Home Studio Monitors

[mrblue]

Hello,

I'm looking for suggestion for home studio monitors. I would be using these for various applications, streaming music, mixing, but mainly for jamming/playing with guitar and bass plugins (wearing headphones gets annoying after a while). I have a very small space so I would be looking at something with 3" speakers. I have been looking at the IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors and was curious if anyone has had experience with these playing with guitar and/or bass plugins.

IK Multimedia - iLoud Micro Monitor

iLoud Micro Monitor is the smallest studio reference monitor in the world

www.ikmultimedia.com

Thanks.

 

[CanserDYI]

I'm telling you, you are saving such a minimal space and doing zero to benefit you by buying 3" monitors. They never, ever, sound good in my opinion. 5" is like minimum in my opinion.

 

[col]

Adam A5X for small room is my suggestion.

 

[crushingpetal]

How small is your space?

 

[c7spheres]

I have a pair of cheap Insignia monitors with a sub. They cost $20 and sound great at really low volumes. Like everyone is sleeping volumes. They won't give you much above converstaion levels but for $20 they're great. My buddy has a great pair of sterlings he got for like $100 on a guitar center deal too. They get loud enough to pump and are good for mixing he says too. Of course Yamaha hs8's, Rokit's, Genelec etc but those are a a ton more money. The more expensive you get the harder it is to justify unless you really need it. Try maybe an old stereo system with a couple 3 way speakers from back in the day. Those go used at garage sales and on craigslist and in pawn shops for cheap all the time. If you need to mix and need the accuracy etc then get something like the yamaha's imo i really like hs8's

 

[budda]

Yamaha HS5?

 

[Briz]

How small is the space? If they're going to be within 2 feet of a wall, I'd recommend front firing ports. For mixing, acoustic treatment would be my first priority, if the room isn't already treated.

 

[cindarkness]

Adam A5X for small room is my suggestion.

Would recommend Adam T5V if on a budget.
But as per usual, good monitors don't outweigh proper room treatment/speaker placement.

 

[Emperoff]

Never buy monitors below 5" unless you're doing a 2:1 setup. They're a waste of money.

 

[TedEH]

Would recommend Adam T5V if on a budget.

If they're anything like the T7V, I'll add a +1 - but with a caveat.

Use case mentioned bass - IMO the Adams T series are relatively "honest" about low-end compared to some other speakers I've used. For comparison, I used to have Rokits, which have a low end hype that make them "fun" to play bass content through, but it's a detriment to mixing until you get used to how it translates. The Adams are the opposite. They'll translate more honestly, but the hype isn't there - so if you're used to "bassy" speakers, they'll sound disappointing at first. It's not that the bass is missing, it's just not exaggerated. I'd assume that this is the same for the 5s. I assume most of the time 5" monitors and smaller are expecting you to get a sub if you're going to focus a lot on low end.

 

[cthsqd]

I'd say that any average shelf monitors will do fine, because if you want your mixes sound good you need to check them on various platforms. Adams' 5 are ok, as well as many others, but don't sweat on it. There is no ultimate solution to it.

 

[Ross82]

Genelec 8010A's all day long. Incredibly good monitors for the size, plenty loud enough for smaller space use and very accurate, I recommend them all the time. Compact size, easy to pack up, I've taken them to hotel rooms and offices and they take up little room. A bit heavy but worth it.

If you want extra bass depth/punch you can add a Genelec Sub and you have an awesome monitor setup

 

[zou rui]

IK Mico Monitor

 

[nickgray]

I can vouch for Genelec 8020, they're small and insanely good, but they're pretty expensive.

Looking the comments, I also wouldn't worry too much about bass if I were you. Unless you can properly treat your room, all those big ass 8" monitors will not be even remotely accurate in the bass region. Case in point - my 8020 roll off at 62hz. Even with such a relatively high bass roll off, the bass response is all over the place in my room because it's not treated. Also, for rock and metal the difference is not that huge, it is way more noticeable in electronic music though.

You can always add a sub later, but it depends if it can be properly integrated with the monitors.

Worth noting that iLouds have a DSP, they claim the latency is 1ms for the analogue input. Which is tiny, but latency adds up, so if your computer with your audio interface can provide 5ms roundtrip latency max, you'll get 6ms with these monitors. In other words, you might feel the impact of that 1ms in some situations. But it really depends.

I'm telling you, you are saving such a minimal space and doing zero to benefit you by buying 3" monitors. They never, ever, sound good in my opinion

These iLoud ones have DSP shenanigans, afaik. They do go down to about 55hz per specs. Yamaha HS5, for example, roll off at 60hz. So if they really do get down to 55hz, they're have the same amount of bass as a lot of 5" monitors.

 

[LunatiqueRob]

IK Mico Monitor

I have these and they are amazing for being so being tiny, with surprising low-end frequency response in the bass. I use them for my upstairs bedroom setup, while downstairs in my studio I have a $10K 2.1 setup with Klein + Hummel O 300Ds and Neumann KH805.

I would say the tiny IK iLouds are the best small sized speakers I've ever heard. They punch way above their weight/size/price.

 

[cindarkness]

If they're anything like the T7V, I'll add a +1 - but with a caveat.

Use case mentioned bass - IMO the Adams T series are relatively "honest" about low-end compared to some other speakers I've used. For comparison, I used to have Rokits, which have a low end hype that make them "fun" to play bass content through, but it's a detriment to mixing until you get used to how it translates. The Adams are the opposite. They'll translate more honestly, but the hype isn't there - so if you're used to "bassy" speakers, they'll sound disappointing at first. It's not that the bass is missing, it's just not exaggerated. I'd assume that this is the same for the 5s. I assume most of the time 5" monitors and smaller are expecting you to get a sub if you're going to focus a lot on low end.

I actually have a direct comparison of my T5V and my friends KRK 5 (I think it's "Classic" something variant). And yes I have to agree that the KRK's appeal more to the bass heavy dance music style, while T5V is more tamed and natural in the lower end. I've never felt a need for a sub but some might, acoustics are acoustics after all.

 

[mrblue]

I have these and they are amazing for being so being tiny, with surprising low-end frequency response in the bass. I use them for my upstairs bedroom setup, while downstairs in my studio I have a $10K 2.1 setup with Klein + Hummel O 300Ds and Neumann KH805.

I would say the tiny IK iLouds are the best small sized speakers I've ever heard. They punch way above their weight/size/price.

My room is untreated and my desktop space is very limited so the IK iloud Micros sound like a fantastic affordable option for someone, like me, who is more of an enthusiast rather than a pro or serious musician. How are these for playing plug-ins through?

That being said, I would assume anything would sound better than what I have currently: a pair of cheap Samson monitors I found on Amazon for dirt cheap. No matter what I do, playing plug-ins through them sounds like I'm listening to an an old AM radio.

 

[ArtDecade]

I use a set of Yamaha HS-5s and a set of Genelex 8020s for most stuff and one of those Avantone cubes for hearing what it will sound like on your phone.

 

[mpexus]

If you dont need to "mix and have Neutral sound" get Bookshelf HIFI Monitors. I find "REAL" Monitors sound like shit to listen to Music

 

[TedEH]

If you dont need to "mix and have Neutral sound" get Bookshelf HIFI Monitors. I find "REAL" Monitors sound like shit to listen to Music

At this point, even "budget" hifi speakers sound pretty good, IMO. I picked up some $100-ish bookshelf speakers a month or two ago just for listening in another room, and it's hard to be mad at them. Not "flat" by a long shot, but certainly not boring to listen to.