Logitech X-230 PC-Speaker (HiFi) vs. real monitors

Red Phoenix

Red Phoenix

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Jun 22, 2009
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I don't have real monitors, just these Logitech X-230 2.1 system and i think of investing in something not HiFi for musicproduction. I'm only a hobby producer and do everything at home. Using preamps with impulses and drumcomputers...some time ago i bought AKG K271 MkII Headphones to play around with mixes at night. Now i want to know if it makes a big difference mixing (at home) with studio monitors. And what type of monitors are useful for that (near field or mid field... what else? My Speakers are around 50cm away from me) And of course...is it necessary to have them? especially for non professional studio owners? Or are the Logitech X-230 enough for that? i have that speakers for years now and know them well and so i know (i think i know it) how the mixes has to sound on them. And i wouldn't pay thousands of euros...only <500€ for two! What's the advice of the Pros? Keep using the Logitech or investing in something better? Are monitors till 500 generally useable, respectively an improvement?

cheers (:
Lars
 
Hi i recently bough krk rp8 g2 monitors. Had genius and logitech speakers before. I can tell you there is much difference about what you hearing. Go for the real monitors! :))
 
Agree, but be careful . Yamahas have bassreflex on the back, and its recommended have them aboout one meter from the wall. Because that i choose krk's cause they are not resonating on low freqs if they are near wall....
 
Real monitors would be a good upgrade from the computer speakers. But also think about this, if the room isn't acoustically treated you probably won't get the true advantage from real monitors.
 
Thanks for the replies :)
I took a picture of my desk to show you my workspace...you see there isn't much space..guess these "big" monitors

would be very near to my ears..nearer than my pc speakers are..not so great condition i guess...what would be the best

choice in my case?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7625817/DSCN0740.JPG

(your thoughts: "omfg!" ..right? :D)
 
May want to stick with your headphones before getting serious about monitors in a space like that. I'd say just stick with what you have until you can change your location and allow for more space for your home studio. It all comes down to how serious you are about your hobby. I'd be upgrading other things before monitors looking at your photo.
 
These logitech speakers are great for regular use, but terrible for audio mixing. They´re super bass heavy and mid scooped. If you´re on a short budget and on a crap place maybe you should try something like an ATHM50s.

Lipown said:
Yamahas have bassreflex on the back, and its recommended have them aboout one meter from the wall.
Click to expand...

It´s how these frequencies work, not the brand. By the way, there´s a switch called "room control" to help on this matter.
 
I generally turned the subwoofer all the way down..but it's quite difficult to judge the basses because of the seperation of subwoofer and tweeter..it's better on the headphones but there the basses are also not the best and it's uncomfortable to wear and hear through headphones for a longer time.

As i mentioned i have the AKG K271 MKII and the ATHM50s seems to be in the same league they are redundant.

The krk rp8 g2 with 38.1 x 26.5 x 33 cm are way to big for me...i don't have the place for it. I searched for some smaller units and found the CAKEWALK MA-15D with 159(W) x215(D) x250(H)mm. That's how big my Subwoofer is and i tried how it would be with two of these "cubes" ...i could place them directly together and put my laptop on top of them =D
It appears to me that the investment into monitors have to wait until i got a better workspace.

Maybe, are there PC-speaker on the market which fit better into mixing and that stuff than the Logitechs do? But wouldn't make sense if they cost the same like monitors...
 
When i look at the frequencyrange of the M-Audio which is from 85 Hz - 20 kHz. Are the 85Hz acceptable? Or shouldn't it get lower till 50Hz or so? Don't know how a good range would be? Just to know.
Are there brands and monitors i should absolutely avoid because of known bad quality or something else?
 
Red Phoenix said:
When i look at the frequencyrange of the M-Audio which is from 85 Hz - 20 kHz. Are the 85Hz acceptable? Or shouldn't it get lower till 50Hz or so? Don't know how a good range would be? Just to know.
Are there brands and monitors i should absolutely avoid because of known bad quality or something else?
Click to expand...

I was trying to give you a suggestion that would be monitor grade speakers, be small enough to work with your limited space and be cost effective. It sounds to me as if you really are just looking for really great monitors, which is fine, but they will cost you more, will take up a lot more space on your very confined desk and may not work the way they are suppose to because of your confined surroundings. You'll have to weigh the positives and negatives yourself and make a decision. We can only give you options. You'll have to learn from your own experiences.

Good luck with your decision.
 
I agree with Matt. I have the AV-40s and they are very good for the price. Of course you can't compare them with the Opals and the Adams of this world, but then again you're not supposed to.

I think that unless you have a properly treated room, big monitors are really a waste of money.

As for the bass response it's great. Of course I'm only using them as a hobbyist so... ;)
 
RaDiKaL said:
I agree with Matt. I have the AV-40s and they are very good for the price. Of course you can't compare them with the Opals and the Adams of this world, but then again you're not supposed to.

I think that unless you have a properly treated room, big monitors are really a waste of money.

As for the bass response it's great. Of course I'm only using them as a hobbyist so... ;)
Click to expand...

I have the AV-40s but I use them as my computer speakers. For monitors, I have these...

M-Audio-CX5CX8.jpg


The CX8 Studiophile Studio Monitors sound very nice to my ears and they allow for room compensation via switches on the back that increase or lower decibel ranges per your environment. But they are suppose to be at least a foot away from a wall to work properly.

I couldn't imagine trying to use the CX8's in that small of a confined space. And honestly, I don't find that big of a difference between the AV-40's and the CX8's. I enjoy the ability to listen to my mixes on both. I also listen to them in my car... ect. I think it's always a good idea to now how music should sound on a variety of different systems, that way you know where your mix needs help.

These are just my suggestions I've come to through my own experiences of striving to make the best sounding mixes I can.
 
It shouldn't sound like i want the best monitors but want pay nothing..i'm still new to this section and i don't have the knowledge on what i have to pay attention. But it seems now to be more sensible to use what i have at the moment till i have a better workstation. And i should have a look at these M-Audio at a musicshop.
Thank you for your suggestion Matt, and of course the others ;)
 
And you can say that the K270 MKII and the ATH-M50 are in the same league for their price, bu not for their sound AT ALL. Some like one better than the other, but they don't sound alike. And I prefer the AT for sure.
 
Monitor-wise, go for the HS80M or even KRK RP series. For me, the woofer size (i.e. HS80m x HS50m) is not only about bass range, it's about tone. They do sound different. Although if you don't have a nice treated room, you might wanna check your bass using headphones
 
mh ok..you're right..but for now i don't want to change my headphones. Well, i keep in mind the krk rokits, the yamaha and the m-audios and will check them out in a shop and i try how i could install them in my room while rearranging my desk. Guess wall mounting is a possible good solution in case of my small amount of space.

thanks again
 
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