Home Studio Monitors

[Yamaha Man]

Let me put it this way...Yamaha suggest that the HS8's should be mounted 3 feet from a back wall. I don't have that option in my little room, but my setup still sounds great.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac

Let me put it this way...Yamaha suggest that the HS8's should be mounted 3 feet from a back wall. I don't have that option in my little room, but my setup still sounds great.

I like this way better. It doesn't include a claim which violates the laws of physics.

[Hot Vibrato]

I'm a little late to the conversation, but I'll chime in.

I've been bitten by the home recording bug over the last several years. I really like being able to record in my living room. I've invested in some good mics, preamps, and a few compressors. But I have no monitors - mainly because I have nowhere to put them.

I'm married to a musician. She has no problem using the living room as a makeshift studio, but it eventually has to be turned back into a living room. Therefore, permanent sound treatment is not an option, and as far as I can discern, studio monitors are useless in an untreated space. For that reason, I just use my stereo speakers in my untreated living room. And it works just fine for me.

Eventually, yes - I want to have a properly treated room for mixing with proper monitors. But as it stands, I'm getting fantastic results just shooting from the hip with my stereo speakers. And you know what? When I play my mixes on proper monitors in a professional studio, it still sounds the same to me as it does in my living room and my car stereo. The bass is still balanced, and there's no obvious EQ problems. Check the link in my signature to hear my honkytonk band's recordings, tracked live in my living room, and mixed on my stereo speakers in the same living room.

I certainly would not downplay the value of a good set of studio monitors, but if you don't have a properly treated mixing room, then monitors are a waste of money, and you'd be better off investing in mics, preamps, or actual sound treatment.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

As to the JBL LSR305, a couple of points.

First, JBL says the monitor handles down to 43Hz, which is a lie/fib, if you consider the low frequency published spec should be set at where the bass has fallen off by -3dB, which is industry standard. Monitors with 5" drivers just don't perform at -3dB at 43Hz. It's just physics. That 43Hz spec is likely a -10 or worse falloff at that frequency. Since you use bass guitar in your recordings, that monitor will not give you a correct playback below about 75Hz or so in terms of amplitude.

Second, it has a rear port. If you place your monitors anywhere near a wall (towards the back) you are going to get another bass frequencies anomaly - an inaccurate and mushy exaggerated bass response.

The two will tend to cancel each other out at least in terms of amplitude, but the lack of accuracy will be magnified.

Of course, this is not the end of the world or anything. But it is quite possible that you will end up replacing the LSR305s with something else down the road. Better to buy once, not twice.

Here's a frequency graph link:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51oxAa8MXrL.jpg Hard to read, but looks like drop off at 43 Hz is 3-5 dB.
This one's a little easier to see: http://noaudiophile.com/JBL_LSR305/J...305_Flater.jpg Seems to be a 4dB peak at 50Hz, and 3 dB fall off at 43 Hz.
Here's a review from Sound-on-Sound:
http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/jbl-lsr305-lsr308

Cotten's got a budget, not sure why people keep insisting on $1000+ monitors for him!

[KevWind]

I agree with mike Cottens budget precludes many suggestions

But Since in the OP he asked what monitors we use and I already responded with a written description. For strictly informational purposes I thought a couple of pics would supplement the description for what I use.

[DanR]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I agree with mike Cottens budget precludes many suggestions

But Since in the OP he asked what monitors we use and I already responded with a written description. For strictly informational purposes I thought a couple of pics would supplement the description for what I use.

As someone who has indulged in home recording for over 40 years with modest and humble equipment, I'm jealous. That's a very cool set up.

Technically, I'm not really jealous. I'd love to have a set up like that but I am truly happy that you have it.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I agree with mike Cottens budget precludes many suggestions

But Since in the OP he asked what monitors we use and I already responded with a written description. For strictly informational purposes I thought a couple of pics would supplement the description for what I use.

That's a cool setup. I'm curious about that second piece in your rack. The knobs remind me of a Shadow Hills unit. I'm guessing it's a stereo compressor? Also, the stickies on the keyboard make the room colorful. ;-)

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

Here's a frequency graph link:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51oxAa8MXrL.jpg Hard to read, but looks like drop off at 43 Hz is 3-5 dB.
This one's a little easier to see: http://noaudiophile.com/JBL_LSR305/J...305_Flater.jpg Seems to be a 4dB peak at 50Hz, and 3 dB fall off at 43 Hz.
Here's a review from Sound-on-Sound:
http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/jbl-lsr305-lsr308

Cotten's got a budget, not sure why people keep insisting on $1000+ monitors for him!

The two different frequency response links are quite different. They can't both be correct. If the second one is correct, I wouldn't trust those monitors below 500 Hz because the response goes up and down too much.

As to the 4-graph JBL link, I'm not sure what the Y-axis is representing. If it's dB, then the 43 Hz drop off is much greater than 3-5 dB, which is to be expected.

[cotten]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

...Cotten's got a budget, not sure why people keep insisting on $1000+ monitors for him!

Good point, but I really don't mind. I'm learning as I go, and I've learned that my expectations for low end monitors are going to have to be, indeed, low end. I'm also learning a bit about what to look for in more expensive monitors. I appreciate every response here, whether or not I can afford the suggestions right now.

KevWind, love your setup!

cotten

[Yamaha Man]

I too am on a tight budget, and wanted quality monitors...the Yamaha HS8's were recommended to me as a happy medium....I looked around and found an open box set for $450 which was a hefty discount off of the regular price of about $700. So what I did was bought them on time thru PayPal Credit which gave me 6 months interest free to pay for them. I paid them off in 3 months and now own them free and clear. It wasn't too hard at all. PayPal Credit has helped me buy lots of gear including guitars and mics. I'm one of their best customers.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by DanR

As someone who has indulged in home recording for over 40 years with modest and humble equipment, I'm jealous. That's a very cool set up.

Technically, I'm not really jealous. I'd love to have a set up like that but I am truly happy that you have it.

Thank you, I do feel quite fortunate to at long last, be able to afford the gear I have. As you can see in the pictures my studio is in the rather large attic/ man cave of our house. I only started into home recording in 2000 because prior to that time I did not have the discretionary funds to do so. Having been in residential construction/carpentry for most of my adult life has allowed me the skill to have at least made the desk the rack and Gobo stands DIY.

Originally Posted by jim1960

That's a cool setup. I'm curious about that second piece in your rack. The knobs remind me of a Shadow Hills unit. I'm guessing it's a stereo compressor? Also, the stickies on the keyboard make the room colorful. ;-)

You are correct that is a tube 2 channel compressor, and it is a Vari-mu type design called a .Tubecore 3U Mastering Edition, by IGS Audio...
it sits on my 2 Bus but I am going to start trying it on tracking as well.

Ha yes the stickies ...because I am basically a guitarist but only a poor "hunt and peck" keyboardist by default for midi , they are my "cheat sheets" for marking different chords on the keyboard...

For anyone interested. Here is a bit closer shot of the rack and the front end of my recording chain.
As you can see, I chose to focus on two nice analog tube channels (although the Avid Omni interface has an additional 2 channels of solid state mic pre's if need be )

Top to bottom The chain is:

A-Designs MP2A 2 channel tube mic pre's and DI....
Tubecore 2 channel tube compressor ...
Avid Omni with 2 channels of solid state mic pre's
Monster 3500 power conditioner.