Monitoring system

Sihriel · Post by **Sihriel** » Mon Nov 18, 2002 1:24 am

I just moved to Japan a few weeks ago, and now have the opportunity to come back to Pulsar geekdom ... that is once I manage to get my hands on a monitoring system of some sort - I'm currently only left with headphones, and even thoguh they're not too bad ... well, they're headphones.

For the first few months, I won't have a lot of money though, and I was wondering was you would advice for $100-150, taking into account the fact that they would probably be changed 6-9 months from now at the maximum.

Am I stuck with home stereos for lack of a better thing, or is there any set of powered monitors by chance that would exist in this range of price ? I'd also like to be able to plug the headphones into the monitoring set, but really anything will do, don't hesitate to tell me if you have any idea

And if you're in Japan and if you have any advice of where to buy this, sending me an email would be greatly appreciated

petal · Post by **petal** » Mon Nov 18, 2002 2:37 am

Edrol is making a small 10w active monitor (Edirol MA10A), which is inside your pricerange for a pair of new ones. I don't know if they are any good, but they are there.

Thomas

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Mon Nov 18, 2002 10:06 pm

Heya! Where are you in Japan by the way? I'm in Tokyo area, so maybe we can get hooked up. Glad to have another Japanese Pulsarian on board.

Anyway, if you're going to buy anything, try http://www.soundhouse.co.jp/
They have very good deals on almost any kind of music gear. I can definitely help if you have problems reading Japanese. And also please feel free to contact me if you need any help localizing.

Omb · Post by **Omb** » Mon Nov 18, 2002 10:52 pm

hello japan.

1.what are you guy's doind in japan , is
there a good music out there.
i'v allways heard that electronic stuff are very cpip in japan.

have fan.
omb.

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Mon Nov 18, 2002 10:53 pm

I would recomend the SRS-A60 from Sony, very cheap. They have a clear sound but no bass... Well, for this price you can probably do a littel better.

rodos1979 · Post by **rodos1979** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 7:12 am

Hello to all

I am interested myself in buying a monitoring system too.
Although my ancient (25years old!) NAD Hi-fi Amplifier and my ancient Dansk Hi-Fi speakers are great for amplifying the sound of my Tape Deck and my CD player, they were not intented to be used as studio monitors so I could do my mixes through them! (ouf!...what a big sentence!) So I am thinking of upgrading!
Therefore, I would kindly ask if anyone could recommend me a *faithful* monitoring system costing no more than 1000euros. Something I could connect directly to my pulsar's 1 analog out (or to its spdif out maybe!?) and use it as a faithful monitoring system for mixing.

Thank you

samplaire · Post by **samplaire** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 1:54 pm

On 2002-11-23 07:12, rodos1979 wrote:
Therefore, I would kindly ask if anyone could recommend me a *faithful* monitoring system costing no more than 1000euros. Something I could connect directly to my pulsar's 1 analog out (or to its spdif out maybe!?) and use it as a faithful monitoring system for mixing.

Think about Event ProjectStudio 6 or PS 8 - they have a good specs and I've heard the and found very good sounding. Active, ballanced and unbalances ins and other specs: http://www.event1.com/Products/PS_Serie ... itors.html . For the prices: http://www.musicians-gear.com/cgi-local ... ex=EUR_VAT

otter · Post by **otter** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 2:02 pm

I´d suggest to wait 6-9 months and spend about 250$ for a pair of

-"Tannoy Reveal"
or
- "Spirit Absolute Zero"

Especially the "Absolute Zero" have a very clean sound regarding the price.
Of course you´d need an Amp, too.
Be careful with HiFi Amps, they tend to "overdo" bass and treble so your mix might sound too weak after all. Just listen...

Do you have a DAT? I use my DA 30 MK II as "headphone amp", works very well connected via sp/dif

The Tannoy Reveal exist in "active" with built-in amp , too. About 300 € each.

[ This Message was edited by: otter on 2002-11-23 14:08 ]

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 2:43 pm

On 2002-11-23 14:02, otter wrote:
Do you have a DAT? I use my DA 30 MK II as "headphone amp", works very well connected via sp/dif

I use a Philips DCC 730 for the same purpose cause my mixer's analog outs are real crappy.
The DCCs are pre Dats for special compact cassettes. Once top of the line they can be found for about 50 bucks today.
The thing is in record standby for 3 month now, I never switch it off.
I'd be interested in an affordable pair of digital monitors. Most seem to be very expensive.

cheers, Tom

rodos1979 · Post by **rodos1979** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 7:50 pm

Hello!

Thank you for replying (special thanks goes to Samplaire for kindly providing me the links

) I had a look online at the ones you suggested. Its not that I am lazy but rather I am unable to understand very well the specs (I need to study a bit more! )
I have a Pulsar 1 card with unbalanced RCA connections. Which one of these monitors would YOU go for?
http://www.event1.com/Products/PS_Serie ... itors.html
http://www.soundcraft.com/pdf/brochures ... ochure.pdf
http://www.tannoy.com/product.cfm?D=2&ID=48
(all these are the ones samplaire and otter suggested me).
@Otter, time is money in all senses. If I wait, I ll gain some money in the purchase but I ll loose some money for not having them and mix with them already!

I dont have a DAT...and although I have very good quality headphones I cant use them since I cant plug them directly to my Pulsar's analog out (the signal is too low).
So, I need some advice on headphone amplification too. Astroman would you recommend me to buy the Philips thing just for headphones amplification? Do I have any other (better, but not very costy) alternatives?

Thank you

P.S. Being just a musician is not enough nowadays....(fortunately & unfortunately)

[ This Message was edited by: rodos1979 on 2002-11-23 19:55 ]

P.S.2. Which amp would you recommend for the absolute0 monitors?...although, I think it is less tricky and more practical afterall to go for self-amplified monitors...

[ This Message was edited by: rodos1979 on 2002-11-23 19:57 ]

samplaire · Post by **samplaire** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 9:27 pm

Which one of these monitors would YOU go for?
http://www.event1.com/Products/PS_Serie ... itors.html
http://www.soundcraft.com/pdf/brochures ... ochure.pdf
http://www.tannoy.com/product.cfm?D=2&ID=48

Now it's up to you to decide - you have to listen to find out which to buy. Each pair offers similar sound quality but different sound colour -> listen, listen, listen (to your favourite cd)! If I were you I would go for active (ie. with build-in amps) systems because the amps are designed to fit the sound of the speakers. But that's my opinion...

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 10:19 pm

I would choose Event1 (in fact, i got the PS8 model at home, and love them), as it is the one with the flatest response, the lowest bass response, and the most power. I would defenitely NOT choose tanoy, not enough low frequency, you would absolutely need a sub to got with it.

The other one, i'm not so sure about.

samplaire · Post by **samplaire** » Sat Nov 23, 2002 10:32 pm

Those Spirits have a good reputation but I haven't heard them...

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Sun Nov 24, 2002 6:37 am

hi rodos,

I guess the DCC-730 is the top of line of that series. Originally I got it because it has digital IO and mic pres (no phantom power though, but very good for SM58 likes).
There are simpler ones without mic input even cheaper. The price depends on the number of tapes the seller adds, as those aren't fabricated any more.
The record standby mode isn't hearable, dunno if the tape moves at all in that position.
Btw : it's an 18 bit unit and also great for transfering old analog cassette tapes to the computer. Of course it can record your master out, but it's no DAT of course.
There is a data reduction on the tape (not the through signal), but a very sophisticated one.
For price and versatility it's hard to beat, but maybe difficult to find today. It's more a tip if you stumble cross one in 2nd hand shop or on ebay as they are so cheap.
On the other hand a modern dedicated headphone amp (for Pulsar analog out) is just in the 100-200 € range and offers several outputs in parallel.

cheers, Tom

samplaire · Post by **samplaire** » Sun Nov 24, 2002 7:04 am

On 2002-11-24 06:37, astroman wrote:
There is a data reduction on the tape (not the through signal), but a very sophisticated one.

75% reduction of data stream; coding called PASC

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Sun Nov 24, 2002 11:01 pm

For those spending about $1000 I would suggest the Yamaha line or a pare of used Makies. Sorry if I don’t remember the specifications.

kris · Post by **kris** » Mon Nov 25, 2002 9:26 am

I would recomend the new mackies (under $1000):
<a href="http://www.mackie.com/record/hr624/index.html">Here the link</a>

I am on my way to buying them...

Rgds,
Kris

valis · Post by **valis** » Mon Nov 25, 2002 11:58 am

I'd recommend the new mackies as well. I've got a pair of the 824's here at my home studio and love them. I've used the Event 2020p's (the powered 8"'s) and alesis monitor 1's (both orig & mkII) in a production environment, also used a pair of the Krk's (the 8").

While they're all decent and with enough time to get to know your mixes and how they translate any would do an adequate job, the Mackies have a tremendous amount of low extension, don't suffer any port 'chaff' at high volumes and have excellent mid response as well.

Now I'm obviously biased in my opinion, but in my opinion the mackies are your best choice if you can't afford a sub up front (or don't intend to ever use one). And with the hr624's you're sitting better than I am when you do add the sub (the 624's have a much better mid-response than my 824's in my opinion.)

rodos1979 · Post by **rodos1979** » Wed Nov 27, 2002 6:48 pm

Hello!

Thanks to all of you for replying and sharing your ideas with me.
I am not sure yet which one I am going to choose. Samplaire, unfortunately I dont have the opportunity to listen to ANY studio monitors, which I think is the most important thing to do. I live on an island and here there is not a single shop that sells studio monitors!

Marcuspocus, I "lean" myself towards the Event1 PS8 too. They have the lowest freq response of all and they are relatively cheap. Valis and kris, the Mackies also sound very interesting. Kris, r u sure that a pair of 624 are under $1000? The 824 cost in Greece about 2750euros which is way over my budget! If the 624's are about 1000euros then I ll have to choose between them and the PS8. A friend has recommended me the Tannoy ones but he said too that they lack in bass response...So they are my 3d choice.. The Absoulute0 need an amp, so they are out of the question...Nestor, I dont know anything about the Yamaha ones...But to be honest, I dont like a lot anything from Yamaha..I know they have some very good digital mixers (I worked while in college with some of them and they were very nice) but in general, I dont know....their products dont "persuade" me...maybe it is due to the fact that their representative on my island is a complete asshole as a person...don't know...

Anyway, I ll let you know what I decided to do finally...for the moment I am still waiting for my new DAW which should be here since last week...

Thank you

King of Snake · Post by **King of Snake** » Fri Nov 29, 2002 6:22 am

I think the HR624's are about 720 Euro's each so I'm afraid that's going over your budget.
But I want them too, they seem like very good speakers, but I can't afford them.
I'm looking at the Event 20/20, Event PS6 or Genelec 1029 instead.

[ This Message was edited by: King of Snake on 2002-11-29 06:25 ]

[ This Message was edited by: King of Snake on 2002-11-29 15:25 ]