Monitors

I’m an amateur musician looking for speakers for my music room. The room is 30’ by 35’.

I’m using Yamaha MX-49, Cubase Elements, Halion Sonic 2, Steinberg UR44, TCHelicon Harmony GTX, Electro Voice Mc150 mic, Sony Core i7 Laptop , Sennheiser headphones.

My requirements for speakers:

  • Absolute minimum of background noise, hum hiss - even at, especially at low volume level
  • Looking for clean, clear. accurate sound
  • Speakers will mostly be used for keyboard practice at low volume.
  • Speakers will also be used with Cubase and Halion for music production.
  • I do want the speakers to have enough power to periodically fill my 30’ by 35’ music room with clean, clear sound at higher volume levels.
  • My budget is $600 max.

Any suggestions for speakers that meet all my requirements.

Note: So far I’m comfortable with and happy with all my equipment. But I have not had much luck figuring out speakers or sound reinforcement.

In your pricerange I would probably go with something like a pair of Yamaha HS7’s or HS8’s.
These are high quality studio monitors and generally well received.
From $400 up noise levels should really not be a problem, no matter which studio monitor you pick.

The problem is that we can suggest tons of monitors, but there is no way of knowing how they will sound in your room untill you try them. It also depends on what you personally like. The best advice I can give you is to buy speakers that you can return if you don’t like their sound after trying them a couple of days.

I use Yamaha H8, pretty good stuff in my setup. this being said, I recommend to listen to different sets first, as Strophoid did. Go to a special store, fire some sets up and select one or two pairs you like. Set them up at your home and try them out again in your room. Return the ones you don’t like.

Good luck!

I would definitely recommend the Yamaha HS(5,7 or 8), depending on the size of your room. I bought a pair of HS7 monitors, which is, in my opinion, way too big for a desktop-table. However, their sound is formidable, and you really get the raw sound of your mix, whereby it becomes a hell lot easier for your ears to find flaws and optimize the songs for several devices.

BR.
Torben

I also like the Yamaha HS 5/7/8. I just installed a pair of HS7s yesterday. I didn’t audition them against other contenders. I didn’t try them out in my room beforehand. I did none of the things they say you should do. (I think VinnieD’s advice is correct.) But I really couldn’t be bothered, and I don’t trust my ears on this issue anyway. (I have just about zero experience evaluating monitors.) Instead, I did months of research, read and listened to many reviews, compared spec sheets, looked into the reputations, and so on. In the end, I was satisfied that the HS7 would deliver the most accurate sound.

In the real world, I find them very quiet, and they deliver fine detail. Playing Halion sounds via keyboard controller has been a superb experience, similar to headphones, but less claustrophobic. This is true at low volumes as well. (I control volume via software, not the volume knobs on the back of the monitors. They are set to +4, matching the output of my digital interface.)

Why HS7 and not HS5, or HS8? The HS5 doesn’t seem to have a full enough response. The HS8 is better than the HS7 on paper, but it wouldn’t be better in my room. The stronger low end would likely not work a room of my size. It would create acoustic problems of the worst sort (bass). A sub-woofer would make things even worse. But you have a nice big room!

Is your room acoustically treated yet? If not, then you have a chicken and egg problem. How can you compare monitors that’ll stand in a treated room that doesn’t exist (as yet) in treated form? How do you treat a room without knowing what monitors will go in there? Theoretically, it’s easier to treat the room first. Use any monitor at all, a reference mic, and software. Financially, it may be harder to do that. What if the treatments are ultimately inappropriate?

If your room is treated, and you trust your ears, then go audition competing monitors. But if your situation is similar to mine, then I’d say the HS8 is a safe bet. You may want the sub-wofer that comes with it as well. According to my strategy, the next steps would be to treat the room (guided by Room EQ Wizard), then calibrate the monitors at the mix position with sonarworks.

Maybe it is too late for the answer, but Yamaha MSP7 is the best one. The monitors by Mackie are nice too. (you can see here How can i find all my w2s online - CloodjoCom)
Whatever, my choice is Yamaha speakers. :mrgreen:

For those who want clean, accurate sound, do not forget about acoustic treatment - absorbers, bass traps and maybe diffusers. There is this rule of thumb that you should invest the same amount of money to acoustic treatment that you invest into hardware.
So this thread’s first post have 600$ budget. 300$ = 2 basstraps + 4 absorbers. For 30 x 35 feet room really not enough. Another 300$=2x150$ speaker, probably not the cleanest one. I would probably go with headphones such a situation.

Good point, cheaper monitors and room treatment may well give you a better net result. Your ears get used to your monitors anyway, as long as they are reasonably transparent you’ll know how your mixes will translate.