Cheap reference speakers

[Kwaidan]

I'm looking to purchase a pair of reference speakers, tbh i cannot afford these auratone or avantone ones. I seen a cheap pair of german ones under £50. The freq range seems to be 60Hz to 20KHz, would these bookshelf ones be okay ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dynavox-Rega ... %7Ciid%3A1

the other one is just under £100 with a freq range of 55Hz to 20KHz.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TIBO-Harmony ... %7Ciid%3A1

[resistorman]

It’s impossible to say what those would sound like. If you want speakers to check your mix, here’s what Mike Senior has to say.

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advi ... x-speakers

[Sam Spoons]

Will these be your only monitor speakers?

[Hugh Robjohns]

'Cheap' and 'Reference' aren't terms that go together!

If you're looking for something that emulates typical domestic listening conditions, then any cheap domestic system will do. I often check on laptop speakers or use the phone's speaker as that is how most people will listen today.

Auratones and their ilk were intended to replicate the sound of small TV sets and portable radios in the 70s and 80s...

On the other hand, If you're after a true 'reference' quality speaker that does the 'sealed cabinet, no bass-smearing; single driver no cross-over issues' thing -- which is the other attraction of the Auratone style speaker, then you really do need to invest in a decent version as the cheapo alternatives don't fair well and are less than useless. Mike Senior did a fairly comprehensive comparison of the types available and few came out well!

[Kwaidan]

Well perhaps i used the wrong term 'cheap' i would say inexpensive reference speakers. It's just for checking my mix as you would hear it on a hi-fi system etc.

But is there any specific frequency range these would need to be in. As most hi-fi type speakers have back ports, and usually a bass and tweeter.

I never mix on headphones.

[Drew Stephenson]

If you're just after a pair of cheap closed back speakers, have a look for a second hand pair of Gale or JPW mini-monitors (not the golds). They'll give a reasonable 'what the punter hears' impression or serve as a reasonable checking-stereo-and-reverb device if your main mixing tool is headphones.
You should be able to pick them up quite cheap as they don't give much bass extension (by design) - which isn't what people want nowadays. Mind you, I did see a couple of ebay where people were wanting £60 for a pair - they were that price new 20 years ago!

[Kwaidan]

If you're just after a pair of cheap closed back speakers, have a look for a second hand pair of Gale or JPW mini-monitors (not the golds). They'll give a reasonable 'what the punter hears' impression or serve as a reasonable checking-stereo-and-reverb device if your main mixing tool is headphones.
You should be able to pick them up quite cheap as they don't give much bass extension (by design) - which isn't what people want nowadays. Mind you, I did see a couple of ebay where people were wanting £60 for a pair - they were that price new 20 years ago!

I seen the gale's, although they do have a rear bass port, perhaps they could be blocked up! The JPW mini-monitors are closed backed though and less than the gale's.

[Hugh Robjohns]

To be honest, I'm not a fan of multiple 'reference' speakers. I think it's handy to have something very small and lo-fi available in the studio just to check whether things like the kick drum and bass come across adequately, and the vocal balance is still okay, but for checking 'transportability' of a mix I find it's far better to transport myself and the music elsewhere -- the lounge hi-fi system, the kitchen, the car etc...

The main reason for favouring this approach is that (domestic) studio rooms will almost certainly have significant bass standing wave issues, where some bass notes will be boomy and others weak. Most people automatically try to compensate for these in the mix, and can easily end up with a mix that sounds great in 'the studio' -- on the main monitors and any other 'full range' speakers in the same room... but odd elsewhere.

There's also a psychological benefit of listening elsewhere -- you actually do listen, instead of watching the computer screens, and often hear things that went unnoticed in the studio!

Critically, though, by listening in other environments you are removing any influence of the studio room's specific acoustic issues and are therefore far more likely to hear any mixing/balance problems at the low end (either missed or manufactured).

[shufflebeat]

If memory serves those JPW and Gale bookshelf speakers were "Richer Sounds" specials for a while. I may still have the JPWs knocking about.

I did use them in my first recording system at the time, eventually swapping them for some JBL control 1s which came my way, they were a big improvement. The JBLs were retired when my Samson amp died and I went for active monitors instead but I really liked the predictability of those little boxes.

[Kwaidan]

To be honest, I'm not a fan of multiple 'reference' speakers. I think it's handy to have something very small and lo-fi available in the studio just to check whether things like the kick drum and bass come across adequately, and the vocal balance is still okay, but for checking 'transportability' of a mix I find it's far better to transport myself and the music elsewhere -- the lounge hi-fi system, the kitchen, the car etc...

Thanks for replies Hugh. Unfortunately i neither possess any hi-fi system to check elsewhere. That's why i was asking abut reference speakers.

[Drew Stephenson]

If you're just after a pair of cheap closed back speakers, have a look for a second hand pair of Gale or JPW mini-monitors (not the golds). They'll give a reasonable 'what the punter hears' impression or serve as a reasonable checking-stereo-and-reverb device if your main mixing tool is headphones.
You should be able to pick them up quite cheap as they don't give much bass extension (by design) - which isn't what people want nowadays. Mind you, I did see a couple of ebay where people were wanting £60 for a pair - they were that price new 20 years ago!

I seen the gale's, although they do have a rear bass port, perhaps they could be blocked up! The JPW mini-monitors are closed backed though and less than the gale's.

There are different versions of the Gales, the earliest ones were closed back like the JPWs.
But just to Hugh's point, the reason I suggested these was if they're your only actual speakers they will give you enough information for a bit of a sense check but the natural LF roll-off will cause less of an issue with room nodes (note: 'less' not 'no').
They're also cheap enough to give away, move to bedroom/garage/etc when you move to something better.

EDIT - just to clarify, these are passive speakers so you will need an amp as well if you go down this route. If you don't have an amp handy then the whole price equation starts to go a bit iffy.

[Kwaidan]

Apparently richer sounds still sell the JBL Control 1's at £59 per pair. And as they are passive, i can connect them up to my AMP as it allows for 4 speakers to be connected.

So i may just buy a pair of these.