John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi Everyone;

I have narrowed my active speaker search to 3 models and would like some advice:
KRK RP Rokit 8, Yamaha HS80M and Yorkville YSM1P. I work at low levels and cannot afford genelec or mackie but would like the next best thing to give me the most accurate low to medium volume response. It is not possible for me to A/B test test these models so I am relying solely on what you guys have to say about the above models. I would like to hear most things as clearly as possible, I dont mind a little colouration, and would like to spend as little as possible.

Thanks in advance.

Romy

Maybe my last post is set at a volume that is too low. Comon guys someone give me some advice on the above.

Romy.

And what level (SPL) do you prefer to work?

trif

around 85

85 dB SPL?
This is quite loud - for me. I use (much) lower levels with my Dynaudio set.
What is your budget?

trif.

Aloha Romy & trif,

Welcome to the forum. Any chance both of you could please:

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions.

You'll probably get more of a response by doing so and this will really come in handy two or three posts down the road. It's also part of the forum guidelines: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 Thanks!

Aloha

Hi Trif 85 max. My budget is around 500 Euros.

Romy.

Hola Kendale,
Sorry about not having read all the instructions concerning joining. I have now updated my profile to let you know where I live plus my room size is 3.85m X 3.25m X 3.90m (length x width x height). One of the long walls has a set of books shelves that span the entire wall and are full of books. This cuts down any noise my neighbours might get. Plus I have my editing suite set up in the center of the other long wall. One of the short walls has a large window the other large french style double doors. My apartment is old and the walls exterior walls are at least 0.5m thick. Hope this gives you the information you need.

Romy

Hola Kendale and the rest of you Recording Studio Design Forumees:
I have been chatting on numerous forums and have boiled down my choice to two models. The Yamaha HS80M and the KRK RP Rokit 8. The Yorkvilles I dismissed because I just could not get any online support. I have been given mixed views of both. The HS80M sounds to thin but have some nice room controls on the back, I have also been told that the Yamaha is a far superior speaker to the KRK. On the other hand comments about the KRK´s are that they have more bass yet this seems to affect the mids. More people seem to be voting for the Rokits than for the Yamis and I cannot make up my mind whether it is because they looks better or because people as remembering the terribly sounding NS10´s. I cannot A/B these two models and hence am relying on someone to give me some sound advice. I want a speaker that gives me clear bass, mids and highs with as little colouration as is possible at this price range. Although not too clinical. Also, A good stereo seperation and some sort of accuracy that translates well. I work the hell out of my audio mixes and and somewhat of a perfectionist although, when I hear my material being broadcast or at other audio studios most of the work that I have done is just not there. At the moment I have a very poor audio set up. Kef Coda 7´s with a Kenwood KAF-1030 stereo Hi Fi amp. The Kefs are mounted on the wall with Vogel´s Supports. This is a very muddy set up and I need to update as soon as I can. I include SPL Charts of Yami and Rokit.

Can anyone help.

Romy.

Aloha Romy,

No worries. Thanks for updating your profile.

my room size is 3.85m X 3.25m X 3.90m (length x width x height)

Attached is a calculation of your room's standing waves to give you an idea of what you're working with. Keep in mind that this is just a starting point with the room empty.

One of the long walls has a set of books shelves that span the entire wall and are full of books. This cuts down any noise my neighbours might get. Plus I have my editing suite set up in the center of the other long wall. One of the short walls has a large window the other large french style double doors. My apartment is old and the walls exterior walls are at least 0.5m thick. Hope this gives you the information you need.

Any chance you could post pics/drawing of your floor plan? There are a couple of areas that may need attention in regard to maximizing your isolation from your neighbors. Speaking of which, how much isolation do you need?

And finally, for now at least. what kind of music are you working with?

Looking forward to your project and progress

Aloha

Hola Kendale,
I really appreciate what you have sent me but this is just too much for me to understand at the moment. (have been working non stop since don't know when). I will try to work out what all the graphs you sent me mean since I love understanding things but in reality I just want a better set of monitors than what I have at the moment. I work at low levels, would hope to have the speakers set up on either side of my two 19 inch monitors. They have a combined width of 84 cm (33 inches?) so add about 15cm for mid width of standard speakers and so my ears are about 1m from either pair (Equalatral trialngle setup). The speakers themselves will be at least 15cm (6 inches) from the walls. (hence the advantage of the Yamaha HS80M and their room adjustability) As I said I work at pretty low volumes and so hope that the acoustics of the room do not greatly affect what I hear. I do not have a sound proof studio, I work in Television and not only rely on the Kef Coda/Kenwood Kaf1030 set up that I have at the moment but a set of Sony MDR-V500's and Sennheiser HD 433 headphones plus a small 14 inch TV with a really crappy 2 inch mono speaker. To acoustically modify my room would cost a fortune since the apartment I live in is more than a 100 years old. The Window that I spoke about have an external set of vented shutters plus an internal set of solid wood shutters. So I can close myself off from the outside world. The other side (French Double Doors that I can shut tight) have a set of very heavy curtains that I can draw so that I do not disturb my girlfriend.

Kendale, basically what I am saying is that eventhough I work as a professional I cannot afford a professional set up, plus it is not practical for me at the moment. The fact that I have boiled down my selection to KRK RP 8 or Yamaha HS80M sort of indicates that. I was put off the Yorkville´s because I could not get any online support (I made this decision since I am not in the possition to A/B and even C all the speakers that I am considering). One day when I become great at what I do and earn loads of money then maybe we can talk about my studio and its acoustics but for now I need advice on a reasonable set of speakers that wil give me a reasonable reproduction of what I am doing at a reasonable price. I want to hear as much as possible. One of the voice over artists that I use at the moment jumps around a lot in front of the mic and so I spend heaps of time going through his recording frame by frame keyframing what he says so it hits -10dB. Another cameraperson that I use hates using his headphones and sometimes I get some weird buzzing from cables or the occasional cement mixer in the next street. I suppose it's all part of what life is. I love my job only at the moment I cannot hear everything I need to. I need a holiday as you may have noticed so without getting too techie on me can you recommend something reasonable that will give me a good balance between quality and price. Some tell me that the Yamaha HS80M (Not to be confused with the NS-10) are far superior to the KRK RP8 (which by the way only have a 6 and a half inch woofer and not an 8 as might be implied), others tell me the Yami's sound too thin, some suggest mackie or genelec (way outta my price range). I need to hear the low end down to about 40Hz plus I need clear mids and highs so I can make appropriate eq desicions... that´s it I´m packing my suitcase and board.

By the way how is the surf in Hawaii these days, I hope to be heading for Mundaka soon and just look forward to getting some salt in my lung and clearing my head of all this tech stuff.

All the best bro

Romy.

Dear kendale, my profile is updated.

Romy,
I have only one example=my living room. I have treated it, and it did not cost a fortune. My freq response is very even (measured at 75dB SPL, c-weighted) nd decay times are well under control.

As far as I understand you want to go without room treatment, correct?
Correct/optimal positioning of your monitors and a correct seating position will help. I am not specialist on that but surely here you will get help from the pros.

Why I originally responded on your post is the "low level monitoring". Personally I would not call 85 db SPL low level. For me low level is so low, that any tiny unvanted noice disturbes me. With my monitor setup I often work at 65-70dB SPL, and this level is plenty for me. I can hear details, the stereo image is stable, the sound stage is deep enough. Funnily I can hear what is well done and what is not.

I know you have selected 2 sets. I can not comment on them, although I have listened to the KRK (not in a treated room).

Have you considered to purchase a passive speakers and an amp for them?
Adam ANF10-passive, 249 Euro per unit
Dynaudio BM5P-passive, 295 Euro per unit

If you can wait a bit, I have just ordered the JBL Control 1 Pro -passive, the price for them is around 50 Euro per unit - will be delivered mid next week. I will listen to them and tell you about them.

BUT, (this is again a but) my room is treated and my observation will be "affected" by this room, too.



trif.

Aloha Romy, trif.

Thank you for updating your profiles, and your gracious responses. And to you both, my apologies if the request seemed a bit strong. I had not anticipated the emphasis to come across quite that large, and have made the adjustment.

Aloha

Hi Trifidmaster,
Yes I have considered Passive with Amp but this just seems like just another headache. The nice thing about Actives is the idea of total design concept. Plus this would up my budget beyond what I can afford. I can get a pair of KRK's or Yami's for around 450 Euros.

Thanks for the advice. Hmmmm Belgium Chocolate. Hope the weather in the North is as good as it is here.

All the best.

Romy.

No worries Kendale, the site of that volcano though would put me on edge a little.

Cheers.

Romy.