Message 9/9
Date: 26-Nov-02 @ 12:06 AM -
RE: Monitor placement?
I agree, Influx. Unless you're in an acoustically flat room (which I'll lay odds most aren't), where you place a monitor or sub isn't gonna be much more than sitting down and assesssing where things sound best.
Example: Subs can be put in a corner. In fact they work really well in a corner, but you have to keep the following in mind. They'll excite more freqs when they're placed in a corner, i.e., you'll have to use less of the subs power as you're using a built in "megaphone" in the form of the two walls. So you may have to roll off the overall volume a bit. Second, the closer to the center of a room your sub is, the fewer standing waves it'll create, yet at the same time, it will emphasize or de-emphasize some freq more, which can create problems too. Hence, less standing waves but more possible "holes" or "hotspots" in your listening environment.
So it's "good" to put a sub in the corner, and it's not good to put a sub in a corner. Depending on perspective, it's right both ways.
Like I said earlier, unless you've got an acoustically flat room, I wouldna worry over it too much. Put the setup where it sounds good and get used to it.
As far as the use of a sub causing mixes to be muddy, sure, but that can happen on regular monitors, too. A sub is really only usefuul to a mixer who: a) needs to know what's really going on below 60-80hz, b) you work with a lot of low-frequency material, c) you wanna have a big bottom when you work on yer mix, d) you work with surround mixing where the LF channel IS a part of the mix...
It WILL NOT make your mixes muddier to use a sub while doing mixdown, any more than having any other imbalances in your listening setup, whether it be room acoustics, EQ, reflections, etc., etc. Does one need a sub to do good mixes? Feck no. Matter of fact, good mixes have been made on headphones, cheap home stereo systems, etc. How? The mixer had serious skill and were very familiar with their setup and it's llimitations. I wouldn't recommend such a setup, but if that's what you got to work with, use it until you can justify upgrading...