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Posted by: maharzan Sep 27 2010, 03:04 PM

Hey Guys,

My headphone died at a young age. It was just around 2 years.

Anyway, I did find some research here at the forums and the shopping sites and I think the best bet is to get this. I thought Yamaha was better but it is too expensive. Hope this one works with me long..

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/M-Audio-Studiophile-BX5a-Deluxe-Active-Monitors?sku=600739

Let me know if you have used this and have anything you want me to know.

Thanks,
Chandra

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 27 2010, 03:23 PM

Not heard them in real life but given the size of the bass driver I doubt very much that they will produce bass accurately enough for mixing and definitely not for mastering. I'm also not that enamoured of the port and would be wary of how it affects the integrity of the 'box' the speakers are in. 70watts for a near field - ok but not enough amplification for any other siting and even as a near field the amp may strain at higher volumes and on loud transients.

If you go for these then look in to getting a suitable subwoofer.

Posted by: Fran Sep 27 2010, 04:04 PM

As Tony said bass is a bit weak on those. I tried them with my ipod and with a POD X3 at my local store a year ago or so, and they sound good though. Having said that these kind of monitors aren't really supposed to give a "great" sound for music listening, but a natural uncolored sound, good for mixing but a bit dull to listen to music. You can hear things you don't usually hear in songs you know well when listening to them through them though.

If you have the space to place them I remember there were some Behringer with 8'' that some GMCers were happy with here. I don't remember the model though Their price was similar to BX5A.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 27 2010, 04:58 PM

hmm.. if anyone has the link for Behringer, let me know.. The older link that Muris had doesn't work so I was wondering what he had. Most of the monitors I saw had 5" bass speaker with frequency range starting from 55/56Hz.. KRKs seema quite heavy.. I wanted to go with simple design than fancy sci-fi stuff.

but anything better, please advise.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Sep 28 2010, 11:02 PM

What do you want to use them for?

If its for playing POD on them and recording simple home demos they would work very nice.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 29 2010, 05:14 AM

Hi Bogdan,

I never have used monitors on my home. I have recorded using headphones all till now and mixes don't work well so have to go back 2-3 times to just level the guitar sound even for REC takes I do. which is kinda annoying because I use ProTools and have to connect/ disconnect the wires to listen via headphones/computer speakers. Computer speakers really sound dull and yaks I hate the sound.. My Macbook Pro speakers don't work with Pro Tools.

Now, that my headphones died (I am use airplane cheap crappy mono headphones now lol), I wanted to get monitors. I plan to mix/master as well for my future recordings which I will probably start next year. So, I am looking for a decent monitors. I don't want to go hi-end because even $300 is hi-end for me (it will cost almost double to get it here).

So, anyway, if you have any recommendations please do. I have looked at the threads already existing and some suggested the M-Audio I posted above but looks like it doesn't have lot of low end. Others were pretty hi-end in those threads. I can spend like $400 max.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 29 2010, 06:58 AM

Hmm.. so this might be the best fit then.. What do you think?

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/KRK-Rokit-Powered-6-Generation-2-Studio-Monitor-Each?sku=482826

Posted by: emirb Sep 29 2010, 08:09 AM

I have m-audio 8" version of those monitors and (for me) they sound just great for the buck. A friend of mine has yamaha hs80 and adam a7 they sound great but these can compete with them easily. they are a bit more expensive thou..
KRK monitors a price-worthy too if you can find those around you.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 29 2010, 09:12 AM

I wish I could get all those monitors in here. I will have to ship it from US, the easiest way. Yea, Yamaha is just too expensive.

Posted by: emirb Sep 29 2010, 11:57 AM

One thing too, after the purchase of these monitors I noticed that I less and less play on my amp. Meaning that the sound is just good enough to carry the guitar sound without make too much of a compromise! What I mean is that there is enough fatness (lack of better words) or fullness in the monitor-provided guitar sound that is actually quite enjoyable. No headphones could justify not using an amp in my case, just as a comparison.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 29 2010, 12:56 PM

true.. I am thinking of buying AxeFx and using the monitors!! YEAH baby!!

Posted by: emirb Sep 29 2010, 01:05 PM

that will surely sound awesome! Playing on monitors nowadays (by that I mean the budged class available even for me ) is completely different story than just like 10 years ago. Pile of money needed for the same experience was much much larger..

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 29 2010, 01:10 PM

If you intend to master, even just for your self, then you need to be able to hear the audio as accurately as possible, much more so than tracking and mixing. If you can't then it is unlikely that you will make reasonable decisions on what to do as you just won't hear things correctly. Getting an audio chain right for mastering isn't just about the monitors, it's also about the DAC, monitor placement and room treatment as mastering really requires mid or far field monitors. Mixing can be, and is often, done on near field so room treatment can have different needs and priorities to mastering.

TBH whilst you could mix on these monitors in my professional opinion you will struggle to even do a self-master on them. For home/bedroom self mastering the very least you would need is a sub woofer to be able to hear the bass end more accurately along with appropriate room treatment. If you can't treat the room you might well be better of investing in some very good closed back headphones.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 29 2010, 02:21 PM

Yea.. so anything that can minimally do mastering would be great.. My argument would be if 90% people will listen to iphone / ipod, other mobile devices, computers, car speakers, why would we want to master in a 1000$ monitors and spend another 1000 on room treatment?

I will be building a good studio too.. and well mastering isn't an immediate priority for now but in case I need to do it, i should be able to.

Studios here master at a 200$ alesis monitors so I wouldn't worry much about that. I mean if most of the songs will be mp3 for download or on youtube why build another million $ studios? no? Thats what home recording is for... I am just looking for big bang for the buck..

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 29 2010, 03:30 PM

Because of translation where the purpose is to ensure that the audio sounds as best as it can on as wide a range of equpiment as possible. If you master so that the audio sounds great on the best hi-fi it will translate well down. The reverse is not the case though.

BTW you won't get mastering grade monitors for 1000 dollars - multiply it by about 10 on average , then add 10k for room treatment and another 3k for a good DAC.



Same applies - if you ever have work tracked in a pro studio and mixed in one you will hear the difference. Ask Staffay what the difference is between a pro studio and their gear .

By all means if you only intend to record for your own enjoyment then a bedroom studio and consumer gear is good enough. If you intend to distribute it or use it promote yourself then you perhaps need to ask yourself if it's really good enough because it will be compared with those recordings coming out of pro studios.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Sep 29 2010, 10:53 PM

Yes I can see your point but on the other hand its a bit contradictory. Since mastering is all about making the recording sound good on ALL the different equipment (car speakers, PC, radio, television etc etc) - you just can't cover that range without professional master. You will notice that recordings sound very different on different set of speakers - your home hi fi and friends hi fi.

Overall if you need decent monitors for home listening/demo making those KRK will do fine. Also M-audio ones you mentioned are good too. Maybe KRK seems best bang for buck.

Everything will sound better for sure.

Posted by: maharzan Sep 30 2010, 02:22 AM

Cool.. I guess I will get the KRK then as its frequency response is greater. My only concern is that studios here don't really use 10k worth of equipments but the sound quality is not that bad. I guess its a minor thing and only studio engineers might hear the difference, not normal people. Anyway, 10k+ isn't really justifiable in my case. We hardly make 1K selling records here, if it ever sells...

Thanks guys, I will check KRK.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Sep 30 2010, 12:47 PM

Similar situation here. There are high end studios and there are ones you mention that work on cheaper gear. Of course a lot of depends on the studio engineer. But if you are not seeing album recording as a great investment (which in many cases isn't) then try to find middle ground - good enough recording for your budget. IMO its always the song that matters in the end (and not production mojo) but studio recording/mastering has to be on a decent level in order not to"ruin" it and to serve the purpose (enable song to be heard on radio/tv/cd).

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 30 2010, 01:22 PM

TBH I don't think it's just engineers (mix or mastering) who can hear the differences between a good and a great recording - which might be 'minor'. My 10 year old daughter has listened to enough music to be able to point out things. I know a lot of music fans, amateur, semi-pro and pro musicians who can all do the same sort of thing.

For those who record in the hope of getting signed using pro studios is more of an issue. A&R at a big label on average listen to a recording for 10-15 seconds before they decide whether to listen to some more or bin it. If the recording isn't of good quality it nearly always gets binned. (The chances of them listening if the music isn't good enough is nil.) Most big radio stations won't put a CD on the playout unless it's properly mastered to red book and mixed and mastered well for broadcast. For endorsements - many of the big companies expect you to have some sort of portfolio, including audio examples, and if you send them something that they don't view as professional they're very unlikely to take you seriously.

Having said that what you see as 'value' is personal to you, just don't confuse economic with effective .

Posted by: maharzan Sep 30 2010, 01:34 PM

Ah.. I see why you are pitching all this. You are a mastering man.. Hmm.. Well, I am just asking for best monitor for the value. Forget mastering.. I don't even know mixing. I was just asking if I even do it (I am sure I will do it though in next few years).. I am not a pro so really don't need pro gears. I have had it with guitars and I know I still suck at it.

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 30 2010, 01:49 PM

Well as I work as a professional ME that not surprisingly has an affect on my perspective and experience.

Regardless of this I only offer my best advice and in this case it was (and to repeat it again) that the monitors were very unlikely to have sufficient bass even for home mixing.

Most of the comments on mastering came up due to other input subsequently . As an ME I've naturally got an opinion on that .

Posted by: maharzan Oct 5 2010, 04:45 PM

Cool.. I will probably send my songs to you then.. if I can afford..

Anyway, I just ordered the KRK Rokit 6. Can't wait to start banging the walls. Never used such good speakers so at least hoping my first experiences would be great. Need to get ready to start recording my originals next.

Thanks all for your valuable suggestions!

Posted by: jdriver Oct 7 2010, 07:29 AM

I have the KRK 5 monitors and I really like them, I'm often surprised by the amount of bass coming out, and the 6s and 8s are even better in that regard.

The 6s you ordered is probably the best compromise of sound vs. price. And they are built like tanks.

Posted by: maharzan Oct 11 2010, 02:29 AM

Thanks jd. I am waiting for it to arrive.