Monitors

[mazz]

Quote:Thanks for all da answers... I actually just changed my speaker setup and now they sound completely different. Previously, they were in a corner, and I'm actually quite surprised at HOW different they sound. I'm hearing things more accurately and consistently now (I think). Before, I could move my head a little forward and the bass would change significantly, etc. I also noticed that, now that my monitors are in more open space, I'm hearing more treble... is this my imagination? It's the same room, but now they're set up in the middle of the room with space on all sides. For the record, the walls are bare for the most part, so I imagine there's a lot of reflection going on, but at least they're not cornered anymore. DaveDave, back to your original question!Glad you had some success in moving your speakers. The enhanced treble may be because it was being masked by the bass before, not sure. If speakers are in a corner, the bass is reinforced and you are probably now hearing less bass which your brain is translating in to more treble. You'll get used to the new sound.If you can put anything on the walls that is a bit absorptive or add a futon or something to the room to break up the parallel-ness of it, that would be helpful.I can say for sure that it's never a good idea to cook your speakers, it doesn't work like it does for cables and water bottles. Mazz

[ernstinen]

Here's how Neil Young mixes!Neil's got a mountain ranch above Santa Cruz, CA. He's got a huge sound system in his house, and one in his barn.The property has a lake on it, and when it's time to mix, Neil goes out on his lake in a boat.The house is channel R., and the barn is channel L.He speaks to this engineers through a walkie talkie. "More house! More barn!" He adjusts levels, eq, and panning from his rowboat.Ah, Neil ---- One of a kind! Ern

[grandmatarkin]

Wait... i SHOULDN'T cook my speakers? ... uh oh Yeah things sound a lot different now. Would blankets be ok to put over the bare walls? It's way too reflective in here...

[kouly]

Quote:Here's how Neil Young mixes!Neil's got a mountain ranch above Santa Cruz, CA. He's got a huge sound system in his house, and one in his barn.The property has a lake on it, and when it's time to mix, Neil goes out on his lake in a boat.The house is channel R., and the barn is channel L.He speaks to this engineers through a walkie talkie. "More house! More barn!" He adjusts levels, eq, and panning from his rowboat.Ah, Neil ---- One of a kind! Ern That is so funny, and I would not doubt that it is true. This sure would eliminateany reflections as long as his place is not situated between some nearby hills.Of course Mr Young would probably have those relocated.

[grandmatarkin]

Yes, instead of Neil having to think about the room he puts his monitors in, he's got to consider what monitor to put his rooms in When I made my actual professionaly produced CD (read: I didn't produce it), they used the Mackie HR824s. I really liked them. They sounded clean and full. Part of the problem I think is that I don't exactly know what to listen for ... they are on my consideration list though. But to what extent is it true that, if you really KNOW the sound of a set of speakers, that they will do you fine, like that Zappa thing about how he used cheap speakers but he KNEW the sound? Sorry for THE random caPITalizaTIOn I didn't really pose that question eloquently, but I think you know what I mean. And, not having a lot of knowledge of Zappa, I wonder how those mixes turned out. Hmmm...

[grandmatarkin]

Actually, I have the BX5's ... before they added the letter. I wonder how big the difference is. I think this calls for a google search. Glad to hear you like them though Dave

[mixopenta]

The choice of speakers are a very personal subject, and are directly dependent on your ears, as already wisely been pointed out. Having said that, some ground rules as an aid in making these choices can apply.The speakers and the room should live in symbiosis. And I'd like to think, that the flatter the response of the speaker (as measured in an anechoic chamber), the easier it is to calibrate the room according to them. If your speakers and room are not tuned together, at least to some basic degree, your mixes will invariably translate poorly, and you will have a hard time making your mixes "One size fits all" (which btw is yet another great F. Zappa album, among many). If there are plenty of uncontrolled peaks and dips in a speakers frequency response, it will be very difficult - if not close to impossible, to tune the room to compensate. It gets even worse as normal hi-fi speakers are prone to show varying frequency response at different levels. Another aspect of having studio monitors, as opposed to normal hi-fi stereo speakers, is that the studio monintors are more rigid, and are better in handling spikes from sudden bursts of sound emanating from plugging cables in and out, or accidentally run the taiko drum through your latest destroyer plug-in.Other than that, I'd say anything goes, whatever makes you happy. Best option though, is to have several sets of different speakers. If you are sensitive to mid-range, like I am, you'd want a pair of speakers (or your room tuned) having a slight dip in response in the mid range, so your mixes won't be too soft when played back on other systems. In the end it also depends on what your music is targeted for. If you do club music, get a pair of speakers to reflect that. If you do music for television, have a TV set to check it in. Radio, and so on and so forth. I won't go into scoring for film...

[davewalton]

Quote:Ah, the photo has to have a URL somewhere! If I put it in my Yahoo photos will I be able to link to it?Yep, if you know the URL. For example, typing in this code here:Code:[img]www.DaveWaltonMusic.com/PrivateArea/JohnMazzei.jpg[/img]Yields this result here:You DID ask...

[mazz]

Thanks to Dave's, uh, help I was able to post a couple of photos.This is the view looking toward the speakers. You can see the large painting that my wife painted years ago. That is the only treatment on that wall besides the bookcase.This is looking at the wall behind the listening position. Another painting and the piano, again no wall treatments.I heard back from GIK and I will be sending them a sketch of the room. They said it's totally feasible to mount the panels on the ceiling and the traps could go in just about any corner area, even where the walls meet the ceiling.Cool,Mazz

[stick]

Quote:Thanks to Dave's, uh, help I was able to post a couple of photos.This is the view looking toward the speakers. You can see the large painting that my wife painted years ago. That is the only treatment on that wall besides the bookcase.This is looking at the wall behind the listening position. Another painting and the piano, again no wall treatments.Yeah... the side wall I can see in the photo is close enough to give you issues. I'd put something to kill the 1st reflection there. And for sure the back wall above the piano (though, all that stuff on that wall makes for good diffusion) and as many bass traps as you want to hang in the wall/ceiling corner. The more the merrier. And something on the ceiling too. Cool paintings! My wife is an artist too... shameless plug!As a side note... for others who might be thinking about foam. Foam is ok if it's the right kind. Not any foam will do. The problem most people run into with foam is that they line the walls with thin stuff taking away ALL the high frequency reflections. But NONE of the mid or low stuff. So mixes done it that room will be VERY bright and crispy with no bottom. You have to treat the whole frequency range, and usually you want to lean on getting the lows under control. Enough bass trapping will probably get you in the ballpark on the rest of the frequency range. And then you can just treat the little areas that are 1st reflection points in your room.