RE: Near Field Monitors

[Doug Tapia <dtapia@unoco.edu>]

Thomas Rupolo wrote:

>You should also check out the JBL 2 way speakers as well.  They don't
have all that flat a response, but they do sound great - a friend of
mine even uses them as his stereo speakers.

The new powered JBL LSRs are one of the most amazing speakers I've ever 
heard (and they've got a cool kevler/carbon fiber baffle board. . . tres 
cool)  They retail for about $1000 each, but you _should_ be able to get 
the pair for around $1400.  (Of course, I have a particular aversion to 
ever paying retail for anything, and as such concoct all sorts of 
wierdness to get stuff at wholesale prices, which I could extend to 
anyone on this list who emails me privatly)  Anyhow, these are very flat 
speakers, I've done several projects on them now and I love them.  Rich, 
full sound whithout sacrificing great imaging and a very honest picture 
of your mixes.  There's also a sub available that can be turned on or off 
with a normal footswitch, which is great for checking those Laswellian 
rumblings I'm so fond of without having to have the sub on all the time.

I've also had great luck with the Mackies, and love the imaging and 
SOUND.  The powered Tannoy PBM 8 LMs (don't you love these names?) are 
flat, have great imaging and are very comfortable to listen to for hours 
at a time.  (My all-time favorite monitor is the Tannoy System 215 DMTII 
2x15" Dual Concentric.  This is not a near field, is not self powered, 
weighs more than I do and lists for $7495 a pair, but if you find a room 
in your area that has these, you must listen to them.  They are simply 
amazing)

I've worked lots with Genelics powered nearfields and while they are 
unfatiguing to listen to, they are very uninspiring, I've tried them with 
a sub which makes them uninspiring and bottom heavy.  On paper they look 
like a great speaker, and I wanted in the worst way to like them, but I 
just don't.  NS10Ms are everywhere and everybody has mixed on them, but I 
really hate them.  If you've got to mix on them, do what everyone does 
and tape a piece of tissue over the tweeters, this makes them a bit 
easier to listen to.

>To further assist our friend with his buying decision, does anyone have
an opinion on powered vs. unpowered monitors?  Many manufacturers are
now making the same speakers in both versions.  Is using a separate amp
still the best way to go?

I like powered monitors a lot (as you can tell from the blurb above) They 
are easy to set up, easily transportable:  I always take my Tannoys with 
me to at least cross check on when mixing in a new room, and as such I 
don't have to pull out speaker wire and re-run speaker wire when I get to 
wherever I'm going.  That and the fact that powered monitors have the 
shortest run possible between the amp and speaker means that the sound 
arrives at you ear in a fairly pristine state.

Just some food for thought,


-Doug T