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Originally posted by echosystm You would have to go listen to them yourself, I think. These monitors are quite a new model and most peoples comparisons would be out of date by now. When you're auditioning monitors, here are a few things to look for... Monitors use ports (a hole in the cabinet) to artificially boost the bass. Very few monitors on the market are a sealed design. The down side of using too much porting is that the bass loses it's tightness. Instead of hearing a crisp "thump", you'll hear a sloppy "wump-uh". This is very important in dance music, as poor bass "tightness" will make it really hard to mix your bass well. To get an idea of what it SHOULD sound like, audition a pair of really high end monitors, such as Genelecs or Adams (they have the ports on the front). I wouldn't use Dynaudios as a reference point, as they are difficult to position well (rear ports) and most shops never do. At this point, I guess it's important to point out that the Yamahas are rear ported... You can't put these infront of a window and they need to be at least ~50cm from the wall. The next thing is linearity or "flatness" (even-ness between bass, mids and highs). Most people aren't used to hearing music through monitors and say "wheres all the bass?!?!", "wheres all the highs!?". Don't buy a pair of monitors based on what you think sounds good, because you're probably wrong. Again, the easiest way is to A/B between a pair of really high end monitors. If you notice the bass, mids or highs are boosted or lacking significantly, this is bad. You can, however, compensate for poor linearity by knowing what your monitors are doing to the input. So, I would have to say it would be better to take a tight pair of monitors with poor linearity, than a sloppy pair of monitors that sound very flat.

Thanks for the advice Echo.

Over the next few weeks I will (hopefully) be making a few changes to my setup. Specifically, I plan on i) getting rid of my corner desk and getting a new desk/table that will run along my wall (no window on the wall, although there will likely be a window on the opposite wall), ii) picking up some monitors and foam pads (the Auralex MoPAD pads I guess (since a lot of guys around here seem to have them)), and iii) changing from a laptop to a desktop with dual monitors. When I get the new setup established I will post some pictures and ask you guys for your advice re: positioning of the monitors.

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Originally posted by cenik When I get the new setup established I will post some pictures and ask you guys for your advice re: positioning of the monitors.

i'd actually ask this first!

good monitor positioning is really hard to achieve. most people on this forum have REALLY bad monitor positioning (check the studio pictures thread). this totally defeats the purpose of spending so much money on monitors...

the most simple rule is to be sitting as far from your monitors as they are from you. if you imagine your head and the monitors as three points in a triangle, all lengths should be equal. 90-120cm is ideal for nearfields. if you go and look in the studio pics thread, you'll see most people have their monitors about 1.5 meters apart, but only 60cm or so from the seat. the stereo imaging would be terrible (akin to wearing headphones) and you would get phasing where the two speakers collide at the listening position.

most desks, even "studio desks", are way too shallow to achieve this. if you're going to put your monitors on your desk, it will need to be at LEAST 1m deep... probably more. desks like this just don't exist, the biggest i've seen was 90cm deep. having a slide-out keyboard tray helps to give you an extra 30cm or so, if you need it. usually it is best to just get stands.

btw. if you want to get widescreen lcds, stack them vertically, rather than horizontally. having two widescreen monitors side-by-side makes it way too hard to get anywhere near an "equilateral triangle" listening position. tbh, i'd recommend just getting one big 24"+ or two non-widescreen lcds.

I plan to visit a few music stores in the next few days and I'm hoping to listen to a few different brands of monitors.

One question that I have is this: will 8inch monitors be too big for a bedroom studio? I ask because I have heard some great things about the Event TR6/8s and I figure that for the price I may as well grab the 8s instead of the 6s. However, I recall some of you (in other threads) expressing concern about the appropriateness of 8inch monitors in a bedroom space.

If it matters, my room measures approx. 10feet x 12feet and the desk (my monitors will be on stands situated behind the desk) will be placed in the centre of one of the two 12foot walls (no window).

Thanks for any help

What do people here think about NHT monitors? I can get a pair of NHT's for half the prize.. can't remember what model it is, but i believe the deal is quite astounding. They've just gone out of production I think.. hence the great offer.

I auditioned them a few days ago.. They aren't too big.. About 5" or so. I thought they were really responsive and tight in the low-end, compared to others I monitored..

What do we think about NHT?

Last edited by Yin on Jul-02-2008 at 21:45

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Originally posted by Yin What do people here think about NHT monitors? I can get a pair of NHT's for half the prize.. can't remember what model it is, but i believe the deal is quite astounding. They've just gone out of production I think.. hence the great offer. I auditioned them a few days ago.. They aren't too big.. About 5" or so. I thought they were really responsive and tight in the low-end, compared to others I monitored.. What do we think about NHT?

i've never heard of NHT, but here's some basic logic:

1. 5" is too small to be used alone - bass depth will not go low enough. 5" monitors must be used with a sub. There are some very high end 5" woofers that will manage decent bass, but these will be very expensive (think Genelec).

2. since NHT obviously isn't a big player (like Dyn, Event, KRK, Genelec, Adam and Mackie), it's unlikely they can source components as cheaply as these others. hence you're likely to be paying more, for lower quality - manufacturers usually don't like to sacrifice their profit margin. likewise, big companies usually will snap up the better monitor designs.

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Originally posted by echosystm i've never heard of NHT, but here's some basic logic: 1. 5" is too small to be used alone - bass depth will not go low enough. 5" monitors must be used with a sub. There are some very high end 5" woofers that will manage decent bass, but these will be very expensive (think Genelec). 2. since NHT obviously isn't a big player (like Dyn, Event, KRK, Genelec, Adam and Mackie), it's unlikely they can source components as cheaply as these others. hence you're likely to be paying more, for lower quality - manufacturers usually don't like to sacrifice their profit margin. likewise, big companies usually will snap up the better monitor designs.

Thnx for the input!