Which studio monitors to buy?

If money is no object - these are silly expensive -
Barefoot Sound » MiniMain12
Funky looking things...


Someone mentioned Magnapans in passing - I worked at opus one in Pgh. We had a few pair of those.

Not a golder ear kinda guy - but when we had these:
Hill Plasmatronics Type 1 loudspeaker



They used ionized helium for the tweeter - check this out:

Yea - that's a tank of He in the back...

The ground level ozone it produced destroyed the Magnapans on the showroom floor - as well as accelerated the rotting of all the woofer surrounds in various speakers we sold that used foam for the surround material.

 

Barefoot speakers are nice but I’ve read they are primarily a near field speaker. Studio only I would think.

 

Kinda big for a nearfield - maybe a midfield:
Tweeter:

1″ ring radiator, Advanced geometry motor, Rear waveguide chamber
Amplifier: 250W Hypex
Midranges: 2 x 2.5″ aluminum cones, Advanced geometry motor, +/- 2 mm linear excursion
Amplifier: 250W Hypex
Woofers: 2 x 7″ aluminum cones, Advanced geometry motor, +/- 13 mm linear excursion
Amplifier: 250W Hypex
Subwoofers: 2 x 12″ aluminum cones, Advanced geometry motor, +/- 25 mm linear excursion
Amplifier: 1200W Hypex
AC Power Input: Nominal 115 VAC or 230 VAC selectable
Power Consumption: Idle: 50W, Maximum: 1500W
Weight: Speaker: 120 lbs each (54 kg) – no handles
Shipping: 135 lbs each (61 kg) – no handles
Dimensions HxWxD: 26.0 x 14.4 x 21.9 inches (660 x 366 x 556 mm)

 

I read a review a few years ago and the reviewer said after trying them in his home, that they didn’t sound great as home speakers. I was kinda surprised by that but according to him they are designed primarily for studio monitors. Check out the Kii 3 speakers if you like this flavor of speaker. And price

 

I work with a guy that does sound design for some major studios and games. He mentioned they qual dialog on an Ipad. I recall him mentioning using macbooks a few years ago.
Back in the day we'd use a Sony Trinitron 19" for post; and most studio's I worked at had The Auratone 5C's
I guess some company released a modern version of those
Littlepapercones Single-driver |

"The idea, of course, is to check that the mix works acceptably on the small speakers typical of portable or car radios, on TVs and, these days, on laptops and iPod docks. Often a single 'mix‑reference' speaker is used, rather than a pair, to check mono‑compatibility, too. The Auratone 5C 'Super Sound Cube' — often referred to, somewhat unfairly, as the 'Horrortone' — was one of the most popular examples"

On the other end of price - I checked out the lower end Adams ribbon things recently. Not bad for a few hundred bucks each.

Neumann - the mic company makes some monitors -
Neumann Active Monitors | Sweetwater

 

I have a very non-optimal setup in my studio - it shares space with my day-job CNC mill and gear.

I have a monitor switch for going between various systems - one is an old Sony thing you'd find in a kitchen or something

 

What do you build? You have some interesting tools.

 

I work for a buncha clients here in DC... and have a day job where I work from home. My main gig is electronics Wayne Mitzen - Portfolio

 

This is the mac daddy of studio monitors.

Meyer Sound X-10 Powered Loudspeakers



The Meyer Sound X-10 is a squarish speaker (30H x 31W x 21.5D) designed primarily for studio use and priced starting at $30,000 a pair with options and modifications that can make them much more expensive. They are powered with multiple amplifiers, with a total output of 1820 Watts per speaker. They come with an insanely robust 15 inch driver that has an even more insane four inch excursion. The reported frequency response is 18Hz to about 20kHz. On the high end the Meyer Sound X-10's use a horn tweeter which I urge you not to draw any conclusions on. I too do not traditionally like a horn tweeter's stereotypical sound, but the Meyer Sound X-10's are different. They are very different. Meyer Sound's SIM system allows acousticians arguably the best, most powerful tools to tune these speakers to your room. Along with Meyer Sound X-10's you might use a Meyer Sound CP-10 analog parametric equalizer as well as one or two (or more) of their X800 subwoofers to create an entire speaker system - not that you "need" more bass than 20 Hz, but "need" at HomeTheaterReview.com is a loosely defined term...

 

BGA rework station? That is impressive, sir.