Studio monitors upgrade advice

I’m also going to recommend the ARC system. Im $25k deep between my monitors and room treatment and that cheap ARC system made a huge difference in clarity especially for hearing intricacies in guitar tones. Some of the best money I’ve ever spent on my setup.
 
Just some thoughts related to this discussion:

1) I had the same JBL Control 10s monitors for decades, old school, used for several purposes over the years, were surprisingly good for home monitoring and recording when that came into my world. Anyway, when it was time to replace 8 years ago, I said to myself "this next set could be the set I use for another 2 decades, so let's aim for the best fit, and realize it's an investment that counts over the long haul.

2) Now that was a complicated way to say "it's ok to spend a little high of my immediate budget". The harder part, is more directly related to this discussion: what are the best monitors for....

3) For me, they have to sound great playing reference recordings. If my target is to create, record, and mix, I want to know that final product sounds great on my system. But they also need to be "pro" enough to handle guitar music with accuracy, clarity, and power. The entire system also has to have a methodical tuning path.

4) Now if recording mixing isn't your thing, and youre coming from an amp sounding setup, then I'm guessing thats possibly a different target. My brother is an exclusive amp player, and he asks me "when you are alone do you really crank it up?". Well my answer is no, I want it to sound great at monitor listening position and levels (and also headphones).

I know all that is obvious to all on this discussion, but sometimes it's worth mentioning, and helps you reign in what youre REALLY shooting for.
  • Do you have amp friends that come over to jam with you?
  • Do you need volume and presence to compete with amp players?
  • How often do you listen to recordings of other music, and how much of an audiophile are you?
  • Of course everyone talks about room treatment and layout, including sitting position etc.

For all of us, with our fractals, guitars, basses, keyboards, computers, softwares, musical ideas, volume knobs: the true challenge and goal is envisioning WHAT we want to achieve, and then craft the art of our talent, ears, and piles of tools to create.

Happy Sunday!
 
Some days before i installed a new corner basstrap and there is a noticable difference in the room. I seriously need to remix some new songs before releasing them. I can't talk enough how important is improving the room acoustics before spending serious money in monitoring.
 
If you are looking at Adams, Look at HEDDs also. I just got their type 07s Mark IIs after having some Adam F7s for a while. It was a massive upgrade.
 
Yamaha HS. White cone. Black Box.

just be prepared that they dont sound fun. Depends on what you want. If not them id do Adams pending budget.
 
trixdropd said:
100% but there’s even more when someone says x speaker is awesome: we don’t know anything about if the room is even treated, and if it isn’t, are they even qualified to speak to what sounds good for a “studio monitor”?
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Someone asked for monitor recommendations and folks have spoken up about what has worked for them and, to varying degrees of detail, why. There's been fuss about names, prices associated with certain names, marketing, and now who's 'qualified' to speak on whether a monitor is good..? Maybe you all are in an entirely different league, but here's what I'd wager.. The majority of us are likely bedroom players, in untreated spaces, that don't possess audio engineering degrees, haven't mixed any award winning records - and we're all having a blast. It's not that deep.

trixdropd said:
"sounds great" is someone else's "wtf was THAT?"
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Um, welcome to music and realistically art in general. :tearsofjoy:
 
I just recently upgraded to the Adam Audio A7V speakers. I did 15 hours of pink noise break in before I started mixing and preset building on them. Fantastic monitors, sound freaking amazing.
 
Vhalen50 said:
Yamaha HS. White cone. Black Box.

just be prepared that they dont sound fun. Depends on what you want. If not them id do Adams pending budget.
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I've listened to my bud's HS8s for years. I think 'fun' is exactly how I would describe them. I'm the one guy with MSP7s and they are definitively NOT FUN. Mid-forward.

I used to sell pro audio on a sales floor. We had a stack of monitors on a switch system. I'd say that the room, and placement, and what they sit on are as important as the speakers themselves. My MSPs took on a new dimension when I took them off my desk and put them on stands.

After hundreds of face-plant mixes, car system fails, Imma give the VSX a shot. They show up tomorrow.
 
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Intimo said:
Recently got the Genelec 8020D for a smaller late night listening experience. They rival my A7V's with the MKII Sub at similar DB levels.
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I have those too. Really great sound and unbelievable amount of bass for such a small package.
 
Most important thing: get some without DSP! The less latency, the better it is. Except they have digital inputs and you connect your axe/cortex digitally.
 
Alexis said:
Most important thing: get some without DSP! The less latency, the better it is. Except they have digital inputs and you connect your axe/cortex digitally.
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Oh I always thought it's better and now considering the A7V. I thought it's an advantage that I can use Sonarworks directly from the monitors instead of on the Mac.
 
I have four studio monitors set up side by side in my studio. The king daddy here are the Hedd 20 Type II with the sub-woofer 07. I love these. A bit pricey. But I also have and love the discontinued NHTPro with it's subwoofer. These are known as the m-oos and S-oo subwoofer. Then there's the Neumann KH 80 DSP. Surprisingly good little speakers that hold their own against the bigger daddy's. Then I have my reference Auratones. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them, but for economy's sake the Neumann are top notch.
 
Found the only Hedd type 07 in my country for sale lol. It's out of my budget but I may give it a try.
Alexis said:
Most important thing: get some without DSP! The less latency, the better it is. Except they have digital inputs and you connect your axe/cortex digitally.
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I'm actually interested in this claim as what seems to be the best in budget for me is the A7V which has built-in DSP. Should I just go with a cheaper A7X?
My use is mainly playing through the monitors and less mixing.
 
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