Quote:
Originally Posted by Photojeep
A couple other things I'd like to ask:
1. These have a bass port on the back, as do many others, and I'm wondering why this exists. Is it to allow sound out? Or does it serve some other function.
2. I'll be placing these speakers (whatever I get) fairly close to a wall (within 6 inches or so) because of furniture configuration. Will this affect the speaker's effectiveness?
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The bass port on the back directs the low frequency sounds out the back. Having those speakers 6 inches from the wall is going to be problematic because the lower frequencies will be overly emphasized. If this is just for yourself and no one is going to listen to your recordings outside of your recording environment, you're fine. But if you intend to play the music in other places, your mixes won't sound very good.
So would it be impossible to get something to sound decent in that setup? No. But it would require that you do a lot of A/B-ing in other listening environments and hopefully over time you'd get to learn how your bad setup needs to be adjusted to produce better sound.
For what it's worth, you're going through the same stages that most home hobbyists go through. First we think we can mix on headphones. Then we learn the shortcomings of doing it that way. Then we think we can get away with cheap monitors. And we soon realize they sound so bad we go back to using the headphones. At some point, if we stick with the hobby, we realize we really do need a decent set of monitors.
You don't NEED "big gazillion dollar speakers," but you're not likely to find anything good in your $100/pair price range. I've never heard the JBL's that Mike recommended but I've read a lot more comments from people that like them than dislike them. If I were you, however, I'd steer clear of any monitors with a rear bass port unless this really is just for your enjoyment in your studio.
Aside from asking here, you might want to search for information in the "Low End Theory" subforum at Gearslutz.