Active studio monitors for "audiophile" listening ?

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by Watchdog ATC makes some nice active speakers, but better than the Meridian 8000 Series

Who said better? ATC's are certainly more common in both recording studios and domestic surroundings. Two world class manufacturers, pick your poison.

 

[Orpheus]

Quote:

I have seen that Event has a new model, the TR5, which seems to be affordable and well rated. I do not need a very great power, because I listen most of the time at a weak level.

well, for the most part, all the pro monitors are pretty high powered relative to their audiophile competitors. heck, my NHTPro A-20's have a 250wpc rms amp for each side, and they have only 6" woofers!

anyway, it probably sounds pretty good. but 20/20bas is the classic. that's the one all my friends say is hot. i think you outta go to a pro store and audition everything. here in America we have Guitar Center, which lets you play with anything before you buy. perhaps you can find a store like that. but remember to bring your own music.
Quote:

In my ears, this would give the Meridian speakers a massive edge over anything ATC can provide....

well, no. they might sound wonderful... but they cannot be used in a professional studio--they are too big! if you look at all the near-field pro monitors, they all have 8" or smaller woofers. that's cause they all sit on the console in front of your face. your Meridians are huge, and are made to be on the floor. it is therefore not in the same class as the monitors we're talking about.

they also make powered mid-field and main monitors. but most studios won't use versions made to be on the floor. if you look at pictures of big studios, all the huge monitors are still submerged into the top of the wall. even at my own studio, i have a pair of Urei 815A's which are humongous and weigh 300lbs EACH. and I had to have custom stands made for them to put them 6ft off the floor, and angled towards the user.

anyway, i'm sure they cost 20-40x more than what this thread is about.

though, ....it does prove a point i think. just look at the Meridian stuff. it's beautiful. now look at pro monitors--ugly by comparison right? when you buy audiophile stuff, you pay for that fancy cabinet and fancy design. and it's usually just for looks... doesn't affect the performance much. that's why i say pro stuff is usually worth twice competing audiophile speakers.

 

[ooheadsoo]

All this talk of pro monitors has me lusting for a set of mackies if I can ever get enough pocket money. I have no doubt they are better for nearfield listening than my speakers.

Orpheus, how are pro speakers for midfield and farfield listening? If they are THAT versatile, I'm totally in for a set in a few years...When I have my own place

 

[Orpheus]

well, the ones mentioned here are designed to be used only a couple meters from your head. they aren't really meant to be used too far away. but assuming you're using these in a normal sized room, not the living room or anything, it should be fine. in a normal sized room in a house, probably sounds great from anywhere, distance-wise anyway. don't know about your room interactions. in my own "family room," which is pretty big, the near-fields sound fine anywhere.

but anyway, as i mentioned, there are mid-field specific monitors, and main's. however, they cost a crap load more. dynaudio's with 10"-12" woofers cost much more than what most people would want to pay. i think the KRK double-8" monitors is cheap enought though... and JBL makes a set that's reasonable too. i do however have a pair of Alesis Monitor Two's, which were darn cheap... but they're probably discontinued now. it's 10" woofer + 4" midrange i think + tweeter. less than $700... but i don't think you can buy them anymore. and they don't sound as well balanced as my other monitors--too much midrange.

(by the way... mackie has dedicated 15" subs now for those 824's. too bad they cost over $1500. but with one of those babies, you'd have a killer theater system when you pair it with 5 824's. heh he.)

dean

 

[D-EJ915]

I listened to a Meridian setup with the older-model speakers and stuff, the components were great, but the speakers weren't all that impressive. I think they're just for looks, and they don't even get that right.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kirium In my ears, this would give the Meridian speakers a massive edge over anything ATC can provide.... [

Some who know music may disagree. Particularly with the word "massive". How about a massive user list.


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WHY DO THE WORLD'S BEST USE THE WORLD'S BEST

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Columbia College Chicago
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Dennis Sands LA (Scoring Mixer)
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Nick Whitaker (Internationally Renowned Acoustician)
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Ground Control, LA
Paramount Pictures, Hollywood
Angell Sound, London (5 Studios)
BBC - UK
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Lightning Seeds (Ian Broudie)
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Pink Floyd's Studio & Dave Gilmour's Home
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Ian Anderson
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Manor Mobiles
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SBS Television, Australia
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Karl Wallinger World Party
Greg Walsh (Producer Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Albert's Music, Elkie Brookes)
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Peter Walsh (Producer Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, Pulp)
London Post
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Enya
The Tate Gallery
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Bob Ludwig Masterdisk
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Kash Productions, Madrid
Zaza Studio, Tel Aviv
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London College of Music
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Carlton Television (Nottingham & London)
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York Street Studios
Tape to Tape, London (Heathman's Mastering)
Albert's Studio
Telegael, Eire (6 Studios)
John G Deacon Founder Conifer Records
Allaire Studios, New York

 

[SurroundGeek]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kirium ATC active monitors only run from analogue pre-outs from your pre-amp... as is my understanding... The Meridian DSP speaker line takes a digital signal input thus keeping the signal within the digital domain right up until it gets to the driver... It likely also has analogue pre-out inputs, but anyone who can afford DSP8000 or even DSP5000 can afford the rest of the gear to make a full digital signal path... In my ears, this would give the Meridian speakers a massive edge over anything ATC can provide....

Well, I've heard the big Meridians and the ATC SCM100ASL Pro.....hands down winner....the ATCs. You have never heard stereo imaging until you've heard a pair of ATCs! It truly feels like the person singing (or band performing) is in the room with you! I did not get that impression from the Meridians even though they did sound impressive. Both very nice speakers (for the money they cost..they better be), but If you don't care that the speaker you bought is just a big box (a very well constructed big box) instead of some sculpted piece of art...the ATCs are the way to go.

Why does digital mean better? I'm betting some people here would say the exact opposite.

....and it is impossible for the signal to stay digital until the driver......there has to be a D/A converter before the amplifier (and before the driver) because raw drivers are pure analog.

 

[MoLtoSoLo]

Anyone heard both Dynaudio BM6A and BM15A?
I heard the BM6A and love it, but I couldn't find BM15A around. Is BM15A a big step forward?
Any other recommandation?

 

[Don Quichotte]

I just ordered the Mackie HR824 a couple on days ago, I'll be getting them in two weeks or so. I promise some detailed impressions within a month. As you see, I took the plunge. I belive most people buy audiophile components instead of pro stuff because they prefer a less "clinical" sound. It might be a matter of taste, I'm one of those guys who say detail (and tonal neutrality, for that matter) can never be too much. I listened a $300 cd player through my K501 and through a pair of Stax Classic II and there was no discussion as to which one I prefer, although the K501 were MUCH more forgiving.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Late reply, but here's one anyway. I heard the Event TR5 and I liked them A LOT. They are really good speakers. None of the boxy sound you can get from home audio speakers in this price range. At this price, you can grab one off of ebay and easily save up for a subwoofer to match it. I'd avoid the TR6 if you listen to large orchestral pieces, the midrange coloration is skewed. Maybe it's not too bad for some people's ears, but for mine, the TR5 is the safe bet. Just a very clear sound, smooth and pretty flat sounding. Bass rolls off, but that's expected. Does what frequencies it reproduces pretty well. No question I'd take them over my PSB Image 2B's if I could do it all over again, and the PSB's don't come bi-amped like the events!

 

[Snake]

Unless I've missed something, I am very surprised that no one mentioned Paradigm Studio Active's and Reference Active's. Yes, they have been discontinued but maybe you can find some left over in someone's stock (hmmm, maybe not but worth a try) and I see that Audiogon has them occasionally. OK, not cheap by any means but generally very well regarded.

Maybe contact Paradigm directly to see if they have any B stock in house.

 

[ooheadsoo]

I really like the monitor 5's so I bet the studio and references are even better.

 

[Sovkiller]

I have heard and tried the Alesis and to me they sound pretty decent for what you pay for, BTW I don't know if for mixing, I'm talking about the sound at home, close to midfield listening, and for general purpose listening, they do sound good, for that price of course, I got and still have a pair of passive Monitor One MKII and I'm very pleased with the sound they offer, and if I choose the passive was just because I already had the amp to run them, they are biamped (the active ones) I think also, at least there is a guy selling the Alesis amps for really cheap and they seem to be biamped.....I'm waiting to try a pair of Axioms M3ti though, but for this money you could get a pair.....are there betters??? of course there are, but not for that price, I even prefer them to the Tanoys that double their price....but IMO you should follow Orpheus suggestions, he had tried a lot of monitors and he knows what he is talking about, at least I would in your shoes....

 

[dmkozak]

Quote:

Originally posted by pyim .... if pros studios mix the records on these equipments, how can they be bad for listening ?? ....

Back in the early '70's when I worked as a recording engineer and mixer, I asked a speaker supplier why pretty much all studios used JBL Studio Monitors when none of us actually used them in our homes. He replied that using the same speakers in all studios gives you the same point of reference when listening through speakers (btw, most actual mixing and mastering was done using headphones, not speakers). If all studios use the same speakers, you can expect consistency from one studio to another. You're always hearing the sound from the same speaker perspective.

Bottom line, just because studios use a given speaker does not make it the best speaker for your use or listening.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally posted by dmkozak Back in the early '70's when I worked as a recording engineer and mixer, I asked a speaker supplier why pretty much all studios used JBL Studio Monitors when none of us actually used them in our homes. He replied that using the same speakers in all studios gives you the same point of reference when listening through speakers (btw, most actual mixing and mastering was done using headphones, not speakers). If all studios use the same speakers, you can expect consistency from one studio to another. You're always hearing the sound from the same speaker perspective. Bottom line, just because studios use a given speaker does not make it the best speaker for your use or listening.

I do not agree 100% with that, also they are good, and sound good, they need to, too flat for my taste but good at the end, I ahve a pair, and I ahve no complains, there are better??? of course, but what happen most of the times is that they are not design for big rooms, they are designed for close to mid field listening and in bigger spaces their sound is not the same, they are extremelly accurate...Il ike them, even for home listening, of course there are some exceptions....