Monitor Speaker Suggestions?

[Steve House]

The Dynaudio BM6a's were among my top three choices and they're fine monitors to my ears. The decision to go with the JBLs boiled down to 1) budget (almost $2500 CDN for the Dynadio or ADAM versus $1850 for the JBL); 2) the depth of the Dynaudios would have made it even harder to fit them into my available workspace than were the JBLs; and 3) the JBL room mode correction can help compensate for the difficult to alter bad acoustics of my work area.

[Peter Moretti]

Steve,

I've read the few reviews on the web of the JBL LSR4300 Series.

Consensus: great sound, but the room correction only sometimes is an improvement and doesn't live up to its billing.

But it seems like you find the room correction pretty beneficial. If you could explain a little more and if you've done any mods to the room for editing, that would be great. THANKS much as always!

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Steve House

the studio liked 'em cause they sent these back to JBL along with an order for several full 5.1 setups

Steve,

what would be a good 5.1 setup from JBL? On one of the well-known music/audio websites, I see a combo of 5 LSR6325P satellite speakers and a LSR6312SP subwoofer offered for around $2,600, which fits my budget. From what little I was able to find out about these components, my assumption (not validated) is that this would be a decent setup for 5.1 monitoring, but I fear that in case I produce a stereo mix using just two of the satellites, those LSR6325Ps might not be big enough to do the lower frequencies justice. Is this a valid concern? If so, is it typical to have two sets of monitor speakers (one for stereo and one for 5.1), or would it make more sense to get five larger monitors such as the JBL 4328p along with the subwoofer for surround monitoring?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

- Martin

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Martin Pauly

Steve,

what would be a good 5.1 setup from JBL? On one of the well-known music/audio websites, I see a combo of 5 LSR6325P satellite speakers and a LSR6312SP subwoofer offered for around $2,600, which fits my budget. From what little I was able to find out about these components, my assumption (not validated) is that this would be a decent setup for 5.1 monitoring, but I fear that in case I produce a stereo mix using just two of the satellites, those LSR6325Ps might not be big enough to do the lower frequencies justice. Is this a valid concern? If so, is it typical to have two sets of monitor speakers (one for stereo and one for 5.1), or would it make more sense to get five larger monitors such as the JBL 4328p along with the subwoofer for surround monitoring?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

- Martin

LOL I guess the best answer to that is ... it depends. In the situation I was referring to, I was told the studio ordered 5 LSR4328p's + a LSR4312p sub for each editing room. That setup would be equally at home for 5.1 surround by using all speakers or for stereo by using just the L&R mains plus the sub. B&H lists such a setup as costing right at 4 kilobucks while a similar setup using the LSR 4326p is about $3200. JBL says you can also mix 'n match, using the 8 inchers for the front speakers and the 6 inchers for the surrounds and save some a few bucks and I think that's accurate though I haven't tried it personally since the equalizer utility tunes up the system as a whole.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Peter Moretti

Steve,

I've read the few reviews on the web of the JBL LSR4300 Series.

Consensus: great sound, but the room correction only sometimes is an improvement and doesn't live up to its billing.

But it seems like you find the room correction pretty beneficial. If you could explain a little more and if you've done any mods to the room for editing, that would be great. THANKS much as always!

Sorry I missed your post before and it tooks so long to answer. I haven't really done anything to the room itself so I'm at the mercey of the RMC. I have the worst possible situation - an apartment living room with the desk with the speakers alongside a concrete wall and in the corner. The only "correction" that's been possible so far is to put the monitors on MoPads so they don't induce resonance in my desk and backshelf. Without the RMC the bass is muddy and "peaky" at several frequencies. With it engaged, it smooths out with a great improvement in clarity and stability of the stereo image. Does it make it sound like a properly conditioned studio space? Not at all. But does it sound cleaner and more accurate than would be possible without it? You betcha. I say it's worth it, especially if you're forced to work in a less than ideal environment.

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Steve House

or for stereo by using just the L&R mains plus the sub.

Sorry to ask - this may be a stupid question, but I really don't know the answer. What drives the sub when you are using this setup for stereo mixing? I assumed that for stereo, it is mandatory to have just two speakers for left and right that can accurately reproduce the entire audible frequency range...

- Martin, confused...

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Martin Pauly

Sorry to ask - this may be a stupid question, but I really don't know the answer. What drives the sub when you are using this setup for stereo mixing? I assumed that for stereo, it is mandatory to have just two speakers for left and right that can accurately reproduce the entire audible frequency range...

- Martin, confused...

Actually your assumption regarding stereo is mistaken. Very low bass is difficult for the ear to localize and so the bass component of both the left and right channel stereo signals can be handled by a single speaker while the frequencies whose direction the ear can determine are sent to the L&R mains.

The JBL sub's electronics handles the bass management as do the subs in most stereo monitor system that have one. Your L&R outputs go to L&R inputs on the sub and then from there go on to the L&R mains. The sub has crossover circuitry inside that splits the lowest frequencies (user adjustable as to cutoff frequency and levels of course) off of each channel, combine them, and send them to the sub's amplifier and speaker. It's with 5.1 that the sub gets a dedicated output channel, the ".1" channel.

[Chris Christ]

My problem with using a sub-woof at the editing suite is that the level of the woof (bass) can be arbitrarily varied. So what is the "right" level?

Yeah, I've tried the "use a familiar CD" route - - doesn't work for me. The high amount of compression on commercial CDs is just awful.

So, I use some inexpensive near-field monitors, and periodically burn a CD-RW and listen on a variety of systems: home stereo, car, boom-box, etc.

I should mention that I'm not a commercial operation - - just a hobby.

Chris

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Chris Christ

My problem with using a sub-woof at the editing suite is that the level of the woof (bass) can be arbitrarily varied. So what is the "right" level?

Yeah, I've tried the "use a familiar CD" route - - doesn't work for me. The high amount of compression on commercial CDs is just awful.

So, I use some inexpensive near-field monitors, and periodically burn a CD-RW and listen on a variety of systems: home stereo, car, boom-box, etc.

I should mention that I'm not a commercial operation - - just a hobby.

Chris

You can go to Radio Snak and get one of their $50 sound pressure meters and use it to calibrate levels. A number of books of post production sound include a CD with the standard test signals needed recorded on them and include directions on exactly how to go about calibrating everything, including the balance between subs and mains. There's a couple of books by Thomlinson Holman that have everything you need to do a complete setup

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Steve House

Actually your assumption regarding stereo is mistaken. Very low bass is difficult for the ear to localize and so the bass component of both the left and right channel stereo signals can be handled by a single speaker while the frequencies whose direction the ear can determine are sent to the L&R mains.

The JBL sub's electronics handles the bass management as do the subs in most stereo monitor system that have one. Your L&R outputs go to L&R inputs on the sub and then from there go on to the L&R mains.

I have a consumer speaker set (stereo) that works that way (sub with crossover, routes higher freq to small stereo satellites), but I am surprised that this setup is recommended for monitoring. I don't doubt it, I am just surprised.

So, with that in mind, I am wondering what the practical difference is when mixing for stereo with the following:

- LSR4312p sub and two LSR4326P satellites (response 55 Hz – 20 kHz)
- LSR4312p sub and two LSR4328P satellites (response 50 Hz – 20 kHz)

I.e., with the sub covering the low frequencies, what am I really going to lose by having the smaller 6.25" satellites vs. the larger 8" ones? Without a sub, that is entirely clear to me, but with a dedicated subwoofer, I wonder if the difference is important.

- Martin

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Martin Pauly

I have a consumer speaker set (stereo) that works that way (sub with crossover, routes higher freq to small stereo satellites), but I am surprised that this setup is recommended for monitoring. I don't doubt it, I am just surprised.

So, with that in mind, I am wondering what the practical difference is when mixing for stereo with the following:

- LSR4312p sub and two LSR4326P satellites (response 55 Hz – 20 kHz)
- LSR4312p sub and two LSR4328P satellites (response 50 Hz – 20 kHz)

I.e., with the sub covering the low frequencies, what am I really going to lose by having the smaller 6.25" satellites vs. the larger 8" ones? Without a sub, that is entirely clear to me, but with a dedicated subwoofer, I wonder if the difference is important.

- Martin

I don't think there would be that much difference between the two. I got a good deal on the 8's and they were in stock so that became the deciding factor for me. The 6's were back orderedand wouldn't have been much cheaper. That's actually what I had originally decided on.

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Steve House

I don't think there would be that much difference between the two.

Then I'll go for the smaller ones.

Thanks so much for your many comments, Steve - it's very reassuring to get this type of feedback from guys like you that have a significant amount of audio experience under their belts.

- Martin