I've read alot about monitors and it got me thinking. I've already had experience with monitors at my friend's studio and I've found that the mix there sound drastically different than my home stereo and computer speakers. Is there a downside to just getting a really good set of computer speakers with a subwoofer and 2 sattelites and mixing until you recognize the good sounds of home? I would also be using a pair of sennheiser hd25's to mix on which I'm quite familiar with and know what sounds good. Why don't you see this setup?
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Question about monitors
- Thread starter wildsponge
- Start date
I've found that the difference between studio and home has as much to do with the room as it does the monitors. So I wouldn't advise spending a lot of money on monitors unless you have a sound treated room to put them in.
The mixing room at a studio has a different function than your living room does. While your living room is designed to be a multifunctional living space, the mixing room is designed to be an acoustically transparent area for getting a good mix which will work on many different systems in many different rooms. So of course it's going to sound different/better. The audio quality of a mid to high end studio's control booth is going to rival some of the best audiophile setups out there.
I've been using an old pair of Alesis Monitor Ones for a while now. They do what I need them to do and now that I'm used to their sonic quirks, they do it well (for me). I used to mix in my basement, which is a large concrete room with a couch and computer desk. It didn't work very well and all my mixes sounded bad. Eventually I moved upstairs into my living room where I have a wall with seven bookshelves on it. My computer desk is on the wall opposite that one, about 12 feet away. The books help "treat" the room and my mixes sound a lot better now.
The mixing room at a studio has a different function than your living room does. While your living room is designed to be a multifunctional living space, the mixing room is designed to be an acoustically transparent area for getting a good mix which will work on many different systems in many different rooms. So of course it's going to sound different/better. The audio quality of a mid to high end studio's control booth is going to rival some of the best audiophile setups out there.
I've been using an old pair of Alesis Monitor Ones for a while now. They do what I need them to do and now that I'm used to their sonic quirks, they do it well (for me). I used to mix in my basement, which is a large concrete room with a couch and computer desk. It didn't work very well and all my mixes sounded bad. Eventually I moved upstairs into my living room where I have a wall with seven bookshelves on it. My computer desk is on the wall opposite that one, about 12 feet away. The books help "treat" the room and my mixes sound a lot better now.
I am definatley a supporter of having a good mix environment, i.e. a quite one, treated one. However as most of us have bedroom and not control rooms you pretty have to work with what you got. I would not encourage you to buy computer speakers. You are getting an 002 right? It has monitor outs, get a pair of powered monitors that you can afford and a good set of headphones and you should be able to get a fairly accurate idea of what your mix is like. Even with "good" computer speakers its really hard (in my experiance) to get what you want. As I am sure you know studio monitors have flat frequency response, this is what you want. I can almost guarantee (because you are a noob) if you get a some computer speakers with a sub woofer your mixes will lack bass, the mids will be muddy and the hi's will certanly not translate like you thought they would. It is recomendable to have multiple "reference" sources, such as the afore mentioned headphones as well as other speaker, boomboxes are handy, as well as popping your new mix in the car and going for a drive. Just like Msquared you will need to get to know your monitors. I say get some decent monitors and a pair of sony 7506 headphones and go to town.
Regardles of which monitors you use, mixing is pointless unless you're very familiar with their characteristics. Try this experiment. Grab your favourite CD, the one you've listened to 1,000's of times, and play it through your monitors. I'll bet you it sounds very different to how you remember it.
I used to mix on NS10's (as did everybody), then used the trusty Hi-Fi to check the mix. There was always something wrong with it. I went from my monitors to Hi-Fi so many times I eventually go sick of it and moved the Hi-Fi speakers into the studio. I mixed on both speakers, flicking from one to the other as I mixed. Worked a treat.... then Yamaha discontinued the NS10's and I felt it might be time to pack them away while they were still working.
So what do I use as monitors now. You guessed it - the trusty Hi-Fi speakers that I know so well. For what I do, they're working beautifully. It's all about familiarity.
Any minute now I'm going to get bombarded with people telling me I'm nuts. And those who don't say so are probably thinking it. That is why you don't see too many setups like this.
I used to mix on NS10's (as did everybody), then used the trusty Hi-Fi to check the mix. There was always something wrong with it. I went from my monitors to Hi-Fi so many times I eventually go sick of it and moved the Hi-Fi speakers into the studio. I mixed on both speakers, flicking from one to the other as I mixed. Worked a treat.... then Yamaha discontinued the NS10's and I felt it might be time to pack them away while they were still working.
So what do I use as monitors now. You guessed it - the trusty Hi-Fi speakers that I know so well. For what I do, they're working beautifully. It's all about familiarity.
Any minute now I'm going to get bombarded with people telling me I'm nuts. And those who don't say so are probably thinking it. That is why you don't see too many setups like this.
