Recommend secondary studio monitors, but not for mixing

[jellyjim]

Hello

I have a pair of Genelec 8330A's as my main reference monitors and I'm happy with those. They get used when I'm composing, mixing or mastering, but also when I'm at my work area doing other things.

My synths are to my left in a rack. A mixture of digital, and modern and vintage analogue. I seem to be spending more time over there just enjoying playing them. Thing is, over there, my listening experience is compromised because the Genelecs are to my right. Obviously I lose all stereo imaging and for big pads and complex textures it's just not very immersive.

So I'm thinking about a secondary pair of monitors that will live with the synth rack, but I'm not sure what to get. Should I get studio monitors at all, or some other form of amplification? Obviously they need to be decent to enjoy all the glory of the synth rack, but they don't need to be accurate in a way that reference monitors do. But maybe a second pair of reference monitors is a useful thing anyway.

My budget's up to £500 which would just cover a pair of Genelec 8010a's. Should I stick with what I know? Then I hear great things about the Presonus Eris series for considerably less money.

This is a home studio so I'm not looking for loudness.

Any thoughts appreciated.
Jim

[resistorman]

I have a couple Eris and a subwoofer for my synths. The sub brings out the fun

[jellyjim]

I have a couple Eris and a subwoofer for my synths. The sub brings out the fun

That's a good idea. What's the sub?

[jellyjim]

I have a couple Eris and a subwoofer for my synths. The sub brings out the fun

Omg, a pair of 4.5's and the sub is ~£300!!! That's crazy

[sonics]

Seconded. Get a pair of Eris's and the sub. Get the better/bigger pair if you can. Great value!

[resistorman]

I'd go for the 5's...

[Arpangel]

I was obsessed with hearing what I’m doing everywhere in my place, but got over it at some point, my set-up is similar to yours, my computer and keyboard in front of me with the main monitors, and all my analogue modular stuff on the right, I got a pair of Behringer 2030A's they were absolutely fine, take loads of power, and chuck out a lot of bass for their size.
Now, I don’t use anything but my main monitors, I can swivel round and check things on the mains, but rarely need to, if you organise things into a "cockpit" close together, you only need one pair of speakers.
It’s interesting, look at big players studios, they only seem to have one big pair of monitors, and sometimes, the rooms are big too, as long as you can hear the basics, that’s all that really matters, in these situations.

[jellyjim]

I was obsessed with hearing what I’m doing everywhere in my place, but got over it at some point, my set-up is similar to yours, my computer and keyboard in front of me with the main monitors, and all my analogue modular stuff on the right, I got a pair of Behringer 2030A's they were absolutely fine, take loads of power, and chuck out a lot of bass for their size.
Now, I don’t use anything but my main monitors, I can swivel round and check things on the mains, but rarely need to, if you organise things into a "cockpit" close together, you only need one pair of speakers.
It’s interesting, look at big players studios, they only seem to have one big pair of monitors, and sometimes, the rooms are big too, as long as you can hear the basics, that’s all that really matters, in these situations.

Yeah it's weird, it's never bothered me before. I think it's because I'm spending more time just playing with the synths rather than working or creating with them. In which case, I really should go for something cheap as my focus will no doubt change again at some point!

[Arpangel]

Yeah it's weird, it's never bothered me before. I think it's because I'm spending more time just playing with the synths rather than working or creating with them. In which case, I really should go for something cheap as my focus will no doubt change again at some point!

Yeah, that’s what I’d do if its bothering you, just get a cheap pair for "programming" and messing around, or, arrange your mains so they cover a wide area, it’s rare all us can achieve that triangle of perfect monitoring.

[jellyjim]

I'd go for the 5's...

Good shout. They go down to 50hz so I could probably survive without the sub, for now at least

[Wonks]

It might be worth looking at the E5 tech sheet.

https://pae-web.presonusmusic.com/downl ... hsheet.pdf

The graph is obviously not taken at full output as it's nowhere near the quoted 102dB max SPL.

It's quite common for the cut-off levels to be referenced to the 1kHz output value. As good a reference point as any, and that's at 88dB SPL (which looks to be a fairly average SPL for most of the frequency range).

Based on that, the -3dB bass cutoff point (85dB SPL) is at about 66Hz, whilst the -10dB point (78 dB SPL) is at around 56Hz.

So they may not have quite the level of bass extension you though they had.

The 8" Eris Sub8 probably is similarly down by 10dB at its quoted 30Hz low limit, but there's no frequency graph for the sub. However the standard 80Hz crossover point will still leave that low-end hump present in the E5 output. Which probably isn't a problem if using them just for fun; but more so if using them for accurate monitoring.

But they are relatively low-cost products, and you can't expect miracles at this price point!

[Ben Asaro]

I have a pair of small Eris monitors for as well, also used for non-critical synth monitoring. They work fine!

[Arpangel]

I have a pair of small Eris monitors for as well, also used for non-critical synth monitoring. They work fine!

I bought a pair of Eris 3’s, because they were cheap, had the inputs I needed, and were light and small, for taking out and about, the only issue I have is that they sound like two cardboard boxes.

[Mike Stranks]

From left-field...

I have a couple of these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pro_achat_104_a.htm

Which I use for utility duties (and small voice-only PA).

I guess you could augment them with one of these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pro_a ... 8_suba.htm

Jus' a fawt...

[Arpangel]

From left-field...

I have a couple of these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pro_achat_104_a.htm

Which I use for utility duties (and small voice-only PA).

I guess you could augment them with one of these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pro_a ... 8_suba.htm

Jus' a fawt...

I bet these aren’t half bad either, their own brand is normally very good.