[tina m]

i know how much you boys like to talk about recording gear (ramshackles/ boydie etc)
so could someone help me choose some monitor speakers i only have £150 max to spend & they need to be nearfield ones ive worked out
 my room is 8' x 8' full of washing & junk & i will be sitting rght in front of them they need to be powered? i havent got a amp
 i also need a headphone amp so i can have 2 headphones going the same time ... can these 2 be combined?
thanks

[Paul]

Hi Tina,

I use these with my Mac set up.  They are worth taking a look.  Wonderful!

http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/soundsticks_review.htm

[James Nighthawk]

At £150 you may be better off getting a really solid pair of headphones. You'll get more balanced sound for mixing. £150 is not a big budget for speakers, but, its a half decent point for a pair of open reference cans...

[Boydie]

+1 on the headphones idea

I do ALL my recording, monitoring and mixing on headphones

To help get the feel of a proper studio set-up I use this set-up:

KRK 8400 Headphones
http://www.dv247.com/headphones/krk-kns-8400-professional-headphones--80557

Now here is the clever bit...

I use a Focusrite VRM Box that uses lots of techy gizmo stuff to make it sound like you are listening through speakers! - and not only that you can select from different speakers and listening environments to test mixes on different systems - your neighbours and others in the house may thank you as well 
http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/focusrite-vrm-box--82896

It is obviously not a direct replacement for speakers but for me I have to use headphones and I have been blown away with the results

You could probably get both for close to £150 if you made an offer or shopped around


Just another note on monitors - they are sometimes priced per pair and sometimes priced individually so make sure you check or your mixes could sound very one sided!

I also assume there is a second hand market out there but all caveats apply with second hand stuff and I bet there are more than a few trying to shift speakers with blown cones or drivers!

[tina m]

ok thanks guys
paul those look like some alien life form!   but i will check them out

james & boydie i have a good pair of headphones they are beyerdynamic dt990
what i need is monitors.... i have started recorded my friends sons band  & we cant all get in 1 pair of headphones!  & for recording i need to get something that will let me have 2 pairs of headphones working
i know £150 is not a lot which is why i need advice i suppose

 i was looking at these 2

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/presonus-hp4-headphone-amplifier/5412
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/behringer-ms-40-pair-digital-monitors/1088

if someone could squueze them together & in doing so  reduce the price !

[James Nighthawk]

Couple of things. There is no frequency response for the monitors. You want as wide as possible. 50-18000hz minimum.

And secondly, do you have an amp already? If so, shoot for passive speakers instead of active. That way your pennies are all going for the speakers, not the D/A circuitry

[Ramshackles]

My take on things:

- You absolutely should not only mix with headphones. For starters, the stereo field is totally over-exaggerated

- IMO (and general opinion of pro-dudes) best results are from using both a good set of studio monitors in conjunction with some crappy speakers (think 80's panasonic boombox/cheap stereo - something with not much bass and not much highs, mostly used for checking the mix). Headphones are mainly for recording and checking the mix towards the end.

- My advice would be to wait, save up and try to double your budget. You obviously have some speakers already and you would not get much improvement with a £150 budget at all. Double it and you could just about get a pair of Adam A3x's which are very decent (and even excellent in a good room).

When it comes to monitors, you totally get what you pay for. Be wary of 2nd hand aswell, as the main problems that arise with speakers are mechanical (either the cone or the tweeter breaking), which are only easily dealt with by replacing the whole thing!


If you get some cheaper speakers now, you will no doubt then go on to improve you other gear, or at least improve your skills. It wont be too long before you start to realise that these speakers, while seemingly a big step up at the time you got them, are not that much of an improvement and you wish you'd waited a bit longer to get a proper pair!....thats speaking from experience

[tina m]

 i was hoping youd give your opinion ramshackles & of course £350 is a lot of money for those speakers
yes i have monitors but they dont work so i have to use headphones
i was wondering about getting them fixed they have an amp in them & there seems to be a problem with the headphone socket ...when you pulled the headphone lead out the speakers came on but now they dont.....i expect that would cost nearly as much as i payed for them anyway
oh i dont know what to do!

[Ramshackles]

Not sure I understand...the speakers dont come on at all, or it just that only the headphone output works?

[tina m]

Not sure I understand...the speakers dont come on at all, or it just that only the headphone output works?

theres something wrong with the headphone socket you have to keep fiddling with the jack plug to get both chanells working & when you pull it out  if your very lucky one speaker might work 

my brother says hes going to try to get a replacement & my sons going to put it in for me....which will be brilliant!

[seriousfun]

For the money you have available you should be able to pick up a second hand pair of Behringer Truth B2031a powered monitors.'

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHB2031A

I believe they released a new model B2030A but it is not as good. Lower bass response and lower quality all over.

Both models are nearfield speakers and are powered so dont require an amp.

Regards
Al.

[tina m]

thankyou Al for the recommendation...i  have now got my monitors working again which is brill so i am sticking with them for the time being

[domstone86]

I know the issue is resolved, but the best way to figure out what you want is to go into a shop yourself and listen to the options. Everyone will prefer some speakers over other ones.

Whilst a flat frequency response and low rolloff is essential, it's also the stereo image and clarity of the overall signal that play a huge part in a successful mix.

I don't have any studio monitors atm, and I know I REALLY need some, but you'll know if you're getting the right ones because you can hear exactly where things are and how far away they are so you can slot everything into your stereo image like a tasty sandwich! (Or a jigsaw)

This isn't a message to you as such, just a general statement.

[VirtualGuitarGuy]

Your room is a similar size to mine and I've been through two different sets of monitors which were either too big, too loud, too bassy, not bassy enough...

...then my friend sold me his Samson Rubicon R5a for £150 and they're perfect nearfield monitors for me.

It's virtually impossible to decide which monitors to buy from reading either the company blurb or product reviews but my recommendation would be to seek some of these out for a good price and try them.

One thing is, they're not too bassy and they are VERY true. I use Beyer Dynamic DT700 over ear headphones which are also really spacious and moving between these and the monitors is a perfect representation of the mix. Whenever I bouce things down, they now sound as I want them and this is an important factor for monitors.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll do some research but I would take the reviews with a pinch of salt.

Good luck (if you haven't already sorted yourself out with some that is!)