Studio Monitors for now until the end

[pr0de]

Seems you don't understand the function of MA 1. It helps you to adjust the speakers to the acoustic of your room.
https://www.neumann.com/en-en/products/monitor-accessories/ma-1/

Don't know where you are located. In Europe you can get a pair of Neumann KH120 II with MA-1 for 1700€.
https://geizhals.eu/neumann-kh-120-ii-schwarz-a2928476.html

• Neumann KH120 II: 1434€ a pair
• Neumann MA 1: 258€

Amir has tested this speaker here too. Another review in Sound&Recording (unfortunetely in German)
https://www.soundandrecording.de/equipment/neumann-kh-120-ii-2-wege-nahfeldmonitor-im-test/

Yes I live in France, I found the KH120II & MA1 for 1900€ but maybe I should look better...

I really understand the function of the MA1 don't worry, I found just a bit tricky and not really fair from Neumann to sell the MA1 separately because if you want to have all the benefit of the DSP in the KH120II you need one...it's just a matter of fairness when you see that in the KRK R7 G4 which is more than the triple less expensive you have a room correction integrated.

I didn't understand anything from the German, quite a shame because it's seem better prices over there..

You can learn to mix on any set of speakers, it just takes time and a lot of reference mix listening time.
There are many good monitors that are a lot less expensive than the ones you listed.

Room treatment is much more important than the brand of monitors, so you might want to use a fair percentage of your budget getting your room ready for accurate mixing.

Yes I agree, and except composing for the last decades it's all that I did, but I'd like know to mix/master to distribute my songs.
Which monitors do you have in mind?

 

[JayGilb]

Which monitors do you have in mind?

None, just expressing my opinion that you do not need to spend a lot to get the job done.
I personally use a pair of Event TR8s that I purchased used and they have worked well for me .
I use a Dayton 12" powered sub for low end, but the 8" drivers on the Events do deliver a decent bass response.

 

[zonk]

Here the links to Amir's tests:
KRK ROKIT 5 Gen 4 Review
Neumann KH120 II Review

 

[lowkeyoperations]

If you don’t buy MA1 you will need to buy Dirac Live anyway to have room correction.

IMO it is essential.

 

[MadMaxx]

I've had a pair of Adam A7V for about 14 months and am extremely pleased. They sound pretty good without a subwoofer, but I recommend adding one if you like tight, punchy bass.

 

[pseudoid]

Welcome aboard, @pr0de

You see this question becomes like the one about the "chicken-or-the-egg?" version.
If good people like yourself do not arrange to have your [fill in the brand] studio monitors tested here at ASR; then, others will continue to be asking similar questions.

 

[Anton D]

I've had a pair of Adam A7V for about 14 months and am extremely pleased. They sound pretty good without a subwoofer, but I recommend adding one if you like tight, punchy bass.

Those offer crazy value!

 

[ElJaimito]

Hey everyone,

I'm quite struggling to choose monitors for my mixing and mastering parts.

My studio is not yet really build in our house, because we're waiting to have big work and they will destroy and rebuilt almost 50% of our house with some arrangement we've made.

In few months (3 to 4 I hope), my studio will be in a square room of 3meters but right now I'm composing with my headphones Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and my audio interface on my daw directly.

I really struggle to mix and master my songs right now and even when the building will be finish I'll need monitors, so I wanted to anticipate on buying my monitors now and start to mix/master my songs even if it's not yet the optimum.

I'm struggling to choose between these monitors : Neumann KH120 ; Genelec 8040BPM ; Focal Shape 65 ; Adam A7V, I didn't see any reviews on the Genelec 8040B and the Focal Shape 65 so I really don't know which one will be the best for now and future studio...

The cons on the Neumann is that we have to buy another stuff at 300 more to benefit of all the best of those monitors (MA1 I think) is that correct ?
The cons on the Genelec is that I didn't see any review here and the reflex is behind so maybe it have to bee quite far from the wall which it won't be the case.
The cons on Focal Shape 65 is that I didn't see any review here and they are non-ported monitors which I'm not very a fan of...
The cons on Adam A7V is that I didn't see any review here and I saw some posts that they were disappointed about it so I don't really know...

I could afford a 2k budget but if I can find something very good to less, my wife and I will be happy as well and I hope that whatever I'll choose it will be good enough for a long time.

Thanks for taking your time to advise

I would strongly suggest auditioning them -- many decent pro dealers can do this, as we are talking studio monitors not hifi. I did this before buying my Neumanns.

People have differing tastes and preferences, so best try before you buy.

AFAIAC, I bought Neumann KH120. I find (affordable!) Genelecs (ie under 2K $/£/Euros) annoying, many like them. I find Adams far too hissy, others don't. Focal are too nice, too hifi for me, but I'd buy a pair for pleasure if I had spare cash. I don't, so Neumann it is for me.

Listen first! Then choose. And yes, of course the room is the most important part of any monitoring system. With a seriously bad room it doesn't matter what you buy, it won't help. Oh, and I also have Kali IN8 with WS12 2 sub to hear the bass!

 

[Penelinfi]

Was reading earlier posts. Worrying about $300 here or there but you're waiting for half your house to be rebuilt - now how much did that cost?
How important is your studio work too you?
"Until the end" and you are worrying about small numbers like $300?

You should be worrying more about what will work best and sound good to you in such a situation

 

[lowkeyoperations]

Hello everyone and thank you for your reply and honesty,

As I understand, I'll need a sub whichever the speakers I'll choose in that size and also need to treat my room which I'd like to do also.

As I think and scratches and go deeper, it seems that my budget is quite low for all that stuff.

Should I maybe reconsider all of these and buy a very good headphone for the mixing/mastering part? Waiting to have a more consequent budget to buy 2 good speaker ; 1 sub and to be able to treat my room right after....or maybe buy 2 cheaper speakers to be able to buy a sub also (around 1000 for the set and waiting for better)?

IMO you should buy a pair of Slate VSX headphones. These are great headphones for mixing and mastering. I found that they translate far better than my Sennheiser HD650s and are much easier to make decisions on. For example I can clearly hear the difference between 40 and 50hz when treating the low end, whereas the HD650s were very indistinguishable down there.

To be able to hear the difference between 40 and 50hz with a pair of physical speakers is a lot more difficult and therefore expensive.

Firstly you will need a pair of speakers (and a well integrated subwoofer in many cases) that is pretty flat to 35Hz or so.

Then you will need a decent shaped room and the ability to place your speakers and listening position in a location that keeps room modes to a reasonable level.

Then you’re going to need bass traps and room treatment. Or alternatively (or possibly as well as, depending on your room) room correction software.

Basically, getting accurate bass down to Mastering level of accuracy is difficult.

It sounds like you are mixing and mastering your own songs, rather than mixing others music. Is that correct? If so you can overcome some deficiencies in your monitoring setup purely by spending more time mixing and then going to other speaker systems outside your studio to see how they translate. Then you can tweak your recordings…this might take multiple revisions.

If you’re mixing and mastering for others, that’s not an option, and you really need a properly set up system to be charging money and getting results quickly.

If you’re on a tight budget I’d highly recommend a pair of Slate VSX Headphones as your accurate monitoring system (definitely not your existing headphones) then a pair of speakers like the KH120 originals second hand, and Dirac Live room correction.

Make critical mixing and mastering decisions on the headphones, then do composition and arrangement tasks on the speakers if you want a break from headphones. You could get professional results from a setup like that with a bit of practice.

 

[Sacha]

Thread title is a touch macabre