Educate me on sound/speakers in retard terms....

[Lowk]

Basically i am looking into buying a good set of studio monitors / speakers for my home, and i want to invest this chunk of money sitting on my lap correctly. After a 3 year hiatus i just dusted off my tech 12, and i have been fucking around with reason lately, and along with the speakers i plan on purchasing Scratch Live.

I know a little on the subject of sound, but not nearly enough to invest correctly...

So treat me in this thread as if i haven't a clue about the wide terminology associated with sound/speakers an offer up some online resources to edumactae myself, what i would need to have some decent sound going in my apartment, and some brands that are highly respected for them.

While you are at it..

Push me in the direction as well, if you think there would be somewheres else that could help me better than here...haha....and wikipedia.


For anyone that gives me genuine feedback here, i swear give internets if and when i am able to every time i happen to stumble on on your posts.

[eXcessive]

Personally I have found that what kind of speakers you want really depends on what you are going to be doing with your music. Are you going to be throwing parties and blasting with full bass or would you rather a small set up with a clean, crisp sound? This may seem trivial, as in speakers are just speakers, why's it matter if I blast it or not? But I know a lot of people, including myself, that have gone out and picked up a nice *looking* set of speakers just to blow them out within a few weeks.

Judging by your post it looks like you're trying to invest in a pretty good set up so I'd suggest taking a look around at a few different websites and just read the descriptions (even if you don't know all the terminology, you should be able to get a pretty good idea of what's what...) and pick out what looks right for your apartment.

check out...
Synthtopia » Electronic music news, synthesizers, reviews and more! (great website for music producers)

Yamaha Monitors, Active/Amplified Control, Studio Monitors Speakers Audio & Sound Equipment Products from Full Compass (some good deals)

Factory Sound (more of a professional selection)

Like I said in the end it boils down to your preference and your budget, and as far as brands go I know Yamaha is generally well respected as well as Behringer and M-Audio. Then you have your standard companies like Sony, JVC, Roland, etc. If you decide to go with a brand name you've never heard of before, make sure you read some feedback about it and/or check their company website to see what they're all about. Nothing worse than buying a nice *looking* pair of speakers just to find out they suck dick. In my personal experience I didn't enjoy Altec Lansing's speakers too much (not powerful enough) and I tried a Sharper Image set up once, which was alright but pretty bland. Was more of an aesthetics thing.

Wish I could be more help in specifically pointing out some brand names or exact products, but I haven't shopped for speakers in a while so I'm a bit out of the loop. Hope this helps enough to get you started.

[Tingteng]

size of the room and price range could help get an idea of a direction to point you in too.

[Vorph]

Start with Paradigm.

Whenever I've bought high-end speakers, I've gone to a local shop and brought the ones I liked best in store home for a 24 hour test. Seems like a pretty common policy, as I've seen it in three different cities I've lived in.

[Lowk]

i ended up going with....

Amazon.com: M-Audio Studiophile BX8a Deluxe 130-watt Bi-amplified Studio Reference Monitors