Mastering Speaker Pair Priced under $1000 for medium sized room?

[LOUIS SMITH]

Query: I have looked through THIS GREAT site and there are so many options. I am interested in a full range mastering speakers but as I am just starting out, I do not want to spend 10,000 for a pair just yet. I was thinking about the Infinity Ref R253 with a Sub to accent the bass. There was also a JBL Studio 580 that was on the radar as a decent entry level pair. b
What else do you recommend for my application in a mid sized room?

1. Do I really need floor standng speakers for mastering?
2. Is there audio nirvana to be had with Towers under the 1000 a pair price range
Specifically for Mastering Duties?
3. Would you recommend a sub With The infinity or the Jbl
4, in General, do you know anyone who can do upper corner work via Wood or plastic hung inserts to change the shape of the square walls of my mastering space?

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[kemmler3D]

I don't think there are any really legit mastering speakers that are true full range for $1k. The JBL M2 is an example of the real deal but it sells for $20k+ per pair. The Genelec 8381 is another example and goes for $65k.

1. Not necessarily, but real mastering studios actually use in-wall speakers pretty often, a step beyond.

2. Maybe depending on what you consider Nirvana. But for mastering or mixing not really. In that price range you can usually only find bookshelf/ near field speakers that are accurate enough for real work.

3. If you need the bottom octave and are confident in integrating them, yes.

4. Not personally, no.

In your price range, if you really want to do mastering per se, look for a used pair of Neumann KH120 Ii. Or good headphones...

 

[DVDdoug]

I don't own a pair, but the JBL308P looks hard to beat. (And I have a soft spot for JBL since the old days...). If you want "realistic bass" you'll probably need a subwoofer but you still might be able to stay within your budget.

4, in General, do you know anyone who can do upper corner work via Wood or plastic hung inserts to change the shape of the square walls of my mastering space?

I can't answer that but I always say, diagnosis before treatment. REW is FREE but you need to spend about $100 USD on a measurement mic. Absorption may be more important than dispersion, and bass tends to the biggest acoustic problem and the hardest to deal with.

 

[dfuller]

Hello, one of ASR's resident mastering engineers here. In short? No. I don't know of any speakers I'd trust for mastering under $10,000 a pair. The cheapest tier that I consider "good enough" is KH420s or equivalent (8361s, 1237s, SCM50ASLs, etc).

The reasons are as follows:
1. Mastering speakers must be full range. You can use subs here as an option, but ideally speakers should be full range (flat to at least 40hz free field) on their own.

2. Mastering speakers must be neutral in tonality (or at least close to it). That means resonances from cabinets and drivers should be minimized as well as the general on and ideally off axis behavior.

3. Mastering speakers should be low distortion and have high dynamic range. Remember that mastering gets in mixes that often do not have the final stage of limiting, and are much higher dynamic range than a commercial release.

1. Do I really need floor standng speakers for mastering?

No, but if they're standmount they will be very large. Think KH420/SCM50 sized.

2. Is there audio nirvana to be had with Towers under the 1000 a pair price range
Specifically for Mastering Duties?

No. Better to stick with small stand mounts in that price range. They will not be full range enough or have the dynamic capabilities for mastering.

3. Would you recommend a sub

Stereo subs if you insist on subs. A mono sub is a bad idea and much harder to get sounding right.

4, in General, do you know anyone who can do upper corner work via Wood or plastic hung inserts to change the shape of the square walls of my mastering space?

Don't worry about the shape. Worry about the treatment.

To be honest this sounds like you're not really at the point where your ears will at all be developed enough for mastering. Go learn to track and mix first, develop your critical listening skills, and then come back to mastering.

I don't own a pair, but the JBL308P looks hard to beat. (And I have a soft spot for JBL since the old days...). If you want "realistic bass" you'll probably need a subwoofer but you still might be able to stay within your budget.

The 30x series is fine as an entry level production or mixing speaker but to be honest they are not well suited to mastering. They are very high distortion and full of resonances owing to the cheap cabinet construction (thin, largely unbraced walls + a thin injection molded front baffle)

 

[LOUIS SMITH]

I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I’m just starting out. I do a lot of mixing just have not ventured into the mastering world. As usual. Economy is the best use of resource especially when starting a new business. To that end, I’m looking for the least expensive way to get involved in this new venture of mine. I will consider the speakers that you recommend. If there are any others that come to mind, feel free to reply. Thank you so much for any advice that you can give Cheers.

 

[staticV3]

the JBL308P looks hard to beat.

Except in THD where it loses to the competition:

Finding Speakers for a 25sqm Proberaum (Hobby DJing, Producing, and Listening)

Hey everyone, I’m usually the "tech guy" in my friend group, but I’ll admit, audio gear isn’t my strong suit. My friends and I are setting up a "Proberaum" (rehearsal room) that’s about 25sqm in size. They’ve tasked me with finding suitable speakers, but I could use your advice. Here’s the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Anyway, traditional passive loudspeakers with analog crossovers make no sense as mastering monitors IMO, @OP

 

[Timcognito]

Lots of interesting discussion on this thread especially middle to end

The ultimate low cost solution for room correction?

Hello to all of you from ASR, I've been following you for about three years and this is my first post...I'm using Google translator, so excuse my English... I wanted to let you know that IK Multimedia has just introduced a new dedicated product to environmental correction, called: "ARC STUDIO"...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[dfuller]

Anyway, traditional passive loudspeakers with analog crossovers make no sense as mastering monitors IMO, @OP

100% agree with this. Analog active is the bare minimum IMO.

 

[IngMishael]

Query: I have looked through THIS GREAT site and there are so many options. I am interested in a full range mastering speakers but as I am just starting out, I do not want to spend 10,000 for a pair just yet. I was thinking about the Infinity Ref R253 with a Sub to accent the bass. There was also a JBL Studio 580 that was on the radar as a decent entry level pair. b
What else do you recommend for my application in a mid sized room?

1. Do I really need floor standng speakers for mastering?
2. Is there audio nirvana to be had with Towers under the 1000 a pair price range
Specifically for Mastering Duties?
3. Would you recommend a sub With The infinity or the Jbl
4, in General, do you know anyone who can do upper corner work via Wood or plastic hung inserts to change the shape of the square walls of my mastering space?

Reply
Report

Medium sized room isn't saying anything.

Actual dimensions please

 

[Oddball]

As noted before, I would really not want to listen at anything that is mastered at this pricing level. Is this without the subs? Or includes subs as well?

 

[lowkeyoperations]

For your budget I’d really recommend Slate VSX Headphones.

$1000 won’t get you monitors that are good enough for the job and more importantly your room won’t be good enough for the job.

The VSX headphones really are awesome as they have modelled real speakers in real rooms. If you get the Platinum version you will have Howie Weinberg’s Mastering Suite with PMCMB2s monitors. But also a selection of cars, an iPhone, a boombox. So not only can you start mastering but you can also check how it translates to other systems. It will also totally help your mixing progress too!

Beyond the modelled rooms the headphones come with software that removes the resonances that form in your ear canal when wearing closed backed headphones. Everyone’s ears are different in that respect which is why many people disagree about how headphones sound and why mixing on them is usually a bad idea.

I’m not affiliated with them apart from being on their beta team occasionally. In the beta team they have professional mastering engineers amongst others. It’s a legit product.

 

[Oboreal]

I agree with dfuller, but I would add that acoustic treatment is essential in a commercial mastering studio.

Personally, I would never send a file to a studio if I don’t know the RT60 at the listening position, and if it’s not flat at least down to 40 Hz.

That's what a good mastering studio acoustic should look like : The studio i work with when mastering

That eliminates a huge number of studios, but they’re the only ones that allow me to be confident there won’t be major issues when listening elsewhere and break the ASR famous circle of confusion.

The initial investment to build a mastering studio is quite heavy. I don’t think you can seriously expect to do anything meaningful under €20–30k. You definitely need substantial acoustic treatment, good converters, full-range speakers, and solid DSP correction if the room still doesn’t measure well enough after treatment.

Based on the questions being asked, you’ll need an acoustic study—even if you’re doing the treatment yourself."

 

[AA63]

Back to the original question - if you could up your budget a bit - I would look for an older set of B+W 801s that are in good shape that you can probably find for +/- $1500.