VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Frank F · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:10 pm Post subject:

Brain, it's the great "Catch 22".

The more things you need the more work you need to do, the more work you do, the more things you find you need. (And the more the things you think you need cost.)

Isn't life grand?

Toodles

F2
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Brian in Charlotte · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:28 pm Post subject:

Frank that really does say it all.

Hey, do you agree with the idea (given my current set up which is: monitors unfortunately 3' apart instead of 6' and I sit 3.5' instead of 6'away from them...plus my room is dead) that putting various professionally mastered CD's through the system to get a general balance with the Sub dial is about the best I can do?
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CWToo · Guest

How about the Mackie HR 824's? They are powered and sound fabulous. We were replacing the KRK's with them when I left Studio Center in Las Vegas.

That being said, I have a pair of Tannoy ProtoJ near field monitors powered by an Alesis RA300 amp, all bought cheap when Mars Music went belly up. They sound pretty good for near fields.

Frank F · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:51 pm Post subject:

There are pro's and con's to your set-up. One of the things which I am curious about is the level - how loud - you like to listen to the audio.

Also, I am a nominally "live" room person, not quite dead, but I also do not prefer a lot of transients and echos.

The speakers are what they are. You and only you can decide what is right for your ears. Does it feel as though there is something missing? Do you feel that your are not really part of the music or is there "presence" missing?

Have you ever felt; when listening to some classical music as though you were standing right in front of the oboe section... or next to the viola's or cello's? If you have, then your speakers are "near-fields" and are working the proper way for your facility and your ears. If not, then you to need to make some changes, but the changes should be made in subtle ways.

Equipment makes a big difference in how audio is presented to the human ear also. Not enough amplification can make your fabulous speakers sound like cheap computer speakers.

Do what is right for you, as I cannot tell you more information based upon a "virtual" world of writing or talking over the telephone. Tuning a studio is very important and requires a hands-on approach.

Toodles

Frank F
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Wharfdale Diamond 8.2 ProActives....these are killer speakers cool

and ran me about $350 a pair(but I think they were on sale when I bought them)..they are manufactured in the UK....when I turn them up loud enough even a really bad read sounds good......

Tren Hester · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject: NHT

Just to add to the mix (pun intended), checkout NHT (nhthifi.com). I confess that I have not heard them, but I see that Joe Cipriano uses them in his studio.

Hey, if it's good enough for Joe . . .
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Brian in Charlotte · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:54 pm Post subject:

Frank, my real issue is not knowing if I have dialed in too much/too little of the low end by way of the sub. The satellites have no low end at all.

Running a 1K tone at 0.0 dB, I have my monitor level set at approx. 84 dB.

I should check out the Classical music CD idea.
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Frank F · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject:

Classical music is the only true way to determine how a set-up sounds. True strings, true horns, true tympani, etc. will give you good reference.

The next step is to tune the low end of the audio spectrum to the music and style of your voice and your genre of music. Using a sub-woofer in a small confined area is very counter-productive. the lower audio spectrum has to move air - and a lot of it - to get the sound vibrations moving. The bigger the room, the more air the sub-woofer has to work with.

O.K., I know, you really want surround sound (5.1), but your studio is not the place for five speakers and a sub-woofer. Unless you have a 20' x 26' studio environment - surround sound just sound - well - loud.

A good pair of stereo studio monitors will work fine. If, and I underscore the IF here, your space is a bit bigger than most home studios, a sub can work, just remember the bass traps and keep the low-end volume down.

Just a couple of questions might need to be answered too: Since your speakers are powered (amplified), consider the source first... are you adding "line-in" audio or audio from an earphone jack or other source? Depending upon the size of your room; are you driving the speakers with enough wattage to make them efficient? Or, are you overdriving the speakers?

Consider getting a pair of fairly inexpensive speakers to test your set-up. A good pair of amplified PC speakers will do for a start. Insert the "cheapies" into your audio chain and give them a good audio signal. Listen to how they re-produce the sound and find the best possible sound from the "cheapies". Then go back to the LX-4's and see if you can match the sound you liked on the "cheapies". Work "up" from there with the LX-4's to get a good clean sound you like with the "high-priced" monitors.

Good luck and Toodles

F2
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Brian in Charlotte · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:40 am Post subject:

I'll take the classical music challenge today! My goodness, I have no idea what I would do with surround sound, that's for sure. With one of my HD sets in the house, sure thing!

My room is 8' deep and 4.5 wide and it's treated so the room is dead. My sub level is set at 9 o'clock so it's barely up. I'm looking forward to using the classical musc to see how the sound does.
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BenWils · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:21 am Post subject:

Brian,

I also have the KRK Rokit 5 monitors with a Rokit 10 sub. I agree with Lance, they are hyped a little in the low end ...either that or not hyped enough in the high end (but they are supposed to be flat I guess and I have a subwoofer!!). But I need speakers that will sound good when listening to them....you know the way it is supposed to sound. I can't mix on truly flat monitors.

Anyway, the Rokits could use more high end response for my taste, however I need to do some more room treatment/arranging after reading the link that Steve put up. I think I still have a lot of collecting bass in the corners, which may be altering my sound.

And for reference, I do have my Rokit 5 speakers on Auralex Mopads. The guy at the store I bought them suggested the Yamaha monitors since he thought they had a brighter sound. I should have listened to him. Just my opinion.

TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:09 am Post subject:

For my multimedia system in the living room I have an equalizer with a built in spectrum analyzer and pink noise generator. That along with a microphone that hooks up to the analyzer makes it fairly easy to get the room flat at the listening position. Couldn't the same technique work for a studio?

It's not going to be perfect but what is.
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sdelgo · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:16 am Post subject:

! pair of event 20/20s and Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) Nautilus 802 loudspeakers.

Steve
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tackerman · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:19 am Post subject:

I've got a small "studio" and my Event ALP 5s have worked very well.

Brian in Charlotte · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:31 am Post subject:

I took Frank's advice and ran a couple of classical pieces through my system...played it soft, medium and loud. Then I went into Garage Band and pulled out a string of different instrument loops and also added portions of songs and other genre's, played them back to back. I now feel I have the system adjusted whereby it appears to be (to my ears) a fair representation of the music over all. So, I'm running with it until I can afford the ADAM A-7's. I know a good number of folks who use the NS10'S and Event 20/20's and are viable options as well.

Thanks so much, folks! What a sizable benefit this board has been to me!

Bless your day,
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Edo · Guest

Gee... I've tried a number of different monitors for the last two decades, but some vintage stuff remains there in between the neat new things. I used to have Auratone 5C (cubes) for reference to car speakers for mixdown of radiospots. The bigger monitors were Urei with an additional set of Yamaha NS-10 passive monitors. I lost a lot of stuff when burglars hit my property and the rest of the businesses in the building I was in at the time.

The Yamaha NS-10 nearfields are still here today, along with a couple of Bose 101 powered Room Mates replacing the 5C's. The big monitors I use are passive Dynaudio, but they won't be here for long anymore. For main speakers I will either go with (pretty expensive) JBL LSR4328P or maybe soffit mounted Tapco (by Mackie) S8's. Active Dynaudio's are still an option too.