Just asking if anyone is using M Audios DSM1 or 2. I'm reading great reviews but mostly in reference to Protools. Are they good with Scope?
Also anyone got any experience with JBL MSM LSR 2328P? My local store is having a clearout with some tempting prices, so any advice would be very welcome.
Thanks,
R
Monitors
Re: Monitors
ProTools, Scope, whatever. a monitor is a monitor.
all of those work fine. they are NOT high-end, nor are they as fantastic as some reviews might suggest. they are reasonably good quality for the money that you spend. i think i'd go for the JBL, just for reputation's sake, but a lower end JBL really isn't that much better than something from M-Audio.
in any case, you will need to learn your speakers, what they hype and what they hide. there is no such thing as a perfect speaker. you'd be better off treating the room, than to spend extra money on the speakers. obviously, doing the best you can with both is the way to go, but it involves real money.
all of those work fine. they are NOT high-end, nor are they as fantastic as some reviews might suggest. they are reasonably good quality for the money that you spend. i think i'd go for the JBL, just for reputation's sake, but a lower end JBL really isn't that much better than something from M-Audio.
in any case, you will need to learn your speakers, what they hype and what they hide. there is no such thing as a perfect speaker. you'd be better off treating the room, than to spend extra money on the speakers. obviously, doing the best you can with both is the way to go, but it involves real money.
Re: Monitors
Thanks for the heads up Gary.
I did however invest in the DSM2s. Firstly, my set up is amatuer, and I know there are way better monitors out there, but for my purposes the deal was good: $650 AU for the pair brand new, and they actually sound great for the money. At first few listens, bottom end is a bit less in warmth than I'd expect from 8" drivers but the low mids to highs are actually really clear.
Secondly the option of analog or digital input gives me convenient reference points. (Digital is 24bit) I can still A/B with my old (very old) passive monitors (name and make witheld to protect the innocent, i.e. me) I've done some reasonable mixes on the oldies, but top end was always a bit hit and miss when listening back. So hopefully things will get better. Or may be I'll get rich somehow and there'll be no compromise any more.
Still, wise words about room treatment etc versus monitors.
Also bought an AKAI LPD8 just for realtime drums and a bit of MIDI control etc.
I did however invest in the DSM2s. Firstly, my set up is amatuer, and I know there are way better monitors out there, but for my purposes the deal was good: $650 AU for the pair brand new, and they actually sound great for the money. At first few listens, bottom end is a bit less in warmth than I'd expect from 8" drivers but the low mids to highs are actually really clear.
Secondly the option of analog or digital input gives me convenient reference points. (Digital is 24bit) I can still A/B with my old (very old) passive monitors (name and make witheld to protect the innocent, i.e. me) I've done some reasonable mixes on the oldies, but top end was always a bit hit and miss when listening back. So hopefully things will get better. Or may be I'll get rich somehow and there'll be no compromise any more.
Still, wise words about room treatment etc versus monitors.
Also bought an AKAI LPD8 just for realtime drums and a bit of MIDI control etc.
R
Re: Monitors
i'm sure they will work really well for you! 
Re: Monitors
Bottom end ARE NOT NECESSARILY very loud with 8' boomers or even bigger. They are powerful at a certain distance, but they can be not loud in "nearfield monitoring" conditions (I have mine set up like headphones, ie less than 1 meter from my ears, may be 60 cm, and they are big KRK VXT8
BUT they can become louder (more precise) with some bass trap and equalizing.
Remember that nobody told you not to put an eq on your master outputs, and actually, systems like ARC and KRK ergo can be understood like "eqs" that will compensate the room acoustics.
I did that, Eqing to the sound I consider to be what it should be, and for my latest music works, everyone told me I sounded much better than before.
YOu see what I mean ? the sound happens more in the room than on the speakers (well, it happens everywhere, but as some people say "it is as good as the weakest link in your chain", and I experience this more and more now that i have speakers I like and great soundcard (xite) and all the etc etc.
In fact, a 300/500 euro/USD room treatment can be equivalent to upgrading speakers.
I treated only the wall behind me with a mix of cheap/medium price stuff (8 7cm pyramid foam from thomann to fully cover the wall, 4 auralex burgundy cubes bass trap (2 per side, on the top corner of the room only) , 1 pack of 9 charcoal corner fill. all that was around 500/600 euros spent over 6 month.... i should have done it loooong ago)
I hear hi, medium and lows much better, and I could EQ my master with more confidence than before (before, i would have not dared to do that).
BUT they can become louder (more precise) with some bass trap and equalizing.
Remember that nobody told you not to put an eq on your master outputs, and actually, systems like ARC and KRK ergo can be understood like "eqs" that will compensate the room acoustics.
I did that, Eqing to the sound I consider to be what it should be, and for my latest music works, everyone told me I sounded much better than before.
YOu see what I mean ? the sound happens more in the room than on the speakers (well, it happens everywhere, but as some people say "it is as good as the weakest link in your chain", and I experience this more and more now that i have speakers I like and great soundcard (xite) and all the etc etc.
In fact, a 300/500 euro/USD room treatment can be equivalent to upgrading speakers.
I treated only the wall behind me with a mix of cheap/medium price stuff (8 7cm pyramid foam from thomann to fully cover the wall, 4 auralex burgundy cubes bass trap (2 per side, on the top corner of the room only) , 1 pack of 9 charcoal corner fill. all that was around 500/600 euros spent over 6 month.... i should have done it loooong ago)
I hear hi, medium and lows much better, and I could EQ my master with more confidence than before (before, i would have not dared to do that).
Re: Monitors
Thanks SpaceF,
I fully understand what you're saying. Since buying these monitors I have eq'ed to the room and now realize that my old mixes lacked clarity in the lows because my old amp and monitors were a bit bottom heavy and woolly. The new monitors have added more transparency to the lows, a bit more 3D so to say. But I like your idea of treating the back wall, might kill a few reflections as it's 3.5 metres to the wall. I'll definitely look into this as my home studio is about to move rooms!!
Thanks again
I fully understand what you're saying. Since buying these monitors I have eq'ed to the room and now realize that my old mixes lacked clarity in the lows because my old amp and monitors were a bit bottom heavy and woolly. The new monitors have added more transparency to the lows, a bit more 3D so to say. But I like your idea of treating the back wall, might kill a few reflections as it's 3.5 metres to the wall. I'll definitely look into this as my home studio is about to move rooms!!
Thanks again
R
Re: Monitors
just to pipe in again...
it's not about killing reflections, except for the excess bass that builds up in rooms with corners. what you need is to evenly scatter the rest of the reflections in the room. for that you need diffusers. the reflections are necessary for you to properly hear the stereo field.
it's not about killing reflections, except for the excess bass that builds up in rooms with corners. what you need is to evenly scatter the rest of the reflections in the room. for that you need diffusers. the reflections are necessary for you to properly hear the stereo field.
Re: Monitors
Just demo'd a pair of Quested V3110's at the big house here, and they are the first montitors I ever really heard that didn't need a sub or any adjustment, and they were so powerful since they were midfields, I thought I gotta get these at the end of the year, then I found out they were 10k...... 
Solaris @48k sounded incredible, but then we did some presets direct to the console @ 44.1k instead of XITE-1s XLRs and I couldn't believe it sounded as if it needed EQ or some adjustments and that's a 250k board.....???
I think many of us don't realize just how good these XITE-1 converters and I/Os really are.
So I think GB's advice is great, know your monitors.
Which brings me to another point, I had an audiogram a few times for different IEMs and they sound so good I actually have to use a 31 band EQ on the Speakers to get the quality to match for when I don't use the IEMs. And they use drivers the size of a Ladybug.
Oh and the room has some really top shelf bass traps and wall mounts, everything a guy would want.
Solaris @48k sounded incredible, but then we did some presets direct to the console @ 44.1k instead of XITE-1s XLRs and I couldn't believe it sounded as if it needed EQ or some adjustments and that's a 250k board.....???
I think many of us don't realize just how good these XITE-1 converters and I/Os really are.
So I think GB's advice is great, know your monitors.
Which brings me to another point, I had an audiogram a few times for different IEMs and they sound so good I actually have to use a 31 band EQ on the Speakers to get the quality to match for when I don't use the IEMs. And they use drivers the size of a Ladybug.
Oh and the room has some really top shelf bass traps and wall mounts, everything a guy would want.
Re: Monitors
Point taken Gary, but it's the long low mid waves that can muddy up the sound in a smal room. It's much easier to EQ short low energy hi frequencies. Bass traps are a great inclusion. But your right, even spread is the aim and then knowing your monitors.garyb wrote:just to pipe in again...
it's not about killing reflections, except for the excess bass that builds up in rooms with corners. what you need is to evenly scatter the rest of the reflections in the room. for that you need diffusers. the reflections are necessary for you to properly hear the stereo field.
thanks for the responses.
R