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Comparison of Monitor Speakers....

Right. I am very much aware we have had discussions on this forum before about monitors, great. But, I'd love to hear about people's particular experience of the following monitors:

1) Alesis M1 Active MK2
2) Behringer Truth B2031
3) Samson Resolv80a
4) Tannoy Reveal Active
5) Event TR8

Does anyone swear by any of these?

They are all in the same sort of price bracket and for someone about to splash the dosh I'd love to hear of others experiences of them.

Also, is there a problem of connecting studio monitors to a soundcard?

All I can say is...

quote:

is there a problem of connecting studio monitors to a soundcard?

Shouldn't have a problem there, depending on the soundcard -- if its a professional sound card like Audiophile with RCA outs/ins. Stick with something that doesnt mean you need to adapt to 1/8" unbalanced like the soundblasters, etc.

All I can say is that I use Tannoy Active Reveals and they are sooooo flat ... I have to switch to my regular shite speakers w/ sub to play games cuz its hilarious trying to do anything other than recording with them! LOL

ALSO...(not hijackin this thread BTW) I was wondering -- why do people even use monitors for recording... I mean you record something based on a flat, true sound... but you want it to sound good in your cars bass-enriched, super-sized sound system so why dont you just use a 2-speaker w/sub-woofer system to record?

Just curious...

Poo on my big ol' shoe! I use an Audigy Platinum. Does this mean I gotta shell out big bucks for a new card?!?!?! Crap if I do.

My understanding of why people use monitors is so that the mix they do translates well to as many systems as possible. If you do a decent mix on a cheap bass overcompensating system, then when you go to hear it on a decent setup it will probably lack a lot of bass, because the speakers made up for the bass sound so to you it sounded "right" at the time. I'm sure someone else could give a much more detailed explanation than that.

But thanks for the pointers on the monitors!

actually thats a good point

Yeah..I never thought of it that way I suppose...

My concern is that I'll never know how good the bass sound is in my compositions by using monitors only.
Is there a monitor sub??? LOL boy...why dont i just wear a "n00b" sign on my chest!

Your Audigy Plat. is a fine card. You'll be more than okay with it. Actually, RCA's are unbalanced too so its no biggie and I will eat what I said above. You may have to go to a PRO MUSIC store to get some cables made up. Or find some good adapters. I think, too, that most people use a mixer between the soundcard and the monitors although it isnt necessary.

Re: actually thats a good point

quote:

Originally posted by Digital Aura My concern is that I'll never know how good the bass sound is in my compositions by using monitors only. Is there a monitor sub??? LOL boy...why dont i just wear a "n00b" sign on my chest!

In a word yes there are reference level subwoofers. Many monitors also have a "matched" sub that you can get as well. This is a good subwoofer (not a cheap box that just shakes and goes boom) that will blend well with the two-way monitors you have and give you those low frequencies.

Good topic, I'm also wanting some monitors within that price range. So far im liking the Alesis M1 Active MK2.

A lot of good monitors go right down to a good bass frequency, like 40-60hz?, and the human ear can only hear down to 50hz? So whats the point in getting a subwoofer if you already have a low frequency response monitors. Plus if you have a little bedroom like me then a subwoofer would complete fu*k the sound up because of such a small space for the waves to travel, so they don't give a good sound. Thats what I think, coorect me if im wrong.

I have a subwoofer on my present 5.1 speaker system placed in the middle of the room along the wall, and its shows when you go to a the corners of my room the bass is much louder and a therefore a crappy sound. Somethng to think about

My turn to sound n00bish - what is all this about unbalanced and RCA's? In looking into monitors I did find that they mentioned balanced and unbalanced inputs.

What does that mean and in terms of me ol' Plat, in plain English, how would I set a pair of pro monitors up and still get a decent sound without needing to buy a card with a dedicated XLR output or whatever?

Using a mixer eh? I'd never thought.... I'm just going to ring turnkey or whatever tomorrow and find out. I'll post whatever they tell me.

Dude..really...your sound card is good enuff...use the extra $250 towards your monitors or something.

Balanced vs. unbalanced is something I dont think you really need to worry about.

Unbalanced Audio:
Most domestic audio equipment has unbalanced audio inputs and outputs. This means that the audio output (left, right, or mono) appears on a single wire. Typical connectors used are RCA "phono" connectors, DIN plugs/sockets, and 1/4" or 1/8 jack plugs/sockets.
Unbalanced audio is fine for the domestic environment, and for line-level signals in a typical broadcast studio.
Problems start to occur if the signals are being carried over long distances, especially if the source and destination have separate mains supplies.

Balanced Audio
A lot of professional equipment will have balanced audio inputs and outputs, usually on 3-pin "XLR" connectors. A balanced audio signal consists of a pair of wires carrying the audio signal in anti-phase with each other.
The advantage of balanced audio over unbalanced audio is it's ability to reject external interference added as the signal is carried over the wire. Interference will usually get added to both wires equally, and so gets ignored by the receiving equipment.

quote:

Originally posted by TranceMuzik02 A lot of good monitors go right down to a good bass frequency, like 40-60hz?, and the human ear can only hear down to 50hz? So whats the point in getting a subwoofer if you already have a low frequency response monitors. Plus if you have a little bedroom like me then a subwoofer would complete fu*k the sound up because of such a small space for the waves to travel, so they don't give a good sound. Thats what I think, coorect me if im wrong. I have a subwoofer on my present 5.1 speaker system placed in the middle of the room along the wall, and its shows when you go to a the corners of my room the bass is much louder and a therefore a crappy sound. Somethng to think about

Correction time, if your hearing only 50Hz-20KHz you spend too much time clubbing
It is generally considered that the human ear hears from about 20 Hz up to 20 KHz. Some people can hear lower and higher and as we get older the range shrinks. So in reality you are missing about 30 Hz which does not sound like a lot but it is not chump change. You will defninitly notice the difference. You bring up a good point about it being in a small room though. I for one have good bookshelf speakers and have not got a sub yet because I am renting and sharing a house with some other peopoe; it is the low frequencies that travel through walls so easily. So I figure I will just get one when I have a place I can play my music without too many people caring.

PS- Also even though most people can only hear down to 20 Hz, you can FEEL lower frequencies. However most studio subs are built for accuracy not chest thumping power so most do not go much below 20 Hz if they do at all.

I have a set of behringer truth montitors there good. But i need a subwoofer!!! You can;t make trance music without one in my opinion cause the bottom end is the key to a good solid track.

By the way anyone have a suggestion what sub I should get??

I currently own the Alesis Mk1 Actives... they sound really good, however I have nothing to compare them to . I would suggest just going down to your local music store and compare some. And about hooking it up to your soundcard.. i have a soundblaster default shit thingy, and all you do is buy a converter cable that converts those 2 big plugs for the monitors (sorry mind blank, im guesing 1/8" or 1/4") into the sized end for your soundcard slot.

everything will work fine, and the alesis monitors seem to have nice bass response.

I wouldnt go for low end monitors (200 range) because you will just end up buying a better pair down the road.

Have fun

A while ago I was also shopping for monitors in your price range. I ended up directly A-B-C-ing 3 monitors using a CD I brought along; they aptly appear in your list

- Alesis M1 Active MK2
- Behringer Truth B2031
- Tannoy Reveal Active

My findings after careful listening

Alesis
High end roll off makes sound dull, mid region get over emphasized. I considered this one the worst of the 3 by far

Behringer Truth
Pretty pleasant sound, although a bit hi-fi ish. I though it displayed too much top end and low end. Additionally, I experienced the bass as "pumpy". That meant I couldn't hear bass very detailed ("definition")

Tannoy Reveal Actives
For me the obvious winner of the 3. I believe it has a fairly truthful response while retaining a lively sound. I can make out details in the bass region well with this one.


So obviously I went with the tannoys, which serve me quite well nowadays . People who like alesis or behringer better than tannoy: this was my personal listening experience. Selection of monitors is very personal and subjective, so don't try to convince me of making the wrong decision please.

Also to bear in mind for whoever buys monitors; take your own judgement as the deciding factor.

quote:

Originally posted by auujay Correction time, if your hearing only 50Hz-20KHz you spend too much time clubbing It is generally considered that the human ear hears from about 20 Hz up to 20 KHz. Some people can hear lower and higher and as we get older the range shrinks. So in reality you are missing about 30 Hz which does not sound like a lot but it is not chump change. You will defninitly notice the difference. You bring up a good point about it being in a small room though. I for one have good bookshelf speakers and have not got a sub yet because I am renting and sharing a house with some other peopoe; it is the low frequencies that travel through walls so easily. So I figure I will just get one when I have a place I can play my music without too many people caring. PS- Also even though most people can only hear down to 20 Hz, you can FEEL lower frequencies. However most studio subs are built for accuracy not chest thumping power so most do not go much below 20 Hz if they do at all.

Just what I read, so thanks for the info. Oh yeh you can feel the bass for sure when your in a club, and when you leave the main dance floor and go to a different room you can still hear the bass, and its much more intense as well.

Well, I tried to ring Turnkey today but was on hold for what seemed forever so gave up. (Well, maybe five minutes but on a mobile in the middle of the day....)

Interesting Pjotr that you say the Alesis were the bottom of the pile of three - the hype would suggest that they were the bomb. Don't trust the hype I guess.

Man, no excuse for it, just going to have to take my butt down to Sound Control for a demo of them. This thread is very very useful!!

YAY!

Pjotr G picked the same monitors as I did!!! COOL!
Really though, I was unable to determine myself which sounded better in the store...after I went home and started doing some research, it seemed most users recommended the Tannoys over competing brands.
So... Im a follower...hehe

Re: YAY!

quote:

Originally posted by Digital Aura Pjotr G picked the same monitors as I did!!! COOL! Really though, I was unable to determine myself which sounded better in the store...after I went home and started doing some research, it seemed most users recommended the Tannoys over competing brands. So... Im a follower...hehe

Well like I said im after some monitors as well, but I can't afford the Tannoy Active version, so I want to know if the Passive version is good as well since I can use my amp with it. There is about �200 price differnce between them.

the sound can only be as good as the weakest node in your chain.

Using an el cheapo amp with passive monitors is pretty useless IMHO

AMPS MATTER?

quote:

Using an el cheapo amp with passive monitors is pretty useless IMHO

zat so ?!

choosing monitors should be based on 2 things: your ears... so go out to your nearest pro-audio shop, ask the dude you want to hear a few active studiomonitors and pick your choise...

2 weeks ago, i went shopping and i bought the Phonic P8A, because they are big and heavy... and they sound good too

Re: AMPS MATTER?

quote:

Originally posted by Digital Aura zat so ?!

You buy monitors to get a flat response....then you hook it up to an amp that totally colors everything

Re: Re: AMPS MATTER?

quote:

Originally posted by Pjotr G You buy monitors to get a flat response....then you hook it up to an amp that totally colors everything

So are there special 'flat' amps out there? thanks

yeah there are more expensive amps that fit well with monitors

I am a big fan of the AudioSource AmpOne. It is a very good sounding poweramp. Some specs from the web (http://www.audiosource.net/2003/03_amponea.htm) :

Amp One/A 80 watts per channel (8 ohms)
>> 200 watts monobridged
>> Left and right channel level controls
>> Toroidal power supply
>> >0.04% THD
>> >110 dB S/N ratio, 2 dB headroom
>> Line output jacks
>> Stable into 2 ohm loads

I got this sucker for $210, I figure if I ever need more than 80W per channel I will buy another one and monobridge it for 200W/ch.

Also checkout the other amps they have if you want more power. Their Amp 5 Series is seems to be geared more towards what you might want if you are really making a studio but as you can see the specs are not as good compared to the others they make (though they are nice and modular).

Specs form http://www.audiosource.net/2003/03_ampfive.htm:

Amp 5.1 70 watts (8 ohms) 100 watts (4 ohms)
Amp 5.2: 70 watts (8 ohms) 100 watts (4 ohms)
Amp 5.3: 150 watts (8 ohms) 250 watts (4 ohms)
>> XLR: 20K ohm; RCA: 10K ohm input impedance
>> Balanced (XLR) & Unbalanced (RCA) inputs
>> Speaker & Line Out/Thru (RCA) outputs
>> Damping factor: >200 (4 ohms)
>> >95 dB S/N ratio
>> 20 Hz to 20KHz (�1 dB) frequency response
>> <0.1% THD; Input Sensitivity: 1 volt


People seem to like Crown's a lot but I think they can get real expensive (I know they were out of my price range when I was looking).

I'm shocked.

I ordered a pair of Tannoys from my local dealer, and the price was supposed to be 518 euros. That would have been at the top of my budget.

Today I received a call from that local dealer. He said that he had managed to track down the only pair of those Tannoys in Finland.

I told him I was a lucky guy.
He said "truly so".

Then he told me the bad news: the price (518 euros) was for one piece only, lifting the total price of the pair up to a whopping grand!

So I guess I'll be calling Turnkey for another offer...

quote:

Originally posted by Pjotr G ....My findings after careful listening Alesis High end roll off makes sound dull, mid region get over emphasized. I considered this one the worst of the 3 by far...

I own the Alesis Monitor One MKII's and I have been very happy with them. They have one sound quality and innovation awards. I would highly recommend them. I dont know why anyone would classify these as "worst" anything.

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