Studio monitors for small bedroom for EDM

[andymcbain]

Though regardless of monitors I end up getting, I think I might get a pair of Sennheiser HD600 headphones as a belt and braces approach.

This is a good plan - check out Sonarworks as well, the two pair very well together.

There's a well regarded EDM mastering engineer around these parts that uses the HD600 / Sonarworks combo alongside his speaker setup.

[Obsolete317542]

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[andymcbain]

Please delete this too!

[andymcbain]

Please delete!

[Kaine]

I notice you are from Manchester, and I assume you work in a music shop. I've actually been up for a job interview in Lancaster and so I may end up not far from your store. How cool it would be to purchase hardware stuff from a fellow KVRAF!

Hey, aye, see my sig at the bottom of the message for the store details. Yes, I'm in Manchester myself although the store is located on the Lancaster side of Bolton. I'm sure I'm not the only store worker in here, probably just the most vocal!

You're right though, maybe 40 miles from Lancaster, did the interview go well?

I'm not sure, but the Yamahas are monitors I'd personally stay away from. Why? Because stuff made by Yamaha is, in my opinion, exaggerating the highs. I have discussed this matter with the programme director of one of UK's sound design university research groups, and he agrees with me (he also added that the same philosophy is evident in their grand pianos, with their extremely "shiny" sound).

I must say that on a personal level, I've always found them a bit toppy too. If you check the freq response charts, the roll-off quite steeply just above 40htz and personally I like those extra few notes below to be a bit more prominent.

It's the normal trade-off on two-way speakers, you either get the extension or the increased mid-range accuracy, the is only so much you can do with two cones. I've always considered the Yam's to be great for acoustic work, indie rock, radio mixes those sorts of users, it's only really the more bass hungry of us that tend to have concerns with them.

Of course, they may still be right for you, but just make sure you don't find them harsh and also lacking in the bass region.

Yeah, that ^

For me, it came down to the Mackie HR-824 and similar-sounding monitors from Behringer (B2030 or B2031 if memory serves me right). I ended up with the inexpensive Behringers and was really happy with them. (They would be much too large for you though.)

The funny thing is, the Neumanns KH120's for a while were the most recommended monitors we had, everyone who bought a pair loved them and a decade later they still shape up well for most uses.

I've got 3 customers and 2 staff who still have the Mackie 824 mk1's and have at some point bought the K&H, only to bring them back and say that they were so sonically close to the original Mackie eq profile that they could barely tell the difference and couldn't justify the upgrade!

Still a lot of love out there for those old school Mackies it seems.

[SparkySpark]

You're right though, maybe 40 miles from Lancaster, did the interview go well?

Well, I don't know, but if not, there are some other places in the UK where I am thinking of settling down. It seems like a beautiful part of the UK (okay, all of the Great Britain island is beautiful).

Still a lot of love out there for those old school Mackies it seems.

Yes, I just find them so musical - a joy to work with, very inspiring (and in my view truthful). That's why I mentioned this approach:

1. using monitors to mix with during the creative process
2. using headphones for critical listening (for sibilants in vocal recordings etc)
3. using monitors for tonal balancing (and more) during mastering

I'm sure there are many ways to do this though, I'm merely suggesting one of several possibilities.

[SparkySpark]

What brings you to our sleepy little city?

Oh - it won't be sleepy anymore if I go there!

Seriously though, I'm applying for a position at the university.

[1DMF]

Though regardless of monitors I end up getting, I think I might get a pair of Sennheiser HD600 headphones as a belt and braces approach.

Try them out first, and compare them to Beyerdynamic DT-770 pro 80 ohm if you can. You might be surprised.

Is this model you suggest specific, or would Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro 250 ohm be better?

[SparkySpark]

Though regardless of monitors I end up getting, I think I might get a pair of Sennheiser HD600 headphones as a belt and braces approach.

Try them out first, and compare them to Beyerdynamic DT-770 pro 80 ohm if you can. You might be surprised.

Is this model you suggest specific, or would Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro 250 ohm be better?

Hi again,

We were just discussing headphones in another thread (viewtopic.php?f=102&t=530353).

I also uploaded some "inverted" freq response charts there (actually screenshots from MorphIt), with some of these headphones included.

[andymcbain]

What brings you to our sleepy little city?

Oh - it won't be sleepy anymore if I go there!

Seriously though, I'm applying for a position at the university.

Cool, I studied there Good times... hope it went well!

It is a nice place to live - close to the countryside but also close enough to Manchester if you need some more excitement. There's not a huge amount happening music wise, but there are far worse places to be. And houses are cheap

[1DMF]

hmm, my second demo was interesting.

I took my own CD player and a fistful of CD's with tracks I admire for their quality production.

I've decided AFAIAC, I do not like the Genelec, if they make Labello Blanco, Ram & Production House labels sound bad, then they are not the speakers for me.

I really liked the A7X's they have a super crips quality sound and a nice tone on the bass, I'm just concerened for the size of my room, they are too much.

No matter what I threw at the Yammy's it liked them, I'm starting to think that the Yammy's might be a little flattering in places, and the sales guy then showed me the frequency graph where they drop of after 18khz.

I also did a tonal balance remaster of my track and though it did sound better on the Genelec than the previous unbalanced version, what I found was very interesting.

Overall I'm not happy with the tonal master I did, it sounds a little echoey and carboard boxy, in relation to the pre-tonal master I orginaly tested with.

However, I couldn't not hear this issue on the HS7, it sounded fine, it sounded OK on the A7X's as well, I would be happy with how it sounded if I had made it on those speakers, which concerened me.

The ones I found showing me the issue I feel this master has when listeinig in the car and in genral was only higlighted when I used the Focal Shape 50, OK the Adam T7V sounded wrong too, but in many other places, including the bass, I find them too boomy in general.

So is the Focal showing me a better image of my track and what I don't like about it?

What I did find was I got a great clarity and overall feel for the track sitting directly in front of an A77X in mono.

Yes there is less bass and after all they drop the 400hz to phase balance the MTM, but it was a nice way to have your face in a speaker and the quality of sound they gave you.

My room is too small for 2 x A77X, and they lack bass to use on their own, but I think one might work for the detail, as I currently work 'in the speaker' anyway.

I was really thrown buy the HS7 not picking up on errors I feel are still in the mixdown which only the Focal Shape 50 seemed to highlight as well as the A77X but not to such a degree.

It's a real conundrum as I now can't decide on whether to go HS7 and a-n-other pair, such as iLoud MTM or Focal Shape 50

or get an A77X and then a-n-other pair, such as HS7 / iLoud MTM / Focal Shape 50

[Passing Bye]

As I recommended right away, before you buy 2-3 pair of speakers, try Sceptres.

[Obsolete317542]

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[roman.i]

Hey, some of you suggest getting the iLoud monitors with the 3 inch woofer,
but the frequency range, especially in low range that it produces comparable for example with Yamaha HS5,
which is down to around 50hz.
The question is how the smaller woofer helps to avoid bass issues, does it really matters if the 50Hz wave comes from a 3 inch speaker or 5 inch speaker?
Thanks

[1DMF]

@roman.i Having just spent 4 hours in the studio today auditioning many speakers... "does it really matters if the 50Hz wave comes from a 3 inch speaker or 5 inch speaker"

YES. The diference between the HS5 and HS7 or the Focal Shape 40 vs Focal Shape 50 or again the Adam A5X vs A7X , was quite shocking, for me it has to be the H7's, Shape 50's or A7X all the smaller speakers just lacked in many areas for me to be able to enjoy music on them let alone make / mix it.

@electus I already have Audio Technica closed back, so would want open back for mixing and a/b testing.