Investing in some new gear

**Pyroshock** · 10-13-2010, 10:23 PM

Glad to see y'all again, it's been long.

Over the last several months, I've gotten rather unconfident with the speakers I've been using for quite a few years now (the Logitech Z-5500). Of course they're not anywhere near real production quality, I tested them myself even and got a response of about +/-5 dB across their range.

Because of that, I've been saving up to replace my current set up (my laptop straight to the Z-5500 receiver with 3.5 mm) with something quite a step up. I'm trying to go for the KRK Rokit 6s, with a Peavey PV6 mixer for my routing. Basically what I'll be doing is going from my laptop's onboard sound with 3.5mm to RCA into the mixer, then simply TRS balanced to the Rokits.

I want your opinions though! I remember at least a few of you (iPatcH and Erothyme I think) have one of the Rokit series. The main reason I'm going with the 6s is because their website lists the accuracy of the 5s as +/-2 dB compared to +/-1.5 dB for the 6 and 8.

Also another thing that could be changed is instead of just the analog PV6, I could throw some more cash at that department and get a mixer with a USB input to bypass the onboard sound of my laptop. Anyone think that's a better idea?

On the musical side of things, I'm afraid I don't have much to show y'all. That last thing I've really done was my EP (I can't remember if it was posted here) that I finished back in January. I've only finished one song since I released my EP, and it's been degraded on some other forums so it's not really worth showing here. I've been at a loss for what I want to do with music though -- I've been pretty sick of what I've done and have been trying to experiment with a lot of other crap, but nothing has turned out as of yet. We will see, I suppose. Any new stuff will definitely be posted here first as soon as it's finished.

**iPatcH** · 10-14-2010, 07:05 PM

Errgh I am going to respond to this soon

**djaero** · 10-14-2010, 08:45 PM

It sounds like a waste to get accurate monitors when you are outputting sound directly from your laptops onboard audio. It would be a better investment to get an interface with a quality DA converter as well as monitors.

Something like the MOTU Ultralite or a comprable interface would work well for your intended setup. The MOTU has decent converters and it also can serve as a standalone mixer, eliminating the need to buy one seperately. An interface like that provides much more I/O than you would need simply for playback, so maybe you might want to look into a more compact solution like the Apogee Duet.

As far as monitors go... I don"t have any experience with the rockits, bu Alesis and Behringer make quality low-budget active monitors.

**djaero** · 10-14-2010, 08:50 PM

I just noticed you mentioned getting an outboard interface, sorry I didn't read the whole post before responding :P

But yeah, getting an interface would be the way to go.

**djaero** · 10-14-2010, 08:51 PM

dbl post

**Pyroshock** · 10-14-2010, 08:59 PM

Ouch, that Ultralite is expensive, same with the Apogee. For that price I'd probably spend a bit more for the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R, but frankly college doesn't let me have nice toys

.

You mentioned Behringer for the monitors, but I see on their website they also have a USB input mixer (1204USB) that's more in my price range, but I assume something of its price ($130) would have a rather crappy DAC?

Quote:

Originally Posted by iPatcH

Errgh I am going to respond to this soon

Looking forward!

**Pyroshock** · 10-23-2010, 03:10 PM

OK, I'm thinking about going with the Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ since it's only $119 and supports 96/24.

BUT, its outputs are only unbalanced, so I could either pay $100 more for the Audio Kontroller 1 on sale that has balanced outputs and supports 192/24 AND comes bundled with $179 worth of software, or just deal with unbalanced and buy the shortest TS cables I can find.

**djaero** · 10-25-2010, 04:16 AM

For what reason do you need 192kHz or 96kHz support?

If this is for home use I don't think you need to worry about using unbalanced interconnects. In the unlikely case that you do notice interference with your audio signal you could run it through an isolation transformer to eliminate the noise.

**Pyroshock** · 10-25-2010, 02:12 PM

It's not really the higher sampling rate but the 24-bit support I'm more concerned with, but it'd be nice since I like to export in 88.2/32f before mastering. All the Behringer mixers with USB inputs are 48/16 only.

Plus all the Native Instruments external soundcards have native ASIO and WASAPI drivers.

If unbalanced isn't a big deal like you say, then I'll probably go with the Audio 2 DJ.

DJMillaMusic · 11-6-2010, 03:26 PM

I have the KRK Rokit 8's and they are amazing. The KRK rokit 6's, I believe, you would be very happy with. The quality is very good, and their easy to deal with. KRK is really smart with speakers. The only problem is pricing...

EDIT: Hi Pyro, Doubt you remember me from Rithum, but you might. I'm Rave03. Errr. I WAS Rave03.

EDIT2: I didn't read the rest of the posts. Yes djaero is right, I'm running my speakers through an M-audio preamp/audio interface. It is important to have one of these. They also come with stuff like MIDI input, and Mic Channels.

EDIT3: Cant go wrong with Native Instruments. I'm getting Komplete 7 here soon. Thought I'd throw that in here.

-Nathan

10-13-2010, 10:23 PM	#1
Pyroshock ε=-dΦ/dt Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: College Station, TX Age: 31 Posts: 1,170	Investing in some new gear Glad to see y'all again, it's been long. Over the last several months, I've gotten rather unconfident with the speakers I've been using for quite a few years now (the Logitech Z-5500). Of course they're not anywhere near real production quality, I tested them myself even and got a response of about +/-5 dB across their range. Because of that, I've been saving up to replace my current set up (my laptop straight to the Z-5500 receiver with 3.5 mm) with something quite a step up. I'm trying to go for the KRK Rokit 6s, with a Peavey PV6 mixer for my routing. Basically what I'll be doing is going from my laptop's onboard sound with 3.5mm to RCA into the mixer, then simply TRS balanced to the Rokits. I want your opinions though! I remember at least a few of you (iPatcH and Erothyme I think) have one of the Rokit series. The main reason I'm going with the 6s is because their website lists the accuracy of the 5s as +/-2 dB compared to +/-1.5 dB for the 6 and 8. Also another thing that could be changed is instead of just the analog PV6, I could throw some more cash at that department and get a mixer with a USB input to bypass the onboard sound of my laptop. Anyone think that's a better idea? On the musical side of things, I'm afraid I don't have much to show y'all. That last thing I've really done was my EP (I can't remember if it was posted here) that I finished back in January. I've only finished one song since I released my EP, and it's been degraded on some other forums so it's not really worth showing here. I've been at a loss for what I want to do with music though -- I've been pretty sick of what I've done and have been trying to experiment with a lot of other crap, but nothing has turned out as of yet. We will see, I suppose. Any new stuff will definitely be posted here first as soon as it's finished. __________________ http://pyroshock.bandcamp.com http://soundcloud.com/pyroshock

10-14-2010, 07:05 PM	#2
iPatcH Swamp Lemons Rule Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: not detroit you idiots Age: 35 Posts: 3,370	Re: Investing in some new gear Errgh I am going to respond to this soon __________________ put on a donk on it

10-14-2010, 08:45 PM	#3
djaero FFR Music Producer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles Age: 35 Posts: 87	Re: Investing in some new gear It sounds like a waste to get accurate monitors when you are outputting sound directly from your laptops onboard audio. It would be a better investment to get an interface with a quality DA converter as well as monitors. Something like the MOTU Ultralite or a comprable interface would work well for your intended setup. The MOTU has decent converters and it also can serve as a standalone mixer, eliminating the need to buy one seperately. An interface like that provides much more I/O than you would need simply for playback, so maybe you might want to look into a more compact solution like the Apogee Duet. As far as monitors go... I don"t have any experience with the rockits, bu Alesis and Behringer make quality low-budget active monitors.

10-14-2010, 08:50 PM	#4
djaero FFR Music Producer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles Age: 35 Posts: 87	Re: Investing in some new gear I just noticed you mentioned getting an outboard interface, sorry I didn't read the whole post before responding :P But yeah, getting an interface would be the way to go.

10-14-2010, 08:51 PM	#5
djaero FFR Music Producer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles Age: 35 Posts: 87	Re: Investing in some new gear dbl post Last edited by djaero; 10-25-2010 at 04:17 AM..

10-23-2010, 03:10 PM	#7
Pyroshock ε=-dΦ/dt Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: College Station, TX Age: 31 Posts: 1,170	Re: Investing in some new gear OK, I'm thinking about going with the Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ since it's only $119 and supports 96/24. BUT, its outputs are only unbalanced, so I could either pay $100 more for the Audio Kontroller 1 on sale that has balanced outputs and supports 192/24 AND comes bundled with $179 worth of software, or just deal with unbalanced and buy the shortest TS cables I can find. __________________ http://pyroshock.bandcamp.com http://soundcloud.com/pyroshock

10-25-2010, 04:16 AM	#8
djaero FFR Music Producer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Los Angeles Age: 35 Posts: 87	Re: Investing in some new gear For what reason do you need 192kHz or 96kHz support? If this is for home use I don't think you need to worry about using unbalanced interconnects. In the unlikely case that you do notice interference with your audio signal you could run it through an isolation transformer to eliminate the noise.

10-25-2010, 02:12 PM	#9
Pyroshock ε=-dΦ/dt Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: College Station, TX Age: 31 Posts: 1,170	Re: Investing in some new gear It's not really the higher sampling rate but the 24-bit support I'm more concerned with, but it'd be nice since I like to export in 88.2/32f before mastering. All the Behringer mixers with USB inputs are 48/16 only. Plus all the Native Instruments external soundcards have native ASIO and WASAPI drivers. If unbalanced isn't a big deal like you say, then I'll probably go with the Audio 2 DJ. __________________ http://pyroshock.bandcamp.com http://soundcloud.com/pyroshock Last edited by Pyroshock; 10-29-2010 at 05:34 PM..

11-6-2010, 03:26 PM	#10
DJMillaMusic FFR Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 62	Re: Investing in some new gear I have the KRK Rokit 8's and they are amazing. The KRK rokit 6's, I believe, you would be very happy with. The quality is very good, and their easy to deal with. KRK is really smart with speakers. The only problem is pricing... EDIT: Hi Pyro, Doubt you remember me from Rithum, but you might. I'm Rave03. Errr. I WAS Rave03. EDIT2: I didn't read the rest of the posts. Yes djaero is right, I'm running my speakers through an M-audio preamp/audio interface. It is important to have one of these. They also come with stuff like MIDI input, and Mic Channels. EDIT3: Cant go wrong with Native Instruments. I'm getting Komplete 7 here soon. Thought I'd throw that in here. -Nathan __________________ MY BIG LINK! Last edited by DJMillaMusic; 11-6-2010 at 03:32 PM..

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