DBvader Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I was wondering if someone on this board can help me pick out a pair of studio monitors. Im helping a friend get the best set he can. here are the requirements: *Audio Fidelity is the most important *No Surround Sound (stereo is fine) *No Headphones *200 - 500 range thanks a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I'm employed at a Guitar Center, and they carry near-field studio monitors from JBL, Mackie, Alesis, Event, and Yamaha...go to www.guitarcenter.com for more info and a location near you (they're having a big blowout this Friday the 4th...check 'em out)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 DBvader, I assume you mean for pair? $200 would be a bit light. The Mackies will be hard to get for that. I have the Alesis Monitor One, the model that isn't the actives. The Monitor One Mark II is good for the money. The actives would be easier. The Events are also a good speaker. My mixes done on my Alesis sound very, very close when played back on my JBL4311 set. Amazing when the JBLs have a 12 inch and the ALesis have a 6.5 inch woofer. I would love a pair of 4412s, but they are through the roof now. Maybe the Mackie 824 actives, but that is also way more money. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBvader Posted July 1, 2003 Author Share Posted July 1, 2003 i appreciate the responses, i will check guitar center this weekend...any specific suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 "200 - 500 range" !!! wow great beer budget,look for Yorkville powered monitors,you should find then around $400.Yorkville sound good for inexpensive monitors and are well built. Forget Mackie,Genelec,PMC and Dynaudio,these cost way more.You could also take into consideration JBL,but they are also a bit over the budger fixed. On a side note,Yamaha monitors are GARBAGE.Pure hype,like the Sony WM40 boombox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 $200-500 for powered monitors is very light. Event 20/20 passives are $250-300 a pair. Good monitors if you've got a good amp to drive them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I concur, yamaha's are crap. I once visited a studio that had the top of the line Mackie monitors and they sound great. however that is a damn tight budget to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Mackies are great equipment, worth the money IMO, and make great monitors. FYI (I also use thier amps and soundboards. The 1604 vlz is a great board...) OK, so your trying to record something to make it sound great, true? This, like a lot of things in the audio recording chain, is not an area to skimp on. Please save your money get what you really want here and do it right the first time. The few extra weeks / months spent getting far superior equipment to help you get "that sound" your looking for, recorded right the first time, is worth every penny especially in the mix down phase. Don't kid yourself. If you want to sound like the pros... use what they do. And a LOT of pros seem to like the mackies too. My 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 The only JBL studio monitor worth buying, IMO, is a pair of pre-Harmon Control series. I mean Pre Harmon - since Harman Audio bought them out, their studio gear has been utterly worthless. Genelec and Mackie do seem to be the drug of choice in a lot of mid-level studios. The high-end guys use all manner of esoteric gear that is well out of most of our price ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Addendum: Don't expect new Mackie gear to be anywhere near the level of quality of the Mackie we're accustomed to. They just moved their entire manufacturing operation to China - to compete with the Behringer class. Disgusting, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Yeah, Griff...it is sad. And there are some Yamaha pro sound monitors that are assembled in GA...go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 I know two different organizations with two different Mackie mixers. Both have had mic inputs go dead on them. On one of them, Mackie couldn't figure out what was wrong. JBL in Japan still makes the 4412 series (I think that is the model, I've lost the link). I haven't heard any of their newer stuff, but Harman owns almost everything: AKG AMEK CROWN International DBX Digitech Infinity JBL Lexicon Mark Levinson Revel Soundcraft Studer And others. Just because they own JBL isn't the problem. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 ---------------- On 7/3/2003 7:16:17 AM Marvel wrote: Just because they own JBL isn't the problem. Marvel ---------------- Not saying that at all, Marvel. I'm saying that the quality level on JBL studio monitors (particularly the Control series) has gone to ****. They still make killer THX packages (the Synthesis line is outstanding) and some pretty damned good hifi and PA speakers - but their studio monitor lines have gone to **** since the takeover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 What about the LSR series? I haven't heard them, but are well respected. Regarding Yorkville, a friend of mine in college had a pair of those closefields and we brought them in to the college studio to do measurements. We tested the big Urei mains, Westlake 3-ways, NS-10, and some smaller 2-way Ureis(813?). The Yorkvilles were the only ones to reach 20kHz!! By no means would they be my first coice among those, but we all thought it was quite interesting. They were pretty good, and they translated pretty well, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 If near field monitoring is your boat, check out the offerings from b&h proaudio and video. They sell hafler, mackie, krk and others. I think when I last called the haflers were about the cheapest, coming in around 189 each. www.bhphotovideo.com is their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 If used is okay, then your budget will allow you to get a better set for the same money. Again check all the shops for any trade-ins and always deal to find the best bargains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Yeah, I heard the yammy ns10-m's aren't that great sounding. But they are flat in response. Why do you think that most any major studio had a set in the control rooms for mixing ? But alas, they are no longer produced. I remember an article in gig magazine talking about an engineer bringing a set on ns-10m's with him in case the studio didn't own a set. They were the major staple a few years ago, but the need for bass a few octaves lower has spawned a new generation of monitors and powered subwoofer combo's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 ---------------- On 7/3/2003 11:02:05 PM michael hurd wrote: Yeah, I heard the yammy ns10-m's aren't that great sounding. But they are flat in response. Why do you think that most any major studio had a set in the control rooms for mixing ? But alas, they are no longer produced. I remember an article in gig magazine talking about an engineer bringing a set on ns-10m's with him in case the studio didn't own a set. They were the major staple a few years ago, but the need for bass a few octaves lower has spawned a new generation of monitors and powered subwoofer combo's. ---------------- No, they are not flat in response. Quite the contrary. Yamaha NS-10m's are carried from studio to studio because the engineers know from experience that "if you make it sound good on a pair of NS-10's, it'll sound good on anything" The NS-10m's are a nasty sounding speaker, far from flat. You mix on a pair of flat-response monitors, then check on NS-10's to make sure you've got a winner. No one mixes from beginning to end on NS-10's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnovaZero Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Get some YorkVille YSM1p's. EXTREMELY nice for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 Musicians Friend has a sale on Tannoys. Proto-J with amp. The Reveals are nice. Some of my studio buddies use this brand. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030704103156064012096135549936/g=home/search/d=tp?q=Tannoy+monitors'>Tannoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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