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Using Mackie HR824s as monitors without a sub?

I'm always struggling with low frequencies with my HR824s. I am wondering should I keep these and add the Mackie sub that goes with them, or sell them and get a new monitor solution that doesn't require a sub? These HR824s alone do not cut it in the low-end.

What are some good monitors that don't require a sub? Any advice as to keeping the Mackies or selling them for a different setup is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

i dont think you will find any monitors that will go significantly lower by themselves.

adding a sub would be logical, i don't really recommend it though.

Struggling in what way? Is the room large and acoustically treated? What have you set the high-pass filter at?

Re: Using Mackie HR824s as monitors without a sub?

quote:

Originally posted by Magnus I'm always struggling with low frequencies with my HR824s. I am wondering should I keep these and add the Mackie sub that goes with them, or sell them and get a new monitor solution that doesn't require a sub? These HR824s alone do not cut it in the low-end. What are some good monitors that don't require a sub? Any advice as to keeping the Mackies or selling them for a different setup is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Are you serious? If anything the HR824's are slightly bass heavy, and echo is exactly right, you are going to be really hard pushed to find a pair of monitors that go lower by themselves.

What is the problem? is it clarity? is it separation? or is it that when you are listening to tracks you just want to hear more bass?

If you're not getting enough bass for listening purposes (rather than monitoring purposes) then get any old sub as the Mackie hrs 120 is fairly expensive. if it's for monitoring and you really must have a sub then get the HRS 120, but again, 2.1 aint the best idea when mixing for stereo.....

K&H O300s, best bass going apparently. But for your price, no there is no better pair. And can you give us some real info on the room please

Personally I think the Mackies are hard to mix on because they're bass heavy. It's not so much because they don't cover the low end well enough, it's because it doesn't feel linear enough for my taste. I think switching to another pair of monitors could improve your monitoring environment more than the added subwoofer would improve things.

I'm using Event TR8s and down the road I think it may be a good idea to pick up a sub. At the same time, though, I suspect that once I really learn the sound of my monitors then I'll likely be able to mix well without a sub. Presently, it's difficult for me to determine how much low-end is truly in my songs (I tend to use my car's system as a check on the low-end (since I've probably spent 500hrs or more listening to music in my car)).

I prefer mixing with a sub

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller Personally I think the Mackies are hard to mix on because they're bass heavy. It's not so much because they don't cover the low end well enough, it's because it doesn't feel linear enough for my taste. I think switching to another pair of monitors could improve your monitoring environment more than the added subwoofer would improve things.

This is my problem too. I guess I should have been more clear. The problem is not that I can't hear bass because I can hear it fine. Its that the HR824s are so bass heavy they give a distorted real world response so that I end up making a track that sounds great in the low end on these things, but shite everywhere else. They are giving me a false bass response, essentially lying to me.

Each monitor sits on a 3ft speaker stand on top of mopads and are about 3-4 feet away from my head. The room is not big at 10x12 feet but its all I have to work with.

I have a track right now a label has sent back to me 3 times now, each time saying the lowend is lacking yet I'm giving what sounds like plenty. Very frustrating I wish I could figure this out. Thanks guys.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm i dont think you will find any monitors that will go significantly lower by themselves.

Not yet, at least.

quote:

Originally posted by Magnus Each monitor sits on a 3ft speaker stand on top of mopads and are about 3-4 feet away from my head. The room is not big at 10x12 feet but its all I have to work with.

Keep in mind, the ROOM dominates the low-end. Now, that isn't to say that the passive radiators lend some boominess to the bass, because it does, but beyond that, it's the room. A room can exaggerate the lows as much as FIFTEEN dB. What is the spacing of the speakers to the front and side walls?

Don't depend on full/half/qtr room settings. That's just level. There's also the aspect of the behavior (like resonances with high q in the room) in those physical conditions.

I would suggest taking a look at speaker placement first. After that, room treatment. For the low end, I'd stack some packages of fiberglass insulation with holes cut into the packaging in the corners of the room. Front corners first. See how that works. If it works, then get creative on a more permanent solution.

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