How do pick monitors?

[Cryo114]

Im not asking what is the best this or that monitor, because I think its more important i get my head round why this or that monitor is seen as a good one.

At the moment I have Alesis M1 Active 520's, they were a much needed step up for me when I got them, but I'm pretty sure I can't tell what's really going on in the low end. So I'm thinking about getting some new active nearfields. How exactly do you choose monitors? Unfortunately I can't go out and demo them, so that kinda leaves me having to go on other peoples word, but what do you look/listen for in a good monitor? What advice do give to someone buying monitors?

Thanks!

 

[AllanD]

How much are you willing to spend?

The basic low end to-get's are usually the KRK RP5's, and the basic mid-high end is the ADAM a7's.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

another option is that you could get a sub. Something I highly recommend regardless of how well your monitors produce low end, a dedicated sub will help separate the frequencies and will allow you to hear whats going on down there.

 

[Ermz]

The first bit of advice I normally give to someone upgrading from entry or mid level monitors to higher ones is that: for your money, you will get a much more pronounced benefit from acoustic treatment.

In fact, if inability to hear low-end is the issue for you, acoustic treatment is just about the only solution worth anything. Only once you're sure you've done everything you could with your room, acoustically, is it worth putting down the dosh for higher tier monitors. This will sound weird and counter intuitive, but trust me when I say that treating a room acoustically will offer a vast improvement over upgrading monitors. In fact, a $1,000 investment in treatment will absolutely DWARF the benefit received from any monitor purchase with the same budget.

I also dislike working with a sub personally, so my monitors go down to 35Hz.

 

[Trevoire520]

Personally I like the: buy 'em, try 'em, hate 'em, sell 'em way of picking monitors

Seriously though, I started out an Alesis Monitor MKII Actives, and went to Yamaha HS-50's and I'm pretty happy. Alot of people like Adam A7's around here.

Acoustic treatment is definitely the way to go before buying new monitors though, the best monitors in the world aren't worth shit if your room acoustics are dodgy (which they inevitably will be)

 

[WestCoastCrush]

Take it from me as someone who A) Works in one of the worlds largest music stores (in the recording departments, where every day I hear all the current monitors) and B) Someone who has owned 80% of said monitors at one point or another plus all the usual old standbys: Of all the products out right now and once were but are no more, I'd say that a great value/performer/most average is the humble Yamaha HS80M.

It has an eight inch LF driver, so it has a fair bit of bass extension, enough that you won't need a sub, i.e. a second crossover. They are relatively flat yet have that signature Yamaha brightness (while actually having low end, unlike the NS10M.) Furthermore, they're already a bit compressed sounding, which is great for the modern era, where everyone from the n00b-iest of n00bs to the seasoned professional with platinum records on their wall tends to over-compress the living crap out of absolutely everything. Best of all, here in Canada they'll only run you about $770 before taxes. I imagine the price in the UK will be respectable as well.

Let's review the immediate competition: The KRK RP8 Generation II, only $100 less, yet have no bass, muddy top-end and none of the signature imaging or midrange density of real KRK's. And by real KRK's I mean the V and VXT lines. The M-Audio BX8A Deluxe is only $460 Canadian and slays the KRK Rokit line. They have a muddy midrange though. Especially in the low mids. But for that price, who cares? I recommend going no lower than the M-Audio BX5A Deluxes, even for the rankest, most broke n00b with the world's tiniest room.

This is the part where several others jump in and start pointing fingers at me crying foul, citing how subjective monitor preference is. Fair enough but I'd say 8/10 people who audition all these monitors come to the exact same conclusions without my help. Hell, I sell more HS80Ms off of the listening tests alone than I do any other monitor by either the same means or by reputation.

I don't have mine anymore, but I can tell you that if my current monitors were to blow up as I type this, I'd be asking my boss to ring me up for another set of HS80M's first thing when I got to work Monday, dude. Seriously.

 

[Ermz]

^ Agreed. HS80Ms are probably the best contender in that price range.

 

[gabriel g.]

Hs80 won for me over genelec 8030 and adam a7....they sound very balanced and dont colour the audio....

cheers

 

[slayercannibalsuffohead]

Fuck, I cant win! I have a pair, and although I am a beginner, most of the stuff I mix sounds great coming out of them, but then sounds boxy and lifeless in a car stereo. Almost flat like, without to much definition! Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!

 

[Skaldir]

I also dislike working with a sub personally, so my monitors go down to 35Hz.

Looks as the Opals go down to 50 Hz. 35 HZ looks like it's 10db quieter than 50 HZ. So they can go down to 35HZ, but with a sub you'd have more gain in those deep regions.

Nevertheless, looks like a good speaker to me'!

 

[Ermz]

You're right, they do roll off, but the bass is still usable down to around 35-40. The thing to note is that rooms have MUCH greater frequency variations in that sub range than 10dB, so at the end of the day it's almost a moot point. In a smaller room, especially one with no treatment a sub will only complicate matters by creating yet another crossover point, and introducing phase and transmission issues as it's positioned differently and coupled to the floor.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

I spent several hours trying out monitors in a pro audio shop, in and a little above my price range. Came out with the HS80Ms and am totally happy with them for my needs: mainly monitoring for tracking and editing, some amateur mixing (in my untreated room), and listening to music. They have a detailed and balanced sound which is nice to work with and is still fun when just listening to music. There's nothing bad about them that would stick out, so there's no need for me to look any further.

And I totally believe Ermz when he says that room treatment would have much greater benefit than more expensive monitors.

 

[Cryo114]

Thanks for all the replies!

@West: Thanks man! The HS80M's are within my budget!

@Ermz: Thanks man, Ive been here long enough to know (or at least hear and believe) about the massive benifits of room treatment. Only trouble is that the room I'm working on, to me seems pretty impossible to treat in any benifitial way.

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1029645/P1010038.JPG

Thats the room I'm working in, and the wardrobe on the right of the picture comes out by over 2 feet. I'm pretty sure I cant fit anything perminent to it (maybe some velcro attachments or something) So yeah It's pretty much packed with stuff I can't really do anything with. I really wish I could though. Moving things around is not really an option either.

Thanks for the advice though.

 

[Cryo114]

More bad news....

Having ascertained that the monitors are up to the task, the most common cause of reduced bass in a room is objects or walls acting as absorbers......If the walls are plasterboard, the solution is straightforward, if time consuming. Simply add another skin of plasterboard over the existing walls (and ceiling if possible).