Do I want flat monitors if I just play for fun?

    I'm looking to upgrade my speakers (and amplifier). I'm currently using a cheap amplifier with two speakers I got for free from my neighbour 6 years ago.


    I have noticed that almost everyone here on the forum recommends studio monitors. However, I do not need the really accurate representation for mixing purposes. At home (small student room), I mainly just jam with the Kemper and listen to music, so those 2 things need to sound good. I have read that often studio monitors can sound "sterile" because of their linearity. Another disadvantage of studio monitors would be their directivity, so it would only really sound good when I am sitting at my desk.


    My worries are that a lot of music might not sound as good through monitors, as they are often (designed to be) unforgiving. Can anybody give some insight?

    I agree with Ingolf, in the long run studio monitors.


    Right now, you have been given free equipment. Why not tweak your profiles to sound good to you, save those profiles only to use with your current set up?


    On a side note: back in the day, one of the most popular studio monitors were Yamaha NS10's. You saw them in every studio that was worth anything.


    According to professional engineers I spoke to, these were not there because they sounded good. They were used because if you could mix into them and get them to sound good, your session would sound good on any stereo, AM radio, etc.

    I wouldn't worry about being in the "Sweet Spot" for studio monitors if you aren't critically listening for a final professional mix.


    Any decent pair of studio monitors is going to sound great no matter where you sit in a small room if you are playing just for fun.


    Also, any professionally produced music that you may be playing along with is going to sound just fine on studio monitors, their linearity isn't going to be a problem unless you are looking for extreme low end.

    Quote from Sarasin

    Right now, you have been given free equipment. Why not tweak your profiles to sound good to you, save those profiles only to use with your current set up?


    That's what I'm doing right now. I do the tweaking for live use at gig volume with my DXR10 or the PA in the rehearsal room anyway. So therefore I don't necessarily need the accurate representation.


    Quote from Michael_dk

    Well, how is your current setup treating you?


    If you like the sound of the kemper and music playback - why change? :)


    The biggest problem with this setup is that the bass often sounds muffled. More or less like a really cheap subwoofer, just farting out extra bass noise. To get a clear guitar sound, I often need to cut a lot of bass, leaving me with a thin guitar tone.


    Quote from Paul LaPlaca

    I wouldn't worry about being in the "Sweet Spot" for studio monitors if you aren't critically listening for a final professional mix.


    Any decent pair of studio monitors is going to sound great no matter where you sit in a small room if you are playing just for fun.


    Also, any professionally produced music that you may be playing along with is going to sound just fine on studio monitors, their linearity isn't going to be a problem unless you are looking for extreme low end.

    Thanks Paul for pointing out the fact about the sweet spot. I always heard it was a problem, but if it's just for mixing purposes it's no problem for me at all.
    I'm not looking for much low end, I just want the low end that's in there to be tight.

    I would suggest that you bring home your DXR 10 if only just to find out whether those farting bass sounds come from your speakers or from your room (or from whatever). Anyway, if in this scenario you find out that your old speakers are indeed no good you would gain a different perspective given to you by the DXR 10.


    HTH

    +1 for monitors.
    I'd suggest you to visit an audio store with your player and listen to your favourite tunes through some monitors in your price range and choose the ones you like best :)
    Remember that the placement affects their sound (like for any audio device), so if they are on a shelf or in a corner (or in a bad room) the sound at your place might differ.

    Quote from mrs-zambesi

    I would suggest that you bring home your DXR 10 if only just to find out whether those farting bass sounds come from your speakers or from your room (or from whatever). Anyway, if in this scenario you find out that your old speakers are indeed no good you would gain a different perspective given to you by the DXR 10.


    HTH

    Thanks for bringing that up, good point. Actually, it was the moment that I got the DXR10 (2 or 3 weeks ago) that I noticed that the bass was a lot more defined when I played music through or used the Kemper. However, I did not test different speaker placements in my room. Might be a good thing to do before investing in new speakers.


    Quote from viabcroce

    +1 for monitors.
    I'd suggest you to visit an audio store with your player and listen to your favourite tunes through some monitors in your price range and choose the ones you like best :)
    Remember that the placement affects their sound (like for any audio device), so if they are on a shelf or in a corner (or in a bad room) the sound at your place might differ.

    Unfortunately there are not that many audio (music) stores around here that have many monitors. Therefore, I wanted to ask first if it would be a good idea to go for monitors anyway. Sounds like everybody here agrees on that.

    Before I got my studio monitors, I'd also heard the viewpoint that 'listening to music won't sound as good'.


    I've got a pair of Neumann monitors and I did some home-made sound treatment in my little batcave at home. Yes, the Kemper sounds wonderful (well, apart from my playing ;) ) but it's also the case that my favourite commercial tracks in here sound better than I've known them to sound anywhere else..... It actually altered my stereo decisions elsewhere in the house as in I got rid of the floor standers / amp in the living room and went with a soundbar. It looks tidier and does a decent job for movies. It's just that, for actual music listening, I come into the batcave because the living room with reasonable floorstanders + furniture + being a living room did a far worse job of reproducing music in an enjoyable way than my setup in here.


    Good luck whatever you end up doing :)