[linux-audio-user] good studio monitors

[R Parker]

--- Steve Harris <S.W.Harris at ecs.soton.ac.uk> wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 22, 2004 at 11:42:33PM -0700, R Parker
> wrote:
> > I've got a pair of Alesis M1 Active and a pair of
> > Mackie HR824.
> > 
> > I love the Alesis because they are cheap and
> tougher
> > than nails. Mine have been abused to no end for
> about
> > four or five years. I can mix on these things
> until my
> > eyes fall out.
> 
> I did that too, and now one of mine is dead :( Still
> I think there were
> very good, and if its not fixiable I will buy more.

Did you notice a loss of volume in the cabinet that's
bad? I have one that's -5db from the other. Or maybe
the loud one is actually getting better with time and
the other one will eventually begin to improve too. Ya
think?

Hey, if one is beyound repair (probably dictated by
cost of repair vs purchase of new) then the good one
is your Center for surround. Haven't we vascilated
long enough within a surroundless world?

> My suspicion is that they didn't like being switch
> on and off at the wall
> socket - which I've been doing daily for a few
> years. I have a big
> swichbox that controls 10+ sockets, including my
> monitors. Probably a bad
> idea.

I never turn mine off. I turn my DM-24 off because its
power supply is a veritable hot dog broiler.

> > When I purchased the HR824 I compared them to
> about
> > eight other leading studio monitor manufacturers
> > products--I'm not talking about the super high end
> > stuff. The comparisons were all done in the same
> room.
> > I used a half dozen CDs with million dollar
> > productions. Hands down, they sound better than
> all
> > the others. I was really impressed by how bad some
> > monitors sounded. There's a couple monitor
> > manufacturers getting very good reviews but their
> > product is garbage. A little research revealed
> that
> > these manufacturers are not audio experts, they
> are
> > video experts designing audio monitors.
> 
> Which ones do you think are crap out of interest?

It's been several years so I don't recall much of what
my business partners and I learned. The one brand was
Blue Moon or Blue Oyster Moon Cult or some such name.
As I recall, they included a sub or sub and center
speaker or something. A friend recommended them. I
listened to them at another friend's pro audio retail
store and compared them with a bunch of other models.

I'm not shy about giving my critique and asking
questions about anything I'm gonna buy. After
subjecting the store owner/friend to Chinese water
drip torture, he named two or three of the brands we
listened to and said they were designed by video
companies and suggested that we not purchase those
products.

While my two partners and I did the right thing, we
still ended up with junk--Mackie HR824.

Maybe the only thing I've learned is that I'd aproach
another purchase decision the same way and hope for
better luck next time. Another thing, the fact that M1
Actives don't sound as awesome as the HR824 is one
small factor in a list of events and products that
determines quality of final product. Cheap monitors
don't dictate that final product sucks anymore than
great monitors always produce awesome results.

I like reading about Paul Winkler's discovery of
alternative monitors. It makes perfect sense to me.

OK, am I gonna get more business because I own
$4,000.00 monitors? Twenty years of experience tells
me the answer is a resounding no. Nobody cares what
kind of monitors I use as long as the master sounds
great in their car.

Well, my rant is beginning to smell of moon shine.

ron "the anticonsumer" parker

> > Phreak the chains, ride the trains, why not you,
> why
> > not me, choosing monitors is a crazy lottery, you
> > spin, you win, you loose, you choose; blah:blah,
> > blah:blah, blah, blop!
> 
> Wow Ron, I can smell the coffee from here ;)
> 
> - Steve
> 



		
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