Monitors or treatment?

[ChadDub]

So I want to take my mixing to the next level. I think I know enough technically to make a good or decent mix but it's the representation of the music that's holding me back. I have the KRK Rokit 8s and I've heard they aren't the best monitors to go with in the 500$ range. I can either invest in treating my room or I can get different monitors. Which one should I do?

[forbidden]

depends on size/shape of room. 8 inch cones are going to put huge bass reflections in a small room, especially if it's rectangular. if you had the 5's i would say go for treatment. but since you have the 8's i would flip those, get some equator d5's and acoustic foam.

[Hashkey]

depends on size/shape of room. 8 inch cones are going to put huge bass reflections in a small room, especially if it's rectangular. if you had the 5's i would say go for treatment. but since you have the 8's i would flip those, get some equator d5's and acoustic foam.

I owned a pair of equator d5 they are great monitors with super accurate mid range and stereo Image BUT...
They are good as second monitors,
C'mon let's be honest... we make heavy bass music and it's pretty impossible to get a club feel with 5's.
My suggestion is to keep your 8's and Buy a really good pair of headphones. After you got the headphones Save up for some treatment. Final stage upgrade your monitors.

I can guarantee that making heavy bass music (sound design and mixing) on 5's it's like driving blindfolded.

[ChadDub]

depends on size/shape of room. 8 inch cones are going to put huge bass reflections in a small room, especially if it's rectangular. if you had the 5's i would say go for treatment. but since you have the 8's i would flip those, get some equator d5's and acoustic foam.

I owned a pair of equator d5 they are great monitors with super accurate mid range and stereo Image BUT...
They are good as second monitors,
C'mon let's be honest... we make heavy bass music and it's pretty impossible to get a club feel with 5's.
My suggestion is to keep your 8's and Buy a really good pair of headphones. After you got the headphones Save up for some treatment. Final stage upgrade your monitors.

I can guarantee that making heavy bass music (sound design and mixing) on 5's it's like driving blindfolded.

What about flipping my Rokit 8's and getting 5 inch monitors and the krk sub?

[Hashkey]

That's another good option but trust me you will need headphones to do balancing and eq. If your room isn't treated you can only switch on and off your sub with a pedal to get the club feel, absolutely impossible to mix or eq with it.

[benjam]

depends on size/shape of room. 8 inch cones are going to put huge bass reflections in a small room, especially if it's rectangular. if you had the 5's i would say go for treatment. but since you have the 8's i would flip those, get some equator d5's and acoustic foam.

I owned a pair of equator d5 they are great monitors with super accurate mid range and stereo Image BUT...
They are good as second monitors,
C'mon let's be honest... we make heavy bass music and it's pretty impossible to get a club feel with 5's.
My suggestion is to keep your 8's and Buy a really good pair of headphones. After you got the headphones Save up for some treatment. Final stage upgrade your monitors.

I can guarantee that making heavy bass music (sound design and mixing) on 5's it's like driving blindfolded.

Get equator d8s then??? best thing ive ever done personally

[fragments]

^that is my next move monitors wise (moving up from D5s)

[Hashkey]

^that is my next move monitors wise (moving up from D5s)

Good choice. Sound design with biggers cones it's like heaven on bass stuff.

[Earjax]

I've got good monitors but suffer from a weirdly shaped and cluttered room that has recently made it impossible to tell whats going on in my mixdowns without referencing on headphones every 10 minutes - i'd do the treatment!

[motox2121]

As someone who has had krk 8s, the krk 8s with a sub, then recently sold all of that BS and bought adam a5's and some acoustic treaertment and have never been happier. Extremely happy with this route. Still PLENTY of low end / loudness, and so much mid/high detail to go with it. Do NOT get a sub unless you have an extremely treated / tuned room. And at that point you most likely wont be going with the krk sub as your first choice if you have that kind of money to spend, not that it is a bad sub.

[nowaysj]

Don't do the 5's and sub. I did it.

You have two issues: monitoring and treatment. They both need to be done, they both need to be done first. Are you in a bedroom? If so it is going to be hard to treat and no monitor is going to be accurate in there.

Headphones may be a better option.

http://www.headphone.com/pages/build-a-graph

[counterparty]

Honestly I would preference room treatment over new monitors, hands down. Your Rokit 8s are more than adequate. If you ask any professional sound designer they will tell you that the room you are mixing in is the #1 key to a successful mix, professional engineers can (and do) use monitors much crappier than yours all the time. If you cannot get the room sounding right, no matter how expensive your monitors are... it will never produce a high quality mix.

Agreed on headphones being a good option too, but you do need that room treated to work with your KRK 8s. I know a lot of people here are advising otherwise, and it's easy to think "hey if I drop $500, $1000, etc on monitors that HAS to be worth it, right?", but you'll get way more bang for your buck by cleaning up your room first and if you really feel the need to get even better monitors than I'd say go for it.

[nowaysj]

Safe room treatment in a bedroom can be quite expensive. As much as I'd love Chad to cover himself and his internal organs with rockwool and fiberglass, I have to recommend against it. From what I've seen, body friendly sound treatment is at least 2x the price, and has its own issues like cotton dust.

[Sharmaji]

i built a whole new round of OC 703 bass traps in August/Sept-- was able to source them locally, and they were VERY inexpensive.

3 2" and 3 4" thick 703 panels from here, about $100: http://www.buyinsulationproductstore.co ... materials/ all told 4 4" thick and 2 2" thick traps.

another $20 in 1x2's and drywall screws

2 $8 duvet covers from ikea fronts and backs.

if you can find 'em locally, it's totally worth it.

[nowaysj]

Would you sleep under that?

[AxeD]

Rent out your bass traps to the homeless.

[Sharmaji]

Would you sleep under that?

build it right, yes.

[nowaysj]

I disagree (I'm currently working under open fiberglass batting, it looks like it is snowing, but it is glass), but the chemical binders are still going to off gas. I've heard of people getting very sick when they've done this to their bedroom studios.

A debilitating illness could do Chad some good though, so I say go for it!

[Hashkey]

I disagree (I'm currently working under open fiberglass batting, it looks like it is snowing, but it is glass), but the chemical binders are still going to off gas. I've heard of people getting very sick when they've done this to their bedroom studios.

A debilitating illness could do Chad some good though, so I say go for it!

I Agree, all these materials receive some kind of nasty chemical treatment and they outgas some really bad stuff for months even years I wouldn't Sleep in a room filled with fiber sorry.