£700 of new monitoring equipment

Cerzi

Cerzi

Cerzi

Associate
Joined
10 Aug 2007
Posts
28
Hey guys

I'm looking to upgrade my monitoring setup (or, rather, get one - currently just using logitech PC speakers and a sennheiser headset). I've got about 700 quid to spend, and a rough idea of what I want, but as this is the first time I've bought monitors I could do with a bit of guidance, particularly when it comes to other things I might need.

So far I'm looking at:

2x KRK RP6s. Seems to be one of the best monitors for the money

Sennheiser HD650s. I could use a decent pair of 'phones for nighttime work, especially as I'll be back my crappy student house in a month and I doubt the neighbours will be happy with me endlessly fine-tuning small loops from my KRKs at 4am.

The rest:
I ought to get a new soundcard too (using realtek sound on my asus pkc board, shockingly), possibly a decent external one. I'd also like to have an amp to attach my monitors and headphones to, something not too pricey though.

Is there anything else I'll need? Acoustic treatment is tempting too but not sure how practical it'll be in a student house...

I make the monitors and headphones out at just under 500 quid, which means only a couple of hundred for everything else.. feasible?

Cheers folks.
 
if it's bulletproof build, and guaranteed resale value you're after, then a pair of Genelec monitors will fit the bill nicely. I can't think of a single bad review of any of the sizes, and their aluminium enclosures, rugged front grilles make them world-proof.

Plus, if you ever decide to sell, there'll be a queue outside your door to buy them off you..

As for headphones, again, the industry standards are the Beyerdynamic DT100's, but they're a little wieldy; they are, however, modular, so a damaged cord or blown earpiece isn't a great hassle. Failing that, you're looking in the right direction with Sennheisers; consider AKG's aswell.

Or, you could blow your entire budget on a low-end pair of Grado's.....
 
Not knowledgable on the monitoring side but the 650s are open so might not be the best thing. They are more hi-fi phones that need to be amped with some kick-ass amplification.

I recommend the Senn HD25-II, seem to be the DJ phone to have, plus I will be getting aset to use on my commute as my patience is wearing thin with IEMs.
 
It would be worth looking at Mackie's active monitors paired with a Mackie 400F or a MOTU 828mk2. As far as headphones go...you can't go wrong with a pair of Beyerdynamic DT100's.

Edit. Sorry...I just noticed your budget. Scrap the part about the 400F or the Motu, something like an EMU 1212m would suit your price range and still accomodate the monitors and headphones.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys, can anyone give me advice on the stuff I'll need in addition to the phones/speakers though? eg will a budget amp do the trick for connecting them to my PC (presumably with a converter too) or is there a better option? eg maybe just a small mixing desk?

cheers
 
Decided to scrap the headphones for now, and stick with the ones I've already got. In their place I'm going to get the KRK RP8s instead of the RP6s for the extra oomph in the low frequencies.

Not going to bother with an amp either, instead I'll just get an audio interface. One thing that worries me is that I'm a gamer and I use the same PC for music production and gaming, but I've heard audio interfaces are a bit rubbish for gaming. Is this true? If it is, how feasible is it to have 2 different soundcards? I mean, I'm currently using an onboard soundcard (realtek on an asus p5kc). Would I be able to continue using this for my gaming needs, and then just have the audio interface for my mixing?

Cheers
 
I use my Mackie Onyx 400F for gaming as well as production and it's crystal clear and given me no problems at all. I wish I could have said the same for my MOTU though. That Mackie is using firewire and is still great for gaming so I wouldn't worry about it. I'd recommend going to demo the monitors though. Don't get me wrong...they are good monitors but there are some other great monitors in that price range that would give better bang for buck.
 
Here are some important questions you need to consider before you can realistically spec which monitors you should be using.. the KRK RP8s may well be too big:

What size is your room ?
What position are your speakers going to be in, i.e. on a desk, on stands, close to a wall ?

P.S. I have Genelecs and HD650s, and the 650s are exactly what you are after for accurate monitoring as long as there isn't too much ambient noise in your environment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom