M-Audio BX8 monitors- how do they rate?

[waltertore]

I moved up to these about 3 months ago. Prior to this, I used simple PC speakers. Needless to say, there is a big sound difference between them. Here is my dilema. I mix on the BX8's, and it sounds good. Then I go in the house, put them on the cheapo bookshelf stereo, and it sounds thin, then I go out to the honda mini van, and it sounds like a bass feast, with wax over the highs. In other words, I have no idea how my mixes are sounding on other systems.

How would you rate these monitors. Is there a monitor out there, that would make this easier? Thanks. Walter

[RodC]

I have the BX5s, same prob you have. I have listened to the BX8s over and over again, they really have too much bass. Great for listening, but not true to what I like to hear.

Does yours have all the switches in the back to set them up or are they the newer series with nothing.

How close are they to the wall? Enviroment has a lot to do with how nearfields sound, but when you compair these to others in the price range you will notice a bump in the bass.

[waltertore]

I have the BX5s, same prob you have. I have listened to the BX8s over and over again, they really have too much bass. Great for listening, but not true to what I like to hear.

Does yours have all the switches in the back to set them up or are they the newer series with nothing.

How close are they to the wall? Enviroment has a lot to do with how nearfields sound, but when you compair these to others in the price range you will notice a bump in the bass.

Yes, mine have the switches (4 I believe) on the back. Here is my set up:

I have been having to mix everything real trebly on the monitors, to get them to sound ok on other systems. I don't hear the bass in my mixes on the BX8's, until I bring them to other systems. If I mix enough bass to sound good on the monitors, it sounds like a rap session on other systems. My music is roots/folk oriented, and I like the sound of the overall drum kit, vs. hearing each piece, the vocal on top, and a clean sound. Yes, I do set all other systems to flat. My monitors are on a big desk, about 2 feet from my head, at ear level. The room is 10' x 20', and the cieling 7'. It has carpet on the floor, and large glass windows (4' x 3') all around. One wall is all wood, the 2 short ones, plaster, and the 4th large windows. I fit rigid insulation over them, leaving one with the glass showing, when I record. The desk is set up in one corner of the the room, on the short side (in this post box, they would be in the left side centered near the wall), and the speakers about 2 feet off the back wall, 3 feet off the side walls, 3' from each corner. I have heard I may need bass traps, but I do not know they are. Should I put the speakers in the corners of the room? Thanks for all your input! You can hear examples of my final mixes here. I use samplitude classicV8, delta 1010, C414, Oktava 012's, RODE NT1A, and EH 12AY7 pre amps. Walter
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pag...m?bandID=157137

[digitaldrummer]

I also have these. Are they great? no. but they are better than what we both had previously, right?

the switches are supposed to be used to "tune" to the room. If you read the docs, there are suggestions for being against the wall, in the middle of the room, etc. I would suggest playing with these to see what they do to your mix. Also, walk around the room and listen. If you stand in one place and hear too much bass, or in another and the bass is attenuated, you probably have a phasing/reflections problem. this is where bass traps can help. they keep the low frequency from bouncing around then into each other, and cancelling each other out (or combining and amplifying). I made some crude bass traps using some convoluted foam. I cut it into various sizes and glued them together in a wedge, then stuck them in the corners. It helsp some. I saw another guy who used some very heavy duty pipe insulation (it was bout 12" in diameter) He put it on a piece of PVC pipe, then glued 12" wooden disks on the ends and stood them around the room. they worked pretty well.

You can also download the Bink Audio Test and help you find the offending low frequencies.

Mike

[Dubious]

ive been mixing o nthe bx5s for about 3 years now.. love them to death.. ive checked the mixes on a zillion systems and im not running itno any discrepencies at all..

i often use sony mdr7000 headphones to dial in the bass as these are pretty much the defacto "club dj" phones and give a pretty acurate lo end whic hte bxs tend to be be lackin on.

my buddies studio has got wicked dynaudios and frankly id rather mix on these. .the dyns are woofy as hell and harsh too .. could be that he's got em too cranked but everything sounds pretty in your face and distorted in the room but it does tend to tighten up on later playbacks on other systems... whereas the m-audios sound pretty much the same on everthing i play the mix on.

get a spectrum analyser if you can and take a "look" at your mix if your really having trouble.

[jjbohn]

I had a pair lying around for a while. Used them for more of a "what a good stereo" would sound like test. The mids are a little weird on them though. For the price they are nice though.