studio monitors?

sorry for the double post, but eh. this should help that confusing description of my problem.

my speakers use green jacks, like these in the picture:

my sound card only has RCA outs, =\.

now all the monitors i've been looking at, none of them have ever said what type of jacks they use, so is it like a known thing that they're RCA, or what?

most either use 1/4" or XLR....RCA is more of a consumer type connection.....some cheaper speakers might as well as most computer speaker systems....

1/4" or XLR? ahh. so is this more of like, for the midi / spdif rather than it is for just listening / digital recording? ahh dammit.

btw, 1/4" are the green ones, right?

  sisforawesome said:

1/4" or XLR? ahh. so is this more of like, for the midi / spdif rather than it is for just listening / digital recording? ahh dammit.

 

btw, 1/4" are the green ones, right?

Don't worry, you just need an rca to 1/4" cable. Or even rca to XLR (never seen one, but they'll exist).

I'll just repeat the 2 points I always used to say in watmm monitor threads.

The Mackies are good and useable as monitors, but I found them just too tiring even after a short space of time, 20 minutes or so. If I was spending over a grand I'd want capable monitors and an enjoyable listening experience. There are a lot of options in that price range. The Adams mentioned earlier have just had a glowing review in SOS that puts them at the top of their class. You might even be able to get some PMCs and some flying mole monoblocks for that price in the states, I don't know.

Unless you have a huge amount of money, monitoring is always going to be a compromise. Yes, you should aspire to afford the best possible, but there are plenty of things you can do to compensate. This whole 'genre' was born out of dodgy hi-fi monitoring set ups and cheap unpopular(at the time) synths.

what do you mean tiring? anyway, what's the big difference between speakers and monitors?

i mean i basically understand the differences, but are they THAT MUCH different in comparison to an expensive pair of speakers?

i guess what i'm asking is, are they still gonna be suitable for just listening to music, or only for actual recording and such.

  sisforawesome said:

what do you mean tiring? anyway, what's the big difference between speakers and monitors?

i mean i basically understand the differences, but are they THAT MUCH different in comparison to an expensive pair of speakers?

 

i guess what i'm asking is, are they still gonna be suitable for just listening to music, or only for actual recording and such.

Really good monitors generally don't have additive frequencies, so when you mix something, it will sound good on most systems. You don't have to guess if the bass is too high or low [like on my $30 CompUSA speakers].

  sisforawesome said:

what do you mean tiring? anyway, what's the big difference between speakers and monitors?

i mean i basically understand the differences, but are they THAT MUCH different in comparison to an expensive pair of speakers?

 

i guess what i'm asking is, are they still gonna be suitable for just listening to music, or only for actual recording and such.

i would suggest listening to music by other people as much as possible on your monitors, so you get to know them.

fine for listening, if a little unforgiving.

monitors are 'flat response'... ie designed to give you more-or less an accurate representation of the sound coming out of your monitoring chain.

most hifi speakers, through cabinet build, crossover frequency etc etc are designed to 'enhance' the sound.. ie, pump thew bass up, dip the mids and give you a parabolic boost on certain of the higher frequencies (this is pretty standard for entry level hifi speakers)

so, you record your magnum opus on hifi speakers, it sounds shit-hot... you get all excited and jump up and down..

then you take it to your friend's house.... (his stereo set up enhances different areas of the freq spectrum.) barely able to contaiin your sense of pride at creating such a well produced masterpiece, you take the cd in your sweaty paw, and place it in the tray.

*click*

you press play.

wtf??????????

"why is there no bass end, why is there a huge 'bloom' in the lower mids?... where did the treble go?"

etc.

you get the picture.

edit: oh yeah... 'tiring' generally means a little too well defined between 4000 and 5000 Hz.

it makes for difficult listening.

lemme know what u guys went for and tell me your experiences with the monitors..

im looking for a pair too! :)

mlon

Okay, looks like the Fostex monitors have been "discontinued."

GAH dammit.

  blicero said:

i have a pair of Behringer Truth 2031 actives.

 

they sound wonderful. i read a pile of reviews on these before i bought them and they usually beat out speakers at 2-3 times the price. definitely the best value.

careful .

i have the Behringer Truth 2030A which are a smaller and improved version of the above.. very clean.. you have never heard a square wave until you've heard it on good monitors.

  chaosmachine said:

  blicero said:

i have a pair of Behringer Truth 2031 actives.

 

they sound wonderful. i read a pile of reviews on these before i bought them and they usually beat out speakers at 2-3 times the price. definitely the best value.

careful .

 

i have the Behringer Truth 2030A which are a smaller and improved version of the above.. very clean.. you have never heard a square wave until you've heard it on good monitors.

sorry, but you got it twisted man...

the Behringer Truth 2031s are the larger and improved version of the Behringer Truth 2030s.

  blicero said:

  chaosmachine said:

  blicero said:

i have a pair of Behringer Truth 2031 actives.

 

they sound wonderful. i read a pile of reviews on these before i bought them and they usually beat out speakers at 2-3 times the price. definitely the best value.

careful .

 

i have the Behringer Truth 2030A which are a smaller and improved version of the above.. very clean.. you have never heard a square wave until you've heard it on good monitors.

 

sorry, but you got it twisted man...

 

the Behringer Truth 2031s are the larger and improved version of the Behringer Truth 2030s.

there have been two releases of the 2030 (6.75 inch) and 2031 (8.75 inch) series.. the originals, and the "A" series.. the "A" series improves on the sound quality of the originals. the non-A series has been discontinued.

  chaosmachine said:

there have been two releases of the 2030 (6.75 inch) and 2031 (8.75 inch) series.. the originals, and the "A" series.. the "A" series improves on the sound quality of the originals. the non-A series has been discontinued.

wtf are you smokin?!

the "A" in 2030A and 2031A stands for "Active" and the "P" in 2030P and 2031P stands for "Passive"

i don't know where you're getting your info from, but somebody lied to you.

  blicero said:

  chaosmachine said:

 

there have been two releases of the 2030 (6.75 inch) and 2031 (8.75 inch) series.. the originals, and the "A" series.. the "A" series improves on the sound quality of the originals. the non-A series has been discontinued.

 

 

wtf are you smokin?!

 

the "A" in 2030A and 2031A stands for "Active" and the "P" in 2030P and 2031P stands for "Passive"

 

 

i don't know where you're getting your info from, but somebody lied to you.

trust me, i did a lot of research before i bought these.

http://www.behringer.com/B2031/index.cfm?lang=ENG

they do always seem to put A on the end of the name of improved versions of equipment

  chaosmachine said:

trust me, i did a lot of research before i bought these.

 

http://www.behringer.com/B2031/index.cfm?lang=ENG

as did i, i misunderstood what you were saying. I actually have the 2031As not the 2031s...

i had the kind you have (2030As) for a couple months before i upgraded to the 2031As. the 2030As are great for the size/price, but the 2031As are the best value if you have space for them.

15 3/4" (400mm) X 9 13//16" (250mm) X 11 3/8" (290mm)

33lbs (15kg)

i got the alesis m1 mk2 i really like them, but my rooms too bright though, my ears are tired as shit, the passive ones are still good, but i def prefer mine, wud love some genelec's or the mackies , but my next pairs wud prob be the dyna audios or the adams, they seem fantastic. TRY TEST B4 U BUY, as said before, aslong as you know your monitors u could use most good hifi sets

everyone says, try before you buy... but how many people have a store where they live that will accomodate?

I have a Guitar Center 25 minutes away, but they only have a pair of yamahas and some shitty m-audio bx-5s set up. they don't even have behringer monitors in stock. and i'm sure if i asked them to set some up for me i'd either get denied or the dude would roll his eyes the whole time.

so, perhaps more practical advice would be to try to find a place that has a lenient return policy?