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Studio Setup (Monitors, Acoustics, Cables)
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| Lunar Phase 7 |
Hey guys,
Bit of a problem here. I am currently setting up a small studio, now I have been searching high and low all over the place to get as much knowledge and opinions as possible.
Now, I have some issues/choices to decide upon and I am after some advice from all you beautiful people.
Problem one, monitors:
Now I have searched a lot on this forum and all's that seems to turn up is the behringer truths and alesis mk11.
Behringer are a no-no. Since every bit of kit i have every used by them is absolute turd.
Alesis is a maybe, but what do you guys think between these two?
//M-Audio Studiophile BX8's//
http://www.boomerangsounds.co.uk/pr...37152f352aa0bce
//KRK RP6 Rokit's//
http://www.decks.co.uk/products/speakers/krk/rp6
I have heard good reviews all round for both. But like I say, I would be very grateful if I could get some more opinions on these.
Problem 2, Acoustics:
Now this is proving very tricky since I don't know a lot about it, but I do know its vital.
I have spoken to several producers with released material that don't use any acoustic treatment. That said they do produce hardhouse, lol.
Goldenscan did a short tutorial about this and said any acoustic treatment is better than none. However I came across this, and found it very interesting.
//Acoustic Foam//
http://goldringcd.com/ourproducts.html
Seems reasonable, but how effective will it be?
Again any opinions would be great!
Finally...
Can anyone recommend some decent xlr/phono cables?
Cheers a million guys...
:) |
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| qiushiming |
| id like to know about the m-audio bx8s as well... |
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| SgtFoo |
Acoustics are very important. However, for a lowe budget home-based studio... let me suggest a few things...
-try not to build your listenning space (studio) in a cubic room. Make sure it're rectangular.
-acoustic foam treatments are not very worthwhile unless you have the cash to blow. You can quiet down a room by hanging carpets or cloth-like materials. Acoustically speaking, it's not quite enough, but it will help. What you want to do it aim for absorptive materials that minimize reverb and reflection of sound in the room. hardwooded floors are a bitch for reflections too.
-I've got a pair of alesis m1 active mkII monitors and they rock for me. The behringers would be turd, yes, but adequate enough, per say. quality monitors are priced according to quality... simple as that. A $4000 pair of Genelecs will destroy the quality of a $600 pair of BX5s. try to get larger than 5" LF cones on monitors too, for more accurate sound reproduction in terms of physics.
-as for cables... make your own. It'll save you loads of cash. If you don't wanna or don't know how, I'd gladly make what you need, for a much smaller fee than store-bought cables :D ...really though.... PM me if interested. |
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| Lunar Phase 7 |
Hey, thanks for the advice, its appriciated!
I would be interested in the cable idea, so far i've been quoted £20-40 per xlr and the same for phono's too. Not sure how good this deal is.
My monitors will be places right up against a wall, and my room is only small, so I am beginning to the the KRK RP6's will be the better buy, since the port hole is on the front not the back, and the smaller cone wont drown my room in bass.
6" cones is quoted to produce sound down 49hz.
I feel this is prolly enough, since I have some decent headphones (Sennhieser HD580's) to monitor sub bass.
Also, I think although the BX8a's offer a bit more, they cost less, leading me to think the RP6's will be a of a slightly higher quality.
The foam insulation in question will cost me about £70 for 42 square feet. This will be enough I feel for my room. And is also an acceptable amount for me to spend.
Any other pointers guys?
Thanks a zillion! |
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| nova2wl |
| you could duck tape some sleeping bags to your wall or even some pillows you have laying around if you dont want to spend some cash. |
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| farris |
Foam will only help against the reflections of higher frequencies. To absorb lower ones you need mass. Some basstraps preferably made of rigid fiberglass. I don't have the specs here right now, but you need to hunt down the ones with at least 49 kg/m³ and 4" thick (I'll look up the specs later on). From what I've heard it is not easy to find, and be prepared to pay some for it. There are some good guides on DIY basstraps to be found. Place at least one in every corner of the room, but the more the better. These will treat the low frequencies in the room and help you with the bass build up in the corners (just do a test for yourself by playing some music and walking to one of the corners, the bass is more boomy there). The bass will also get tighter once you place enough of them. Hope this helps you some.
- farris |
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| Freak |
ikea do some cylindrical cushions for £10 each.... get them and stick them in the corners as they are in effect pre made corner traps.
Very good as they are quite dense and thick- especially for the cash!! They also look nice.
And dont go overboard with the foam or acoustic tiles- makes the room very dead and unnatural.
Ultimately how far do you want to go? if you want to get madly serious you could build a floating room..or on the other extreme make some sensible enhancements once you have identified the problems in the room.
I havent bothered with much acoustic treatment to be honest- but then none of the walls in my room are parallel anyway :cool: and i know the sound of the room anyway.
Things like drapes or rugs against the walls (hung from wood attached to the wall) not only look good, but can also help a lot. You do not need to spend megabucks to get a great sounding room. |
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| Lunar Phase 7 |
Cool, I'll bear these tips in mind, I dont wanna go overboard but I do want to make sure that my monitors will be a decent investment. I am starting to get fed up of producing on my headphones, as I am finidng i need them loud to pick out how the bass/kick etc is sounding.
I think I have seen basstraps realativly cheap, beside my bed is on the opposite wall, just though the foam would be a good, simple and neat solution to some of the acoustic problems associated with small rooms.
So bass traps are best in corners? is this because low frequencies bounce around a lot and end up in corners?
Is there any websites or programs (free or cheap) that you could maybe make a modle of your room and see how the sound will behave? |
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| farris |
Yup, basically the low frequencies will bounce their way until it all builds up in the corners (did you do the little test yet ;)). Basstraps will absorp these frequencies and transform them into heat. Keep in mind that when you want to go extreme and cover all corners, to count ALL corners :). So not just where wall-to-wall meet, but also wall-to-ceiling.
Edit: If you want to read more have a look at http://www.realtraps.com/info.htm.
And do a search for Ethan Winer.
- farris |
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| Lunar Phase 7 |
Cool, i am seriously looking into acoustics, i think its rediculous how much they charge for foam, seriously...
It is a joke, I am looking into cheaper alternatives, but untill I get my monitors I wont bother too much at the moment.
thanks again! |
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| groundzero74 |
Few tips about acoustics: Don't start killing the sound in the room by using foam or other absorbing materials around, it will kill the high end of the sound spectrum , and you'll be adding more treble to your mixes than needed(This actually is only needed when you have a vocal recording booth , where unneeded reverberations into the MIC are unwanted).
You can just add some absorbing material in the corners of the room (try to make the corners 45° instead of 90°, also on the floor). Use patches of foam on walls that are opposing each other, to break standing waves, you can also use a irregular chunks of wood glued together to form a reverbertion plate. This will break the sound into many small waves , causing "natural reverb" but the padding keep under control.
Make sure there are NO objects blocking the path between your Monitors and your ears. The Mid/High tweeter should be on ear level, or pointed towards them. there should also be no resonating objects in the path of the speakers (mostly Metal/Glass).
Put your speakers on a rubber mat or foam, so they don't "beat" the frequencies into the furniture they are standing on ... or maybe use a Monitor hanging system...
Hope this can be of use... |
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| Lunar Phase 7 |
Thats very informative mate, thank you!
I will put all of this into good practice guys, especially about the standing waves breaker. If anyone knows of a diagram of those online, I'd love to see how they look rather than depicting an image in my mind.
Is it important to actually use absorbers under the moniitors? Or is it just important to make sure they are held firmly down so they dont move? In which case currently I use blu tac to hold them down quite firmly. Is this enough?
I really appriciate all the help you guys are giving, buy your selves a nice pint of beer!
:) |
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