Music only sounds as good as the speakers you play it through. What monitor speakers do you use?
Each Tuesday we open our mic to readers and lurkers alike to come out of the woodwork and tell us your thoughts and opinion, your experiences and mistakes, what you love and what you hate. We want to hear from you, and here’s your chance.
What speakers do you use when producing music? Are you happy with your them?
Do you have any advice about what to look out for when buying monitor speakers? Do you have any disastrous or fortunate stories to share with us?
When mastering, do you only use your monitor speakers, or do you use a variety of speakers?
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By Adrian Try
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Adam A7′s. Spectacular monitors, especially for the cost. When “mastering”, i switch between the A7′s with and without a dual 12″ sub and JBL LSR6328P’s with and without the sub.
i cannot recommend the A7′s enough.
I have a small setup and I don’t have any great monitors when I’m recording music. I use my computer’s Altec Lansing VS2421 setup (2 2-way satellites and a sub), which I think has good clarity, but definitely colors the sound pretty much like any computer speaker setup would. Needless to say I can’t trust them too much, so when I’m mixing and mastering, I listen to the track(s) on as many playback devices i can find: other computers’ speakers, my car’s stock system, our home theater, headphones, a cheap Sony CD player, etc.
As I’m building my setup I’m looking at some decent monitors, and from the ones I’ve used (or at least heard in studios) that I could reasonably afford, I’m looking at the Yamaha HS80M’s. Good sound, reasonably priced, and not as fatiguing to my ears as some others in the same price range I’ve used.
Monitor speakers seems a bit redundant, especially 5 times in one short article!
well.. monitor speakers are the most important thing in studio!
by the way, i use tapco s8
KRK Rokit 5′s. Surprisingly satisfied with them. Have them isolated on some Auralex pads. A little colored but nothing you can’t used to.
m-audio studiophile bx5a. they’re okay and pleasurable for listening music, but have some flaws for mixing or mastering, i think.
i have these too, my mixes have come out good in my opinion, they arent the best mixes but im only started out, so when i reference a track on another set of speakers im pretty it is my mistake and some tweaking usually works, except i know have a sub would complete the system.
Yamaha HS80M are really good, especially for that price tag. I’ve been using them since last year. At first they sounded a little bit odd; it took me some time to get used working on them.
I’m using Genelec 8030a’s coupled with a 6050b sub-woofer. I’ve been incredibly impressed by these speakers (I originally started out with the 8020a’s) for their clarity and the incredible punch they pack into such a small enclosure.
Having upgraded to the 8030′s I can happily report that there is no need to ‘re-learn’ my speakers.
Regarding mastering I primarily work off my Genelec’s as I know them very well, however I also reference stuff from multiple sources: my low quality car stereo, Sennheiser HD650′s, and my ancient mini hi-fi.
No funny stories about my monitors – they’ve led a very simple life, they convert electric energy to acoustic energy and make my ears happy.
Another vote for Adam A7s. I added a sub recently for low end reinforcement, but the Adams are quite capable on their own. Oh, and I use AKG 240 DF (now discontinued) headphones; they come closest to the sound of the vitage Ureis in the main studio…
I’ve been using Yamaha HS80Ms for over a year now and have been really happy with them. They’re pretty forward sounding and have good stereo placement. They also have a monster low end. In fact I had to roll off the bass to get them to sound acceptable in my little studio (2.5m x 2.5m x 3.5m). I generally mix electro and metal so I need monitors with fast transients and good lows. Oh, and they look great too – jet black enclosures & White cones.
M-Audio Studiophile BX8a. For their price tag, they have given me great results (mind you, I’m a little bit of a novice yet).
I’ve been using Fostex PM 0.5′s for my project studio for the last three years, and they do the job excellently for me. Tight neutral sound, I prefer this over Dynaudio monitors. I have tried working on Dynaudio’s, but everything sounds good through them… I don’t trust them, but I guess it’s just a matter of getting used to them.
Yamaha NS10 Studio
I have always used Tannoy’s and been really happy with them. I had been using Tannoy reveals with a Tannoy TS8 sub until very recently but I just got a pair of Tannoy System 1000′s with the dual concentric driver. Lovely speakers.
I’ve been using my Event 20/20BAS monitors for years. I think by today’s standards, they probably aren’t the greatest, but I’m very comfortable with them, and given their reliability and quality, I haven’t seen much of a need to replace them – even though I’d love some Adam or Genelec speakers…
But you know what they say in this business – if it isn’t going to make you more competitive, don’t buy it.
KRK Rokit 5′s, love ‘em. Great for the money.
Earphones! Etymotic Research ER4′s. Looking to upgrade to a triple driver set though, like the Ultimate Ears UE-10.
I have Roland DS-30A. They’re pretty ok and have digital inputs up to 24bit/96kHz, but i’d like to have something bigger than these.
Blue Sky Exo (2.1) – this little monitoring system is excelent. But if you have money go for Blue Sky Media Desk/Pro Desk an so on. The future is 2.1 and 5.1 anyway.
I have a pair of Alesis M1 Active Mk2 speakers. I’m working in a small room with no isolation or insulation at all and these speakers still manage to have at least good quality of sound.
Another Blue Sky Exo user here.
I’m a bedroom mixer and I like them (except the stupid position of the on/off switch). Don’t take much space, easy to position on a desk and really good stereo image.
I just eq them differently for entertainment purpose.
I use Samson Rubicon R8a – great honesty! Have a look at them, especially if you are limited in money.
I have a pair of the R5as that I keep on my primary computer for music and whatever kind of demo stuff I want to do. They were my favorite sound for the pricepoint I was looking for. They went above and beyond what I expected, or even needed!
it doesnt matter what monitors you have from what ive read, as long as you know what to listen for and how to correct it. wolfgang gartner says his monitors are old and are colored, so that is an example
KRK Rokit 6′s
great monitors
Now I work with Yamaha HS80M – IMO, great monitors for price, and Tannoy Reveal Active (of studio’s owner), but dont like their – raised lo-mids, very sharp hi-mids and cutted bass and treble.
I use bookshelf sony audio speaker. It sounds good too.