Subwoofer or new monitors?

Saftstein

Active Member
VIP Junglist
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Location
Austria
What's up,

As i'm often struggling with the low end of my tunes i thought about extending my equipment. I'm working with a pair of Adam A3Xs. They provide a acceptable top end but you can't really hear sub frequencies on them. Should i rather buy a subwoofer (I think the Adam Sub 8 would fit) or a new pair of monitors?

In case of monitors, which ones? Somewhere around 400-600€s.

I thought about those: http://www.thomann.de/at/yamaha_hs_8.htm or those: http://www.thomann.de/at/krk_rp6_rokit_g3.htm (mostly because i heard they are pretty good, but no idea about the low end they provide)

Cheers.
 
personally i would look at a new set of monitors. having a sub setup can sometimes be an enemy in disguise. i used to use one years ago and it messed with my head when using other peoples setup's
 
I would get monitors....your current monitors are too small for dnb, even if you add the sub the mids will still be lacking.

You could get something like Focal Alpha 65's for your budget, which would be a lot better than krk rokits.
 
Thank you guys. That pretty much anwsers my question. I really need to have monitors where i can already hear how it approximately sounds on big club speakers or at least home setups with a sub woofer.
It's really annoying when a tune sounds great on your little adams and when you play it on your friends home setup it sounds like rubbish.

Focal Alphas look good. What would be the best option if i would spend up to 900€s? It would be a good investment i guess.
 
Agreed with above - Get used to mixing great music on your monitors. A sub is useful for reference, but should never be a constant addition to a mixing set up IMO. Personally I think using good headphones for checking the sub frequencies are in check is preferred to using a sub - More people listen to your music on cans than they do with a sub a home!
 
Agreed with above - Get used to mixing great music on your monitors. A sub is useful for reference, but should never be a constant addition to a mixing set up IMO. Personally I think using good headphones for checking the sub frequencies are in check is preferred to using a sub - More people listen to your music on cans than they do with a sub a home!

This ^^^^!!

I was asking the same questions as yourself a while back, I went for the subwoofer "coz i luvs teh bass!". Anyway it kinda overpowers my room, its better now its treated but it still has too much wallop for my little studio.
Then I got some headphones (audio technica ath-m50's to be precise) and everything became much clearer and my mixing was 100% better within the month.

save yourself £200 and invest £100 in some good cans!
 
This ^^^^!!

I was asking the same questions as yourself a while back, I went for the subwoofer "coz i luvs teh bass!". Anyway it kinda overpowers my room, its better now its treated but it still has too much wallop for my little studio.
Then I got some headphones (audio technica ath-m50's to be precise) and everything became much clearer and my mixing was 100% better within the month.

save yourself £200 and invest £100 in some good cans!

I keep hearing about those M50's, are they really that good? The price seems nice compared to the far more expensive ones. I like using headphones, but my ears seem to get fatigued a lot quicker than using monitors.

:: sent from android with tapatalk ::
 
I keep hearing about those M50's, are they really that good? The price seems nice compared to the far more expensive ones. I like using headphones, but my ears seem to get fatigued a lot quicker than using monitors.

I guess so mate, theyre my first pair of studio oriented headphones. They sound flat, much more flat than anything I've really listened to properly before. I did try out some sennheiser HD 360's or at least thats what I think they are, regardless they were a £300 pair of headphones and I'd peg the AT's along side them, you can hear the difference between MP3's and WAV's quite clearly.

they dont fatigue as much as cheaper or on-ear headphones and ive worn them for hours in the studio before without even noticing them.
 
Always reference on iPhone headphones. nearly everyone has a set and chances are your music will be listened to on them if it gets a release

Another great point. Also, via standard built in laptop speakers. They have no bass. Typically they roll off everything under 250Hz. Annoyingly, no matter how bad they sound, millions of people listen to music through them sat on their sofa with the laptop. Your music will get heard that way - with NO sub, NO low bass etc... so make sure your mix still sounds 'not completely crap' in that format. Your sub will not help you here! :)
 
try listening to a calibre tune like that. its just snare and the off one shot, thats it. Were not making skrillex here, and people who love drum and bass know they need some decent cans, I'm not making music for the masses.

Whats worse is when you make a cracking bassline in the studio and a fucking 10k rig cant get that low. Subwoofers are a blessing and a curse.
 
ALL OF YOU ARE WRONG!

Get a SubPac insted of new monitors and sub.

Done.

- - - Updated - - -

but without being a peen. If you can make lots of noise and your neighbours are sound you could get a sub, it'll take a while to get used to the level but it is mixable even with an untreated room.
 
I was intially planning on getting the adam a7x's, after listening to them properly i really diddnt like the harshness in the high end so decided against them. I ended up opting for the yahaha HS8's. The Low end could be louder however if if had a larger room that wouldn't be a problem and i have foamed my front wall to smooth out the highs so it sounds great. When i went to Kane FM they were using mounted HS8's and recommended them initially. Cost me £460 for a pair from Andertons (My local Music store). I have never heard/read a bad review on them.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/speakers/hs_series/hs8/
 
I would say that is the lower end you would want to be spending on monitors if you take music as a serious hobby or potential career. Your monitors become your babys and the investment in them should be a high priority. Buy great gear once, in my opinion its better than upgrading often!
 
I would say that is the lower end you would want to be spending on monitors if you take music as a serious hobby or potential career. Your monitors become your babys and the investment in them should be a high priority. Buy great gear once, in my opinion its better than upgrading often!

I agree!

The thing is, i was looking for Adams A7X cheaper than the original price. Found a pair of them for the price of ONE (which is incredible). Got in touch with the seller, one day before i wanted to pay the money he told me he sold it to a friend - well. Shit happens.

Now i'm looking for an alternative to the A7Xs in a cheaper price category.

Does anyone own a pair of these? http://www.thomann.de/at/adam_f7.htm
Frequency range from 44 Hz - 50 kHz (which is nearly as large as the A7Xs)

600€ is quite a good price for a pair of new monitors i guess :)
 
Back
Top Bottom