What Monitors / Headphones do you use?

[krypt]

thanks guys. Yeah, you're right, i've gotta go to the store and listen. the problem is, the nearest store is hundreds kilometers from the place i live in. recently i was in eindhoven and that was a good store maybe i will just go there for listen because all in all i need to listen to the speakers. i've got closer to berlin, any good store there?

[Mattias]

Narrow down to a few ones you want and order two to three pairs home and have them around for a week or so and check em all out.

[Hepta]

I have a question about amps for headphones. I use a pair of Sennheiser HD650 connected directly to my MacBook pro. I can get a very high volume out from that, even too loud for my taste. Could I benefit from an amp even if I get a decent volume? Will there be a major difference? Tighter more pronounced sub bass perhaps? If anyone has experience with this i'd like to hear your suggestions.

[Mattias]

Sure, especially with HD650 its very easy to hear difference with a decent headphone amp. The sound gets fuller, depth and more detailed, easier to hear way down in the ultra lows as well.

Most audio interfaces today comes with a decent enough headphone amp.
I have an old M-Audio fast track ultra and I tested my 650 pair in them, and cheap old audio interfaces like that one can handle it pretty well too.
Not comparable to my Hilo though.

And I assume that at one point your getting an audio interface for your music production? Hitting two birds with one stone.

[Hepta]

Sure, especially with HD650 its very easy to hear difference with a decent headphone amp. The sound gets fuller, depth and more detailed, easier to hear way down in the ultra lows as well.

Most audio interfaces today comes with a decent enough headphone amp.
I have an old M-Audio fast track ultra and I tested my 650 pair in them, and cheap old audio interfaces like that one can handle it pretty well too.
Not comparable to my Hilo though.

And I assume that at one point your getting an audio interface for your music production? Hitting two birds with one stone.

Very useful info man. Thanks. I actually have an Audio Interface that I use with my KRK monitors, but the thing is i'm always moving around, so I never get used to the monitors... Which is a shame. This is my interface Mattias.

http://www.presonus.com/products/AudioBox-44VSL

I've read all the info about it but can't seem to find if there's a built in amp for headphones. Maybe I missed something. Is this a keeper? Maybe there's a better cheaper solution to this if I could sell the 44VSL perhaps. What you think?

Edit: Quote from the Presonus site -
The AudioBox 44VSL also boasts PreSonus’ legendary 120 mW headphone output, which is loud enough to explode the oysters in a Po’-Boy sandwich. (Be careful with your level control!)

I think this means that it has an amp already?

[Hepta]

Apogee Duet 2 seems like the interface that i'm looking for. But fuck that's an expensive one!

I just need something more portable.

[krypt]

indeed man, there's no info about headphone amp but i am sure your soundcard has one. presonus is a solid brand, besides, you have heaphones volume control and 1/4jack input so there is gotta be an amp in this kind of grid. recently i am audio interface expert because im looking for one to buy, i think there will be no big difference between duet and presonus in terms of sound quality, maybe latency will be better? but you know, i didn't listen to any of the two cards and those are friday speculations

[Hepta]

Great! Thanks man! Yeah it costed me a penny as well so I always suspected it had one built in. I just need to try it out now.

Yes, you're probably right! Maybe the Apogee One would be a much better option, for the portability at least, and it's a lot cheaper hehe.

I have no idea either! I need to dig into this. The night is still young mate!

Edit: I think i need to switch interface anyway, because I realised that the 44VSL only accepts microphone and instrument signal. I'm not very good when it comes to differences between all the 'ins', but I think my Machinedrum does output line-level signal. So I what I need really is a portable interface that has two line-inputs.

[Hades]

Apogee Duet 2 seems like the interface that i'm looking for. But fuck that's an expensive one!

I just need something more portable.

what's wrong with the portability of the Duet ?
it's about the size of a small bag of crisps.
I use the Duet for portable stuff, and the Ensemble in my studio.

[Hepta]

Apogee Duet 2 seems like the interface that i'm looking for. But fuck that's an expensive one!

I just need something more portable.

what's wrong with the portability of the Duet ?
it's about the size of a small bag of crisps.
I use the Duet for portable stuff, and the Ensemble in my studio.

Nothing at all. Yeah I know, I meant that I need something portable in general. Maybe my phrasing was bad there, sorry for that mate.

Sweet! I have also laid eyes on the Forte from Focusrite, Also very small in size and it's a little cheaper than the Duet.

[krypt]

so i suspect you're a mac user if youre considering apogee.
apogee duet/rme babyface/focusrite forte/motu track16/uad apollo twin - those are all portable interfaces.
if you're working on mac try apogee or motu, i've heard they're mac oriented. i am windows user and recently i narrowed the choice to rme babyface or SPL crimson. i read a lot of good things about Universal Audio devices (apollo twin or sattellite) but theyre thunderbolt and unless there is some kind of switch i cannot connect them.
cheers man!

[day.one]

How about the Focal Alpha series? In specific the 65.
I looking for my first pair of monitor.
Or maybe a pair of second hand a5x/a7x?
600/700€ budget

Thank you.

[msl]

Apogee Duet 2 seems like the interface that i'm looking for. But fuck that's an expensive one!

I just need something more portable.

Its worth it, sounds great, major noticeable improvement from the low end stuff, m-audio, focusrite etc. Your paying for the pre-amps too, if your not planning on recording you can get a TC Electronic interface for much cheaper but sounds just as good on the D/A side. Anyway go used either way.


m

[msl]

How about the Focal Alpha series? In specific the 65.
I looking for my first pair of monitor.
Or maybe a pair of second hand a5x/a7x?
600/700€ budget

Thank you.

Don't know about the Alpha range the regular CMS65 are great. These Alpha's seem to be lower range.

As for Adams I love em, A7x is an excellent monitor, very truthful. But is apples and oranges, you really need to hear them yourself, its subjective. Go to a shop and try the ones in your price range. The A5x is too small no bass.

.

[Lost to the Void]

How about the Focal Alpha series? In specific the 65.
I looking for my first pair of monitor.
Or maybe a pair of second hand a5x/a7x?
600/700€ budget

Thank you.

That really depends on how serious you are, if you are really serious about your music and want to put a lot of effort in to it, then I would continue to save your money and go for a mid range priced monitor.

700 euro won`t really get you that decent a monitor.

I look at it this way, your monitors are THE most important thing in the studio. All the sound you generate comes out of them after all, so you want them to be as accurate and as good as possible.

1000-1200 euro is a price range that will get you nearfields that you will keep for life.

[Hepta]

so i suspect you're a mac user if youre considering apogee.
apogee duet/rme babyface/focusrite forte/motu track16/uad apollo twin - those are all portable interfaces.
if you're working on mac try apogee or motu, i've heard they're mac oriented. i am windows user and recently i narrowed the choice to rme babyface or SPL crimson. i read a lot of good things about Universal Audio devices (apollo twin or sattellite) but theyre thunderbolt and unless there is some kind of switch i cannot connect them.
cheers man!

Yes exactly. I got the Duet now and I must say that i'm more than happy with the results. Though i'm not able to actually compare side-by-side. But I get the impression as if i'm wearing glasses when listening from the output of the Duet. I strongly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a portable solution to amp/interface. I hope you find what you need as well krypt.

Its worth it, sounds great.

Totally agree mate.

[day.one]

Don't know about the Alpha range the regular CMS65 are great. These Alpha's seem to be lower range.

As for Adams I love em, A7x is an excellent monitor, very truthful. But is apples and oranges, you really need to hear them yourself, its subjective. Go to a shop and try the ones in your price range. The A5x is too small no bass.

.

That really depends on how serious you are, if you are really serious about your music and want to put a lot of effort in to it, then I would continue to save your money and go for a mid range priced monitor.

700 euro won`t really get you that decent a monitor.

I look at it this way, your monitors are THE most important thing in the studio. All the sound you generate comes out of them after all, so you want them to be as accurate and as good as possible.

1000-1200 euro is a price range that will get you nearfields that you will keep for life.

.

Appreciate the replies guys.
Thank you.

[msl]

Appreciate the replies guys.
Thank you.

No worries thats what we're here for. Steve is right, monitors are probably the most important part of your studio, buy the best you can afford. Every time I've upgraded my mixes have improved exponentially. 1k tends to be the entry level for good ones, I had cheaper ones before also, you'll just end up upgrading in a year or two anyways. You should look at buying used too, as long as you can try them out and they haven't been abused you can save a chunk of money.


.

[day.one]

Appreciate the replies guys.
Thank you.

No worries thats what we're here for. Steve is right, monitors are probably the most important part of your studio, buy the best you can afford. Every time I've upgraded my mixes have improved exponentially. 1k tends to be the entry level for good ones, I had cheaper ones before also, you'll just end up upgrading in a year or two anyways. You should look at buying used too, as long as you can try them out and they haven't been abused you can save a chunk of money.


.

I read a lot the forum these days and I got to make my thoughts and think about the words of Steve (sorry if I don't know you but I call you by name). I convinced myself that it's better to make a financial sacrifice for a product that i will keep for long years.
So yesterday i was in the biggest store in my city. I went to listen to the Adam A7X and the Neumann KH 120. Unfortunately, both models had been sold. The dealer told me that they sell the A7X only by order, because is a model that they don't sell much (bah). So I don't have a chance to listen to them. He made me listen to the A5X, the F7 and the CMS50, but my room is approx 35m2 and i think i need a 7".
"Really is a shot in the dark at this point." quote.

[nocernoc]

something i learned recently is that the kh 120s are non-ported. which makes them more accurate than ported models such as the A7X but with less power in the bass. i read in mike senior's book that it might be a good idea to go non-ported for anything under 1000GBP (+-1500E?) because the port tends to resonate or smear the lower end out over time unless really well designed. i won't go for the CMS ones simply because they just don't look cool enough for me added to the fact that every time i walk into the store the sales person gets a little happy over them. why does every want to sell you the CMSs?