VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[kitstern]

I'm working my way down my VO wish list, and have arrived at monitors. I've been using a good set of headphones to mix. That's OK for just voice, but I had a production job this week and I'm about to redo my demos. I don't do lot of production (yet) so I don't need anything big and expensive. Does anyone have suggestions for good studio monitors/speakers that aren't too expensive? Thanks in advance for the help.
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Enjoy life, this is not a rehearsal.

http://www.kitziestern.com/

[kgenus]

I've seen a lot of good press on the KRK monitors, but Mackie HR824s are pretty much the best bang for the buck ... $700-$900 used. I also know some places using Dell THX surround speakers (the old ones with the rca inputs).
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Genus

[TomRVO]

Eerily accurate. Got mine on eBay for around $550. Love 'em.

[Spacegypsy]

M-Audio Studiophile DX4 - Nice low end, around $150



Google them and look for reviews - it's all good!

[Charlie Channel]

I use M-Audio Studiophile BX5's. I think they are very solid monitors with great spec's.



C

[Jim Barton]

Try to find the most accurate monitors you can. What I mean is, don't look for the monitors that your voice sounds best on... Look for monitors that reflect accurately what you recorded.



Try two tests: record your voice, then mix it through your new monitors (that hopefully have been lent to you by your dealer.) Then take the recording to a local studio that you trust for a playback. On the way over, listen to the recording on your car CD player. You're looking for any errant bumps in the recording, like a "honky" sound in the mid-range. Or too much bass on the bottom. Not to over-emphasize, but you want to make sure that the sound you're sending to your client sounds like what you mixed at home.



(Of course, if you're recording yourself with a mic or eq setup that results in poor audio, all bets are off. Try to take as much stuff out of the audio chain as possible, ie no eq, no compression, etc. All of that adds character, etc., and you're looking for a basic sound that you can trust. After you find that sound, then you can start messing around with it.)



The other test I use when evaluating a pair of speakers is to listen to a music album that you are extremely familiar with. One that has been well recorded, and that you've heard countless times, in many different settings. (I used to use Steely Dan's AJA or KATIE LIED.) If there's something funky going on with the speakers, you'll hear it.

[Mixwell]

Check out the Focal Solo 6Be.
http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/products/solo6Be.html

They are the smoothest monitors out there.
The are amazingly detailed and accurate. The have a great stereo image and very full bass response, which is not common for a small near field speaker.
You can really hear that lower octave.

Having monitors that are really accurate will help you learn to really listen to your mix and eventually you will train your ears to hear what I call the "puzzle"

The "Puzzle" is my buzz word for the human hearing spectrum (20Hz-20kHz). This is broken up into 10 Octaves;

20hz, 30.25hz, 62.5hz, 125hz, 250hz, 500hz, 1kHz, 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, 20k

Mixing is about fitting things into this little piece of real estate. Everything has a place in the puzzle.

I have found that I can work better with these monitors. They force me to make choices about my mix that I would not on some other "pretty" speakers.

peace
mixwell

[Dave]

[sdelgo]

First off... what is the size of the room you're monitoring in and is it acoustically treated?

Steve
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you'll always have something on your plate... if you keep your bearings straight.

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[Yoda117]

I'm not going to weigh to much into these, but we've got a great discussion about monitors from a few weeks back if you use the search function.

For the $, I like the Alexis and the Dynaudio series. On the lower end, the Edirol.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[Donovan]

Since the original post is from 2 years ago, I hope this has already been worked out.

But some good info can come for folks looking for monitors now, of course.
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Donovan

www.DonovanVO.com