Headphone or monitors?

[tomm!c]

Guys,

I'm hoping to extend my "studio" in the coming weeks. In before I worked on a small bureau with my Stanton DJ Pro 2000 headphones and sometimes a pretty generic 2.1 Logitec soundset. Now I have a small room available (around 7 square meters) and that's where the musical magic has to happen in a bigger way. As a matter of fact the room is located at the attic (second story) and unfortunately the construction of the house causes a lot of noisecomplaining from my neighbours, which is sad.

So you can see I'm having a little dilema. My budget is around 300 euro and I don't know what to do. Is there a easy way to absorb all the unnecessary noise with isolation material so that I can start using monitors such as KRK RP5 or Mackie's or some sort of things, or do I need to get a highclass headphone which will do the job...

Help me out! I could really have some advice. Also which kind of monitors, which headphones and so on...

Cheers!

[max.tone]

My living environment doesn't allow me to use proper monitors, so I decided to switch to in-ear monitors and for me it is a very satisfying solution. The only thing that I am missing is that you don't feel the sound. There is also software which allows you to simulate monitors which might enhance the experience. An example would be "Nx – Virtual Mix Room" by Waves.
I am using "Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10". They cost around 250 Euros.

I hope this will help you.

[NRx Hardstyle]

First of all, invest in some sort of interface/soundcard. It'll help out a lot. Im currently using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (pretty decent imo, good for both recording and playback https://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-inte ... arlett-2i4). Really happy with it, has been working flawlessly for the past year and a half. Then for monitors I use a pair of JBL LSR305(http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/reco ... JNbxvl97IU), really happy with the quality of sound as well. They were farely cheap bought both of them and the interface for about 600€. I'm also using a pair of AKG K44 headphones, mostly for convenience.

Choosing between headphones and monitors, for me is that using headphones for a long time, tires your ears way faster than working with monitors. This is just me, but its way more comfort working with monitors.

All in all, its your personal preference, which one do you like more.

[Soundphase]

I have KRK RP5s and I'll tell you that it's nearly impossible to hear the effect of tweeking a compressor with them, so you can have a punch with harsh mids and you won't even hear that it sounds harsh with the KRK monitors.. with headphones though, you can hear bass, mids, and the compressor effect quite well. It depends on the headphones, I use sennheiser HD280 pro.. The KRKs are decent for mixing treble but overall, I think they won't work well in that room size if there is no noise isolation foam.

here's a tip:
If you want to only use monitors for mixing and creating hardstyle kicks from the ground up, research bi-amp and tri-amp active monitors. Sadly, they can be very pricey. The only other alternative is to keep comparing the sound on various sound sources to ensure it sounds good.

[Soundphase]

on KVR I made a question asking about bi-amp active monitors which allow you to hear good detail in the midrange (you need this for the hardstyle sound design), and with a low price budget

I got these interesting responses:

I use Fostex PM 1 MKII's. Bi amped, active - somewhat 'dry' and 'tight' sounding - definitely not 'hi-fi' flattering or coloured but very accurate and revealing - will reveal things that sound nasty very clearly.

I would be looking Adam A7 (very revealing, nothing can hide from these monitors. People confuse its transparent sound as 'harshness' but its not so), Focal Alpha 80, Dynaudio BM5 (very 'silky', also revealing but more silky than the Adam's)...there are many more, but no recommendation is worth your own assessment in a shop, especially if they have a proper demo room. Treat yourself to a trip, even if you have to travel far, book the shop demo studio and audition several monitors with music material you know well. Monitors are so important.