OT: Powered Near-fields

[dmshep]

The studio from which I'm currently working has a larger mix room that is not fully dampened. It's equipped with a pair of TOA monitors that are reasonably decent, but set into a wall 11-12 ft from the mix position. Given that the room isn't as dead as it should be, I'm not able to hear with the accuracy I would like, particularily with the low end and setting reverb levels.

I've covered a large portion of the tile(!) floor (I don't what the guy was thinking when he built this place) with dampening, which helps, but the speakers are still too far away, so I'm looking at getting some near-field monitors to try and overcome that.

Any reccomendations? I'm looking at powered as the studio only has one amp which is hooked to the TOA's. I don't have a lot of money to spend, though I recognize that you get what you pay for. Is there anything of decent value in the $800-1000 range?

[dmshep]

Sorry! I didn't see the recording forum where this should be. Admins - feel free to delete this. I'll repost it over there.

[Timeline]

It really depends on the shape of the room.

I used 6" fiberglass batting behind frames covered with duvateen and it looks good and solves the reflection issues. As foar as monitors, the larger the room the more power you need in the monitor.

The room I built in Burbank required two BGW 750's ... one on each pair of woofers and a BGW 750 on the top end. It was biamped.

Good luck.

[JES]

I got a used pair of Mackie HR-824s for $800. Some people love them, some people hate them. I love them. With some realtraps in my room, I can hear everything clearly and they've got lots of low end to keep me from overdoing it down there.

Best,
--JES

[aaronlyon]

I love my Mackie HR824s, too! I'm listening now to Roger Waters howl on Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking. Sweet recording, man.

[inukshuk]

Check out the Tannoy 600a's. Very good for tracking, mixing and mastering.

[laurence]

Another HR 824 Lover here.. i find they always translate for me well as i am completely used to them and like the fact they aren't totally transparent.. To my ears they are very similar to Genelec A30's ? whichever model it is with 8in drivers anyway.. except sweepeing EQ filters on the genelecs is smooth throughout the spectrum where the Mackies do have a small spot where it's not perfectly accurate (forget the frequency but it's a small range).. either way the Mackie's are unbeatable for me !

[Kind Of Loud]

HR824's....I love'em!

[daveyboy]

Another vote for Mackies and RealTraps. Didn't really like the Mackies until I treated my room with Real Traps. Now it's all good.

[Henry Robinett]

I'll give you something different. Although it's not in your price range. Not well known I suppose. I use the NHT Pro M-00 and the sub S-00. Awesome. I couldn't be happier. I used to also use the Genelec 1031s and much prefer these.

[aboutfaceaudio]

I guess it's a matter of taste...I have a room that's treated with fibreglass from the front all the way until just behind the mix position. Behind me I diffuse a bit with some open space here and there.

I chose the Mackie 824s. I pitted them against the Genelecs and didn't like anything by them under $3k.

My 0.02£

[Henry Robinett]

No I'm not a fan of Genelecs either. I've just used them a lot. I never would have bought them and I didn't. I was an engineer at a studio that had 5 monitors set up. Genelec 1031s, NS10s, KRK, NHTPros and Auratones. Mixing I'd cycle through them all getting the mix to sound good on all of them. A good exercise. I kept settling on the NHTPros. They blew me away till I finally just mixed on those and checked every once in a while on the NS10/KRKs. Then I just decided to buy them

[tim57var]

Believe it or not, i still use the original Event 20/20 powered monitors with a JBL sub. I have them about 5' from my ears. The newer model has more bass response than the originals. I used to have these and Genelecs, and I always liked working on the Events more - I got more energy out of the speakers for performing. I get no complaints from clients on my mixes and have lots of commercials running on the air. I've often thought of upgrading to something - I can afford to spend more $$ on speakers - but nothing else has blown me away.

[sdemott]

Originally posted by tim57var:
Believe it or not, i still use the original Event 20/20 powered monitors with a JBL sub. I have them about 5' from my ears. The newer model has more bass response than the originals. I used to have these and Genelecs, and I always liked working on the Events more - I got more energy out of the speakers for performing. I get no complaints from clients on my mixes and have lots of commercials running on the air. I've often thought of upgrading to something - I can afford to spend more $$ on speakers - but nothing else has blown me away.

I must agree - I have the 20/20bas also (first generation). I love them. I actually chose them over a pair of similar Genelecs. I just think the Genelecs are funky up top...but I seem to be in the minority on that.

To my ears the Events are great...and my mixes seem to translate very well - I find that if they sound good on my Events, they just sound good everywhere.

Just my $0.02

[donreynolds]

I have the Event 20/20 bas originals. Very nice. I agree, If the mix sounds good on them, it usually sounds good every where.
God bless,