#122

Using Genelec 8030BPMs with a KRK 10s sub and loving it. I also have HHB circle 3s that I will use to experiment with quad when I move into a studio with a bit more space.

#123

how about portable, battery-powered speakers?

norns has me pondering a more mobile set-up and Iā€™d like to be able to bring a simple bluetooth speaker with a line-in along for some adventures.

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#124

Iā€™ve been thinking about battery powered keyboard amps such as Rolandā€™s Cube or KC-### series. No decision on that yet. Havenā€™t heard any of them in person.

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#125

I use a Bose Soundlink Mini II as an output for my modular noodling most of the time, and will probably use it with my second batch Norns as an ultra portable rig for holidays and the like.

#126

Somewhat embarrassingly because I saw it in an Ableton promo photo, I picked up a Minirig speaker a couple of years ago and itā€™s been great for portable music. https://minirigs.co.uk/ But I think I bought from eBay

#127

those look pretty nice, actually. how do you find the sound quality?

I had a ue roll 2 which I loved just for podcasts around the house and trips, but while it has a very clear mid-range, it had no real bass performance. unfortunately it was snagged out of my backyard a few weeks ago. :frowning:

did just manage to find a b&o a1 used for way less than listing, so Iā€™m gonna give that a shot.

#128

No complaints at all. Lots of bass and very loud. Like, Iā€™ve recently been using it plugged into my projector as an impromptu TV setup, neither the projector or the minirig has a physical volume control and sometimes itā€™s too loud.

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#129

This may have been touched on already, but is there any preference for small monitorins, preferably under $300? Iā€™m thinking smaller than the average 5" speaker, but with the fullest possible range (obviously sacrificing a couple hundred Hz in the low end).

#130

when i traveled a lot for work i picked up a single Genelec 8010A 3" friend for hotel synthesis. They sound great.

I own the pair of A7xā€™s @sellanraa references earlier in this thread (along with the different shaped room that iā€™ve been meaning to treat for sound) and they are always a joy. a sub may be a welcome addition at some point but iā€™m currently funneling funds to a deckards dream build then some buchla additions.

#131

been using Focal Alpha 65ā€™s for 5-6 months now and have thoroughly enjoyed them. only complaint is that a lot of the exterior is made of a plastic which seems to let off an occasional cracking noise as the speakers heat up.

#132

I havenā€™t tried them, but the presonus Eris might fit the bill, theyā€™re well regarded for the price, and are about $200 US for the 4.5" model

#133

So I have really nice genelecs, but the vast majority of the time I play my synths (mainly Buchla) through an old Bose iPod dock speaker that I got in 2007. Itā€™s got an amazing battery life, itā€™s so portable, itā€™s loud, and even though the sound is really colored, it has a fullness and lower end oomph I find missing in a lot of canister speakers that are battery powered. Itā€™s also kind of cheap, which is nice cause you donā€™t have to treat it precious.

So Iā€™ve been thinking of getting another because this one has started rattling. But Iā€™m wondering if anyone else has a ā€œconvenienceā€ speaker of choice.

#134

I donā€™t have any, but the minirig speakers are super popular around here. If you search for them youā€™ll find a lot about them in various threads.

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#135

theyā€™ve just recently put out a new version of their main minirig speaker
louder an more battery life at the same form factor

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#136

For the past 20 years or more Iā€™ve been relying upon my vintage Kef Kit floorstanders that belonged to (and were assembled by) my paternal grandfather. Iā€™ve been tempted to turn them into a pair of LS3/5As as the LS3/5As use 2 out of the 3 drivers from the Kef Kit, but: they sound too beautiful as they are; Iā€™d only then have to make a sub to house the remaining drivers; if they were LS3/5As theyā€™d be worth Ā£1,200 - 1,500 and the temptation to sell them to finance gear and replace them with active monitors would be significant.

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#137

Apologies but thereā€™s some common misconceptions in your reply here that I feel the need to clear up.

You want to start with bass traps 4" thick panels. Put these in every corner up to the ceiling.

I see this a lot, and blowing your load totally on bass traps is simply a bad way to go. A single bass trap in each corner plus a couple absorption panels on the walls will do wonders ā€“ cutting down on flutter echos and whatnot will do far more than doubling up on bass traps. My recommended starter pack is a bass trap for each corner, two to four absorption panels, and maybe a diffuser behind the desk. You donā€™t really need to go beyond that.

Speaking of diffusersā€¦

Behind you you ideally want a diffuser. A bookshelf or even the card catalog you mentioned works well.

This is the most common misconception I see right behind using moving blankets or egg crates as effective acoustic treatment. It seems logical that bookshelves would work as a diffuser (different depths of the spines is one of the big reasons), but in fact a bunch of books with their spines out are primarily reflective. Furthermore, diffusion panelsā€™ patterns follow a very specific equation for arriving at the different depths of the blocks ā€“ the randomness offered by bookshelves, even if they werenā€™t reflective, isnā€™t really desirable.

No disrespect meant. These misconceptions are common because they seem to make sense (especially the bookshelves one), so thatā€™s probably why they propagate so quickly. But the science just doesnā€™t support it.

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#138

Iā€™ve had a pair of Dynaudio Audience 42s for about 15 years, and they have so far kept me from wishing for anything moreā€“though I did recently add a Dynaudio Sub250 active subwoofer to extend the bass a bit (and I do mean ā€œa bitā€, bass was not lacking before).

I auditioned some Magnepan 1.7is (nice, but position sensitive with a narrow sweet spot and lacks bass) and .7is (not nearly as good as the 1.7i in any way and severely bass constrained) and came away feeling even better about the little Dynaudios vs. very highly regarded electrostatic speakers selling for twice the price.

Regarding acoustic treatment, I suggest getting hold of a copy of something like ā€œThe Master Handbook of Acousticsā€ and running some room calculations. Bass traps might not be all that important depending on construction materials and the contents of the room. Midrange is likely to be a bigger issue along with early reflections.

#139

Yes! And it should be further pointed out that the peak to trough ratio of a proper diffuser is quite high: the books would have to be lined up very weirdly to work correctly. You can make DIY diffusers (the book I mentioned above has a section on calculating the ratios IIRC) but they are material and labor intensive. In most smaller rooms normal people have access to itā€™s probably better to use rockwool-based panels or something with similar acoustic performance.

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#140

Apologies if this has already been discussed, I couldnā€™t find an appropriate thread when searching!

Iā€™ve been composing on whatever speakers I have around for years (for a while the PA I also used for live shows, and most recentlyā€¦ a pair of bass ampsā€¦) and mixing on a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones.

Thatā€™s suited me fine until now, but Iā€™d like to complement the MDRs (which I know very well and feel comfortable using as a reference for mixing) with a pair of speakers that I can trust to be reasonably flat and unexciting.

Iā€™d also like to not spend $1000 on monitors. Is that possible?

Many friends have owned KRK monitors, Iā€™m looking at the Rokit powered 5" 3rd generation with a frequency response between 45Hz ā€“ 35kHz.

I lived with someone who had a pair of Adam Audio A7Xs and listening to anything in his studio was really a treatā€¦ it looks like they have a pair of budget speakers now as well ā€“ Adam Audio T5Vs ā€“ closer to the price range Iā€™m looking at, but I have no idea if they compare to the A7Xs. Same 45Hz ā€“ 35kHz range as the KRKs.

Iā€™m just looking for anything with a lack of color like my MDR headphones!

Is it just better to save my pennies and get something more expensive next year?

#141

The MDR headphones actually are coloured, if you listen to them compared with other reference standards.

But in fact, ALL speakers/headphones are coloured to some degree. This is unavoidable. Your ears adapt to the colouration and become able to translate that to a generalized average of other systems youā€™re also familiar with.

The Adam T5Vs are well regarded here, many people like them, and theyā€™re on my shortlist of interesting monitor speakers. But theyā€™re ported, and that means while the bass sounds good, like all ported speakers it will overhangā€¦ the book Mixing Secrets for Small Studios by Mike Senior has a lot of detail on why ported speakers arenā€™t really the best reference for mixing, but it comes down to this resonance causing a sort of muddled or reverby bass compared to a non-ported speaker.

The bookā€™s website has a list of recommended unported monitors for budget studios, although none of them are terribly cheap.

But basically, 1) colouration is a fact of every speaker, 2) all ported speakers will be very heavily resonance-coloured especially in the bass area, and sometimes at specific harmonics of the port frequency up into the midrange, and 3) speakers that donā€™t have these problems will either have much less bass (not a huge problem, as long as you get used to it or get a matching unported sub) or be expensive.

Edit for additional details: can you mix effectively with ported speakers? Sure! But your ears will do more work and youā€™ll need to A/B your mix more often on a variety of systems to be sure of your bass mix. Itā€™s an effort/time tradeoff, in the end.

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