Just got a pair of avantone mix cubes and F***** MEEE

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stephenchamber
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Just got a pair of avantone mix cubes and F***** MEEE

Post by stephenchamber » Fri May 09, 2008 3:50 pm

:shock:

this is some serious shit


bye bye ns10's

with a healthy amp pushing these, I cant believe how they sound. The midrange detail is beautiful and they are punchy as F**K

things are translating guts intact.

seriously

get some

instant tinnitus though


yusssssssss

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fossiltooth
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Re: Just got a pair of avantone mix cubes and F***** MEEE

Post by fossiltooth » Fri May 09, 2008 4:00 pm

stephenchamber wrote::shock:

this is some serious shit
yessir.

bye bye ns10's
Auratones are much more fun to listen too... although I still think the NS-10s are amazingly effective too... they're just much more annoying-sounding as well.

with a healthy amp pushing these, I cant believe how they sound.
I know... people talk sh*t, but if you don't mind losing the top and the bottom, the middle's actually kinda pretty on auratones.

The midrange detail is beautiful and they are punchy as F**K
That's what they do for a living. Portless speakers rule for mixing... but a great set of ported ones can be a blast to listen to if you want a speaker that sounds "impressive"... and don't mind a few resonances and other artifacts.
things are translating guts intact.
That's their job.
seriously
I know.
get some
I have.
instant tinnitus though
Nah... that's from the bigs.
yusssssssss
?

Enjoy!
Last edited by fossiltooth on Sat May 10, 2008 7:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

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@?,*???&?
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Post by @?,*???&? » Fri May 09, 2008 4:38 pm

Yes. We've known about these for years. Small drivers can reveal much about your mix. They aren't supposed to sound good.

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musikman316
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Post by musikman316 » Fri May 09, 2008 5:32 pm

Has anyone checked out the active Avantone's?

Josh

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stephenchamber
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Post by stephenchamber » Fri May 09, 2008 5:43 pm

I thought about it, but the uk tag on them just makes you go WHY whats the point...grotbox as fuck

good deal for a passive pair

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Post by Sean Sullivan » Fri May 09, 2008 5:51 pm

Does anyone use these as a mono reference? I have a pair of NS-10s already...I really don't find them annoying at all...
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Babaluma
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Post by Babaluma » Fri May 09, 2008 5:54 pm

hm...

a mono active version sounds like it would be great for checking mono compatibility.

these days i use a very cheap pair of fold-up battery powered ipod speakers for checking stuff on - they give a good representation of the shit quality equipment most people listen on!

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Post by fossiltooth » Fri May 09, 2008 6:12 pm

Babaluma wrote:
these days i use a very cheap pair of fold-up battery powered ipod speakers for checking stuff on - they give a good representation of the shit quality equipment most people listen on!
Cool. That kind of thing can be great, too. However, I don't think the Auratones and NS-10s were actually popular because they "sounded like consumer systems of the day". That's a bit of a misnomer. Have you ever heard a TV from the 70s? Doesn't sound much like an auratone at all if you ask me... Likewise, the NS-10s were extremely unpopular on the consumer market in reality, because everyone thought they were unflattering and unpleasant, which is pretty much true. They're both popular because they've both proved effective at helping make mixes sound better:

The auratones chop of the top and bottom, and make you focus on a pretty accurate representation of the middle. The NS-10s pretty much sound like the inverse of a well balanced mix... so if you make something sound good on them, it'll sound really great elsewhere.

That is all. In reality, those speakers aren't about "having a real world reference" as much as they're about leading you to craft mixes that sound balanced everywhere. You'll find that some consumer speakers are great for this.... and some will suck. I had one boombox that helped me get some great mixes... and another that led me to make mistakes. Find what works for you... not what "sounds great!" inside your room... what works outside your room.

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Post by joel hamilton » Mon May 12, 2008 6:21 am

fossiltooth wrote: That is all. In reality, those speakers aren't about "having a real world reference" as much as they're about leading you to craft mixes that sound balanced everywhere. You'll find that some consumer speakers are great for this.... and some will suck. I had one boombox that helped me get some great mixes... and another that led me to make mistakes. Find what works for you... not what "sounds great!" inside your room... what works outside your room.
exactly.
couple that with a ubiquitous presence in studios for years and years...

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calaverasgrandes
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Post by calaverasgrandes » Wed May 14, 2008 10:45 pm

yeah nothing is more horrifying than the first time you toggle the monitors from your pretty Genelecs/JBLs/etc to the NS10's. OUCH! where did my mix go!
That taught me to never trust a mix on Genelecs.
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Post by RefD » Wed May 14, 2008 11:04 pm

then again, use a set of NS10s exclusively and everything may well sound like mud at the end.

but i can't imagine being daft enough to do that.
?What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.? -- Seneca

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calaverasgrandes
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Post by calaverasgrandes » Wed May 14, 2008 11:42 pm

are you winking at me
or is that just your avatar
??????? wrote: "everything sounds best right before it blows up."

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Post by fossiltooth » Thu May 15, 2008 6:46 am

RefD wrote:then again, use a set of NS10s exclusively and everything may well sound like mud at the end.
That's the exact opposite of my experience... Even with the original version NS10s... which are admittedly a little too toppy, and can lead to pushing the HFs less and ending up a bit too dark.

The only other common issue folks run into mixing on NS10s without a full-range reference is too much bass under 150hz. I'm not sure if I would describe that area as "mud". I think to call it "boom".

Perhaps we're using different words to describe the same thing?

Or do you feel that NS10Ms lead to mixes with a buildup in the 200-500hz range? If that's your suggestion, I'll have to respectfully disagree. If anything, they lead me to carve out just enough of the muddiest, boxiest, and most nasal areas of the midrange to help get mixes that fit in context nicely with every other record ever made in the history of the world.
Last edited by fossiltooth on Thu May 15, 2008 10:03 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by RefD » Thu May 15, 2008 7:10 am

fossiltooth wrote:
RefD wrote:then again, use a set of NS10s exclusively and everything may well sound like mud at the end.
That's the exact opposite of my experience... Even with the original version NS10s... which are admittedly a little too toppy, and can lead to pushing the HFs less and ending up a hair dark.

The only other common issue folks run into mixing on NS10s without a full-range reference is too much bass under 150hz. It would be a bit unusual to describe that area as "mud". I think most folks might call it call it "boom".

Are we using different words to describe the same thing? Or do you feel that NS10Ms lead to mixes with a buildup in the 200-500hz range? If that's your suggestion, I'll have to respectfully disagree. If anything, they lead to carving out just enough of the muddiest, boxiest, and most nasal areas of the midrange to help get mixes that fit in context nicely with every other record ever made in the history of the world.
disagreeing is fine, i didn't say it WOULD result in that for everybody in every situation 100% of the time.

i seriously doubt NS10s were used while making "every other record ever made in the history of the world".

but i did have a single experience with being stuck with NS10s for a whole 3 song project and it all did come back mud city...the top was noticeably attenuated probly from compensating for the top those things put out and everything under 700 was way up when compared on other systems (tho admittedly the area below about 150-200 was even worse).

it didn't help that i had a sneaky fuckstick tweaking shit behind my back, tho.

that plus the near-constant state of earburn i was getting from even a few hours at low to moderate levels soured me on NS10s pretty much for good.

but i'm not opinionated, no way! :lol:
?What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.? -- Seneca

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Bob Womack
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Post by Bob Womack » Thu May 15, 2008 5:36 pm

As I've dealt with product recorded and mixed exclusively on small near-fields, and specifically NS10ms, what I've found is pretty much what you would expect:

1) A limited or lifeless high end as engineers try to keep from ripping off their own heads while working on the overly bright NS10ms.
2) The impression that the engineer has no concept whatsoever what is going on below about 80 hz, as evidenced by either an absence of meaningful info down there or, in some rare cases, an overbearing low-low end. It's also interesting to note that there is often an over-compressed kick drum, for some reason.

In my line of work, I regularly take in and use the product of composer studios and project studios. While not all product is like this, there is a characteristic curve to unskillful use of small near-fields.

Incidently, the first CD I encountered with this curve was the original release of Foreigner's Agent Provocateur. Also interestingly, this album was put out during the short burst when some record companies experimented with releasing albums without having them mastered, reasoning that since the CD format was as nearly flat as possible, there was no need to prepare a master for a flat medium. Har, har, har!

Bob
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