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Post by watchtower on May 20, 2015 10:18:18 GMT -6
I've been using Yamaha HS80M for over 5 years (I've owned them for almost a decade, but I was in college during this time and left the Yammies at home) and Shure SRH940
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Post by drew571 on May 20, 2015 11:55:43 GMT -6
Modded Yamaha HS80m's and a pair of 3-way KRK 10-3's. i have the Yamaha HS80m's as well. Curious as to what mod you did and how did you like the result? Might be interested in something like this. |
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Post by jeromemason on May 20, 2015 13:07:38 GMT -6
Modded Yamaha HS80m's and a pair of 3-way KRK 10-3's. i have the Yamaha HS80m's as well. Curious as to what mod you did and how did you like the result? Might be interested in something like this. I still need to swap the opamps to the opa2134's, but I removed the limiter (which effects the speaker at ALL volume levels, yes, it is compressing at 70db) Swapped all the power smoothing caps to FM panasonic's on the PSU board, swapped the coupling caps on the power amp board, and changed the 10uf electolytic caps to 22uf Elna's on the pre/eq board and also used wima's for the 100nf metalized caps that are in opamps sections. What you get is by changing the 10uf caps to 22uf it adds another octave in the low-end and also the Elna's are much smoother. The Wima's also help to smooth the top as well. You could also go to like 120nf in preamp board to give more lowend, but I was afraid it might make them spongy so I left them at 100nf. If you get the schematic you can see which caps to change, when I change the opamps I'll take some pictures for future request's, but most people don't mod the power amp section or the PSU, they only mod the preamp/eq board. I noticed a lot of difference when I modded the power sections, like a lower noise floor and the monitor also felt more open as well. Basically, I had one speaker I was modding, and the other I left alone, after I would modify a section I would play them at the same time to see how much difference there was between them. I can definitely say that modifying the power section opened the monitor up a bit. Just follow the schematic and watch for audio path caps, those you'll want to use Elna's or the nichicon audio grade caps, they make a big difference in these monitors. Hope this helps Jerome |
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Post by mobeach on May 20, 2015 13:11:18 GMT -6
KRK Rokit 5's
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Post by jdc on May 20, 2015 13:52:36 GMT -6
I tried the Equator D8's for 2 months, and I didn't find them to translate all that well. I'm sure you could learn them easily enough, but they had a weird peak in the sibilant range, and the presentation seemed unnatural to me. They were certainly revealing of upper mid and vocal range detail, but I couldn't work on them for very long without fatigue. I also felt like I could hear the digital conversion compared to some other analog speakers I compared them to. Low mids were also under represented, which seems to be a common way to 'enhance' detail on monitors. That being said, they had insanely good imaging, and a good sense of space around things.... and Equator has a good return policy, so they might be worth trying if you're not prone to ear fatigue. edit: I forgot how cheap they were... $750/pair. definitely worth auditioning at that price. I doubt many speakers come close in that price range. I would have kept them if they didn't hurt my ears. Did you try the third position on the tuning switch on the back panel of the Equators? I found that they work great on all three positions...but they have the fattest response that way, while somehow bot hyping your low end. The bottom end opens up and the highs sit more naturally creating a mostly flat response that isn't ear-fatiguing. In the second position the mods jump out but the crossover point for the lows gets higher Forcing you to need a sub. Feels like a better NS10 that way...first position is different again but I don't find it as useful if your near-fields are positioned within a meter from the listener's head. Tuning your monitors is half the battle...and the Equators have proven to be more reliable to me than many speaker sets worth three to four times more. However, even on the third position I still use a little sub response to help the lows bloom a bit more. I should have mentioned that I also use the Arc 2 system to account for the short-comings of my room, that seems to help a lot. Prior to the D8's I was using JBL LSR2328's i got on the cheap. It felt much harder to get an honest image with the JBL's |
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Post by carymiller on May 20, 2015 14:55:06 GMT -6
Did you try the third position on the tuning switch on the back panel of the Equators? I found that they work great on all three positions...but they have the fattest response that way, while somehow bot hyping your low end. The bottom end opens up and the highs sit more naturally creating a mostly flat response that isn't ear-fatiguing. In the second position the mods jump out but the crossover point for the lows gets higher Forcing you to need a sub. Feels like a better NS10 that way...first position is different again but I don't find it as useful if your near-fields are positioned within a meter from the listener's head. Tuning your monitors is half the battle...and the Equators have proven to be more reliable to me than many speaker sets worth three to four times more. However, even on the third position I still use a little sub response to help the lows bloom a bit more. Have you used the D8's or just the D5's? I would imagine they have a pretty different sound -- (the D8's are humongous in comparison). D8 and D5 side by side photoI did try all three switch positions, but I was mainly using the 'recommended' position, whichever that was (been a year, so I can't remember which it was). Ted Keffalo from Equator was working on a DSP interface for the D5/D8 that plugged into the port on the back called 'DSI.' It would have allowed the user to modify the frequency response of the speaker. It was supposedly coming out last summer.... then christmas.... not sure where it stands now or if its DOA. I should note that I find most monitors fatiguing (KH 120, Rocks, D8's, among others), and I work entirely at low volume levels. So I think I'm a little more prone to fatigue than the average person. My old Event ASP 6's and my current PSI's are the only monitors I've tried that don't bother my ears after a while... i've tried both, the D8's are bigger and have more low end response, but the switching is essentially the same circuit. It's almost identical in terms of how the tuning goes. I prefer the D5's because I'd put D8's where I'd place my PSI's...and the D5's are smaller and closer spaced...so using a little Sub with them in conjunction evens things out. Both use the same internal DSP. It's pretty much the same speaker but the D8's are by far the best monitor for the money for larger Near-Fields to me. I mix at low levels too so I feel ya. Honestly i think you get more consistent results that way. |
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Post by 79sg on May 20, 2015 15:10:33 GMT -6
Neumann KH310's, absolutely thrilled with them. Ended my search.
Dynaudio BM5a's with a KRK 10s sub
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Post by popmann on May 20, 2015 22:16:22 GMT -6
Original 624s. Never heard the new ones....but, Mackie's business model never seems to involve making stuff better so much as making it cheaper, so YMMV.
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Post by sopwith on May 21, 2015 1:01:41 GMT -6
Original 624's here as well. I've spent the past two years getting my instruments and mics in order before upgrading monitors, and they've been fine in the mean time. I look forward to having a big shootout test session when I'm ready to move on from the Mackies.
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Post by mrholmes on May 21, 2015 1:55:37 GMT -6
Genelec 8040 APM
Behritone (Mono)
B+W DM 110 (Not in use)
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Post by keymod on May 21, 2015 5:26:56 GMT -6
No fatigue at all is one of the main reasons I got the Avantone Abbey's. I can listen all day and not get the unconscious urge to shut the music off. Oh, and their low level details and imaging are so good. Martin, Did you consider the Avantone Mix Towers before deciding on the Abbeys? I think that, between the two, I would also choose the Abbeys.
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Post by Martin John Butler on May 21, 2015 8:48:41 GMT -6
Keymod, I was looking for a side grade. I had the Adam A7X's, before that, Yamaha monitors. The Adam's were kind of harsh and blurred. Actually, they were sort of a modern NS-10, only not as useful when you want mixes to translate. I started looking around. I liked the Focal Solo 6be in many ways, but it did lack bottom, and was twice the price I was looking to spend. I tried the Presonus Scepter 8's, they were impressive, more like a bigger studio monitor than the "bookshelf" styles. But, after a while I noticed they were scooped in the mids. The new Focal Alpha 80 was quite nice, great soundstage, a nice little step up from the Adams. I then tried the Neumanns, they were "smaller" sounding, kinda flat, but I noticed a certain ease and resolution when listening, and thought they'd be excellent as a near field monitor for mixing long hours at low levels. If I wanted a small pair and a larger pair in a bigger real studio situation, I'd seriously think on the Neumann's.
I had decided to get the Alpha 80's after a deal for the Presonus fell through. I was going to B&H on West 34th St in Manhattan to buy them, but stopped at Sam Ash, which is on the way. I know guys there for years, and they've always done right by me. If they carried the Focal's, I'd have gotten them there, but they didn't. I turned around and just happened to notice the Abbey's on a desk behind me. Visually, they're a knockout. I'd been interested in them from afar, but they were out of my price range, but since they were right in front of me, I figured, let's have a listen. I popped in one of my songs that's a Wav file and sitting there for a while, just listening, chatting with the guys, I noticed something about the mix, and then something else. What was a happening was the speaker disappeared. I was just hearing the mix, not the sound of the speaker, and I noticed two obvious flaws that I simply couldn't hear through the Adam's. That was the "aha" moment, it happened naturally, I wasn't projecting any hopes into the listening experience. They were too expensive though, so I decided to wait.
There's an old saying, "don't throw good money after bad". To me, that means $1,100 is a lot of money to spend if the speaker isn't quite right for you. Better to spend $350 on a good condition used Yamaha 8" you can use and resell, if you know what I mean. I found a good deal, and then decided to sell a few things I wasn't using that were laying around the house, and when I added that to the $1,050 I got for my Adam's, I could just about manage to buy the Abbeys.
I never got to hear the Mix Towers, but they seem really cool. Here's the thing, I was spoiled at the last NY AES show. I heard the $8,000 ATC near field monitors, and they were the best I'd heard to date. I then spent time in a private room with Allen Sides from Ocean Way studios, Steven Slate, Alex Oana and Chris Lord Alge. We were listening to my mixes and then some CLA mixes. All through the Focusrite processors and Alan Sides designed mid field monitors, I forget if they were HR2 or HR3's. After that I began desiring a bit more of the big kick ass studio monitor sound, I was just bored with little stinky monitors. Monitoring through some shitty speaker just because it translates to other shitty speakers isn't my idea of a good time. I'd rather hear something that sounds really great and still translates well.
The Abbey's got me in that league, at 1/4 to 1/10th of the price. I'm way happier mixing now. Will I ever want something else, well, that's not unlikely, but I think the Abbey's will serve me well for a long long time. Offer me the Solo 6B, which costs $1,000 more than the Abbey's, I'd still take the Abbey's in a heartbeat.
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Post by jcoutu1 on May 21, 2015 9:04:10 GMT -6
I'm SHOCKED that not one person has mentioned Barefoot in this thread.
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Post by jimwilliams on May 21, 2015 9:20:05 GMT -6
JBL 4408A's with rebuilt crossovers. I used Mills wirewound resistors, Alpha copper foil inductors, MIT and InfiniCap film caps. The monitors are lined with DeFlex panels to absorb resonances. They are wired internally with Kimber AGSS pure silver wire.
Speaker cables are Kimber 8TC, I also use a 15" sub woofer for a 25 hz ~22k response. It is powered with a modified Adcom GFA 545 power amp refitted with all Dale and Vishay S-102 bulk foil resistors and Caddock power film emmiter resistors.
The shop system has an Adcom GFA 535 power amp, Kimber wiring and a custom preamp using LME49713 CFA opamps, all direct coupled, no caps. The speakers are 6" two way Dayton B652-AIR speakers with AMT tweeters and a modified crossover.
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Post by svart on May 21, 2015 9:21:56 GMT -6
I'm SHOCKED that not one person has mentioned Barefoot in this thread. I'd love to give barefoot a try, if I could get a second mortgage for monitors! |
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Post by btreim on May 21, 2015 9:25:00 GMT -6
Rocking a set of NHT M-20's with a S00 sub over here. Love them.
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 21, 2015 10:26:10 GMT -6
Anyone have soffit/flush mounted mains they're happy with? There don't seem to be a lot of options (if any) under a gazillion dollars.
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Post by papag on May 21, 2015 10:40:18 GMT -6
I'm not satisfied with what I have for "mains", but here they are: Dynaudio BM5A x2 Dynaudio BM9S x2 I want to go with something else, but I'm baffled on what to choose. So I'd like to hear from all you RGO-types: what have you got, and what you like and/or dislike about them. Any other details you'd like to share, such as room size and treatment method, would be appreciated. What's wrong with the BM5a? I was considering getting a pair... |
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Post by matt on May 21, 2015 11:29:02 GMT -6
I'm not satisfied with what I have for "mains", but here they are: Dynaudio BM5A x2 Dynaudio BM9S x2 What's wrong with the BM5a? I was considering getting a pair... There's nothing wrong with them really, I just find them too small for my room (15x22x10 ft) and we like to rock them while tracking drums/bass/guitar. The little red lights flash regularly, which is a risky thing to do. To be fair, I need to treat my room. It (my family room) is part of a larger space (my kitchen) with granite counters and a stone floor, creating intense flutter echo. Next up is a DYI gobo building session. I need to partition the space - but it can't be permanent, unfortunately. |
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Post by keymod on May 21, 2015 11:36:07 GMT -6
I'm SHOCKED that not one person has mentioned Barefoot in this thread. I'd love to give barefoot a try, if I could get a second mortgage for monitors! That's the thing about the Abbeys, they seem like a "poor-man's" version of the Barefoots. |
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Post by svart on May 21, 2015 11:54:43 GMT -6
I'd love to give barefoot a try, if I could get a second mortgage for monitors! That's the thing about the Abbeys, they seem like a "poor-man's" version of the Barefoots. Interesting. I'm not a big fan of ribbon tweeters in general, too beaming. |
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Post by jfoc on May 21, 2015 12:37:55 GMT -6
Abbey uses an Air motion transformer for the tweeter
*edit*
which is a pleated ribbon. derp
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Post by NoFilterChuck on May 21, 2015 12:46:18 GMT -6
I'm SHOCKED that not one person has mentioned Barefoot in this thread. probably because most folks here aren't working in professional facilities with huge consoles and perfectly constructed rooms... Seems like everyone posting is on that home-studio gear spec. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on May 21, 2015 13:27:55 GMT -6
I'd love to give barefoot a try, if I could get a second mortgage for monitors! That's the thing about the Abbeys, they seem like a "poor-man's" version of the Barefoots. At two grand, that would be a pretty rich "poor man" ;-) That's the promise of a product designed in the USA, and manufactured at a proprietary location in China. We all scoff occasionally at some of the claims, like a $99 mic sounds just like a vintage Neuman, but at higher levels, there's something to it. Two cases in point, I own an integrated amp called Peachtree Audio NOVA. Made by retired rich Hi-Fi industry veterans who felt they could make tremendous quality amps at a fair price, and they did. It would take around another $5,000 before I know of an amp that can top mine. Sonus Faber makes gorgeous high end speakers in Italy. They recently added a few new models made in China at their own factory, and at $2,500, $3,500 they sound every bit as good as any of the $12,000 speakers I've heard. So, although I haven't heard a Barefoot speaker for years, I'd bet the Abbey's would hold their own, and I don't know about you, but I haven't seen many musicians, engineers, producers or studio owners that are able to put that kind of scratch into monitors lately. |
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Post by keymod on May 21, 2015 14:47:24 GMT -6
Well, I was actually complimenting the Abbeys. Comparing them to the Barefoot Micromain35, which cost over six thousand dollars more per pair. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't hear any difference.
I put "poor man's" in quotes because I have seen references like that in the past, for instance a certain really good console by Yamaha? was know as a "poor man's" Neve because it had a feature/quality/sound aspect that rivaled the Neve but at a much, much lower cost.
I didn't intend to insult anyone. I'd happily take a pair of the Abbeys.
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