M-audio BX8 Monitors
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Posted on Jan 07, 2005 05:50 pm
Dope_lover
Member Since: Jan 03, 2005
hey guys..what do you think about the BX8 Monitors??
are they worth the price and good enough????
i'm willing to spend something around 500-600$ on monitors..
any better products in mind?
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Jan 07, 2005 06:06 pm never accually heard them myself, but in that price range ya might wanna check out Events stuff, seems the bx8's only have 130watts powering them, i know the 20/20bas have 150 watts gooin' to the woofer and another 50 gooin' to the tweeter, not sayin' it's better cuz it's got more power (arr arr arr). just my 2 cents
peace
wyd
Jan 07, 2005 06:12 pm Quote:
seems the bx8's only have 130watts powering them
Well, if you are mixing and using more the 70 watts or so you are monitoring WAY too loud...hell, I bet I use 20 watts at best when I am mixing or mastering.
Jan 07, 2005 06:13 pm I used a lower model from M-Audio. They make decent stuff. However, I picked up a pair of Behringer Truth's 2031a I believe (Not at home) and I am so impressed. BIIIGG diff. in sound quality. I agree that for the money your thinking of spending, you should look at some of the middle high teir stuff. I got my set for about 350.00. I am not at all unhappy.
Jan 07, 2005 06:19 pm really DB? well i'm not sayin' having everything blasting loud all the time but i find when checking reverb levles it's nice to crank it way up, and as for mastering i thought for sure those farfield monitors gotta be crankin' out 80db SPL...
peace
wyd
Jan 07, 2005 06:27 pm I was considering the Bx5's or 8's but I changed my mind ( as usual) now its a toss between mackie 842's or the Alesis M2 mkII's so i don't know i just thought I'd share my options with you since were in the same boat
Jan 07, 2005 07:11 pm Well, if you like ear fatigue, ya, keep it cranking, but I never do. I near use far fields either...a nice comfortable close range listening level is the best for your ears and the mix.
ILLbizzelILLbino - one of WA's finestMember
Since: Feb 10, 2004
Jan 07, 2005 07:16 pm I have the BX6's, and they sound pretty good. I have them hooked up along with some tweeters and a sub woofer so I get a real clean sound. They seem to have a good stereo field as well. I'd recommend them along with some tweeters and a sub woofer.
ILLbizzelILLbino - one of WA's finestMember
Since: Feb 10, 2004
Jan 07, 2005 07:26 pm O sorry. Thought you were talking about the Event monitors, lol. Nope, haven't tried those. I use the Event TR6 monitors.
Jan 08, 2005 12:59 pm I have Behringer 2030A's and they have 115W powering each of them. If the BX8's have 130W EACH, then they're fine. My monitors can push louder than 90dB, which is harmful to your ears.
I think you'll be okay =P.
Jan 08, 2005 01:05 pm Also, "wattage" seems to be very misreported with some gear. I have seen a 30 watt Marshall amp blow away a 70 watts Peavey amp...regarding volume, there is a lot more to it than just flat out wattage, "root means square" (RMS) does have a formula behind it, but it seems to be quite often misused or skewed when manufacturers label their gear.
Jan 08, 2005 05:29 pm the frequency range for which the amp is rated makes a HUGE difference. The same amp pushing at a much lower frequency will be rated at a MUCH smaller wattage because it takes more to push lower frequencies.
I have a peavey guitar amp that's 100W, and it can make your ears bleed. I also have a 200W Yorkville bass amp which is probably a little quieter, but its pushing bass frequencies, so it requires more wattage. That's why bi-amplified studio monitors put more watts into the woofer than they do into the tweeter.
In conclusion...don't judge anything by wattage, unless it's something horrid like 30W. It's a useful gauge, but only in large increments. 130W and 150W would tell you nothing.
Jan 08, 2005 05:48 pm Many-a-30 watt amp have been used on public release big-label albums. These a,mp are good cuz you can get their tubes hot by cranking it up without actually getting ear-shattering loud...there is a definate place for low-powered, but high-quality amps in the world of recording.
Jan 08, 2005 07:03 pm call me old fashoned, i like to mix with my ears not all of us have Har-Bal, although i just downloaded the demo haha....i'm not sure i can mix well without crankin' it up for brief moments from time to time, not the whole song...when you get into the 50-70db SPL range some nuances (like i said, reverb in peticular) will jump out at ya and say something like "we're rockin' out in a bathroom" or "tone down some of the edge at 4k"
it's something that if i didn't do my mix's would definately suffer
and by all means i'm not sayin' there's a right or a wrong, everyone's got their way, and if it works for you, then it works.
peace
wyd
Jan 09, 2005 07:22 am Yeah, obviously crankin it up has it's places where it helps, the way I was reading the thread though it sounded like it was the whole time, and a lot of people do that, and it's not the right thing to do for your mixes or for your ears.
As far as Har-Bal goes, it doesn't eliminate your ears, it just analyzes your music visually, and the results are far more accurate than most people's ears and the results are quicker and you don't waste nearly as many CDR's proofing your music in every system you can find...usually, only one...
Jan 09, 2005 07:41 am Ill second that for Harbal...kicks some *** for sure and saves some bucks tae.
Now, yi canny whack that...for the price of CDRs and my valuable time, as dB says, you canny go wrong with HarBal...
Top, top app.
Coco.
Jan 09, 2005 12:13 pm i picked up behringer 2031 A's from M.F. for $300 and i love them they sound great at low level's buy if you want to turn them up you are free to do so with 150 watts dedicat to the 8.75"woofer and 75 for tweet i am still impress by how much they do reveal when just playing back cd's there i things i haven't heard before in some recordings and they have a lot of feature's for room adjustment compare to mackie hr824's and the spec's are nearly identical.
www.behringer.com/B2031A/index.cfm?lang=ENG
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jan 09, 2005 08:51 pm Just a note here on listening levels. Most near fields in a good listening room will function just fine and give a good sonic picture at 65 to 70db. Although nominal listening at distances of 6' is approx. 86db, but in shorter spans of time.
Large format moniters at greater distance will be nominal at about 86db as well, but for longer listening periods.
Now about power for your moniters/speakers. The higher power amps used will aid in giving a much truer audio picture. I use a 300 watt amp with my nearfields, amp cranked full and level controled from the board.
As well the large format speakers are run from a 900 watt amp running at aprox 85 percent cranked, again level is controled from the board.
The amp being cranked or near cranked allows it to use more wattage when needed, not for volume sake, but for keeping the power constant for all the audio coming through it and going to the speakers.
The only time I have ever had them above nominal listening levels is when recording synth passes or pieces were it is more for feeling the piece I am playing. I never crank my nearfields when mixing for long periods of time.
Jan 10, 2005 11:37 am Hey Dope,
I just got a pair of the M-Audio BX8 monitors and I LOVE THEM! The separation of tracks is crystal clear. They definitely have some power behinde them. I have yet to really really crank them...like the other posts on this thread mention, it's not necessary to mix with levels cranked 'til your ears bleed...but it's nice to have the ability to do that once in a while if you want to. I couldn't be happier with mine. If you've got the money, go ahead and get the BX8's...you'll have'em for life. Very solid, great sound, and perfect for mixing tracks...also, has a ton of power if and when you really want to crank it. You won't need your guitar amp anymore after you buy these puppies.
Jan 10, 2005 01:02 pm mmmmmmmmmmm must buy Harbal!! demo won't do....wow i likes!! thanks for turning me on to it guys! and props to the developers.
peace
wyd
Jan 10, 2005 01:05 pm please, if you do, buy thru a link from the ad in the column :-) help support HRC.
Jan 10, 2005 02:25 pm will do bro, gotta wait 'till pay-day.
peace
wyd
