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Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 17, 2021 12:36:37 GMT -6
Same old quest. Trying to get mixes more "trustworthy" as they say.
I'm not doing terribly here I don't think, but it could be better. I'm considering picking up a second pair of monitors that has a different sound signature (or maybe like a mono Mixcube). But I'm also wondering about Sonarworks. I've been doing a ton of research on the forums but seems like a lot of you have gone down this road.
My room is moderately well treated and waterfall charts show some room mode issues of course, but fairly controlled reflections. I'm old school so my inclination is against things like Sonarworks but, hey, whatever works.
Pros/Cons?
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Post by svart on Mar 17, 2021 12:44:17 GMT -6
Always second pair of monitors. With something like sonarworks, the *source* of the sound is the same. Changing the source will fundamentally change the presentation and tone of the sound giving you a different perspective.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 17, 2021 13:07:28 GMT -6
Always second pair of monitors. With something like sonarworks, the *source* of the sound is the same. Changing the source will fundamentally change the presentation and tone of the sound giving you a different perspective. That's my initial inclination. Second question. Currently I'm using a pair of KRK VXT6's in an 11x15 room. Getting the job done and I'm "used" to them. I'm considering two different paths if I go the monitor route. - Getting a set of smaller monitors (not that my current ones are large) with a much different signature or - Getting something like a Mixcube and running it in mono for a WAY different signature For example, a local seller is trying to unload a pair of mint Pioneer RM-05's for $600. That's the high end of my range for sure but I'm considering those. I don't know, everyone says pour whatever you can into monitoring but the sky is the limit on how much you can spend, surely there is a point of diminishing returns.
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Post by Tbone81 on Mar 17, 2021 13:23:00 GMT -6
Either would be a big help. I don’t have sonar works, but I have and use IK Arc, which sets out to do the same thing. The room correction from Arc haS at times been a life saver. However, in my current room I find I don’t need it that much. 80% of the time I don’t use it. Part of the reason I don’t need it is because I did get a 2nd pair of monitors, NHT SupeOne’s.
The way I look at it, using Arc (and I’m guessing Sonarworks) is very much the same as having a 2nd pair of speakers. They give you a different view into your mix that you can reference against the dry signal feeding your monitors. One difference however is that a 2nd pair of monitors will have different imaging, a different sweet spot, different transient response etc, whereas using room correction only give me you a different frequency response.
This is all just imho, and ymmv. Take it with a grain of salt.
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Post by kcatthedog on Mar 17, 2021 13:30:16 GMT -6
Perhaps consider the new Kali in5?
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Post by Johnkenn on Mar 17, 2021 14:34:46 GMT -6
I love Sonarworks. Wouldn’t mix without it.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 17, 2021 14:50:48 GMT -6
Perhaps consider the new Kali in5? Seems in my price range. What's the story on these? I don't think these are carried anywhere around here so I'd be ordering.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 17, 2021 14:52:33 GMT -6
I love Sonarworks. Wouldn’t mix without it. You're actually one of the people I saw who really seemed to advocate for Sonarworks. What's your take? Sonarworks before/instead of second set of monitors? I was amazed at the number of people that listed Sonarworks as their eye opening purchase on another thread.
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Post by mrholmes on Mar 17, 2021 15:36:43 GMT -6
+1 Sonarworks
Was very skeptical too. I grabbed the 30-day DEMO and mixed with and without it and checked at other studios how well the mixes translated. Sonarworks won the race.
If the room is decent it will always benefit from it. IMO even the best mixing rooms in the world benefit from it because you can't fully avoid phase issues in a room. Sonarworks helps to minimize the problems.
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Post by kcatthedog on Mar 17, 2021 15:38:04 GMT -6
The Kali in-5 are the first in a new line of monitors: 3 way, coincident mid & tweeter, 5 inch woofer, front port, active, with improved amps, much quieter.
They are getting good reviews. Sweetwater had them, but don’t know how big their stock was.
I’ve bought and sold Sonarworks twice, it doesn’t seem to stick with me: ymmv.?
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Post by Johnkenn on Mar 17, 2021 15:57:21 GMT -6
I love Sonarworks. Wouldn’t mix without it. You're actually one of the people I saw who really seemed to advocate for Sonarworks. What's your take? Sonarworks before/instead of second set of monitors? I was amazed at the number of people that listed Sonarworks as their eye opening purchase on another thread. I know some people don’t like it because it only “fixes” the one listening position - but that’s all I need it to do. My mixes translate dramatically better with SW. what’s the point of another set of monitors if they’re just telling you wrong information the same as the old monitors?
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Post by drastic on Mar 17, 2021 16:19:58 GMT -6
I’m using Sonarworks and a second pair of monitors as well. I still find that switching to another set of speakers (that i’ve also profiled in SW) works the best for me personally at the moment. Maybe that’ll change when I get new monitors.. :-) I’m not a huge fan of adding a plug-in to the master but I’ve found that SW has definitely helped my mixes come together faster. I’m in a fairly decent treated room, but there are still a few problem areas that SW correction definitely helps with.
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Post by reddirt on Mar 17, 2021 16:30:13 GMT -6
Have you considered some very high end cans such as Focal clear pro / celestee etc. Cheers, Ross
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Post by mcirish on Mar 17, 2021 16:30:25 GMT -6
I have three sets of monitors and Sonarworks made two of them superfluous. I completely disagree that more monitors is better than Sonarworks. If your room has issues, you will have trouble with any monitors. Sonarworks changed my mixes overnight. I can trust them now. The mastering engineer thought so too. he used to ask for some remixes. After Sonarworks, he said he rarely has to touch EQ more than 1/2 a dB. That's impressive to me.
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Post by drastic on Mar 17, 2021 16:35:07 GMT -6
I have three sets of monitors and Sonarworks made two of them superfluous. I completely disagree that more monitors is better than Sonarworks. If your room has issues, you will have trouble with any monitors. Sonarworks changed my mixes overnight. I can trust them now. The mastering engineer thought so too. he used to ask for some remixes. After Sonarworks, he said he rarely has to touch EQ more than 1/2 a dB. That's impressive to me. Yeah I’m hoping that will be the case when I upgrade my monitors. Right now I end up switching to others mainly to check the stereo image, not really so much eq tweaks. It’d be great to get down to one set :-)
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Mar 17, 2021 16:35:13 GMT -6
I’ll put it this way, if you pass on the Pioneer RM 5’s PM me the sellers info. These are supposed to have a lot in common with the latest from TAD. Would I rather a pair of KRK’s or Kahis or the Guys who brought me the TAD Exclusives take on a KEF LS50?. Mics are all about the Capsule and speakers are all about the drivers, Pioneer knows how to design and build drivers. Now adding some room correction to those Pioneers might be fun.
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Post by Johnkenn on Mar 17, 2021 16:49:34 GMT -6
I have three sets of monitors and Sonarworks made two of them superfluous. I completely disagree that more monitors is better than Sonarworks. If your room has issues, you will have trouble with any monitors. Sonarworks changed my mixes overnight. I can trust them now. The mastering engineer thought so too. he used to ask for some remixes. After Sonarworks, he said he rarely has to touch EQ more than 1/2 a dB. That's impressive to me. Yeah I’m hoping that will be the case when I upgrade my monitors. Right now I end up switching to others mainly to check the stereo image, not really so much eq tweaks. It’d be great to get down to one set :-) Sounds like you just want to buy new monitors.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Mar 17, 2021 16:55:01 GMT -6
Sonarworks makes my Barefoot 01’s way more usable in my room. The low end dips and peaks I have really changed when I started using sonarworks.
I also have ns10’s that I use without it at low volume. They always sound the same in every room at the level I use them at and I know exactly what I need from them.
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Post by stormymondays on Mar 17, 2021 16:56:02 GMT -6
Sonarworks fan here too. I’ve also had the chance of attending mastering sessions at Metropolis and Abbey Road. Those 100K pounds Sterling PMC monitors sure were impressive, but they didn’t have me rethinking my EQ choices.
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Post by drastic on Mar 17, 2021 17:55:30 GMT -6
Yeah I’m hoping that will be the case when I upgrade my monitors. Right now I end up switching to others mainly to check the stereo image, not really so much eq tweaks. It’d be great to get down to one set :-) Sounds like you just want to buy new monitors. 😂😂😂 shhhhh
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Post by nick8801 on Mar 17, 2021 18:05:14 GMT -6
Love Sonarworks. Really helped when I had bigger speakers than I needed in my room. I haven’t run it on my new ATC’s. They seem to be working out really perfect. One day I’ll try it out, but I’m afraid to mess with what I have going on right now.
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Post by mrholmes on Mar 17, 2021 18:16:59 GMT -6
I have three sets of monitors and Sonarworks made two of them superfluous. I completely disagree that more monitors is better than Sonarworks. If your room has issues, you will have trouble with any monitors. Sonarworks changed my mixes overnight. I can trust them now. The mastering engineer thought so too. he used to ask for some remixes. After Sonarworks, he said he rarely has to touch EQ more than 1/2 a dB. That's impressive to me. In other words the mastering house checks the mix and does moves by taste. This speaks for SW. I am surprised myself how they do this. Still have to profile my NS10s. Maybe this weekend....
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 17, 2021 19:54:48 GMT -6
Have you considered some very high end cans such as Focal clear pro / celestee etc. Cheers, Ross I’m using AKG 701s that I’ve gotten totally acclimated to over the last year. Sticking with these for now but I sometimes check mixes with my old 280’s (normally reserved for tracking). That’s actually why I was thinking about getting a second set of monitors. The profiles of these two headphones are so different that if something sounds good on both, it sounds good.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Mar 17, 2021 20:30:36 GMT -6
You're actually one of the people I saw who really seemed to advocate for Sonarworks. What's your take? Sonarworks before/instead of second set of monitors? I was amazed at the number of people that listed Sonarworks as their eye opening purchase on another thread. I know some people don’t like it because it only “fixes” the one listening position - but that’s all I need it to do. My mixes translate dramatically better with SW. what’s the point of another set of monitors if they’re just telling you wrong information the same as the old monitors? This is the potential appeal for me too. I only need one position to sound right. Frankly Sonarworks + new monitors is feeling appealing. Go figure, more gear is more fun than less. Haha.
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Post by gwlee7 on Mar 17, 2021 20:48:23 GMT -6
I know some people don’t like it because it only “fixes” the one listening position - but that’s all I need it to do. My mixes translate dramatically better with SW. what’s the point of another set of monitors if they’re just telling you wrong information the same as the old monitors? This is the potential appeal for me too. I only need one position to sound right. Frankly Sonarworks + new monitors is feeling appealing. Go figure, more gear is more fun than less. Haha. That’s the spirit.
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