what small crappy speakers do you reference mixes on?

[Ethan Holdtrue]

Whatever?s inside a stock 2002 PT cruiser base model :]

[Spiderhead69]

Mix betweenYamaha NS-10's and Polk Audio 5JR's
Reference on several options:
Advent III bookshelf speakers
Acoustic research AR4's
Sony Boombox
Technics stereo speakers from the early 90's.
KLH Speakers from the 80's.
and then out to the car for a highway test,
either Nissan pathfinder or
SAAB 9.3.

[Spiderhead69]

Use it all the time. I get balances on it a lot. I have mixed a zillion things with that little, shitty, paint splattered thing!

My boombox has paint splatters too, thanks to a wife who didn't understand not to place it downwind when painting the house.

[dirk_v]

Interesting thread.

The "real world" of reference checks outside of my monitoring environment consists of:
- '91 Honda Prelude stock stereo
- Unknown Sony Bookshelfs that were a thrift-store find, thru a hand-me-down marantz amp which together define home hi-fi sound for me
- iPod earbuds - a must these days for any mixer, IMO
- Cruddy all-in-one 'mini' systems of friends and relatives when in close proximity with iPod in hand

Cheers,
-dv

[Kilroy]

i got a boombox, i ferget what model and company. I am actually listening to a few mixes on a compaq laptop right now. I use another boombox that is bigger and better than the smaller one i use. And i listen on a chrysler minivan and also a crown vic.

[workshed]

- Sony Boombox in my garage, from the mid-'90s, with MegaBass dial
- Crappy speakers on our flatscreen TV (they sound great for movies, horrible for music) through our Pioneer Receiver
- 1998 Subaru Outback Limited with the 5 Gazillion stock speakers that really don't sound so great
- 2002 Dodge Caravan stock speakers through a Sony MP3-compatible stereo

I need to get some run-of-the-mill computer speakers, too.

-Bret

[Donovan]

After I bounce I always play back through the built-in internal speaker of my G4 PowerMac.

Not a real reference but just a last check before writing to a CD.

[Treeline]

That is one cool picture...





I'm messing about with a pair of Event TR5s and a second set of speaks - BOSE 101s through an ancient Onkyo receiver and a Yamaha YST home thingie powered subwoofer. They sound best when they're off. But it's OK because in the corner over there is a DAK wonder from the early '80s - a BSR graphic eq, just waiting to get plugged in. Has its own spectral bouncearound neon llight display thingie in a window right in the middle and a pink noise generator. I'm thinking of putting the green lava lamp on top.

There are some AKG headphones, too... marriage savers.

[Randy]

I ordered a pair of these a couple of weeks ago and should get them sometime next week.

https://taweber.powweb.com/store/homeau ... eaudio.htm

I have been using a pair of three-way Panasonic fratboy speakers (12 in woofer, 6 in mid and 1.5 in tweeter) along with some RCA 2-ways (4 inch "woofer" and a piezo tweeter) that I got from Rat Shack. These are in addition to my NS-10's. The RCA's tell me nothing useful beyond that the poweramp is working. They are just plain unpredictable and therefore useless. I hope these Webers will do the trick.

[vvv]

Aaaah, yes, the ubiquitous "Panasonic fratboy speakers".

Many is the party that they were beer-covered, knocked over, cranked to the point of smoking, and despite all of that, they still sound like shite.

[jmoose]

Dynaudio BM15's w/ Hafler Transnova for juice cover the hi-fi. The car's kinda hi-fi too...2005 Mazda 6s with a Bose system...

Lo-fi would be a pair of Rat Shack Minimus 7's stacked on top of each other and placed about 6-7 feet from mix position so it hits me as mono. Got a Samson Servo 240 powering those.

I also have the crappy mono speaker in the Studer meter-bridge which I think is a better reference then the Rat Shacks most of the time!

Sometimes...rarely...but sometimes I'll catch things on the 3-way Altec computer speaker rig just before I post mixes to the FTP for clients...

Most lo-fi listening gets done on the Rat Shacks though.

[Blade]

I'm getting ready to buy some Rat Shack Minimus 7's.

They just seem like they would be the perfect cheap type of auratones. I want mine though in the walnut veneer box and not in the metal enclosure.

I just need something smaller to bounce off of my main mixers.......

My main mixing speakers are the old JBL 4406's (which I love), that I use in conjuction with a small sub-woofer, which I can turn off and on.

I use my Sony MDR-7506 headphones when I think I have a mix done.

I also use the stock car system in my toyota camry, which I added a sub-woofer.

-blade-

[paulknig]

Faithful old yamaha 10's and then reference through my laptop speakers. if you can get something to sound good on there, then it is usally really good!

[FNM]

Not crappy, just cheap--Tascam VLS21, got 'em for $80. It's a powered sub with 2 small flat-panel satellite speakers. Don't know what the frequency response is but they have no business sounding as good as they do for this price. Very simple, just a power switch and volume control.

The flat-panels do away with the phase weirdness inherent to woof/tweet/passive crossover setups. Transition between lows/highs/mids is seamless, and there's good detail without being harsh. IME as long as the satellites are wider apart than my ears and the sub is close by the sweet spot is enormous, and stereo imaging is great.

I've had these since they got reviewed in Tape Op a while ago and I like them a lot.