Nearfield monitor advice

[Gary]

I've just moved my recording equipment into a new, slightly larger room and am upgrading most of my gear including a new pair of monitors.

I went to have a listen to some yesteday and narrowed down my choice to two makes. Both are very clear and detailed although monitor A has a more pronounced bass reponse than monitor B. Monitor B seems lighly thinner by comparison but still very good.

My first listen when I tried out my existing setup in the new room was that the room sounded a bit light on the bass. I'm leaning towards monitor A but I'm concerned that what sounds good in the room may turn out to be very bass heavy.

I will be doing a modicum of acoustic treatment to the room although this will be limited by cosmetic factors.

Which ones do I go for?

[AndyR]

Other guys are a lot more experienced/qualified than me for this, but I'd have thought if the room was a bit light on the bass, putting Monitor B in is more likely to result in recordings that are bass-heavy?

Anyway, I'd choose on the ones I "preferred". Back in my studio (living room in my case - no chance of accoustic treatment or anything along those lines) I tend to get round the "reference" bit like this:

All my stuff goes through a mixing desk - my amp modellers, synths, drum machines, the family CD player, the output from my laptop/souncard, the DVD player, and so on. And they all use my (cheap!) powered studio monitors.

About the only channel on the desk that ever has any EQ set at all is the channel that takes output from my laptop/soundcard - and I "calibrate" that by disconnecting the laptop, connecting the CD player to the same channel and listening to music similar to what I'm about to play around with. I set the EQ so that I like what I'm listening to (still the CD), then I disconnect the CD player, reconnect the laptop, keeping that EQ on the channel. Then when I listen to my playbacks and mixes, I know I'm in the right ballpark if, using this EQ on the desk, I like what I'm listening to.

Until I figured out this way of doing it, my recordings were either tinny or bass heavy, pretty much hit or miss, but recent attempts have been a lot more satisfying :D

[MDV]

Tuning the room is a whole other matter to choice of monitor.

Monitor wise, go for the most accurate, unhyped and revealing. Then go through the almighty ballache that is tuning the room (or at least a listening position).

Oh, and the correct answer to "what monitor" unless you have over a grand to spend is "Adam A7".

[Denim n Leather]

Without names, I have no opinion. Tune your room and use your existing speakers. Then choose the speakers that sound closer to neutral using your own reference material.

There are way too many gaps to give any real advice: how much bigger is the new room? Are the walls parallel? How close are your current speakers from the rear wall? Are they on stands? Are you in a true nearfield situation? I've had great results using midfield monitors in the nearfield.

And use Auralex MoPADs.

[Gary]

Tune your room and use your existing speakers. Then choose the speakers that sound closer to neutral using your own reference material.

Pretty much what I've been doing. I've spent the last couple of days making and fitting some bass traps/ diffusers which have helped tune the listening position to a certain extent but it's always going to be somewhat of a compromise in a family home. Next step is as suggested - go back to the shop with some reference material.

I didn't mention names on purpose but the two I've checked out so far are KRK and Yamaha. Will be looking for some Adams as well.

The Mopads seem like a good idea and look like a good, value for money solution in combination with the treatment I've already done.

I suppose one of the difficulties I'm having with choosing monitors is what seems to be quite a wide difference between makes in terms of eveness across the range of frequencies.

[Denim n Leather]

I suppose one of the difficulties I'm having with choosing monitors is what seems to be quite a wide difference between makes in terms of eveness across the range of frequencies.

Oh, yeah, for real -- it can be a real challenge as, unless the speakers are in the exact same spot, you really can't be 100% sure that what you're hearing is the loudspeaker not its interaction with its current position. Can be very tricky! Many modern studio monitors have some degree of additional HF and LF tailoring to compensate for differences in placement.

Then, of course, there is always something like this:
http://www.krksys.com/ergo/intro.php

You should make sure that wherever you buy from has a 30 day return policy, so you have some recourse should you make a selection and it just doesn't work in your room.

[_tom_]

I've heard that KRK Rokits aren't very accurate sounding. Of course I dont really have much of an idea what I'm talking about but the term I read was "hyped" or something?

[Gary]

The Rokits sound very detailed and clear right acros the frequency spectrum. They have a much better bass response than the Yamahas but at what point does 'good bass response' become 'hyped low end'?

[indysmith]

+1 on the Adam A7s.