Upgrading studio monitors - what do you recommend?

[mavdime]

Hi all, putting this in the for sale forum in case somebody is selling monitors which fit the bill...

Currently rocking Neumann KH120A's with a sub... I've recently moved into a properly treated studio which has a decent sized mix room... I love the sonic imprint of the Neumann's and they perform remarkably well given their size, but I'm thinking of upgrading the monitors to something with 6.5 or 7 inch drivers... When I moved into the studio and tuned everything properly I've noticed the monitors are just struggling a little bit in the space... to compensate I've adjusted the crossover in the sub to take some of the load off, but it's far from ideal and there's a weird scoop and wooliness in the low mid's which seems to be the area which the Neumann's are struggling to fill adequately (I make Electronic music and so need accurate monitoring of low mid's and low lows)

Any recommendations about suitable (up to the $3K mark would be ideal) upgrades to the Neumann's? I've heard good things about the Unity Audio Rock monitors for example...

would be grateful for your thoughts!

Cheers

Manny

PS. I should mention, if anybody has monitors in this range they're looking to offload, and happen to be seeking a smaller, portable pair of monitors I'd happily to a trade/partial payment for the Neumanns (with carrying bag included)!

[simonstav]

Where are you located?

[mavdime]

Hi Simon,

in Sydney

Cheers
Manny

[a.beck]

It sounds like a pair of Opals would do what you need. Worth checking out, anyway. I don't do a lot of electronic stuff, but apparently they're very good for that.

[Nigel99]

Let me know if you want to sell the 120s...

[mavdime]

Andrew - thanks for the recommendations about the Opals... will give them a listen again (been a few years since I last heard them)

Nigel - I'll send you a PM about the 120s... definitely need to move them on to be able to afford other monitors.

For everyone else - another question.. what are your thoughts about using good (and I mean very good) hi-fi speakers in the studio? I have a pair of Paradigm signature 2 v3.0 speakers at home which I use matched up with a Anthem (also made by Paradigm) amplifier... these speakers sound excellent and have not come across as overly flattering to my ears... I wonder whether there are any legitimate reasons why I cannot move them in the studio? size wise they certainly have the balls to fulfil my mid-field needs and would pair well with my SVS subwoofer which I currently have in the studio

Any thoughts about breaking the holy commandment that thoust shall not use home theatre speakers in thoust studio?

thanks!

[mylesgm]

Opals are great, got a pair myself and they are excellent across the wide variety of genres I work in.

That being said, if you know your hifi speakers well there is no reason not to use them in the studio unless lots of other people are using your studio who won't know them.

[NYMo]

I concur with Myles.
I've been through a lot of speakers over the years from the lowly to ATC 100s !
It's really all about translation ...will the good mix you do on your monitors translate well to other environments ?
I'm currently rockin a pair of JBL 4311b Control monitors ( and ns 10s) ...so old school here !

Cheers
JNN

[mavdime]

Great, thanks very much for the advice guys - that's awesome! Will definitely give the paradigm's a whirl in the studio and see how it goes.. at least till I manage to raise the funds for a worthy replacement for the 120As

cheers

[Lee Cardan]

Hi Manny

What would you be after for your KH120 & sub? And what kind of sub do you have?

Cheers
-Lee

[mavdime]

Hi Lee,

I have a 13inch SVS sealed sub... not looking to sell it though

Happy to sell the Neumann's though if you're interested (comes with official Neumann carry bag (costs $249 extra usually), manuals, power cables + monitor stands)

cheers

Manny