happy for now to map virtual mier controls to my MIDI controller. Further to that, I'll soon be buying another controller that provides seamless integration wil my DAW, which offers more flexibility for mixing.
Perhaps this question would be better served if we ignore the fact that I'm a musician, and consider that I'll be listening to the thousands of CD's in my collection that have long been ignored. In fact, let's say that I wish to have a CD player connected to the monitors, and my computer does not exist (although in reality, my audio interface is controlling the volume, and the CD player will be on one of the input devices - computer will only be on to power the interface, nothing more).
I'm just not aware of the dangers in a pre-amp being fed into the monitor's amp(s)... now I'm thinking though... a console is a preamp anyway, right?
The other aspect is, I want a simple bass & treble style of control over music listening so others who are not familiar with studio equipment can easily use, in a similar manner to a HiFi amp control. I certainly DON'T want people touching too much gear without knowing what they are doing.
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- KVRAF
- 5139 posts since 27 Jun, 2004
What you want is very problematic because usually, unless you're willing to pay a lot of money, you won't get a high quality parametric or semi-parametric equalizer rack unit (nor preamp or channel strip unit with integrated equalizer). What you get for "cheap" is a processor that's not "transparent", even when the bands are set to 0, and quite noisy.
Probably the cheapest rack unit you can get which doesn't degrade the sound quality at all is Aphex 109 (excellent flexible design), but it's only in the used market. Klark Teknik DN410 is also great and has more bands but you don't really need that.
TL Audio 5013 for example, is probably the cheapest so-called "studio-quality" 2-channel parametric EQ that's still sold new, but it costs twice or more than twice than those units (~$1000) and sounds terrible in comparison, with significant degradation of the signal and too much noise.
Probably the cheapest rack unit you can get which doesn't degrade the sound quality at all is Aphex 109 (excellent flexible design), but it's only in the used market. Klark Teknik DN410 is also great and has more bands but you don't really need that.
TL Audio 5013 for example, is probably the cheapest so-called "studio-quality" 2-channel parametric EQ that's still sold new, but it costs twice or more than twice than those units (~$1000) and sounds terrible in comparison, with significant degradation of the signal and too much noise.
"Music is spiritual. The music business is not." - Claudio Monteverdi
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- Rad Grandad
- 38044 posts since 6 Sep, 2003 from Downeast Maine
if you use your monitors for listening to music as well as mixing what do you use to play the music on? Seems to me a rackmount parametric eq could be overkill and perhaps not the wisest investment, does whatever device you play your music on have an eq? I dont think I would want anything between my soundcard output and my monitors, it could introduce unwanted noise and while you wont be using it when you're working on your own tunes if you are like me you might forget it's on giving yourself headaches.
I think you might be looking at this from the wrong angle.
I think you might be looking at this from the wrong angle.
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.
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- KVRian
- 1222 posts since 2 Dec, 2008 from Finland
Behringer Ultracurve DEQ2496. A whole lot more than just an equalizer, yet also an equalizer (with several modes). It's a workhorse. Digital = recallable patches. Just don't turn it on to bypass it.
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/DEQ2496.aspx
english manual: http://www.behringer.com/assets/DEQ2496_P0146_M_EN.pdf
Thomann's price: 269€ (~360 US dollars). http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_deq2 ... ve_pro.htm
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/DEQ2496.aspx
english manual: http://www.behringer.com/assets/DEQ2496_P0146_M_EN.pdf
Thomann's price: 269€ (~360 US dollars). http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_deq2 ... ve_pro.htm
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- Rad Grandad
- 38044 posts since 6 Sep, 2003 from Downeast Maine
^^^IMHO that is too much money for this one issue, in fact one could buy a nice pair of bookshelf speakers that are not flat and a switch box for that price. That's my whole point, I think there might be a better and cheaper fix in the box and a solution that does not affect the OP's DAW. 
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.
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- KVRian
- 1222 posts since 2 Dec, 2008 from Finland
^
OP: "Not keen on a graphic EQ, and would prefer a rack-mounted device for future studio expansion plans."
Depending on those plans, that device might come well in handy. Yea it's expensive just for an EQ, but it has other functions too, such as metering, AD<->DA conversion, limiting and separate record output - and even then some more. Just throwing it out there as an option to consider. I'm glad I invested in it it years ago when I bought it -- it also serves as my listening equalizer.
And yea, it's not bad idea either to use the equalizer in whatever software it is that is used for playing back the music. Simple, zero-cost.
OP: "Not keen on a graphic EQ, and would prefer a rack-mounted device for future studio expansion plans."
Depending on those plans, that device might come well in handy. Yea it's expensive just for an EQ, but it has other functions too, such as metering, AD<->DA conversion, limiting and separate record output - and even then some more. Just throwing it out there as an option to consider. I'm glad I invested in it it years ago when I bought it -- it also serves as my listening equalizer.
And yea, it's not bad idea either to use the equalizer in whatever software it is that is used for playing back the music. Simple, zero-cost.
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- KVRAF
- 15252 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
IMHO, all you need is a volume knob. I never touch bass / treble controls, EVER. Yeah, what you describe is what a Loudness knob on a hifi amp does. But do you really need it?? Flat speakers are flat speakers, it sounds as it sounds. Just my 2 cents...
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. 
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