Moving next week and thinking about buying some monitors for my setup. Budget is around up to 1.000€ for a pair of used monitors. But my guess is I could buy a lot less expensive monitors and maybe invest in some low level treatment.
My requirements:
mostly listening for my own enjoyment, not for professional production. Mostly live jams with Elektron gear and listening to the recorded results and trying to improve arrangement and sound.
room is untreated so far and about 15 square meters with high ceilings (+/- 3m). There will be some stuff in there like another table, books and 1-2 shelves and maybe a small couch or mattress.
monitors will likely be close to a wall
planning to install a desk that is adjustable in height for making music while standing or sitting. Monitors should therefore be adjustable or sit on a stand on the table that assures best position while standing or sitting without much hassle
won‘t listen at really high volumes, but should be a pleasant and punchy experience nonetheless. Preferred to ultra clear sound that will take the enjoyment out of the jamming and make my recordings instantly sound super bad without a lot of production.
interface is a Scarlett Focusrite, if that determines sound quality.
I‘ve been eyeing the following models but am open to other suggestions. I really like that the Eves have a setting knob on the front panel:
Yamaha HS 8
Eve Audio SC 204/205/207
Boxes will be to the right and left of this setup here:
I have the SC203’s and they are very “room picky”: I noticed loads of standing waves in my untreated room. So with these, some bass trap stuff was really needed.
(PS, a large couch can be an excellent bass trap too )
I like the SC203’s, they do the job and sound very open and have remarkable bass response for such small speakers. You can buy a separate mounting bracket so they fit on any microphone stand, or you can mount them against the wall.
The iLoud micro’s have a mic thread build in and do have “better” specs, but specs alone aren’t the decisive factor, it is so personal which one sounds “best”. So better is to try them both and see / listen for yourself.
With your budget you can look at the genelec 8020. They are very little and sound very good. The build quality is far superior than the iloud.
The price too…
Interesting, there is a pair of them sold used close to me, so I could try them out. What would you say are the main advantages over the Ilouds? Does built quality only refer to how long they will last or also influence sound?
I am also tempted to just go for the iloud MTM since they come with soft- and hardware to calibrate them to the shitty room. @chaocrator has pointed this out in a recent thread dedicated to micro/mtm (thanks for the suggestion!).
I feel like since I don’t have anyone with experience around to help me set up the speakers and treat the room, the MTM might be the best solution. Or could I easily get calibration software and if needed a microphone and do this with just about any monitors?
The MTM can be found used for 260-380€, which seems like a no brainer.
Checked again, was worded weirdly, prices were for one speaker only. But still, getting two of these including the calibration mic and capability for +/- 600€ seems like a great deal. However, I am still leaning towards the iloud micros and then invest in some equipment for treatment. The MTM seem to be pretty bassy and loud, which is not exactly what I am looking for to play in my living room with lots of neighbors in the same house.
Yeah, I had the same debate, at the end of the day I could get the Micro for 1/3rd of the price of the MTM (more or less) and I wasn’t sure the advantages of the MTM were worth that premium. It also pushes them into a price bracket where they start to compete with e.g. the Neumann KH80, whereas the Micro seem to be in a league of their own for price/performance (discussed here: iLoud Micro vs. iLoud MTM - how much of an upgrade? - #5 by Monobear).
If I’m really happy with them (I’ve never used small monitors, but I can believe that modern DSP technology enables them to do some pretty impressive things) then maybe down the line I’ll look to upgrade to something more expensive… I figure I can always sell the Micros, or just keep them around as I’m sure they’d be useful now and then. (And if I’m not happy, they’ll go back to Amazon!)
Got the iloud micros für 210€ used. They arrived today and I first thought it must be something else when the postman rang: they are so small that the previous owner didn’t even have to send them as a package.
Glad I could still try them in my current living room, where I am familiar with the acoustics. They sound absolutely incredible for this price and size, love listening to professional productions as well as my own stuff so far. Curious how it will sound in my new place. Thanks for your advice here! I wouldn’t‘ want to use them for regular listening though, they seem to sound not optimal with more folksy stuff like Aldous Harding, guess they are optimized for more bass heavy / electronic stuff.
One question: to save space, I would like to prop them up on some desk stands rather than microphone stands. Would you recommend the cheap Thomann etc. models for this or are there significantly better solutions?
They’re not perfect since they still transmit quite a bit of vibration to the desk (not sure if other type work better), but I like that they can be folded for portability.
Also, raising them at ear level makes them sounds much better IMHO.
I’m in Argentina though, where we don’t have as many options as in Europe or the US. So you might be able to get something similar but of better quality, if you’re in one of those regions.
They are build in a block of aluminum, speakers are protected by a grating, there is isopods to avoid vibrations and orientate the monitor.
And above all, they sound incredible.
For my part I took those with a heavy base and it’s perfect for small Génelec.
Those with the attachment of micro are cushioned at the bottom by a wide rubber corolla, I put a soft ring at the bottom and top of the tube and I like their safety.
You must have compatible monitors of course, or want to drill and thread those that are not…
I wouldn’t say they’re better than anything else tbh. They don’t feel super quality, but they’re easy to fold and carry, as I’ve mentioned, so that made me go for those… I don’t think we have those you posted in Argentina - and if we do, there probably much more expensive. If I go for the MTMs I’ll probably research other options for those.
)
