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  3. What studio monitors do you use?

  • What studio monitors do you use?

    C
    C

    Hi all,

    Just getting some ideas for a new pair of studio monitors.  Anything up to about $3000.00 dollars. I see Focals and a bunch of others.  I have also heard good things about BlueSky.  Just not sure how much "better" the system one (2400.00) would be from say the prodesk (1700.00) and the mediadesk (around 800.00).

    Primarily for mixing piano, voice and VSL instruments.  What do you all think opinion wise?

    Thanks!

    Maestro2be
  • J
    J

    In my experience, this decision would depend more on whether or not your listening environment is treated.  I've had some pretty good results with some fairly inexpensive ($400.00) studio monitors in a treated room.  IMHO, Three grand is quite a hefty sum to spend on monitors.  I would spend some of the money on treating your environment, if possible, get some good quality reasonably priced monitors and spend the rest on more sample libraries.  
  • C
    C

    Thanks for responding Jason.

    I have often wondered just how important room treatment is in some instances.  I know in most it's crucial to have because of so many hanging sound waves and reflections etc.  I have never had any of those symptoms (at least that I can hear) in my current room.  I suppose I could bring in a professional company to evaluate it and test it as well as tell me the best location to mix from.

    I still have plenty of time to decide so open to any ideas or thoughts at all.

    Maestro2be
  • J
    J
    last edited
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    @cgernaey said:

     I have often wondered just how important room treatment is in some instances. 

     

    It really depends upon whether you are just recording your own material and/or recording/mixing/mastering somebody elses material.  If you're recording your own then It really doesn't matter all that much because you'll learn whatever faults the room has just compensate for it in your mix.  You might want to treat it a little (soak up any natural reverb and either get rid of any carpeting or replace it with a very thin carpeting).  However, if your hired to do work for other clients in other music genres you should treat the room professionally.  Otherwise you could have a lot of pissed off clients demanding their money back after receiving the muffled mess you mixed for them.
  • C
    C

    That's very good advice Jason.  I will have to consider that when doing work for clients etc.  So far it hasn't been a really huge issue but then again, without actually having all the acoustic treatment, it's only speculation at the moment as to how much it is hurting/helping my mixes.  I tell you that one thing that would really help me get better mixes is mastering MIR a bit more.  Due to the room sizes that it has at the moment it tends to have much larger reverb sound than what I am looking for I think.  I think I need to consider picking up the roompack 2 for the smaller reverb rooms to help dry up the whole mix a little bit "naturally".

    I find the whole idea of how all manufacturers of studio monitors claim they have "flat response", blah blah blah.  Yet, every one of them sounds absolutely and completely different.  How can they all be flat, and yet be so absolutely night and day.  Some harsh, some laid back, some bassy, etc.  It's almost comical with their claims and yet no spectrum analyzer shows them to be "flat".  Sure the D/A convertor can affect this but when you use the same Lavry D/A (which is no slouch) on all the different brands and yield absolutely different results is quite comical.  I guess at some point no matter what you do, you just have to learn to adjust based on the tools you have and learn what faults your mixes will have due to your equipment.

    Maestro2be
  • C
    C

    I want to clear something up so I don't mislead anyone reading this thread (the comment about MIR being to reverbed on my mixes).  I am not doing concert level pieces and such that requires (or desires) the large room ambience of a true concert hall that large.  It isn't that MIR can't give me what I need, it's just that I need a smaller "room" to work with because it is more comparible to the venues in which I work with.

    Hope that clears that up (and no VSL didn't ask me to do this lol).  I read my own reply and noticed it :P and thought it wasn't giving MIR it's fair credit :).

    Maestro2be
  • DietzD
    VSL Team
    DietzD
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    @cgernaey said:

    [...] It isn't that MIR can't give me what I need, it's just that I need a smaller "room" to work with because it is more comparible to the venues in which I work with. [...]

    -> [URL]http://vsl.co.at/Player2.aspx?Lang=1&DemoID=5501[/URL]

    ... would this be dry enough ... ? 😉

    /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library
  • P
    P

    I use Quested VS2108's. That's about $3000.
  • C
    C

    Dietz,

    That is definitely dry enough lol.  Was that the maximum setting of "wetness" for that room?  Did you add any additional reverb processing from Vienna Suite or is that just the pure room from roompack2?  I am trying to get a feeling of where the rooms fall in compared to the huge concert halls.  Specifcally, I need a nice "wet" sound for string sections, but not as wet as the larger concert halls are giving me at the moment.  I need a "closer" sounding "wet".  (using Appassionata Strings I and Chamber Strings from Special Edition).

    Paul,

    Thanks for the speaker recommendation, I have never heard of those.  I am going to do some research.  I have also found ATC speakers which are suppoesd to be some of the worlds best (and come in around $10,000.00 a pair).  Quite a bit more than my original mark but perhaps worth taking the dive into.  They are incredibly smooth sounding.  Completely hand made woofers and I probably would have them for many many yeras to come.

    Maestro2be
  • M
    M

    Not as expensive, but I love the Adam A7.
  • P
    P

    It depends a lot on how big your studio area is amongst other things. Quested are world famous. Take my word for it. Hans Zimmer has VS2108's somewhere in his studio. High praise indeedy.  My computer/music tech man uses Adams with a sub. Great monitors in the price range.

    ATC's are overkill unless you are really into the commercial world of recording and come in at a lot more than $3000. Great monitors. Once you get to a certain point you'd be hard pressed to hear any difference in a smallish room.

    If you can afford, go for the Quested VS2108's. They are technically near field monitors. Active. No sub required.
  • Z
    Z
    One thing which strikes me about this question is that you haven't described in too much detail the size of the room you are working in nor the kind of work you do (or did I miss that) and there seems to be a default position of going big. Are you looking to impress a client or looking for something to use on a daily basis? Most people I know use nearfields, dynaudio, genelec, yamahas, ADAMs and get great results without resorting to main's or mid-fields. Maybe if you are composing for film it is good to be able to crank it up and get an impressive sound but I'm a firm believer that the music should sound impressive when turned down and not rely on muscle to make it impress.

    I'm pretty lucky in that I have daily access to a wide range of monitors; some big, some small. In terms of big monitors I use PMC ib1s powered by a Krell FPB 200 on a daily basis and Genelec 1037s every other day. They are both amazing (though the PMC configuration has the edge). For surround sound I have a a set of Genelec 8050's with a sub. Also good and very powerful. However the monitors I use almost every hour of the day in my composing studio are a pair of Genelec 8040's which in terms of balance and room size are ideal. No they don't make quite as as big a sound as the above nor do they make that room look like a Trevor Horn studio but there is no way I would mix on anything bigger... However whilst I agree to some extent with PaulIR's comments about the ATC's I must say that having mixed two albums on the ATC SCM 20SL's (which are relatively small near fields, only 17inches high but which are very serious and weigh 30kg!) that these are by far the best speakers I've mixed on. I've done extremely long sessions with these and never felt ear fatigue. Also, given that you are on this VSL forum I guess for orchestral music the midrange is pretty important to you and if I had the money (I think they are about 3000euros) then these would be my first choice. For electronic music or for big film music and the need to impress a client maybe not but if you want something to live with and trust then these are it.
  • C
    C

    Thanks Zentrumsounds.  Glad to hear it wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me with the ATC's.  They were literally so smooth and amazing sounding I couldn't believe it.  I decided to buy them.  A lot more than what I thought I would be spending, but the quality of these are amazing.  And OH MY GOD are they heavy!  My back is sore from moving them around lol!  Now to arrang emy studio again to fit all this stuff in it and make room for a controller now (thinking Novation SL MK2).

    By the way, I bought the 20's as those were the ones I demo'd.  The other ones are way to large and the 10s weren't anywhere near as good as the 20's.

    Maestro2be
  • P
    P

    For my own personal work and the reviews I write for both Film Music Magazine and Sonic Control, I use KRK VXT8s. The frequency range covers virtually the entire orchestral spectrum. With them I use an RME Fireface 800. The combination of the RME and KRKs creates an awesome sound for mixing.
  • S
    S

    I'm surprised nobody has suggested the K+H 0300.  These are possibly just a bit more money (about the same as the Quested VS208s) but less than others mentioned.  The K+H 0300 offer the advantage over the Focals, Quested and others in that it is cost-effective and compact 3-way system.  Plus, if you add a sub, it would be a 4-way system.

    I don't have the K+H 0300's myself (not yet) but they have gotten rave reviews and seem to be the darlings of the tech crowd over at gearslutz. They'd be first on my radar.

    I would certainly give them a listen before you purchase anything.