I’m looking to get some active monitors for my studio. Unfortunately, my budget is somewhat limited (£100 max) which I know won’t get me very far, however given that I will only be making dance music with them I just want something which will play the true sound and have the right range of frequencies.
I’ve been looking at getting the M Aduio AV30’s or AV40s which are within my budget, but I have no idea whether they would be up for doing the job in terms of sound quality.
Can anyone provide me with some advice on this and whether the monitors I’m looking at would be more than enough to do a good job?
you could always look into the second hand market! the thing with dance music is unless you are going to invest in a sub your gonna want some 6 or 8 inch drivers. the 5’s just simply don’t go down low enough, you’ll be lucky if you can find a set of 5’s that go much lower than 50 -60 hz which means you’ll be flying blind in the sub end of your mixes.
i would keep saving and maybe keep an eye out for deals on M-Audio BX8 or KRK RP8 and the ESI nEar 08
you’ll notice that almost all of those models go down to 35-40hz
to be fair if your just looking for a set of cheap monitors then anything will do! if on the other hand you want something that sounds nice and performs well then stick to your headphones for a while and save the cash up for something a bit more well suited. something suited to dance music is normally gonna cost you around the £300-£600 new
Monitors are the kind of thing where you spend more money and you definitley notice the difference.
I’ve heard the Samson Audio monitors are good for budgets but if I were you I’d fork out the extra fifty quid and pick up a 2nd hand pair of KRK RP6 G2’s. Widely believed to be the best budget speakers money can buy
Agree with everyone, keep saving till you can afford a good pair. If you can only afford £100 then get a pair of Sony MDR V700 headphones and they will give you good quality sound for now, but really you need to at least triple that amount to get yourself a good pair of studio monitors. Really it doesnt matter how many pro plug ins and software etc etc you get/have, if you’re monitors arn’t top notch then everything goes down the pan.
I have the Alesis M1 Active Mk2 monitors and I love them, the sound is crystal. Perfect for both my production and DJing. They are a very reasonable price too, look them up.
After extensive research (and finding a couple of hundred quid!) I’ve decided to opt for the ESI nEar 08’s. They’re currently making their way over to me! In the end, it was between those and the Tapco S8’s, but I think I’ve made the right decision in the end, bearing in mind the budget I’d allowed myself.
Thanks to everyone for suggestions…much appreciated! I hope to get some links up to tracks I’ve produced and mixed in the coming few weeks.
[quote]djnickdavy (4/6/2009)[hr]After extensive research (and finding a couple of hundred quid!) I’ve decided to opt for the ESI nEar 08’s. They’re currently making their way over to me! In the end, it was between those and the Tapco S8’s, but I think I’ve made the right decision in the end, bearing in mind the budget I’d allowed myself.
Thanks to everyone for suggestions…much appreciated! I hope to get some links up to tracks I’ve produced and mixed in the coming few weeks.
Cheers Jon! Can’t wait to get them going! I’m very much a novice in terms of setting them up optimally. Is there an exact science to this, or is it very much trial and error?
yes there is an exact science to setting up a near perfect listening environment but if i was you i would just read the manuals and set them up to the best that you can get them.
i’m sure you are not going to be acoustically treating your room so its all about getting the best results with the space and equipment you have.
if you chose to use speaker stands instead of standing the monitors on your desk there are also one or two tricks you can do to help
1: if the speaker stand is the kind with the hollow poles, fill the poll with sand to stop the poll resonating
2: if the monitor stand has a metal top buy some of those rubber feet normally found on the bottom of external drives and pop them under the bottom of your speakers to deaden any excess vibrations
other than that i would recommend getting some foam wedges for your monitors to sit on your desk
I’m waiting to move to another country in 3 weeks at which point I’ll buy some KRK RP8’s… until that point I’m using Logitec desktop speakers which cost me $60. As for stands - one is on a printer and one is on a cardboard box!
My point is that things could be worse than buying cheap monitors
Actually, one of the things I’m worried about is how to set up so that I ensure that I have a “true” sound through the speakers. Obviously, there’s the option of reducing Db on high frequency as well as changing the frequency response on bass (50hz, 60hz, 75hz and 100hz).
I’d like to make sure that everything is set up correctly from the outset but not sure how to work this out. Obviously, I realise that it depends on the room, but as these are nearfield, I imagine that room dampening shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
