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<b>Intro</b>:
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As you may or may not know, I've been making electronic music on my PC for about six years now... but admittedly, I've only recently have begun to take it seriously. One thing that I have learned over the years, however, is that mixing the final cut of a song to sound like the stuff you hear on professional CDs and on the radio is tough. "Too much bass, too much treble, can't hear the vocals", etc... What do you use to gauge whether or not it will sound decent on the average listener's system?
<b>Background</b>:
Well, back in my old apartment (pre-divorce), I was simply mixing my music with a good pair of headphones, then testing the mix in my AIWA 5.1 home CD player, my car's crap-ass audio system, the desktop PCs at work, and any other friend's home or car stereo that would give me the time of day... but now, since I've taken the "next step" and decided to go "semi-pro", I've realized that, in order to REALLY mix songs correctly, you need "Audio Monitors"... AKA, "reference" speakers... that, when you mix to THEM, the audio you create will sound DAMN good on almost any setup...
So what exactly are "Audio Monitors", you ask? Watch some dumbass "Making The Band" crap on Empty-V, and look in the background in the recording studio, near the mixing board (behind all of those ignorant rap "artists") ... you'll see what I'm talking about: Those little speakers that look like old-school hardware: no weird technology, just straight-up woofers and tweeters...
<b>Intro</b>:
<center>
</center>As you may or may not know, I've been making electronic music on my PC for about six years now... but admittedly, I've only recently have begun to take it seriously. One thing that I have learned over the years, however, is that mixing the final cut of a song to sound like the stuff you hear on professional CDs and on the radio is tough. "Too much bass, too much treble, can't hear the vocals", etc... What do you use to gauge whether or not it will sound decent on the average listener's system?
<b>Background</b>:
Well, back in my old apartment (pre-divorce), I was simply mixing my music with a good pair of headphones, then testing the mix in my AIWA 5.1 home CD player, my car's crap-ass audio system, the desktop PCs at work, and any other friend's home or car stereo that would give me the time of day... but now, since I've taken the "next step" and decided to go "semi-pro", I've realized that, in order to REALLY mix songs correctly, you need "Audio Monitors"... AKA, "reference" speakers... that, when you mix to THEM, the audio you create will sound DAMN good on almost any setup...
So what exactly are "Audio Monitors", you ask? Watch some dumbass "Making The Band" crap on Empty-V, and look in the background in the recording studio, near the mixing board (behind all of those ignorant rap "artists") ... you'll see what I'm talking about: Those little speakers that look like old-school hardware: no weird technology, just straight-up woofers and tweeters...
Page 2
<b>The Speakers</b>:
Luckily for me, CompUSA decided to start carrying these "M-Audio StudioPro 4 Professional Desktop Multimedia Audio Monitors". I grabbed these bad boys up, ASAP, and gave them a shot. The first thing you should know is that placement is important. The manual that comes with the speakers (surprisingly thick, I might add) explains that they should be setup to be the same height as the listener's head, and toed in a bit to create a triangle between the listener and speakers. I did this, but for the picture below I moved them closer to my system (you can get an idea of the size in comparison to a PC case from this shot). They are heavily magnetically shielded, so no worries about being too close to the PC or monitor. The speakers plug into your PC with the standard 1/8" stereo jack. The volume dial on the front is easily accessible and has a nice, smooth, solid feel (unlike the power switch, which is on the back of the speaker). There is a headphone jack readily available on the front of the left speaker as well, and the power LED is above the left speaker's woofer, and has an attractive blue hue, like the Playstation 2's.
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After firing these guys up and listening to some MP3s, I was sold. It was like sticking your head out of a pool and hearing all the sound around you CLEARLY for the first time. The clarity and balance was great, especially for a pair of $150 speakers. You can really tell where the producer was coming from when you listen to music through these things. The bass, mids, and treble are all clearly defined and reproduced, and, although they may not be ear-bleedingly loud, they have enough "oomph" behind them to rock a small room. More importantly, of course, is that they function as they should (as reference monitors) and are great tools for mixing and listening to audio. These speakers are definitely a safe, cost-effective choice for anyone who wants to mix on their PC. The results you'll get right away will save you a lot of time and minimize wasted effort. Plus, you don't need to special order them online, as CompUSA has been carrying them regularly now for months.
Still don't get it? Here's the official info on these speakers, straight from the horse's mouth (http://www.m-audio.com): "Recording engineers and producers in music studios around the world rely on M-Audio reference monitors to insure that their mixes are accurate. The StudioPro 4s bring that same standard of audio fidelity right to your desktop. Custom-tuned cabinets, optimized speaker design and advanced crossover technology combine with generous built-in amplification to deliver the best sound you can get in monitors this size. M-Audio’s proprietary OptImage wave guide technology also improves stereo definition. Complete with magnetic shielding for desktop use, StudioPro 4s deliver great audio experiences from your music, games and DVDs."
FEATURES:
Brings high-fidelity to desktop monitoring
Perfect for desktop music, games and DVDs
4" low frequency drivers
1" high-frequency drivers
Advanced crossover design
OptImage wave guide technology improves imaging
Front-panel volume control
1/8" stereo headphone jack
Mid-cut switch optimizes tuning
18 watts per channel
Custom tuned cabinet
SPECS:
HF driver: 1" mylar cone with OptImage dispersion-controlled wave guide
LF driver: 4" coated paper cone
dynamic power: 18 watts/channel
dynamic range: >95dB
crossover frequency: 2.8Khz
signal-to-noise ratio: >90dB (typical, A-weighted)
SPL: 101.5dB
input impedance: 20k ohms balanced, 10K ohms unbalanced
input connectors: RCA
attenuation: mid-cut switch
size: 8-1/2” x 5-3/4” x 6-1/4”
weight: 12 lbs
Yeah, what he said... not bad at all. If you're making music and posting it online, do yourself a favor and use these to mix. I spent a whole day with Jessie Lynn and went over all of our tracks... We remixed them and adjusted the audio to suit these speakers, and the resulting mix sounded awesome everywhere I played them.
<b>Conclusion</b>:
The "StudioPro 4 Audio Monitors" definitely get the thumbs up from me: great stuff. Don't mix your music without them. You can pick these speakers up <a href="http://images.aselabs.com/adlink.php?do=adlink&id=4">for around $150</a>.
Check out our tunes at http://www.thejessieproject.com!
<b>The Speakers</b>:
Luckily for me, CompUSA decided to start carrying these "M-Audio StudioPro 4 Professional Desktop Multimedia Audio Monitors". I grabbed these bad boys up, ASAP, and gave them a shot. The first thing you should know is that placement is important. The manual that comes with the speakers (surprisingly thick, I might add) explains that they should be setup to be the same height as the listener's head, and toed in a bit to create a triangle between the listener and speakers. I did this, but for the picture below I moved them closer to my system (you can get an idea of the size in comparison to a PC case from this shot). They are heavily magnetically shielded, so no worries about being too close to the PC or monitor. The speakers plug into your PC with the standard 1/8" stereo jack. The volume dial on the front is easily accessible and has a nice, smooth, solid feel (unlike the power switch, which is on the back of the speaker). There is a headphone jack readily available on the front of the left speaker as well, and the power LED is above the left speaker's woofer, and has an attractive blue hue, like the Playstation 2's.
<center>
</center>After firing these guys up and listening to some MP3s, I was sold. It was like sticking your head out of a pool and hearing all the sound around you CLEARLY for the first time. The clarity and balance was great, especially for a pair of $150 speakers. You can really tell where the producer was coming from when you listen to music through these things. The bass, mids, and treble are all clearly defined and reproduced, and, although they may not be ear-bleedingly loud, they have enough "oomph" behind them to rock a small room. More importantly, of course, is that they function as they should (as reference monitors) and are great tools for mixing and listening to audio. These speakers are definitely a safe, cost-effective choice for anyone who wants to mix on their PC. The results you'll get right away will save you a lot of time and minimize wasted effort. Plus, you don't need to special order them online, as CompUSA has been carrying them regularly now for months.
Still don't get it? Here's the official info on these speakers, straight from the horse's mouth (http://www.m-audio.com): "Recording engineers and producers in music studios around the world rely on M-Audio reference monitors to insure that their mixes are accurate. The StudioPro 4s bring that same standard of audio fidelity right to your desktop. Custom-tuned cabinets, optimized speaker design and advanced crossover technology combine with generous built-in amplification to deliver the best sound you can get in monitors this size. M-Audio’s proprietary OptImage wave guide technology also improves stereo definition. Complete with magnetic shielding for desktop use, StudioPro 4s deliver great audio experiences from your music, games and DVDs."
FEATURES:
Brings high-fidelity to desktop monitoring
Perfect for desktop music, games and DVDs
4" low frequency drivers
1" high-frequency drivers
Advanced crossover design
OptImage wave guide technology improves imaging
Front-panel volume control
1/8" stereo headphone jack
Mid-cut switch optimizes tuning
18 watts per channel
Custom tuned cabinet
SPECS:
HF driver: 1" mylar cone with OptImage dispersion-controlled wave guide
LF driver: 4" coated paper cone
dynamic power: 18 watts/channel
dynamic range: >95dB
crossover frequency: 2.8Khz
signal-to-noise ratio: >90dB (typical, A-weighted)
SPL: 101.5dB
input impedance: 20k ohms balanced, 10K ohms unbalanced
input connectors: RCA
attenuation: mid-cut switch
size: 8-1/2” x 5-3/4” x 6-1/4”
weight: 12 lbs
Yeah, what he said... not bad at all. If you're making music and posting it online, do yourself a favor and use these to mix. I spent a whole day with Jessie Lynn and went over all of our tracks... We remixed them and adjusted the audio to suit these speakers, and the resulting mix sounded awesome everywhere I played them.
<b>Conclusion</b>:
The "StudioPro 4 Audio Monitors" definitely get the thumbs up from me: great stuff. Don't mix your music without them. You can pick these speakers up <a href="http://images.aselabs.com/adlink.php?do=adlink&id=4">for around $150</a>.
Check out our tunes at http://www.thejessieproject.com!