Help me choose a pair of monitors (budget max €3500)

[LTig]

UPDATE:

After two weeks, yesterday the left Quested was playing at inferior volume compared to the right one (both set to 0), roughly half.

I swapped the R/L cables of my interface but the problem persisted, went back, wiggled a bit the cable behind the monitor, and everything went back to normal.

What kind of cable is it you wiggled? RCA or XLR connectors? DIY or bought?

 

[fmessier6]

Cordial balanced XLR cables from Thomann.

 

[LTig]

Cordial balanced XLR cables from Thomann.

Were they locked into the socket?

Edit: exchange left and right cable. When the problem reappears and its the same speaker then the speaker connection is bad, otherwise replace the cable (and destroy the old one if you have no means to fix it, so it cannot hurt you anymore).

 

[TurtlePaul]

UPDATE:

After two weeks, yesterday the left Quested was playing at inferior volume compared to the right one (both set to 0), roughly half.

I swapped the R/L cables of my interface but the problem persisted, went back, wiggled a bit the cable behind the monitor, and everything went back to normal.

I should have swapped the cables that were coming out of the sub instead, and I missed an important step in the diagnosis of this issue. Swapping the cables behind my interface was pretty much useless as they are going into the sub first anyway.

What could have been? Should I be concerned about the speaker or it's usually something that cables do?

Perhaps only one half of the differential pair of signal cables inside the XLR was making contact. This can be a problem with the connector not being inserted (are they clicked all the way in?). However, what I have encountered more frequently has been finding bad solder joints inside of XLR connectors which leads to the wire not making a good electrical connection. I would replace the cable in question or, if you have an iron, open up the connectors on both ends and reflow all of the solder joints.

 

[fmessier6]

Were they locked into the socket?

Edit: exchange left and right cable. When the problem reappears and its the same speaker then the speaker connection is bad, otherwise replace the cable (and destroy the old one if you have no means to fix it, so it cannot hurt you anymore).

Yes, they click when you put them in. They wiggle a bit of you move them but they don't come off.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will listen and try to see if the problem happens again.

Perhaps only one half of the differential pair of signal cables inside the XLR was making contact. This can be a problem with the connector not being inserted (are they clicked all the way in?)

Thanks. It definitely felt that the volume was exactly half of what it was supposed to be, and that's the only useful clue I have at the moment to solve this mystery. It sounds silly, but maybe I could try to replicate what I was experiencing by simulating the same thing = slightly remove the cable. Let's wait to hear if it happens again first.

 

[jim33]

UPDATE:

After two weeks, yesterday the left Quested was playing at inferior volume compared to the right one (both set to 0), roughly half.

I swapped the R/L cables of my interface but the problem persisted, went back, wiggled a bit the cable behind the monitor, and everything went back to normal.

I should have swapped the cables that were coming out of the sub instead, and I missed an important step in the diagnosis of this issue. Swapping the cables behind my interface was pretty much useless as they are going into the sub first anyway.

What could have been? Should I be concerned about the speaker or it's usually something that cables do?

Assuming your using XLR cables. Probably a bad connection on one of the polarity of the XLR. Are you using neutrik XLR connectors? They are the best. Possible that a solder connection has come loose - you can open up the connector for a visual inspection.

 

[jim33]

Have you tried the Bass traps at the rear of the room ?

 

[fmessier6]

Have you tried the Bass traps at the rear of the room ?

Not yet, but I'm really curious. I decided to take a break because work had piled up pretty significantly and I was honestly burnt out. But I figured I'd need at least four extra traps, two in each back corner one on top of the other. I will go with the HOFA but they increased in price to €180, and they were already quite expensive at €170, but I like them, I already have two and I don't have time nor the skills to build mine.

So far the bass presence in my listening position is a complete joke, I can't hear anything below 70 hz, similar to using a highpass filter.
How's this even possible I have no f***ing idea.

But even the sub struggles some times: I was watching the first two minutes of Dune with a friend yesterday, and I was sitting on the couch facing the desk and projecting on the wall above my listening position. My friend was in front of the sub, slightly on the right of the couch, and he was hearing fine (the sub pointed at him).

Me on the other hand, sitting on the left, I was hearing 20% of the bass frequencies that were played. And the sub was pretty loud.

Assuming your using XLR cables. Probably a bad connection on one of the polarity of the XLR. Are you using neutrik XLR connectors? They are the best. Possible that a solder connection has come loose - you can open up the connector for a visual inspection.

Thanks. The problem hasn't manifested again, let's see what happens in the next days.

 

[caught gesture]

Put your room dimensions in here. It will give you lots of useful information. In the Room 3D part you can select a mode to see its pressure zone in your room. It should give you help in understanding what you are hearing (or not!) in your room.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Honestly I don't understand why you chose Quested over the KH310 and Genelecs
Not that they're bad or anything it's just that they're less accurate to my ears and less common ( even on GS)

 

[caught gesture]

Because he uses them as a creative tool as opposed to just a mix or mastering tool. They have to stimulate his creativity. That would be my guess.

 

[fmessier6]

Honestly I don't understand why you chose Quested over the KH310 and Genelecs
Not that they're bad or anything it's just that they're less accurate to my ears and less common ( even on GS)

What's your experience with the V2108? Did you have a chance to try them for a bit?

They were all in the same price range, and price being (almost) equal, I simply bought what I preferred. They're big, bold and aestethically pleasing. The midrange is stellar, and I don't mind the "dark" tweeter as I hate crisp highs anyway. They're mostly used for writing, but for mixing I also use headphones since my room acoustics are far from ideal.

Funny enough, the fact that they were less common (but still well reviewed) is a factor that drove me towards them.
Plus, I can report back and answer any questions you guys might have on these speakers since they're not as popular here.

Keep in mind that despite my personal preference for the V2108 in terms of aestethics I still went with the KH310 first because they looked better on paper, but as previously mentioned, I found some issues that made me return them (and a few days later, someone bought my B-stocks from Thomann with a significant discount

As a side note, I'm glad I bought the V2108 a few weeks ago because now the price increased to almost €3000, which is honestly quite silly.
Brexit maybe? Custom duties/import fees to Germany?

 

[fmessier6]

With the premise that I'm not gonna change the layout of my room for a long time as I lack the physical energy to move everything yet again (plus, I just ordered a 120'' screen for my projector, and I'm gonna hang it on the wall) I found this listening position absolutely phenomenal:

I simply went behind the desk to change a cable and I was blown away by how tight was the bass (plus, you know, I was actually hearing it).

My previous listening position was similar: both speakers were facing a wall, and apparently I had inadvertently found one of the best listening positions. Now, well, I'm sitting in probably the worst.

At some point I think I'll have to give up my home theater and revert to the original position of the speakers, or start to set up treatment hoping to get a result I naturally have just by having the speakers closely face a wall.

By the way, it looks like I'm sitting in the center of the room, from the pictures, but it isn't the exact center. The speakers were previously slightly closer to the wall, but that position resulted in even more cancellation, so I brought them a little closer. What I hear from my position is still miles worse that what I was hearing in my very first setup, and from what I heard a few minutes ago simply going at the opposite side of the table.

Regarding the sub, well the response is fun for movies but loud and confusing for music, its reminds me of my first 1st gen Rokit 5, a pair of headache inducing monitors with an exaggerated bass response. This sub is their direct cousin, albeit I'm sure my room is playing a part as well.

 

[LTig]

With the premise that I'm not gonna change the layout of my room for a long time as I lack the physical energy to move everything yet again (plus, I just ordered a 120'' screen for my projector, and I'm gonna hang it on the wall) I found this listening position absolutely phenomenal:
[..]
I simply went behind the desk to change a cable and I was blown away by how tight was the bass (plus, you know, I was actually hearing it).

My experience with listening position close to the back wall is a rather overblown and muddy bass. It gets better the more you move away from the wall but it' s difficult to find a good balance as the sound changes a lot over short distances.

 

[jim33]

If I were you I'd join the Facebook group - room acoustics : Absorption, discussion and soundproofing by GIK acoustics. Another very good resource for helping sort room acoustic issues.

 

[jim33]

Also, check out REW software and look at the 'room simulation' mode. An easier way to see how the room will sound with speakers in different positions.

 

[fmessier6]

Thank you all.

Yesterday I installed a 120'' projector screen, the whole process took around eight hours.

For some reason I noticed that the audio and bass response of my speakers improved significantly.
Playing the tracks where I was hearing bass cancellation (around 40-80 Hz), now I'm hearing some bass, enough to perceive it. There is still some cancellation, but things are miles better. If I lean forward, even better (but not really ergonomic).

Theoretically I re-placed the speakers very close to their original position, and I'm trying to figure out what happened here. Before I experimented with different speaker positions (going 10 cm to the left, 10 to the right) without any difference whatsoever, and now BAM! things are miles better.

 

[jim33]

Thank you all.

Yesterday I installed a 120'' projector screen, the whole process took around eight hours.

For some reason I noticed that the audio and bass response of my speakers improved significantly.
Playing the tracks where I was hearing bass cancellation (around 40-80 Hz), now I'm hearing some bass, enough to perceive it. There is still some cancellation, but things are miles better. If I lean forward, even better (but not really ergonomic).

Theoretically I re-placed the speakers very close to their original position, and I'm trying to figure out what happened here. Before I experimented with different speaker positions (going 10 cm to the left, 10 to the right) without any difference whatsoever, and now BAM! things are miles better.

View attachment 185734

you should try the sub in a corner , slightly away from the wall pointing into the room . The sub currently will be suffereing the same phase issues as the main monitors so won't be filling in any of the freq gaps. At this stage you should start being a bit more scientific with you issues and take some measurements with REW at the listening position.

 

[Jaimo]

1+ for REW.

Using REW may appear to be a bit daunting but there are several excellent tutorials available that make the task of identifying your room nulls easy and with repeated speaker/sub repositioning and measurements, you can improve things.

Also consider adding one or two additional subwoofers to your room but only do this after you have developed a sound measuring process.

You clearly have a good ear and a few measurements will validate what you are hearing.

 

[fmessier6]

Monitors: Quested V2108 (no sub).

Tools: REW + Rode NT55.

Listening position and monitors position: as the picture two posts above.

This was the old measurement with the KH310.

Could someone help me and guide me a little in interpreting these measurements?

Thanks!