Studio Monitors.

[Matticus]

I home record some times , but my speakers are some £20 pc crap we had in the loft. I want to upgrade to something a little more profesional. I'd say on a budget of under 100. they don't have to be uber loud. I looked at rocket 5's, but they are gunna cost too much. Soooo. any recomendations?

 

[Rev2010]

Under 100 pounds?? Just get a decent set of headphones till you can get real monitors. Anything at that low a price will not be good.


Rev.

 

[col]

^ +1

AKG K240 Monitors are cheap and very good headphones.

 

[Mop]

I'm in the same boat as you, I've decided to get some decent headphones instead of shit monitors. Looking at the ATH-M50 which seem to have a very good rep, especially for the price.

 

[Taylor2]

Monitors that are even worth mentioning are at least $300 EACH.


Get some good AKG headphones for $150.

 

[SnowfaLL]

Dont give up looking for what you want.

 

[Scar Symmetry]

Spend a little bit more and get M-Audios.

M-Audio Studiophile BX5A Deluxe Active Studio Monitor Speakers (Pair) | DV247

 

[Krucifixtion]

If your looking for really cheap studio monitors and can't spend much you should probably just get a decent pair of computer speakers instead. I picked up a pair of Yamaha HS50M's for $300 for the pair and after comparing all the studio monitors that are 5" speaker in the lower price range those are def the best and most true sounding for the money. I would avoid the real cheap M-Audio stuff. Like I said if were talking under $100, just get decent computer speakers and learn to mix on those, but it's gonna be a bit harder to get a decent mix with those.

 

[gunshow86de]

I don't know if the UK has the equivalent of Craigslist, but, if they do, scour those. I got a set of M-Audio Bx5a's for $80.

 

[Taylor2]

was also going to post something like this, but tired of the stereotypical responses people give (like the ones in this post so far) .. Headphones DONT work for some people in this situation, especially people who want to practice along with a high quality recording, you cant have earphones in and hear your amp in the background too.

M-Audio makes a decent pair for $99 US new. Look at those. Theres also others.

Bullshit.

- There are MANY people who monitor on headphones and get great results.
In fact, there are a couple Mastering Engineers I've had the chance to talk to, who master ONLY on headphones, then reference using different monitors and car stereos.

- How would headphones not work with all people? Headphones should be the first way to go if you are in a un-treated room.

you cant have earphones in and hear your amp in the background too.

- If you are recording guitars, you have a mic on the cab, then you can hear yourself through headphones or monitors.
It's called 'live monitoring'.



I'd rather have good headphones which are relatively flat response-wise then have shitty monitors in a shitty room and get reflections, cancellations, and un-even response.


I mean hey, we could all reccommend brand _______, which works for John Doe, but how do we know that it will work for this guy?

 

[Rev2010]

but tired of the stereotypical responses people give (like the ones in this post so far) .. Headphones DONT work for some people in this situation

Well gee screw you too! I think it's clear to everyone here that headphones are NOT a full on alternative to studio monitors. However, when some guy comes on here looking to get a pair of monitors for under $155 USD headphones are the only real answer. Any studio monitors that low, without getting some great used deal, are gonna suck and likely give worse results than using headphones. I've had some low end monitors that were 3x that price in the past and they sucked. I only got rid of the suck after getting my Dynaudio BM5A's. With small little super inexpensive shit monitors he won't even hear the low end and will have to keep tweaking the mix, hence the reason people said he should go with cans till he can afford to get decent monitors.


Rev.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

was also going to post something like this, but tired of the stereotypical responses people give (like the ones in this post so far) .. Headphones DONT work for some people in this situation, especially people who want to practice along with a high quality recording, you cant have earphones in and hear your amp in the background too.

M-Audio makes a decent pair for $99 US new. Look at those. Theres also others.

No offense intended... But this is total bullshit. You can monitor the track you're running your sound through in your DAW. And if you're recording in a real studio with your band, an engineer, producer, etc. You aren't going to cut your tracks live. You'll cut them in the room with your amp so you get the interplay between speaker and pickups and monitor with HEADPHONES so the mic on your cab doesn't pick up the rest of the recording. Thinking you'll do it any other way comes from too much reliance on amp modelers and gives you the wrong impression about what to expect in a real situation. In fact I'd say that a great set of headphones are necessary in addition to good monitors. Start with the good headphones.

 

[SnowfaLL]

Like I said, in my situation, earphones will not work at all.

If you are looking to record an album, your budget should be more than $155, point blank. If you are looking for a solution to hear stuff at home WHILE PLAYING, earphones will not work. Point blank.

But like I said, The guy is asking SPECIFICALLY for studio monitors, and you recommend earbuds? Its like if someone went "I want a car" and you tell him "Dont get a car, get a bicycle, its much better for the environment".. Sure, maybe thats true, but hes asking for something, give him the options for what he wants. I see it all the time here, its frustrating.

If you want to say he should look into getting earbuds, say it AFTER you recommend him something specifically HE is looking for. Not just saying "Everything under so much money is worthless" elitist attitude bullshit. Those M-Audio ones are exactly what hes looking for, and they will be good enough for what he needs to do in a hobbyist situation. Hes not running a fucking pro studio in his basement, otherwise he'd have more than $150 to spend.

 

[Rev2010]

Like I said, in my situation, earphones will not work at all.

If you are looking for a solution to hear stuff at home WHILE PLAYING, earphones will not work. Point blank.

Well you're point blank wrong and don't know what you're talking about. So there.

Gotta love that statement, "earphones will not work at all." Oh and for the record you should always track with phones on even if going direct since there will be a few milliseconds delay depending how far you are away from your speakers. Either way this is redundant info cause everyone knows tracking in a real studio is done with phones while your amp is usually in a different room altogether.


Rev.

 

[Rev2010]

"Dont get a car, get a bicycle, its much better for the environment"..

That is a lame analogy and completely not applicable here. Secondly, stop saying everyone told him to get earbuds! People recommend "headphones" like real ones that cover the ears. Do I have to point out that many are actually branded "Studio Monitor" or "Reference"?

Not just saying "Everything under so much money is worthless" elitist attitude bullshit.

How the fuck is it elitist to recommend someone go with good headphones when they have such a small budget??? To reflect on your stupid analogy - "If a guy goes into a car dealership and says I need to get around town but only have $100" wtf you think the car dealer will tell him? Go get a bicycle, that's right.

Pro headphones are not childs play. Do you listen to your studio monitors while walking around outside? How about while on the train or in the car? How about when at your friends house? How about in a bar? Seems to me YOU have the elitist attitude.


Rev.

 

[SnowfaLL]

I said exactly, in my situation, im NOT RECORDING. just need to hear the full spectrum of sound more, ie the bass (which comp speakers dont pick up well).. that way, when playing with that, if you have earphones in, you cant hear your own instrument, let alone the bass in the background.

 

[Rev2010]

I said exactly, in my situation, im NOT RECORDING. just need to hear the full spectrum of sound more, ie the bass

I don't know which M-Audio's you were referring to exactly but a quick lookup finds these at $150:

Buy M-Audio Studiophile AV40 | Powered Monitors | Musician's Friend

They only go down to 85hz whereas these Sony's

Buy Sony Studio Monitor Headphones | Studio Headphones | Musician's Friend

go down to 5hz. So how can you say that?? Cheap monitors do NOT reproduce the low frequencies well. Whatever, I'm done arguing this with you, it's truly silly.


Rev.

 

[SnowfaLL]

How the fuck is it elitist to recommend someone go with good headphones when they have such a small budget??? To reflect on your stupid analogy - "If a guy goes into a car dealership and says I need to get around town but only have $100" wtf you think the car dealer will tell him? Go get a bicycle, that's right.

Pro headphones are not childs play. Do you listen to your studio monitors while walking around outside? How about while on the train or in the car? How about when at your friends house? How about in a bar? Seems to me YOU have the elitist attitude.

Rev.

If someone walks into a Car dealership with the equivilant of what we're talking about (IE there is STILL enough money there to buy a BRAND NEW set of what he is looking for).. You tell him to go look at THOSE that are WITHIN HIS BUDGET!

If he walked into a car dealership with $40,000, which is not enough to afford a fucking Porshe, you dont tell him "Oh well everything else is a piece of shit except for my Porshe, therefor you should just go buy a bicycle".. Of course, thats EXACTLY what you are telling this guy. He should be well aware that his $150 monitors wont be as good as the $5000 ones, but that is what he is asking for.

Im not saying earbuds are not worth it.. the point is.. HE DIDNT ASK FOR THEM! So why the FUCK are you recommending that without even at least acknowledging what his original question was? If you say "Well, you could get these in the price you wanted, but maybe you should try earbuds instead, might get better results for the money".. Thats ok.. But what you did was just say flat out "Everything you will get under $100 is going to be total garbage, dont bother with it.".. AKA being a fucking jackass and ignoring what he was asking.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Dude you just COMPLETELY invalidated your recommendation by saying you're "not recording".

 

[SnowfaLL]

I don't know which M-Audio's you were referring to exactly but a quick lookup finds these at $150:

Buy M-Audio Studiophile AV40 | Powered Monitors | Musician's Friend

They only go down to 85hz whereas these Sony's

Buy Sony Studio Monitor Headphones | Studio Headphones | Musician's Friend

go down to 5hz. So how can you say that?? Cheap monitors do NOT reproduce the low frequencies well. Whatever, I'm done arguing this with you, it's truly silly.


Rev.

Like I said, the guy is home recording as a hobby, hes not a fucking professional studio releasing the next Metallica Album for millions of people around the world to listen to. You can still get good enough sound out of monitors in his price range, just like you can get a decent guitar thats playable under 2 grand. But I guess you'll disagree with me on that too, wont you?