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ok i help me. i need monitors!

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BeyondMountains

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
343
0
Thought I could get away with my crappy computer speakers for a while, not the case.

my set up:
m-audio profire 2626


First, I have 5 sony speakers and subwoofer but a broken reciever. Would it be worth it to get a new reciever with optical in? for about $200 it would be around 500watts

or should I buy monitor speakers?

i wanted teh KRK RP-8 Rokit untill i found out they are 199 each and not 199 for a pair.

the M-Audio BX5a 70-Watt Active Studio Monitors are in my price range.

any ideas? thank you
 
R

RedRedBlockhead

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2008
62
0
Reasons not to get a new receiver -
-You had a half decent DAC in your profire
-The dac in a 5.1 receiver will unlikely be wonderful for stereo especially at $200
-The Sonys are not designed for monitoring and are unlikely to be very linear
-The sub provided with your computer wont do much but skew your mixes
-500 watts means very little in terms of sound quality, and probably not that much in terms of volume either

I would recommend you save a bit and get some nice powered monitors. Perhaps sell some of the old system and use the money towards a nice pair of monitors. BTW have you looked second hand/on ebay? Half-decent monitors don't tend to degrade unless they've been abused and speakers haven't really advanced that much in terms of sound quality in the last 30 years- the big market is now fun systems, small speakers, surround sound etc. I've always had good experiences with second hand hifi/proaudio as people tend to take care of their kit.
 
D

DJJONES

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2008
315
0
Newengland usa!
RedRedBlockhead said:
Reasons not to get a new receiver -
-You had a half decent DAC in your profire
-The dac in a 5.1 receiver will unlikely be wonderful for stereo especially at $200
-The Sonys are not designed for monitoring and are unlikely to be very linear
-The sub provided with your computer wont do much but skew your mixes
-500 watts means very little in terms of sound quality, and probably not that much in terms of volume either

I would recommend you save a bit and get some nice powered monitors. Perhaps sell some of the old system and use the money towards a nice pair of monitors. BTW have you looked second hand/on ebay? Half-decent monitors don't tend to degrade unless they've been abused and speakers haven't really advanced that much in terms of sound quality in the last 30 years- the big market is now fun systems, small speakers, surround sound etc. I've always had good experiences with second hand hifi/proaudio as people tend to take care of their kit.
Click to expand...

agreed.

m-audio has a good way with there marketing make it seem like your getting the best.
 
D

DJJONES

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2008
315
0
Newengland usa!
jhcodafa said:
Thought I could get away with my crappy computer speakers for a while, not the case.

my set up:
m-audio profire 2626


First, I have 5 sony speakers and subwoofer but a broken reciever. Would it be worth it to get a new reciever with optical in? for about $200 it would be around 500watts

or should I buy monitor speakers?

i wanted teh KRK RP-8 Rokit untill i found out they are 199 each and not 199 for a pair.

the M-Audio BX5a 70-Watt Active Studio Monitors are in my price range.

any ideas? thank you
Click to expand...

do you need rp8's? is your room THAT big.
i have rp8s and i will tell you they are way to big for my room WAYY!! to big by the time they are cranked up and delivering full freq spectrum there just way to loud for the avg person. i say that because im a dj and ive been exposed to my share of loud music
 
T

theapex

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2008
160
0
jhcodafa said:
Thought I could get away with my crappy computer speakers for a while, not the case.

my set up:
m-audio profire 2626


First, I have 5 sony speakers and subwoofer but a broken reciever. Would it be worth it to get a new reciever with optical in? for about $200 it would be around 500watts

or should I buy monitor speakers?

i wanted teh KRK RP-8 Rokit untill i found out they are 199 each and not 199 for a pair.

the M-Audio BX5a 70-Watt Active Studio Monitors are in my price range.

any ideas? thank you
Click to expand...

where are you getting the RP8s for $199... I thought they were 250 each. not the point.. but still.
 
B

BeyondMountains

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
343
0
theapex said:
where are you getting the RP8s for $199... I thought they were 250 each. not the point.. but still.
Click to expand...

guitar center has them for 199 i think.

the room i work in is the whole attic, but I dont want to listen that LOUD,

can anyone recommend some models i should look at? arent there lower model krk?
 
T

theapex

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2008
160
0
yes the rp5s they are 150 i think. good speakers too (or so I've heard) when you find a pair that you think you like and like the price just google the model and put reviews behind it...

like "krk rp8 reviews" that is how I made my decision.
 
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BeyondMountains

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
343
0
I'm leaning toward the KRK RP6 $150 each

whats everyone think? Or should i wait till I can save up money to buy something better.
 
D

DJJONES

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2008
315
0
Newengland usa!
what are you doing? with your monitors?
what do you do produce mix? small mastering jobs?
300 +tax rp6
400+ tax rp8

the way to decide btw the 2 is knowing the size of your room. if your room is small then get rp6. if your room is big rp8 or if you want full freq range then rp8!!!.

i will say if i didnt get the mixes that i wanted out of my monitors i wouldnt have kept them. i do want better ones becuase most my gear is pretty good then montiors arent the best thats out.
if you can flip 1000 get the adam a7's probably the best monitors any home studio should have. some big studios even have these.
im sure your not working for jay z so 1000 bucks should help you out.
i also hope your not running your momnitors off a mixer you should have a good sound card m audio motu presonus etc.
room treatment will help also. but that get expensive to properly treat most rooms your looking easily at 500-1000.
 
D

DJJONES

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2008
315
0
Newengland usa!
zimv20 said:
a7's are awesome.



imho, 4 of these for $260 would be a huge bang for the buck. just prop 'em up in the 4 corners.
Click to expand...

one day i will buy the a7's im thinking of buy those instead of getting a mackie powered speaker which would run bout 1000 and use my rp8s as my djing monitors and move the adams up to the mixing ones. or get the 1 mackie monitors and blow the house down whem im practicing lol
 
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BeyondMountains

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
343
0
the room i work in is huge, more than 4 courners, its a whole attic. i want to use these monitors for my entire project. laying down the tracks/mixing/mastering. though i'm new to all this stuff and i am still learning but im dedicated and want something to grow into.

rp8s are stretching my price range, but i listened to them at guitar center the other day and they sounded great. i might not need them that loud though.
 
T

theapex

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2008
160
0
jhcodafa said:
the room i work in is huge, more than 4 courners, its a whole attic. i want to use these monitors for my entire project. laying down the tracks/mixing/mastering. though i'm new to all this stuff and i am still learning but im dedicated and want something to grow into.

rp8s are stretching my price range, but i listened to them at guitar center the other day and they sounded great. i might not need them that loud though.
Click to expand...

man I think you should look at the rp5s. You should be able to get a pair of them for between 2 and 3 hundred bucks now...(since the price drop)

that should be plenty of sound for you and if you need more bottom later on, just grab the subwoofer....the rp10.
 
D

DJJONES

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2008
315
0
Newengland usa!
jhcodafa said:
the room i work in is huge, more than 4 courners, its a whole attic. i want to use these monitors for my entire project. laying down the tracks/mixing/mastering. though i'm new to all this stuff and i am still learning but im dedicated and want something to grow into.

rp8s are stretching my price range, but i listened to them at guitar center the other day and they sounded great. i might not need them that loud though.
Click to expand...

if you cant afford it now. wait some time and get it later. maybe do more research since your new to this stuff there is tons of info on it all over google like you wouldnt believe. if your room is huge get the 8's. i wouldnt recommend the 5's if you expect to get good mixes out of it because there are people who have drivers in there cars bigger then 5 inches so you expect rp5s to do a good job for you ?? lol. rp6 are probably your best bet if dont want the power of the 8's but want the clearer midrange of a 6 inch monitor thats the way to go. you will need a sub for those to really hear the low end because the 6inch wont produce it.
 
T

theapex

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2008
160
0
DJJONES said:
if you cant afford it now. wait some time and get it later. maybe do more research since your new to this stuff there is tons of info on it all over google like you wouldnt believe. if your room is huge get the 8's. i wouldnt recommend the 5's if you expect to get good mixes out of it because there are people who have drivers in there cars bigger then 5 inches so you expect rp5s to do a good job for you ?? lol. rp6 are probably your best bet if dont want the power of the 8's but want the clearer midrange of a 6 inch monitor thats the way to go. you will need a sub for those to really hear the low end because the 6inch wont produce it.
Click to expand...

hence...the reason I told him to get the 5s to help his $$$$...then he can get the woofer later if he needs it.
 
R

RedRedBlockhead

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2008
62
0
Probably sound better with a separate subwoofer anyway. Room treatments are a boon if you live/work somewhere they are viable.
 
D

DJJONES

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2008
315
0
Newengland usa!
some advice though is that i remeber when i was going to buy my monitors and was dead set on getting the bx8s from m audio lol i was s big m audio freak at the time and i didnt even kno wtf motu or apoogee was.
i tested them out and was shocked at how terrible they sounded and hyped.
then played the rp8s and said wow theses seem much more true. then played the mackies hr810 and was like well these sound like my hometheater system i thought monitors were supposed to be flat and accurate.
so few weeks later i got the rp8's.
moral of the story :test your monitors out if possible
 
B

BeyondMountains

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
343
0
i'v been doing research like crazy, thats how i came down to the krks for my price range. this "studio" of mine is basically to make really good demos of my own songs. i love this stuff. its what i enjoy.

on another note..

Would I need a sub with the rp 8? it didnt sound like i would when i tested them out.


Also, I have a sony sub woofer, would that work good with the rp 6s?
 
T

theapex

macrumors regular
Feb 6, 2008
160
0
jhcodafa said:
i'v been doing research like crazy, thats how i came down to the krks for my price range. this "studio" of mine is basically to make really good demos of my own songs. i love this stuff. its what i enjoy.

on another note..

Would I need a sub with the rp 8? it didnt sound like i would when i tested them out.


Also, I have a sony sub woofer, would that work good with the rp 6s?
Click to expand...

I don't think the sony woofer will be colorless enough for a true mix. I don't think you would be able to connect them any way.
 
R

RedRedBlockhead

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2008
62
0
Consider this

-Normal subs are designed to make loud farting noises and don't even approach musicality
-A good sub is expensive, mine costs £800, though I got it for £180 as an older model second hand
-Mixing with a sub is generally only viewed as required for mixing bass heavy music
-Adding a sub to your system could further skew your room imbalances
But that said
-I mix with a sub (A REL Storm)
-When I added it bass seemed to actually gain some control in my untreated room
-A good and well set up sub will bring more space to your monitors and add detail

So

If you can treat your room, your probably best off doing that first because
a)Bass response will improve with treatment
b)Bass response will be more accurate with treatment
and most importantly
c)Treatment will also improve the quality of your recordings

In fact, I would say you you're probably better off getting some really nice headphones first (ask at head-fi but I think the AKG 270/271 would be great) as bass beneath 80hz is directionless furthermore you now have an entirely new window on your mix and somephones to use when tracking!
 
B

BeyondMountains

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
343
0
RedRedBlockhead said:
Consider this

-Normal subs are designed to make loud farting noises and don't even approach musicality
-A good sub is expensive, mine costs £800, though I got it for £180 as an older model second hand
-Mixing with a sub is generally only viewed as required for mixing bass heavy music
-Adding a sub to your system could further skew your room imbalances
But that said
-I mix with a sub (A REL Storm)
-When I added it bass seemed to actually gain some control in my untreated room
-A good and well set up sub will bring more space to your monitors and add detail

So

If you can treat your room, your probably best off doing that first because
a)Bass response will improve with treatment
b)Bass response will be more accurate with treatment
and most importantly
c)Treatment will also improve the quality of your recordings

In fact, I would say you you're probably better off getting some really nice headphones first (ask at head-fi but I think the AKG 270/271 would be great) as bass beneath 80hz is directionless furthermore you now have an entirely new window on your mix and somephones to use when tracking!
Click to expand...

thanks for this, i actually just bought a pair of headphones, not as good as the ones you listed but
the Sennheiser HD280Pro, was able to get them for about $73 (about $30 off the original price)

so i guess im better off waiting till i can afford the rp8, since they will handle the bass the best?
 
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