New monitors - what would you get?

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TomWaterman said:
Lots of good press around Hypex. There are a few custom main monitor designers here in the Uk that are using them in some new rooms, I heard one against a number of other amps and found them maybe a bit sterile. Good detail but with the wrong speaker a touch tiring.

Running my Proac with a Quad and have a C-Audio old 1RU 150watt amp that also does very well with them. Kinda takes the hifi edge off them!

Hypex definitely good but not my thing.

-T
Click to expand...

Thanks Tom! Well, sterile isn't that much of a problem since these are supposed to be mixing tools, so accuracy is cool. There's an upcoming new generation of improved amps from Hypex supposedly out-specing even the best conventional designs, but it's not availible yet and probably a lot more costly at the start. Is there anything at the ca. 500 EUR price point of a 2* 180W HQ Hypex DIY amp that would sound better, used market included?
 
pucho812 said:
I heard the equators but it doesn't count as it was on the AES floor. hardly the place to listen to monitors.

monitors are a personal thing and many factors are involved to having them and using them.

1.Cost: the one of the last things we consider but at the current rate of the world  should be higher on the list. After all buying a set is one thing, replacement parts are another.
2 environment: Have to think of  the environment your in. do they need to be loud? How accurate do they need to be? Are they just an extra set to over emphasize sound for the client? 
3. Type: Do they need to be active? I have found passive monitors to perform better all around. This stems from westlake where glen phonix took an hour to explain why a powered monitor is inefficient and often has similar characteristics of boomy bass, mushy mids, and brittle high end. More over what's the make up of the speaker? 3 way? 2 way? ribbon tweeter? etc,etc,etc

4. size and space: this can go under the environment but is sperate as one needs to consider the actual size of the speakers.

Best think you can do is hang with a dealer and work it so you can try different monitors in your space you will use them most and listen with reference material.

I happen to have a spare set of manley/mastering lab speakers with original tannoy drivers. Was supposed to be part of a 5.1 set up that never happened as I could never get a hold of the 5th one. I would part with them for the right price.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've considered all these points and a passive Proac Clone + Hypex amp combination looks like the best deal overall. I've also got a studio sub already, but might get (or even build) a better one at some point.
 
pucho812 said:
3. Type: Do they need to be active? I have found passive monitors to perform better all around. This stems from westlake where glen phonix took an hour to explain why a powered monitor is inefficient and often has similar
Click to expand...
As you know, its not the presence of an internal AMP that determines how they behave, but the Speakers themself.
Of course design of electronics is important. But is a loudspeaker is poor, it will be poor the sound even with the best-of-the best amplifier in the World.
 
Digging some more into the specs of and looking at more reviews on those Hypex modules reveals that the 180 watt module has much lower ouput at reasonable distortion levels (like ca. 60 watts at 0.1%), so the 400 watt rated ones would actually be needed. I wonder of an inexpensive MosFET based class AB amp wouldn't actually be better, here's a dirt cheap one: http://www.class-d.com/Mosfets/Modules/NX400-400W-RMS-4Ohms-Lateral-Mosfet-Power-Amplifier-Module-by-Class-D/prod_16270.html
 
When going for ported monitors, make sure the resonance frequency of the port is not near a frequency dip (due to standing waves) in your room.
I had this once with a set of Geithain RL906 monitors. First they sounded fantastic with a bass response bigger than monitors twice the size....but when relocating to France they sounded NOT good in my new room there.
No bass response, instead very noticeable port noise. With a sub they did sound good though....
 
radiance said:
When going for ported monitors, make sure the resonance frequency of the port is not near a frequency dip (due to standing waves) in your room.
I had this once with a set of Geithain RL906 monitors. First they sounded fantastic with a bass response bigger than monitors twice the size....but when relocating to France they sounded NOT good in my new room there.
No bass response, instead very noticeable port noise. With a sub they did sound good though....
Click to expand...

I think Ive got the same thing with my new Adam A7x's, I've swapped them twice now and i still get port noise on certain kicks, even at moderate volumes.
What did you do to remedy the problem? Sub?
 
Autophase said:
I think Ive got the same thing with my new Adam A7x's, I've swapped them twice now and i still get port noise on certain kicks, even at moderate volumes.
What did you do to remedy the problem? Sub?
Click to expand...


Close the port and get a sub. It's what I did with my A7s.
 
Autophase said:
radiance said:
When going for ported monitors, make sure the resonance frequency of the port is not near a frequency dip (due to standing waves) in your room.
I had this once with a set of Geithain RL906 monitors. First they sounded fantastic with a bass response bigger than monitors twice the size....but when relocating to France they sounded NOT good in my new room there.
No bass response, instead very noticeable port noise. With a sub they did sound good though....
Click to expand...

I think Ive got the same thing with my new Adam A7x's, I've swapped them twice now and i still get port noise on certain kicks, even at moderate volumes.
What did you do to remedy the problem? Sub?
Click to expand...

yes, sub...
 
living sounds said:
Autophase said:
I think Ive got the same thing with my new Adam A7x's, I've swapped them twice now and i still get port noise on certain kicks, even at moderate volumes.
What did you do to remedy the problem? Sub?
Click to expand...


Close the port and get a sub. It's what I did with my A7s.
Click to expand...

Theres an adam sub thats designed to be used with the adam A5's which is quite a bit cheaper thn the one designed for the A7's, as my mix room is fairly small I'm thinking the smaller one will be fine with my A7x's, the design is pretty simialr its just a size and small frequency difference really.
Do you think that will be acceptable?
 
Autophase said:
Theres an adam sub thats designed to be used with the adam A5's which is quite a bit cheaper thn the one designed for the A7's, as my mix room is fairly small I'm thinking the smaller one will be fine with my A7x's, the design is pretty simialr its just a size and small frequency difference really.
Do you think that will be acceptable?
Click to expand...
Do you mean the Sub 7? It has a single 6.5"driver. It may well get you rid of the vent whistles, but the LF SPL capability is about half that of the A7's...
Good rule of thumb is that the active surface of the sub should be at least equal to the combines active surface of the mains. You should have a 10" sub for the A7's.
If you take the smaller, you may regret spending money on something that doesn't cut.
 
I will be receiving NHT XDS satellites next week. Hard to locate (NHT is out of business), they are amazingly cheap ($500 for a pair with stands!), considering they use one of the finest mid-woofers available on the market--$200 a pop Magnezium Seas Excel W15CY and what it looks like Seas 27TAFCG tweeter, so if you can find them the price is lower than drivers themselves.

The beauty is they don't have crossovers and you can use whether your own DSP with good amps, or for under $100 make a crossover from Zaph's page:

http://www.zaphaudio.com/XDS.html

Originally they were a part of a $6000 system and I expect them to be quite remarkable performers:

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1105nht

Best, M


 
Cool thread! I am in the market for some new monitors after having to sell mine before moving to NZ. Been looking at Adam A7x and A5x, Neumann KH120's, and Focal CMS 65. One thing is for sure, gear is a lot more difficult to obtain in NZ than Canada. I have been able to set up a Sale or Return deal on the Adam's which will be helpful, so I'll at least get to try those out.

Is there a resource somewhere for mix room size vs monitor size? My new room is significantly smaller than my previous one.

Still thinking about those Hypex modules? I'd love to hear your opinion of them should that be the route you go. I built an LM3886 chip amp for my dad not that long ago, and the sound was superb. Thing was loud as! Even though it was only putting out 40 watts into 100 watt 3 way Kef's. I was thinking about going the passive route with a chip amp as well.
 
I've been loving my Pelonis Model 42's for the last few months - with a little Tannoy 10" sub they do everything I need, and without the sub I can really zoom in on the midrange and bottom end to make sure it translates to iPod docks etc... 4" dual-concentric Tannoy drivers and custom bi-amp in 1RU with a USB interface and software for storable active EQ settings - I use different presets for a couple different rooms I use them in and with/without the sub...

http://www.pelonissound.com/product1.html
 

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