Monitors

paranoid edge · Post by **paranoid edge** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:31 pm

Thinkin bout upgradin monitors, Unsoundboy recomended Rubicon's (cheapish with all tha right stats).
Any sud's?

SoulWhiteMan · Post by **SoulWhiteMan** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 7:36 pm

oh no,

a monitor debate thread on an electronic music forum

(ducks for cover)

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:05 am

Mackie HR624/824s, depending on if you've got a big room or not.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:15 am

Rubi's are great mate... You won't find monitors with a ribbon HF-driver for that price anywhere else, pair 'em with a sub and you're off and running!

I'd recommend the 5" cones (R5a) for smaller rooms, the 6" cones (R6a's) for larger rooms.

Sure, there's heaps of better monitors out there, but if you have a fixed budget - these are great value for money IMO.

Fents · Post by **Fents** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:42 am

prices?

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:16 pm

RRP's.

RUBICON 5A: $699.00inc/pair.
RUBICON 6A: $899.00inc/pair.

I wouldn't recommend the RUBICON 8A's, the bass is too boomy.

RUBICON10S (sub): $699.00inc.

But... just as good IMO, Samson Resolv 120 sub: $349.00inc.

***these are RRP's, they're bound to be cheaper @ retail outlets.

almax · Post by **almax** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:05 pm

what are peoples thoughts on Rubis vs KRK, im about to drop some cash on monitors and am undecided...

almax · Post by **almax** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:11 pm

Direktor wrote:RRP's.

RUBICON 5A: $699.00inc/pair.
RUBICON 6A: $899.00inc/pair.

dude, are those prices right, just checked store DJ and they are $200 cheaper, am i missing something?

http://www.storedj.com.au/products/sear ... &x=40&y=13

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:13 pm

Cannot comment personally.

Haven't given the KRK's a decent A/B to Rubi's.

But they don't even compare on price point.

Rubi's wiped the floor with their 5A's and 6A's in a recent monitor special in Future Music mag (Nov '06)...

The 5A's beat: KRK RP5, Behringer Truth 2031A and Roland DS5.

The 6A's beat: Event ALP 5 and Emu PM5.

All monitors were tested within pricing brackets.

KRK's will have the better name though - along withthe subsequent bigger price.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:14 pm

almax wrote:
Direktor wrote:RRP's.

RUBICON 5A: $699.00inc/pair.
RUBICON 6A: $899.00inc/pair.

dude, are those prices right, just checked store DJ and they are $200 cheaper, am i missing something?

http://www.storedj.com.au/products/sear ... &x=40&y=13

Mate, being the distributor, I can only quote RRP (recommended retail price). Street price, or actual price is at the store's discretion.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:15 pm

PS: best idea is to take people's advise onboard, but then check them out for yourself mate... See if you can A/B them in a store, with music you know well - and decide for yourself.

Snowie · Post by **Snowie** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:52 pm

This is personally preference, but the KRK RP8's with matching 10' sub for $1600, seriously didn't go wrong. Can't be farked getting spec's as i want to go roll another spliff, but the sound is very good. My tip would be when you go to buy the monitors, offer cash, and see how low he can go.

Yeah BWOY....

Sorry just finished watching on DVD PE live at the House of Blues. Funny shit Flav a gerraric crack addict.bwhahahahaha!

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:17 pm

Yep I'd advise shelling out that little bit more for the KRK RP8s over the Rubicon 8as, there's not much price difference, but the specs are noticably better on the RP8s.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:15 am

Goodness me....

Don't go Rubicon 8A's - you're hearing this from the supplier.... for the third time. Bass response is very boomy and innacurate.

5A's or 6A's FTW.

PS: trust your ears more than manufacturers spec's.

almax · Post by **almax** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:53 pm

Direktor wrote:Goodness me....

Don't go Rubicon 8A's - you're hearing this from the supplier.... for the third time. Bass response is very boomy and innacurate.

5A's or 6A's FTW.

PS: trust your ears more than manufacturers spec's.

who has said they are gonna buy the 8A's?

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:57 pm

There's 2 monitor threads going - and they're the only model of Rubi's being discussed.

All good... but I have solid reasons behind my comment, of which I can't go into on here.

almax · Post by **almax** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:31 pm

Been offered some genelec 8030a with a 7050a sub for a farkin awesome price, but still a wee bit out of my budget, should i starve myself for a month to get em or just be happy with some KRKs?

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:04 pm

almax wrote:Been offered some genelec 8030a with a 7050a sub for a farkin awesome price, but still a wee bit out of my budget, should i starve myself for a month to get em or just be happy with some KRKs?

strat drinking water bro.
Seriously, these are great speakers - allthough I don't know how much you have been offered them for. I paid aroun $1800 for my 8030A's. Great reference monitors, lousy throw, so don't expect to rock out you living room or anything, purely studio work.

almax · Post by **almax** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:10 pm

excellent, yep thats the same price im getting em for, did you get the sub in the package for that as well?
Not for rockin out my lounge, for studio use so perfect, especially since my neighbour keeps complaining about the noise i make so less throw the better

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:18 pm

almax wrote:excellent, yep thats the same price im getting em for, did you get the sub in the package for that as well?
Not for rockin out my lounge, for studio use so perfect, especially since my neighbour keeps complaining about the noise i make so less throw the better

No. Just the little guys with out the sub. If you're getting the sub you're onto a winner.

almax · Post by **almax** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:21 pm

yep getting me the sub with it! wahoo, say hello to starvation!

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:46 pm

almax wrote:yep getting me the sub with it! wahoo, say hello to starvation!

Nice work. Def worth starving for.
Whats the rest of your set up?

SoulWhiteMan · Post by **SoulWhiteMan** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:49 pm

almax wrote:yep getting me the sub with it! wahoo, say hello to starvation!

Mi Goreng noodles from Safeway

40c a packet

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:12 pm

Do it Al.

I be tipping they'll leave KRK's for dead - although I haven't A/B'd them personally, public opinion says yes.

almax · Post by **almax** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:32 pm

black star wrote:
almax wrote:yep getting me the sub with it! wahoo, say hello to starvation!
Nice work. Def worth starving for.
Whats the rest of your set up?

My personal setup is:
MPC 2500
1200s
DJM 800
Juno 106

but my housemate has a kick ass PC, not sure of the exact specs but over 4 gig of RAM and the latest CPU at the time (about a year ago now)

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:25 pm

almax wrote:
black star wrote:
almax wrote:yep getting me the sub with it! wahoo, say hello to starvation!
Nice work. Def worth starving for.
Whats the rest of your set up?
My personal setup is:
MPC 2500
1200s
DJM 800
Juno 106

but my housemate has a kick ass PC, not sure of the exact specs but over 4 gig of RAM and the latest CPU at the time (about a year ago now)

Nice to see some one using hardware. Wikkid.
I've got an SP808, MC 303, EF303, Behringer Desk, Tascam DAT, 2 x 12200's, the 8030A's we spoke of before plus guitars and bassess etc.

almax · Post by **almax** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:39 pm

yeah i love hardware, it feels more special and the work flow is more fun, i just jam with mates then record what i like, though needs computer for final touches, which is why ive never really finish what i start, all in good time

konk · Post by **konk** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:56 pm

I'd get some adam a7's if i were on the market right now.

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:28 pm

I'm quite keen to hear what peeps think of the Mackie HR824 MK2s and the KRK RP-8 MK2s versus the originals.

almax · Post by **almax** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:27 pm

almax wrote:Been offered some genelec 8030a with a 7050a sub for a farkin awesome price, but still a wee bit out of my budget, should i starve myself for a month to get em or just be happy with some KRKs?

got 'em last night

Post by **huge** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:36 pm

you guys better be making some decent tunes with all this fancy gear innit.

almax · Post by **almax** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:51 pm

huge wrote:you guys better be making some decent tunes with all this fancy gear innit.

all in good time

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:15 pm

almax wrote:
almax wrote:Been offered some genelec 8030a with a 7050a sub for a farkin awesome price, but still a wee bit out of my budget, should i starve myself for a month to get em or just be happy with some KRKs?

got 'em last night

I know where you live.

almax · Post by **almax** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:53 pm

eek, lucky you have your own and i have a snake to protect them

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:57 pm

almax wrote:eek, lucky you have your own and i have a snake to protect them

Quad Sound FTW...................... on second thoughts I'd rather not see your snake.

autumnleaves · Post by **autumnleaves** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:28 pm

Hey folks,

Never bought monitors before, got a budget of a grand, for use in a fairly small room. Just so I can be armed with a few recommendations when I go in to have a listen to them, what would you guys suggest?

I make both acoustic sort of stuff and drum and bass, so needs to be able to deal with a wide range of styles. Would it be best to go for a 5" or 6" because it's a small room?

What should I be keeping in mind when trying out different monitors? I presume it's not just about what you like listening to?

Cheers and thanks

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:01 pm

I reckon it's always better to go with bigger drivers, regardless of the size of your room. Whatever coloration (ie. frequency dips + peaks in the very low mids caused by standing waves/reflections, and treble flutters) your room may have will always be there (until you put in some acoustic treatment), proportionate to how loud the sound is. So all you'll get with smaller drivers is a less accurate representation of the bass. If you're going to be doing dnb, small drivers will become the bane of your existence. Most monitors have settings to let you adjust them for the kind of space they're in anyway (eg. half space, quarter space, treble boost/reduce etc.)... it's worth doing a few mixes then adjusting these if you find your mixdowns are coming out too bass/treble light/heavy.

I started out with a pair of Alesis M1 520s (5" drivers), then moved up to a pair of Mackie HR824s (8" drivers), and the difference is unbelievable, particularly in the definition at the lower end of the spectrum. FYI, I picked up the Mackies (ex-display model) for $2000. Twice as much as you wanted to pay admittedly, but IMHO the difference is worth every penny.

Or a bit cheaper, the KRK RP8 + RP10 sub has a great reputation.

Blaxter · Post by **Blaxter** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:50 pm

Here we go again....

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 9:58 pm

autumnleaves · Post by **autumnleaves** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:33 am

At least it's not a Mac vs PC debate.

(Please do not now begin a Mac vs PC debate!)

I've heard the KRK's are pretty good, so will have a look into them for sure. Thanks for the heads up! Any experiences with Event Electronics TR8's? Or the Fostex PM-1MKII?

Cheers

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:36 pm

Disagree with going bigger drivers just for the sake of it.

Bigger drivers require more power to drive them, I.e. more volume. And if you're in a smallish room - more volume means more sound bouncing all over the shop - and unhappy neighbours/housemates (if you have them), not to mention tired ears, resulting in a less than pleasurable mixing experience.
You can always add a sub to a setup for extra bottom end.

Also, there's a big difference in bottom-end representation between say, Genelec's and M1 520's.

Pretty much most on the monitors you're talking about have already been discussed - get yo' scroll on mate.

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 1:49 pm

Bigger drivers require more power to drive them, I.e. more volume.

... I don't think that's right. Bigger drivers definitely do require more electrical power, but they're only as *loud* as you want them to be, that's what a volume knob is for. Even if you're monitoring at whisper quiet levels, you're always better off having monitors with a wider and flatter frequency response.

And if you're in a smallish room - more volume means more sound bouncing all over the shop - and unhappy neighbours/housemates (if you have them), not to mention tired ears, resulting in a less than pleasurable mixing experience.

Ever heard of a volume knob?

And as I said in my earlier post:

a1studmuffin wrote:Whatever coloration (ie. frequency dips + peaks in the very low mids caused by standing waves/reflections, and treble flutters) your room may have will always be there (until you put in some acoustic treatment), proportionate to how loud the sound is.

You'll experience the same peaks + dips (proportionately) in your music due to reflections regardless of whether it's really loud or quiet, so getting monitors with smaller drivers as a solution isn't going to help, it's just going to give you even less accuracy in the bass region. You're always better off getting monitors with more accurate + extended bass and treating your walls.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 2:30 pm

Okay mate.

Of course you're always better off with a wider and flatter frequency response - but the size of the cone does not necessarily imply this - particularly in regards to the flat response. Try the Rubicon 8A's - big cones, but so far from a flat response compared to the R5's or R6's.

And from what I've been told.... the larger the size of the cone usually (depending on materials) the more mass. The more mass, the more power (read - volume) you are going to require to push those cones out compared to their smaller counterparts at the same volume setting.

So yes, I have heard of a volume knob Mr. Smarty Pants.

Lephrenic · Post by **Lephrenic** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 2:54 pm

But can you get the big boom?

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 3:30 pm

Special Hegg wrote:But can you get the big boom?

Gold!

Have another drink matey... some good samples there.

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 3:31 pm

It's all about the big boom!

I can't get the boom!!!! There's no boom!!!

But yeah you're right Direktor about driver size not necessarily equaling flat response.

Still, driver size + power requirements shouldn't have any practical implications to volume, considering you can adjust the volume manually at any time while mixing.

But it's all about the boom. No boom!!

I still can't believe that guy put those "expert" tutorials online. LOL.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 3:37 pm

Mate, power (as in electricity) has nought to do with what I'm talking about.

But anyway.... BOOM!

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:25 pm

Ah right, so what do you mean by power? I'm talking about the stuff what makes the cone dun wriggle back and forth lots, thus causing vibrations in the air.

I think we mean the same thing really - energy.

eg. You need more energy to make a bigger driver (which has more mass) output an 80dB signal than you would to make a smaller driver output an 80dB signal.

But I don't get how that has any relevance to listening volume levels when you have a volume knob? Or have I got what you were trying to say wrong?

Oh and I know I often come across as a cunt when I argue with people, hey, it's Friday and it's a forum. Much love.

BOOM!!!

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:00 pm

I <3 my tapco s8's.

Not too $$$ either

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:07 am

I don't get Tapco... everyone raves about them, a lot of people who's opinions I really value sing their praises... but I don't get it.

Must just be me. But they sound too flat, if there's such a thing... I.e. they seem to iron out offending frequencies and normalize EQ too much.

Prob just me.