Powered Monitors for production, 1000-1500 budget.

[woensl.itis]

Hello all,

This is kind of a continuation of a thread made in the Subwoofers section. I am purchasing a 2.1 setup that I will be using for mixing/production. The sub I will be getting will be from Hsu Research. Either the VTF-15h or the VTF2 mk4 (possibly 2).

I still need powered monitors, though. My budget is 1500. The music I listen to most is Jazz and Electronic. Producing electronic will be the most requirement intensive on my hypothetical system.

So can you guys point me in the right direction?

 

[shadyJ]

You already know my suggestion in this area: the JBL LSR4326 with its room EQ. I used to have monitors sitting on a desktop and the acoustics reflections from the desk would cause a nasty upper bass peak. It left after I raised my speakers but at that point the highs had diminished somewhat because the tweeters weren't aimed at my listening position. I could have avoided this if I had just EQ'd out the peak, but I was younger and back then I didn't have the sense to get some measuring equipment and an equalizer. The JBL LSR kit does all that automatically. The only other monitor system that I know of which has room correction equalization is a Genelec system, but that system costs nearly four times as much. What's also nice about the JBL system is it has a digital input, a SPDIF Coax.

 

[woensl.itis]

To be honest that looks exactly like what I need.
In terms of accuracy, no problems?

Specs say they bottom out at 55Hz. Where do they actually bottom out? Am I gonna have to cross over at 80? I'd rather have the sub take over at 60 if the JBL's can really handle it.

 

[shadyJ]

I think they would make it to 60 hz pretty easy. They are using good drivers, and the woofer's amp alone is 150 watts. And, according to the spec (55Hz-20kHz +/-1.5 dB) they don't bottom out at 55, they just start to roll off there, so you ought to get some usable bass below that point too. I would experiment with different crossover points regardless, and keep whichever measures flattest. If you don't trust that spec, there is always the LSR4328 with 8" woofers and a 50 hz extension to a 1.5 dB roll off, but it is $460 more. that is kind of a lot to pay for 5 hz of extra bass, but those 8" drivers would be good for it for sure.

 

[woensl.itis]

As with my previous thread, the bidget here is flexible. I'm looking for a SERIOUS pair of production-level powered monitors.
If there's something better @ $1700, I would give it serious consideration.
I'm not looking in the bass department necessarily. If I need to set the crossover at 60Hz and EQ, that's fine.

ShadyJ you have been absolutely invaluable so far.

Just waiting for some other peeps to chime in.

 

[woensl.itis]

So, looking on some other sites (such as simply looking at Hsu's bookshelves), I'm wondering how this 1100 dollar pair will compare? I'm getting a 2.1 amp.

Just making sure that the best bet for my puposes is to get a pair of powered monitors rather than a pair of bookshelves.

 

[shadyJ]

Studio monitors are made for near-field critical listening, they are supposed to have the most neutral sound as they can. This way you won't be inadvertently compensating for something that only exists in your setup and which could throw off the sound on anyone else's rig. Typical home audio bookshelf speakers are sometimes neutral, but are often voiced for an effect, and having anything other than neutrality is undesirable for monitors. The Hsus for instance, are not the most neutral speakers you can get for the money, but they aren't too bad. They wouldn't be my first choice for a monitoring system (lol, I should admit I have produced and mixed things on my Hsu speakers and it didn't sound bad, but they weren't very serious things). I bet you could use some higher end bookshelf speakers that measure well for mixing, like the KEF R series or some Ascend Sierras, but I would just play it safe and use monitors. I'm not sure I would want to use a typical home audio receiver for mixing either, I wouldn't want to risk any kind of processing to screw up the sound, you would only be able to use direct mode for monitoring, and at that point there isn't much point in using the receiver in the first place when you could have just used a standalone amp.

 

[woensl.itis]

So, what you're saying is these JBL's are amped and all set up for neutrality so it's out of my hands, thus preventing me from screwing up the mix somehow. Wow.... what a smart concept, as I would most assuredly screw something up! xD

And basically, if I DID end up using a pair of bookshelves for this, i'd have to amp them anyway, and would just be turning them into powered monitors, myself.

So basically, I should take from all this that - YES - This pair of JBL's is a serious pair of monitors, and it is not going to limit me in any way for the time being?

1100 is a lot of money for lil ol' me. I'm just getting anxious.

 

[shadyJ]

So, what you're saying is these JBL's are amped and all set up for neutrality so it's out of my hands, thus preventing me from screwing up the mix somehow.

Lol, they won't prevent you from screwing stuff up- if you are new to mixing you will always find a way to screw stuff up, they will just let you know what is going on with the sound, and only if you have them set up correctly.

And basically, if I DID end up using a pair of bookshelves for this, i'd have to amp them anyway, and would just be turning them into powered monitors, myself.

Correct.

So basically, I should take from all this that - YES - This pair of JBL's is a serious pair of monitors, and it is not going to limit me in any way for the time being?

1100 is a lot of money for lil ol' me. I'm just getting anxious.

JBL's aren't the only way to go, but it is a solid way, and it saves you the time and hassle of buying an EQ and equalizing the sound, which can be tedious. The JBL's are not going to limit you at all, at least if you set them up correctly. I should add though, there are other good monitors out there, like Mackie, Adam, Tannoy, Genelec, and so on. Gearsluts is one of the big places to talk about studio monitors, you will get a lot more informed opinions and info there than here. This forum is more for home audio than pro audio. Anyway, you really should drop in some nearby pro-audio shops like Guitar Center and Sam Ash and see what they have. They will have a lot of nice shiny things though, so be careful not to be buy anything impulsively. Ignore their big super sales, they seem to have them every weekend but their markdowns are not as great when you really comparison shop. If you see something you like, look up the price online and ask if they will price match.

I hope you busy making music during all of this though, you really don't need fancy gear to make great tunes, fancy gear just makes it a bit more fun to make great tunes!

 

[woensl.itis]

Well, I'm busy getting prepped to do so.

So this forum is more about HT and home audio, eh? I kinda got that idea.

You've still been exceedingly helpful.

I will give gearsluts a shout. I'll also stop by guitar center tomorrow. I just dislike hearing all the guitar center guitarists.......