Statement Monitors for pro audio recording/mixing.

[aman74]

I was wondering if this speaker design would be appropriate for tracking/mixing in a home recording environment?

There are quite a few HT style speakers that work well for this and I thought since these are a nice design for music compared to waveguides and such that they might fit the bill.

Are they accurate enough for this type of use? How would they fare in a near field situation...many speakers fail there and I'm not sure, but I have a feeling the larger the speaker the more likely that is to be an issue. If I have to move back a bit to use these I'd probably still try and make it work as I just can't afford to buy two sets of speakers and need an all in one choice.

There's a really good sale on some monitors which formally retailed for close to 2k and now selling for 600. I almost jumped on the deal, but I had learned about the Statements quite some time ago and really had my heart set on them. Can't really go much higher than $800, can you get the monitors done for that if you have someone build the enclosures for you?

Your thoughts are appreciated, thanks in advance!

-Anthony

[Jim Holtz]

Hi Anthony,

I don't know if anyone has used the Monitors for recording monitors. The design of the Monitors is the same as the rest of the Statements series in that the open back blends with the forward wave to give an open, spacious and "unboxy" sound quality. They also require 12" or more clearance from the back of the speaker cabinet to the wall behind depending on crossover selected. IMHO, accuracy would not be an issue.

I tend to think a very nearfield listening situation would not be ideal. Curt probably has a better take on this than I do, but I'd guess that you'd want to sit at least 6' back for proper driver integration.

BTW, when you say fail, I think you're really saying the drivers aren't integrating well during nearfield listening. A 2-way would probably serve you better in that respect.

This is all a SWAG on my part. If anyone has tried nearfield listening with Statements Monitors please jump in.

Jim

[aman74]

Thanks Jim for your thoughts.

I didn't mean fail in a negative light. Only in regards to the possibility of the Statements not being ideal for near field use.

I would like to hear from you or anyone else how they feel the Statement Monitors would be in this situation assuming I had a setup where I was able to move back from the speakers during mixing/tracking. With the advent of people using big tvs and ipads or other controllers there are no more set-up where people are working much further back than your typical desk situation.

It's not likely I'll go that route, but I'd still like to entertain the idea.

Thanks,

Anthony

[Face]

Near field mastering=Tannoy dual concentrics.

[Jim Holtz]

I didn't mean fail in a negative light. Only in regards to the possibility of the Statements not being ideal for near field use.

Hi Anthony,

No worries. I didn't take it as a negative comment but rather a realistic one. The Statements series speakers weren't designed for nearfield listening. They work great at normal distances as they were designed to.

There's an excellent discussion at PE regarding nearfield monitors. I see you're participating in it. You should get some good opinions there.

Jim

[aman74]

Near field mastering=Tannoy dual concentrics.

I've heard good things about them. I'll take another look.

[aman74]

Hi Anthony,

No worries. I didn't take it as a negative comment but rather a realistic one. The Statements series speakers weren't designed for nearfield listening. They work great at normal distances as they were designed to.

There's an excellent discussion at PE regarding nearfield monitors. I see you're participating in it. You should get some good opinions there.

Jim

I think you mean the thread I started there with the same question?

Thanks for the help guys. I'm sure I'll figure it all out.

The monitoring isn't for professional work, just my own satisfaction so it's not as critical.

I've had my heart set on the Statements for a long time now, so I just thought I'd see if it was workable.

How do you think they would do if I was able to have my listening position in their sweet spot?

Other DIY projects that caught my eye that were mentioned to me on PE were the Zaph SR71 or is it ZR and the Usher 701. Problem is that I found the Usher 701 on PE listed at 999, but another link I found to PE show it for I believe close to 300, I think for one speaker, but that's still 600 compare to a grand. I'm trying to get that sorted.

Also came across the Chameleon, the one with the felt on the baffle. Looked to be only about 300 bucks and was said to actually compare favorably with the Statements. I just can't find too much on them and I saw one reference to the drivers or maybe the tweeters being unavailable now. I'm trying to get that sorted as well.

It's a bit tough to sort it all out.

Thanks for your continued thoughts!

-Anthony