HEDD 20 Mk2 - Are they worth the money ?

[Martin Walker]

Please listen to the corporate wisdom...

If it's a smallish room without treatment I wouldn't be spending anywhere more than a few hundred £ on monitors... you'll be wasting your money...

Room treatment is boring but essential if you're serious about getting half-decent mixes.

+1 to this advice.

Martin

[Marbury]

A set of diffusers would be the best way forward watching this guy,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrNBrl9qMLw

although I will reiterate that I have various items in the room that will be already contributing to diffusing the sound.

[Mike Stranks]

I have absolutely no idea where to start when it comes to treating the room, let alone the space to put anything else on the walls. Don't some monitors come with correcting software to adjust the speakers for the room ? That would be much less hassle.

Maybe it would be less hassle, but if your room is 'off' you run the risk of damaging your new, expensive speakers as the software sets up correction curves boosting certain frequencies with possible 'phut' or 'blue smoke' consequences.

There is loads of stuff available on the SoS website about acoustic treatment and where it needs to be placed. Also some of the reputable makers/suppliers are happy to offer free advice on what you need and where it needs to be placed.

For example: https://gikacoustics.co.uk/acoustic-advice/

I say again, if you're serious about mixing and intending to spend on monitors the sort of money you're contemplating, then acoustic treatment is not really a 'perhaps' - it's a 'must'.

Ah! OK; you've edited your post... you don't need YouTube vids you need proper advice... I have a bit of diffusion, but I still have acoustic treatment panels.

[Martin Walker]

A set of diffusers would be the best way forward watching this guy,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrNBrl9qMLw

Not so I'm afraid, especially in smaller rooms, where if you're too close to diffusers you'll hear a set of reflections rather than a more diffused sound.

Martin

[RichardT]

Hi Marbury,

Room correction software can only get you so far - actually not that far at all! Although it will adjust the frequency balance, it won’t affect how long your room will resonate. This is what causes most of the blurring at lower frequencies. It also won’t do anything to deal with reflected sound.

[Marbury]

Looks like I will stick with the absolute 2s in a room, and monitors I know well. For the end mix I will use the Shure headphones.

[Drew Stephenson]

It's the boring option but probably makes sense.

[Marbury]

For now at least unless someone would take a commission on designing/treating my room

[Martin Walker]

For now at least unless someone would take a commission on designing/treating my room

Dare I mention that most online acoustic treatment manufacturers will happily provide free recommendations based on your room dimensions and a quick sketch of where you intend to place your gear?

You've got nothing to lose by asking advice from the professionals!

Martin

[Martin Walker]

Room correction software can only get you so far - actually not that far at all! Although it will adjust the frequency balance, it won’t affect how long your room will resonate. This is what causes most of the blurring at lower frequencies. It also won’t do anything to deal with reflected sound.

In my experience, once you've got sufficient acoustic treatment to get your room frequency response to have peaks and troughs no bigger than 6dB from the baseline, room correction software can make a significant improvement to the final result.

However, room correction software can never totally correct for an untreated room, so it's an enhancement rather than cure-all.

Martin

[Mike Stranks]

For now at least unless someone would take a commission on designing/treating my room

Dare I mention that most online acoustic treatment manufacturers will happily provide free recommendations based on your room dimensions and a quick sketch of where you intend to place your gear?

You've got nothing to lose by asking advice from the professionals!

Martin

I mentioned this in an earlier post... I even included a URL link that took you straight to a manufacturer's "We can help you" page.

You can take a horse to water...

[RichardT]

Room correction software can only get you so far - actually not that far at all! Although it will adjust the frequency balance, it won’t affect how long your room will resonate. This is what causes most of the blurring at lower frequencies. It also won’t do anything to deal with reflected sound.

In my experience, once you've got sufficient acoustic treatment to get your room frequency response to have peaks and troughs no bigger than 6dB from the baseline, room correction software can make a significant improvement to the final result.

However, room correction software can never totally correct for an untreated room, so it's an enhancement rather than cure-all.

Martin

Yes I agree!

[Sam Spoons]

Another +1 for "TREAT THE ROOM"... Been their bought the tee shirt, the difference is night and day

[Marbury]

But again, my room does not have any way of accommodating big sound traps anywhere, and I don't have the luxury of an extra room to play with. I think egg boxes are the way to go, and I read in Mike Oldfield's biography that it worked for his his first home studio in Hergest Ridge and we all know what a perfectionist with production he was.

[Hugh Robjohns]

[Mike Stranks]

But again, my room does not have any way of accommodating big sound traps anywhere, and I don't have the luxury of an extra room to play with. I think egg boxes are the way to go, and I read in Mike Oldfield's biography that it worked for his his first home studio in Hergest Ridge and we all know what a perfectionist with production he was.

Fair enough...

In that case, the answer to your original question is, "No", but in your situation neither are any monitors over about £500 for the pair. You simply won't reap their benefits.

You don't need "big sound traps". You want an effective form of acoustic control; the two are not synonymous.

As a final forlorn attempt... https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/diy-acoustic-treatment-15-minute-challenge

[RichardT]

Egg boxes - I think Marbury may be gently trolling us.

[Marbury]

But again, my room does not have any way of accommodating big sound traps anywhere, and I don't have the luxury of an extra room to play with. I think egg boxes are the way to go, and I read in Mike Oldfield's biography that it worked for his his first home studio in Hergest Ridge and we all know what a perfectionist with production he was.

Fair enough...

In that case, the answer to your original question is, "No", but in your situation neither are any monitors over about £500 for the pair. You simply won't reap their benefits.

You don't need "big sound traps". You want an effective form of acoustic control; the two are not synonymous.

As a final forlorn attempt... https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/diy-acoustic-treatment-15-minute-challenge

That'll do thanks. I am about to make some garden trellises.

FWIW The egg box suggestion was genuine as Mike Oldfield endorsed in his book "Changeling"

[Luke W]

Egg boxes are brilliant... For holding multiple eggs in one convenient location.

But I wouldnt put them on the wall for the same reason that I wouldnt use rockwool panels to carry food around.

[Hugh Robjohns]

...for the same reason that I wouldnt use rockwool panels to carry food around.

Oh... so shouldn't I be doing that then?

It's just that I had some left over and I didn't want to pay 10p for the bags...

[Marbury]

...for the same reason that I wouldnt use rockwool panels to carry food around.

Oh... so shouldn't I be doing that then?

It's just that I had some left over and I didn't want to pay 10p for the bags...

Ok, you've all had your fun with me. But seriously, I appreciate all the help and advise and will take on board the home made solution as I like a bit of DIY and would rather spend as much as I can on the monitors. How big to make the paneling a small room is uncertain but perhaps a large one on the ceiling, and two small on each wall would probably do the trick.

[Luke W]

Ok, you've all had your fun with me. But seriously, I appreciate all the help and advise and will take on board the home made solution as I like a bit of DIY and would rather spend as much as I can on the monitors. How big to make the paneling a small room is uncertain but perhaps a large one on the ceiling, and two small on each wall would probably do the trick.

It's certainly worth it if you don't mind the work. You've got the right approach, even just three panels in the positions you mention will make a big difference. Acoustics is an incredibly complex subject but just by doing the basics you can usually get a decent result rather quickly, it's getting from "good enough" to "perfect' that gets a lot more involved.

In terms of size, if you can try to plan for anything that the size of your chosen filling (Rockwool or whatever) divides equally into then you'll be getting the most for your money. Apologies if that sounds rather obvious...

Sam, Drew and myself have all got recent(ish) threads in the DIY section showing how we've built panels for our rooms, and there have been others in the past as well.

[Hugh Robjohns]

As is very evident from all of the published Studio SOS articles, a small amount of very basic acoustic treatment makes a HUGE difference to the perceived sound quality in the room, even with modest speakers.

[Sam Spoons]

Just to reinforce the comments above, the first three or four panels at the mirror points (side walls, ceiling and rear wall if it's close) will get you 70% of the way there.

[Marbury]

The HEDD Mk 2 is the one I think I will go for, and later get the treatment sorted. I will add that my room is about 11 x 9 ft.