Near-field monitor (NFM) technology has come a long way since the last time I was in the recording studio. It used to be the case that you pretty much had to spend about $4,000+ to get a good pair of NFM speakers. These days, musicians have a host of decent choices around the $500 price point, several good choices around the $1,000 price point, and several great choices above that. Though it has taken me quite a bit of listening and tweaking, I've finally settled on a pair of Mackie HR626 NFMs. Read on for additional commentary.
Honestly, I really didn't want to spend $1,500 on a pair of NFM speakers. When I originally put my budget together, I was optimistic in thinking that I could live with something around the $500 price point. I discovered along the way that I simply wasn't being realistic, largely because my interest is in composing classical music. If I were doing nothing but pop music, rock and roll, blues, etc., then I could probably get away with much cheaper monitors. Because I'm interested in classical composition, however, I need monitors that won't lie, that won't lose a wealth of ambient detail or color the various instruments to an unacceptable degree.
The cheapest of the NFMs that I considered was the M-Audio BX8. They have very pleasing bass response, relatively good clarity in the mid-range, and an utterly amazing high end. They're also quite configurable, insofar as the speakers provide several switches on the back panel to help the user tune them to the specifics of his control room. Better still, my local music store had them for $487 for the pair, so that's nice and cheap.
Unfortunately, however, their amazing high end is a bit too amazing. Listening to pop, some blues, and even some jazz on them didn't highlight exactly how much of a problem this would be. In contrast, listening to Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" immediately highlighted their defects. I know that recording like I know the back of my hand, and I should; I used it to set equalization values in auditoriums all across the country when I toured in 1989 - 1990.
Listening to "Fanfare for the Common Man" through the BX8s was positively painful. The brass section was so bright that it almost made my teeth vibrate. True, the BX8s delivered a rich bottom end for the timpani, but I simply could not get past the degree to which they were "honking" with the mid-range and lower portion of the high end. The BX8s would (1) surely have given me listener fatigue in very short order, and (2) have caused me to drastically overestimate the upper-mid range and highs during mixdown.
A slightly more pricey option was a pair of Tannoy Reveal Active NFMs. I've never had the pleasure of listening to Tannoy monitors before, and I must say I was pretty impressed. Of particular note was the fact that my local music store had a slightly damaged pair (one of the speakers had a nick in the finish on its front) on sale for $599. For sake of reference, they seem to be selling for $699 - $799 most places these days, so that $100 discount was welcome to say the least.
Unlike the BX8s, the Tannoy speakers didn't have any sort of obnoxious "honking" in the mid-range or overemphasized highs. Quite the contrary, the Tannoy monitors presented good ambient detail in the mid-range while providing a crisp and well balanced high end. My only substantive complaint against the Tannoy speakers is that they are clearly lacking at the low end. Whereas the BX8s have a nice, smooth, and powerful low end, the Tannoy speakers fall a bit flat by comparison. Perhaps when paired with a subwoofer this wouldn't be an issue, but I didn't want to fuss with an additional subwoofer.
So I took a good look at the Mackie HR824 instead. Honestly, I see precisely why these speakers get so much good press, for their sound is quite lovely. Of course they are also quite expensive, costing roughly $1,400 per pair at most places. For the money these are very good NFMs. In fact, I think they're the second best pair I listened to within my price range. The bass response is tremendous, the mid-range is very clear, and the highs have that transparent, open sound that is so desirable.
But if I'm going to spend that much money I don't want bass that's misleading. It took me quite a bit of listening to decide that these weren't the NFMs for me, but it becomes pretty clear in short order that the HR824 has a very unique character. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you, for every monitor speaker has its own character. The problem is that the HR824's character just isn't for me. Were I some hip-hop scratching rap fiend, the HR824 would be perfect, but I'm not. I don't want a low end that is powerful to the point where it messes up my mixing, and I know that the HR824 would do exactly that.
Thus I came eventually to the Mackie HR626. These speakers were the second-most expensive model carried by my local store, costing about $1,500 per pair, and I was really doing my best to avoid them because of that fact. Unfortunately, some things are too good to avoid. From the first time I listened to "Fanfare for the Common Man", I knew these were the best speakers available for my particular needs. Their bottom end is as smooth as it is powerful, without the noticeable boost of the HR824's. The mid-range is as clear as any other NFM speaker I've heard, bringing the most ambient detail to light that I've ever experienced. And to top it all off, the high end is simply wonderful; it's open, "airy", transparent, and sounds as if I'm sitting right in front of the orchestra.
The speakers are a bit big for my taste, but with as good as they sound I'll manage to find room for them in my studio. I listened to all my favorite genres of music on the Mackie HR626 NFMs. Rock and roll had all the punch and aggressive guitar that it should. Blues was appropriately clear and plaintive. Jazz was as open, light, and crisp as it should be. And of course classical selections sound like I'm right there; if I closed my eyes, I could imagine the orchestra right in front of me.
So, I've spent a lot more on my NFM speakers than I wanted to spend. I really wanted to get out for around $500, and I've ended up spending about $1,000 more than that. I can't say that I regret it, however, because the detail that they provide me when mixing is worth it. I can hear every detail, all seemingly in perfect balance. I still do reality checks with cheaper speakers around the house to make sure my music sounds as it should on less capable systems. But I have yet to find any need to compensate for the monitors themselves. Unlike other NFMs, I don't have to boost this or cut that during mixdown because of some flaw in my monitors. That saves a lot of time and aggravation.
It's also helpful that the 626's don't seem to cause any listening fatigue. Whereas I know I wouldn't be able to work on music for more than an hour or two with the BX8s, I haven't hit any limits with the Mackie HR626 speakers. They're just so beautifully balanced in their frequency response, and so forgiving of listening angle (having a very broad "sweet spot") that listening fatigue simply hasn't been an issue. No doubt there are better monitors out there—I've listened to a $4,000 pair that are even better, though they would blow my entire studio budget—but I haven't found any to rival the 626's at their price point.
Give them a listen if you're in the market, but be sure you've got some money in the bank. You'll want them. I can almost guarantee it.
09/23/2003