Any point to decent monitors *WITHOUT* room improvements?

[SirkusPi]

I've reviewed the many threads on studio monitors. I've seen everyone advise and urge, over and over, that a very significant, and perhaps the most significant, component of preparing a mixing space is room treatment (acoustic panels, bass traps, etc).

I fully accept and truly believe all of that advice. However, for reasons I won't go into here but I ask you to accept for purposes of this question, I will not be adding any paneling, traps, etc. to my home office / music space. At all, in any way, shape or form. Please don't say "But if you just do this minor thing . . ." or "If you would just hang some blankets . . ." or "There are portable and foldable panels . . ." It won't be happening. Period. I wish it would, but it won't. I realize this marks me as a not terribly serious amateur. I accept that description (for purposes of this question).

That being said, my question is whether there is there any point in getting halfway decent monitors to help with my mixing? (When I say "decent," I'm talking about about something in the $300-$400/pair range, so definitely not high end by any stretch.) Right now I do my mixing on a high-end set of headphones. As a result, and entirely unsurprisingly, my mixes always end up sounding much better on any (even cheap) headphones than they do when I get the chance to try them through any speakers.

So given, again, that I won't be doing any paneling, etc., and that my budget is relatively limited, is there any value in getting some low-end / decent monitors? Or, given my inability to treat my room, should I just accept that headphones are the best mixing option for me at this time (which is totally fine, but I'd just like to know)?

Thanks!

[budweiser]

Yes. But keep the room out of your mix by listening at (very) moderate levels. that said, you can achieve room treatment in an inexpensive way : old mattress, hanging..

[djanthonyw]

If you can't do room correction, maybe get something like the JBL MSC1.

[filkertom]

Yes. Don't obsess on room noise. Make things as quiet as you can, and get speakers that actually let you hear what things sound like, and that really will be good enough.

On the other hand, don't forget the Truck Test, i.e., listen to your final mix in the cab of a pick-up, someone else's car, tinny little earbuds... as many environments as possible to hear how it sounds in all of them. More than anything, that will give you a decent sense of how much "noise" and balance you have in a mix.

[schnapsglas]

Yes. Monitors do help regardless. I understand, there are people who just can't in their living environments cannot do treatments. Get cheap 2.1 speakers and a decent monitor with some room correction capabilities (really, Behringer with 200hz shelf should suffice here.) If you are close enough, you can still hear things you won't catch. And with the 2.1 computer monitor setup, you will catch even more. In these situations, it's usually not the quality of the monitors, but how many you have. I would trust a single Auratone as much as an Yamaha HS80.

Other than that, get a good headphone and a VRM box or something similar that will help you a lot. I do not recommend mixing on headphones alone no matter how bad the listening environment is, unless you have so much experience to compensate for it.

[SirkusPi]

Thanks for the insights, everyone. Sounds like it's worthwhile to go for a set of lower-end monitors; I know it won't be optimal, and I understand the philosophy of doing the job right (or, in this case, purchasing an optimal setup) the first time, but sometimes smaller steps makes sense, as long as they're in the right direction.

[ClubHo]

If you can't treat your room, then don't worry about it.
Get the best sounding monitors you can afford.
Making music over nice speakers is a hell of a lot more fun than headphones.

Even before I treated my room I enjoyed my speakers.

Dynaudio speakers have very high detail at their price level.

I currently have the Dynaudio BM6amkii with a BM9 sub. A world of difference in clarity especially when high pass is set to 60hz on the sub woofer.

Without a sub I would probably go with BM12As (sound would be a little fuller).

-Club Ho

[kritikon]

Same here - it's still worth getting decent speakers even if you do nothing to your room. And as already said, monitor at low levels. Nearfields are specifically to reduce room issues - they're designed for close, low level monitoring. That's why they don't make any pretense at getting real low end bass. The louder you play whilst mixing, the more issues you have. It's one of the biggest errors almost all newbs make. I used to do it myself - play at silly levels. It's self gratifying but it in no way helps with mixing. And most decent nearfields will play well enough down to 60Hz or even lower, which actually makes most amateurs' obsession with bass redundant for the sort of mixes they can manage.

Yeah for sure room treatments help greatly, but unless you're really serious about the music, I also don't think it's a road the majority need to go down. Same with subs. Ultimately most of us do it for pleasure, not as a job, and twatting around with a bedroom is a step too far. If you're actually serious about releasing and selling your music, and mixing/mastering yourself, then you're an idiot if you don't consider room treatments. If however, like me, you're doing it only for yourself, then no real need to bother with it. Which doesn't preclude buying decent gear and at least going the easy route to improving your mixes...

[JJBiener]

I agree with much of what has been said here. I just want to add a bit of my own speakers. For reasons now lost to posterity, I once had to set up my studio with my monitors backed up to open space. My bass response disappeared entirely. Once I was able to rearrange studio, I put my monitors 2-3 from a wall. Magically, the bass response returned. So, no matter what you buy or what else you do to the room, make sure you have a wall not too far behind them.