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Thread Home Stereo Speakers

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spillenger

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First post

1 Posted on 02/29/2004 at 08:32:32

Why is it not a good idea to use the speakers I currently have attached to my stereo system as monitors for my home studio?

Paul S.

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djsub

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2 Posted on 02/29/2004 at 14:55:27

because they are not 'reference' speakers and as such will 'colour' the sound you hear. you will then end up editing your mix to suit your speakers. The mix may then sound a bit weak on someone elses (different) speaker system.
eg. If your speakers are 'bassy' then you will compensate for this in the mix, removing bass. someone else may have bright speakers and the mix will subsequently sound 'tinny'
its a good start if you have nothing else, but you can purchase monitors for a reasonable price.

that's my reason.... ymmv

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spillenger

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3 Posted on 02/29/2004 at 14:24:50

Thanks.

If I wanted to get decent, bottom-line monitors, will I have to shell out $300 for Behringer Truth or something similar? What would you recommend?

In the meantime, if I wanted to get along with the stereo speakers for now, what is the best way to run a line from my computer recording set-up to them? (They've got the usual bare-wire connectors using "speaker wire.")

Thanks again.

Paul S.

pax

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4 Posted on 03/01/2004 at 07:29:56

Hi,
Behringer thuth 2031 oer 2030 is good enough.
If you can't get a mix right with this kind of speakers.
You won't get it right on expensive Genelecs or Mackies either,they may even sound too rich in the lower frequency's.
regards
chris at www.tsunamimusic.be

cookbook

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5 Posted on 03/02/2004 at 18:18:38

[quote="spillenger"]Thanks.

If I wanted to get decent, bottom-line monitors, will I have to shell out $300 .")quote]

actually im pretty new to all thsi stuff and it is amazingg ..i love it.. but i know that the more money you spend on your studio monitors the better the sound you will get out of them ..obviously..
if you go and spend 2 grand on a pair, yea they will sound sweet, verry sweet but they will only sound that good for you, and other people listening to what you recorded that also have expensive monitors.
it will also sound good to people listening to it with normal speakers too.. but its not worth it .. sure it is if u have the money

id say go with whatever your budget is..
dont go too expensive

revrb

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6 Posted on 03/02/2004 at 18:57:53

the key with studio reference monitors is to get a matching pair left and right with a FLAT response, so that there is no "niceness" added from the speakers, so that when you set all the low mid high frequencies in your final mix for a song, it will all sound amazing on the FLAT ones you use, then somebody listens to the final copy of that song on the cheap($25-150) sony (whatever) boombox and it will be sonically tasty

and personally... spending $2000 on home studio monitors is a F'n waste of money, unless you have alot to spare....and you already have room that has perfect acoustics...otherwise, they will do you no good...

get $500 monitors and a $1500 mic, your mix will be much better that way as opposed to using a $500 mic and $1500 monitors.......only my opinion though 8)

gorty

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7 Posted on 07/01/2005 at 17:32:49

I have been home recording for a couple of years now and have always used headphones and a little portable stereo for mixdown. However using these Iwas forever running back and forwards doing different mixes until I got a good mix. Then one day I had enough of doing this so I bought myself a pair of Roland DS5,s and I now save a lot of time and also get some very good results. A pair of Rolands DS5,s set me back $700, well worth every cent.

Smurf_en

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8 Posted on 07/26/2005 at 08:10:38

I use a set of Altec Lansing ACS31 computer speakers. They are a 3-piece setup, 18watt sub - 2 12watt satellites. They are a huge step up from the home stereo type of speakers I was using because those never let me hear what was going on in the low end. BUT............getting a better mic was the biggest improvement to my little studio. I would say a good mic-pre amp first, then the speakers. I am also looking at the Truths.................:cool:

It has occurred to me that there are fewer years ahead than there are behind....

Freakuency

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9 Posted on 09/17/2005 at 14:50:30

Try Alesis M-1 Actives. Very popular and you can get good used ones for around $250-300. They're active monitors, meaning they have built-in power amplification and they sound great for the money.

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