do i need monitors?

[WoodmanZ]

I A/B'd about 8 different sets of monitors at a local music store. I stayed in there for about an hour and a half. I walked away with the KRK VXT 8's. That was my personal choice, but I highly recommend listening to different ones to see what you like the best.

[Batapotamus]

Hey peoples,

Am looking at getting a set of monitors very soon.

What's everyones opnion about passive VS active? If I go the passive route does it really matter how good my 2ch amp is?

Cheers,

Matt

[Cailyn]

Actually, the answer can be no.

I have monitors and wouldn't mix without them, but you could mix with a good set of headphones and then burn the result to a disc. Play that disc on a bunch of different systems, home stereo, a boom box, a car stereo--the more the merrier and the weaknesses in your mix will come out. This is more work obviously but does preclude the need for near-field monitors. Even with monitors, I still perform this test on my mixes.

[fortyseven]

At the end of the day it is you who must make the choice which will depend on your particular situation. In my opinion, your amp will make a difference. How could it not?
I have always preferred active over passive for a few reasons. To operate passive monitors, you connect the line-level outputs of your mixer to a power amp and then run speaker wire to the monitor. Active monitors are powered internally by amps that are matched exactly to its transducers.
Basically, speakers turn power into motion. A speaker is also a generator that converts return cone motion into electrical impulses which travel back to the amplifier. Called "back EMF" (electromotive force), this energy can be used by an amplifier to "brake" (damp) the cone's motion and reduce overshoot. However, tightly controlling a passive speaker cone via damping isn't easy. First, your external power amp has to deliver massive current to the loudspeaker – and sink the same amount of current coming back. Second, because speaker wire has its own capacitance and resistance, any significant length of even the most exotic cable compromises an amplifier's ability to damp back EMF.
Passive monitors have no control over input power. They have to rely on some sort of circuit or fuse to keep the transducers' voice coils from toasting. When a passive system's single amplifier has to reproduce the whole audio spectrum, low frequencies rapidly "use up" the amp's headroom. As higher frequencies "ride along" on lower frequency waveforms, they can be chopped off or distorted even though the high frequencies themselves would not be clipping.
Sorry I got all technical but I believe that active monitors have far more plusses than passives do. Its all just my opinion which is based on my experiences and research. Formulate your own. Hope that was somewhat useful.

[Deodar]

Lots of questions,many opinions.It's extremely hard to be objective when
playing back mixes,reference speakers & monitors make it easier to make
decisions.If you can get a final mix that sounds good on auto audio,you've hit
paydirt.Behringer Monitors are excellent for your stereo & recording,I just got
a pair of 60W studio monitors delivered yesterday to replace a pair of 30's I
sent back to the distributor.To My ears they sounded like distorted catfighting,
but of course Behringer engineers found 'nothing wrong with them',& actually
suggested it was my setup getting earthing problems.Dunderheads-I have ground-lift on my amps (Behringer,as are my picks)& had diagnosed it already
as a damaged woofer cone.I was right it transpired & they had the decency to
upgrade me @ no cost,free courier & all.Phones were previously my thing,but
I've blown out so many(a whole boxful)-they are accurate tho but uncomfortabl
& restrictive.I listen to a lot of studio takes & Zep&the Stones rough cuts like
'Jamming with Edward' to establish a reference point.All monitors are powered
so I can just put a V-Amp direct thru & still get volume.
,

[JonPaulP]

Is Edirol MA-15D a good set of monitors?

This thread's got me thinking that I need to get me some monitors!

[Deodar]

Google them as I'm not familiar with them,but being Roland they should have good warranty
Perhaps if they were available here I might have a couple,they have very mixed reviews.
From excellent to cheap & nasty,but if you're into digital computer sourcing they might be
good.I think some people are so into analog inputs they don't know digital exists.,but if I find gear that reproduces digital sound then I'm happy,as thats all I use.They have SP DIF
as well & are economical.

[millett513]

The easiest way to determine weather or not you need monitors is to burn your mixes to CD's and listen to them on a bunch of different speakers. car speakers, computer speakers, small speakers, big speakers, etc. If it sounds good on all of them, then what you are mixing with must be working for you. If you start noticing problems or if it sounds great on some speakers and terrible on others, you need to mix with something else to get better results.

Remember, the NS10's (pretty much a standard for recording studios.. the monitors with the white cone you see in almost every studio picture) were originally bookshelf speakers in the 70s. They sounded bad as bookshelf speakers, got bad reviews, and I don't think Yamaha sold a whole lot of them. Then, an audio engineer started mixing with them and many of the songs he mixed ended up being big hits on the radio. The trend caught on and Yamaha released a line of NS10s as studio monitors, rather than bookshelf speakers.

Buying studio monitors can be tricky. Read reviews and do research, but the most important thing is to HEAR them yourself! Go to Guitar Center and you can AB a bunch of different ones. I have Yamaha HS80M's (which Yamaha has released to replace the NS10's) with a HS10W sub. My room is untreated but my mixes still come out great on everything I hear them on.

Also, if you do plan on treating your room acoustically, research how to make your own acoustic treatment with rockwool or owens corning because it is a lot less expensive and I have heard it is much more effective!