Requirements of good speakers for audio recording

marktheman · 03-25-2008, 06:50 PM

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a set of speakers for audio recording and monitoring. I'm trying to discover the important criteria when buying speakers. Could someone please help me with this? I thought frequency range was the most important, i.e. in my case it would have to be very wide, nearly the 20-20000Hz range, but I came across speakers that were very cheap and had this frequency range therefore I must be wrong in my thinking. Is power a consideration? I would be very grateful if someone could help me as regards this, and if someone can, could they possibility recommend a good set of speakers for audio recording?
Thanks.

ukulele_ninja · 03-25-2008, 07:33 PM

first things first, what sound card are you using?

sthompson · 03-25-2008, 08:17 PM

ok yea what sound card are you using along with what program your recording with and how are you looking for a pair of pc speakers or studio speakers i do all my audio in the same place so i use a pair of peavey speakers for playback and i just loop audio to my soundboard and what quality of sound are you looing for

marktheman · 03-25-2008, 10:21 PM

Hi,
Sorry complete novice when it comes to sound.
I'm using pro-tools 7.1 and have a "SoundMax Digital Audio" soundcard.
I have the asio driver installed but am a bit confused as to whether this is the driver used by the pro-tools application because within the "Sounds and Audio Devices" option in Control Panel, the sound playback option defaults to "SoundMax Digital Audio" and not "Digidesign Digi 002: Chan 1-2" and also the MIDI Music playback option defaults to "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth" and not any of the Digi 002 options.
Therefore I'm unsure about a lot of issues:
I thought Pro-tools needed to use the ASIO driver to use the box that came with it. Maybe I'm wrong. Currently just have speakers connected to headphone socket.
The pro-tools box has monitor connections at back of it for speakers so I'm still unsure as whether pc speakers or any speakers will do. Anyone able to help as this is quite a confusing situation for me.
Cheers.

PunterCam · 03-25-2008, 11:39 PM

Pro-tools only runs with either digi-design or m-audio hardware. You're saying presumably that you have a digi002 yeah? That's the big box with 8/16 inputs on it connected via firewire or usb(!). That's the 'soundcard' you use with protools. It will not use any other hardware, all your ins/outs and midi data should be from that.

As for speakers, numbers unfortunately mean nothing! Some speakers are rubbish, some aren't, it often has little to do with the specs or the price.

You'll find most studios use yamaha ns10s as they're notoriously honest, that is, most music sounds rubbish on them, so if you get it sounding good on them, it will sound good on anything!

PMC are also a great little company. I've got a pair of their TB1s. They sound great, consider them.

Tannoy make nothing that good these days, but they do make some active speakers, which might appeal to you.

Ultimately, get down the shops and 'pro-audio' shops and have a listen. Take some cds that you know well (one classical, if strings sound poor then walk away, one rock, one pop, and one with big low down bass) and spend a few minutes just listening. Not too long though or you'll get used to them and think they sound ok when they're not! Your first impression is almost certainly correct as well, if they sound like shit to begin with then move on.

And don't listen to the staff, they're working in a hi-fi shop, chances are they don't have a clue

marktheman · 03-25-2008, 11:51 PM

Cheers. Thanks for your reply and speaker recommendations. Great you're running both MAC and Window Operating systems!

oscaryu1 · 03-26-2008, 01:15 AM

Just IMO, but Logitech all the way. I had Altec Lansing 2.1 Surrond speakers. (2 small speakers, one sub). Then I got my $38 refurbished kit (X-230) from eBay.

It was a huge improvement!

diduknowthat · 03-26-2008, 01:39 AM

Don't buy computer speakers, they're all rubbish compared to professional speakers. You'll definietly want to route sound through a receiver or separate amps, via optical or digital coaxial cables.

MosIncredible · 03-26-2008, 02:10 AM

Don't buy PC speakers if you want a real studio. Only PC speakers I'd even think about touching for that purpose are Boston Acoustics new 2.1 set. http://www.bostonacoustics.com/home_...product_id=451. They specialize in quality speakers and that sub is a beast for a 6 1/2". I'd go to a home studio forum for this question.

marktheman · 03-26-2008, 10:57 AM

Cheers. Thanks everyone for their great advice. Will post a reply as to what happened later and hope to help others on the web-site in future.
Thanks.

03-25-2008, 06:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
marktheman New Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Requirements of good speakers for audio recording Hi, I'm looking to buy a set of speakers for audio recording and monitoring. I'm trying to discover the important criteria when buying speakers. Could someone please help me with this? I thought frequency range was the most important, i.e. in my case it would have to be very wide, nearly the 20-20000Hz range, but I came across speakers that were very cheap and had this frequency range therefore I must be wrong in my thinking. Is power a consideration? I would be very grateful if someone could help me as regards this, and if someone can, could they possibility recommend a good set of speakers for audio recording? Thanks.

03-25-2008, 07:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
ukulele_ninja Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ohio Age: 21 Posts: 1,815	first things first, what sound card are you using? __________________ Do you remember when the tigers broke free? CF COD4: CF\|UkuleleNinja

03-25-2008, 11:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
PunterCam Gold Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 383	Pro-tools only runs with either digi-design or m-audio hardware. You're saying presumably that you have a digi002 yeah? That's the big box with 8/16 inputs on it connected via firewire or usb(!). That's the 'soundcard' you use with protools. It will not use any other hardware, all your ins/outs and midi data should be from that. As for speakers, numbers unfortunately mean nothing! Some speakers are rubbish, some aren't, it often has little to do with the specs or the price. You'll find most studios use yamaha ns10s as they're notoriously honest, that is, most music sounds rubbish on them, so if you get it sounding good on them, it will sound good on anything! PMC are also a great little company. I've got a pair of their TB1s. They sound great, consider them. Tannoy make nothing that good these days, but they do make some active speakers, which might appeal to you. Ultimately, get down the shops and 'pro-audio' shops and have a listen. Take some cds that you know well (one classical, if strings sound poor then walk away, one rock, one pop, and one with big low down bass) and spend a few minutes just listening. Not too long though or you'll get used to them and think they sound ok when they're not! Your first impression is almost certainly correct as well, if they sound like shit to begin with then move on. And don't listen to the staff, they're working in a hi-fi shop, chances are they don't have a clue __________________ 2006 Mac Pro Dual, dual core xeons @ 2.0Ghz each 2Gb Ram (I'm too poor) NVidia Geforce 7300Gt 256mb Onboard Sound - optical out to Logitech Z5500 Digidesign MBox2 output to PMCs 250Gb Drive running both Mac OSX and Windows on seperate partitions, 400Gb Drive for Windows, 400Gb Drive for OSX 24¨ Acer AL2416W (not nearly as bad as you'd think) Various Lacie external drives Last edited by PunterCam; 03-25-2008 at 11:41 PM.

03-26-2008, 01:15 AM	#7 (permalink)
oscaryu1 VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 13 Posts: 9,191	Just IMO, but Logitech all the way. I had Altec Lansing 2.1 Surrond speakers. (2 small speakers, one sub). Then I got my $38 refurbished kit (X-230) from eBay. It was a huge improvement! __________________ Core 2 Duo E2140 1.6GHz @ 3.04GHz GA-P31-DS3L pqi Turbo CL4 DDR2-800 2GB Sapphire HD3850 256MB Sony Writemaster DVD Burner EIDE Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.9 8MB SATII

03-26-2008, 01:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
diduknowthat formerly liuliuboy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Massachusetts Age: 17 Posts: 5,954	Don't buy computer speakers, they're all rubbish compared to professional speakers. You'll definietly want to route sound through a receiver or separate amps, via optical or digital coaxial cables. __________________ Silent Tuned \| 3D Marks 06: 11566 Q6600 2.4ghz CPU \| Gigabyte GA-P35 LGA 775 MB EVGA 8800gt 512mb Video Card G.Skill 4GB Ram \| Western Digital 400GB HD X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound Card Antec P180B Case \| Scyth Ninja HSF CM Real Power Pro 650watt PSU

03-25-2008, 08:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
sthompson Bronze Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 82	ok yea what sound card are you using along with what program your recording with and how are you looking for a pair of pc speakers or studio speakers i do all my audio in the same place so i use a pair of peavey speakers for playback and i just loop audio to my soundboard and what quality of sound are you looing for

03-25-2008, 10:21 PM	#4 (permalink)
marktheman New Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Hi, Sorry complete novice when it comes to sound. I'm using pro-tools 7.1 and have a "SoundMax Digital Audio" soundcard. I have the asio driver installed but am a bit confused as to whether this is the driver used by the pro-tools application because within the "Sounds and Audio Devices" option in Control Panel, the sound playback option defaults to "SoundMax Digital Audio" and not "Digidesign Digi 002: Chan 1-2" and also the MIDI Music playback option defaults to "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth" and not any of the Digi 002 options. Therefore I'm unsure about a lot of issues: I thought Pro-tools needed to use the ASIO driver to use the box that came with it. Maybe I'm wrong. Currently just have speakers connected to headphone socket. The pro-tools box has monitor connections at back of it for speakers so I'm still unsure as whether pc speakers or any speakers will do. Anyone able to help as this is quite a confusing situation for me. Cheers.

03-25-2008, 11:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
marktheman New Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Cheers. Thanks for your reply and speaker recommendations. Great you're running both MAC and Window Operating systems!

03-26-2008, 02:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
MosIncredible Silver Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 180	Don't buy PC speakers if you want a real studio. Only PC speakers I'd even think about touching for that purpose are Boston Acoustics new 2.1 set. http://www.bostonacoustics.com/home_...product_id=451. They specialize in quality speakers and that sub is a beast for a 6 1/2". I'd go to a home studio forum for this question. __________________ CPU: Q6600 @ 3.4GHz [425x8] 1.248v load \| E8400 sitting in my Q6600's box HSF: Zalman 9700 MB: DFI DK P35-T2RS GPU: XFX 8800GTS (G92) 512MB @ 800/1910/1100 RAM: 2GB OCZ Reaper (PC2 6400) 850 4-4-4-12 HDD: WD 500GB 16MB Case: Antec 900 PSU: OCZ 700W Monitor: LG 22" L226WTQ 3DMark06 Score: 16055 (XP) with above clocks

03-26-2008, 10:57 AM	#10 (permalink)
marktheman New Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Cheers. Thanks everyone for their great advice. Will post a reply as to what happened later and hope to help others on the web-site in future. Thanks.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
are these speakers good plz rply	20gig	Sound Cards and Speakers	1	04-24-2006 03:53 AM
Speakers Popping	ADD86	Sound Cards and Speakers	1	02-28-2005 02:46 AM
New computer speakers 2.1	Grolubao	Sound Cards and Speakers	1	10-26-2004 09:42 PM
Which Sound Card is good for these speakers....?	xristosk10	Sound Cards and Speakers	3	09-11-2004 03:39 PM
USB headset and soundcard speakers	rjousuf	Sound Cards and Speakers	5	07-26-2004 10:42 PM