Do I need a mixer? and which studio speakers?

builttospill

Well I’m kind of a newbie to all of this, I have a 1010 Music Blackbox sampler/sequencer I’ve now added an Arturia Minibrute 2 synth. I’m looking to use these together through some studio monitor speakers? I’ve no intention of recording/mixing/mastering so there’s no need for a computer or audio interface (yet?) 

I just want to make lots of noise/experiment/mess about and annoy my family. 

First question, if I want to use my sampler and synth together through speakers do I need to add a mixer?  

I’m also using a hx stomp (utilising amp/cab sims) to record snippets of guitar into the black box sampler and would like to be able to listen to my guitar and stomp through speakers. Which speakers would you recommend for this purpose? so far I’ve got my eye on the some Kali LP-6’s, iloud micros and Yamaha HS7’s. if I need a mixer what would you recommend on a smallish budget? Thank you and any help greatly appreciated.

Wazmeister

I’ve got some iLouds coming tomorrow morning. I was going to (re) buy Genelec 8010s, but these were recommended and are quite a bit cheaper 

builttospill

Wazmeister said:

I’ve got some iLouds coming tomorrow morning. I was going to (re) buy Genelec 8010s, but these were recommended and are quite a bit cheaper 

Hi @Wazmeister is that the iLoud micros? I’ve been looking at those for my Minibrute2 and Blackbox @octatonic also gives a mention to the Kali LP-6’s

octatonic

Just FYI I got rid of the Kali LP6's.
They were too noisy.

I've gone back to using the iLoud's on my Eurorack modular, and suggested them to Waz.

Wazmeister

octatonic said:

Just FYI I got rid of the Kali LP6's.
They were too noisy.

I've gone back to using the iLoud's on my Eurorack modular, and suggested them to Waz.

Yes, I took your advice and went for the iLouds - coming tomorrow from Juno.

The reviews really do seem good for the money.

builttospill

octatonic said:

Just FYI I got rid of the Kali LP6's.
They were too noisy.

I've gone back to using the iLoud's on my Eurorack modular, and suggested them to Waz.

Well it looks like I’ll be getting the iLouds then.. have also heard that they work well with the helix stomp... should be good enough for my noodlings

octatonic

Wazmeister said:

octatonic said:

Just FYI I got rid of the Kali LP6's.
They were too noisy.

I've gone back to using the iLoud's on my Eurorack modular, and suggested them to Waz.

Yes, I took your advice and went for the iLouds - coming tomorrow from Juno.

The reviews really do seem good for the money.

They are.
They are not perfect there isn't much better for the price.

Branshen

I have both the Kalis and iLouds in front of me now. Kalis are much better in terms of low end and have better overall sound quality in my opinion. But it's not really a fair fight because of the difference in physical size of these two, the Kalis' cabinet is easily 8 or more times larger than the iLouds, they are bound to sound larger. The iLouds are an amazing feat of engineering as they sound impossibly big relative to their size but they are still mid-heavy speakers with lacking bass extension compared to the Kalis. I like them as an additional reference when I am fatigued from the Kalis or want to check how bass translates to smaller speakers, but in the end, the ilouds are a pretty niche product with their small size being the main selling point. 

I've read and seen videos of people talk about the Kalis being noisy. I was very wary of this when testing my speakers in store.. I'm fortunate to not encounter the problem. If you have the space, the Kalis are worth the slight increase in cost. 

I tested the HS7s alongside my Kalis when I was deciding which to buy. They were good too but I didn't think they were objectively better than the Kalis, just different sonic signature. 

I'd highly recommend testing all of them together but understand that that's not really possible nowadays..

One last point, I'd say that the iLouds are more than adequate for Helix or any guitar modellers as the low end extension of the Kalis are not helpful for guitars that don't need that low end anyway.