Trusting THE Name

[Izzy]

I've been gear shopping, which for me means RESEARCH, and in doing so I have noticed a trend on forums and sales sites:

 

Once a brand lets you down with a single product, you don't trust them on any more.

(just think of a car that "did you wrong...never buying one of those again, aye?)

Once a brand does right by you, you willingly give their other products a try.

(I've had several biucks and hyundais...I'm faithful)

 

 

My question is this: Is it best to wait for a product to have been on the market for a while so that reviews on reliability and quality and so forth are available EVEN IF the commpany is trusted or should the fact that the company is reputable be enough to comfort the buyer even if the product is new?

 

Reference: I am in the market for monitors (speakers for mixing and keyboard) and because of all the bad I read about M Audio when looking for an audio interface I won't consider their popular AV 40 monitors. Because I read nothing but praise for, and had a good expirience with, Akai, I am considering their new little monitors...though they came out very recently.

 

What's a consumer to do?

[LPguitarman]

Look for consumer reviews on the products you seek. If they get enough good reviews, then go for it.

 

If its the first release of a new design, I would wait to let reviews and reports come out. For example, never buy a first model year car. Let the tweaks be worked out first. JMHO.

[RaysEpiphone]

I've been gear shopping, which for me means RESEARCH, and in doing so I have noticed a trend on forums and sales sites:

 

Once a brand lets you down with a single product, you don't trust them on any more.

(just think of a car that "did you wrong...never buying one of those again, aye?)

Once a brand does right by you, you willingly give their other products a try.

(I've had several biucks and hyundais...I'm faithful)

 

 

My question is this: Is it best to wait for a product to have been on the market for a while so that reviews on reliability and quality and so forth are available EVEN IF the commpany is trusted or should the fact that the company is reputable be enough to comfort the buyer even if the product is new?

 

Reference: I am in the market for monitors (speakers for mixing and keyboard) and because of all the bad I read about M Audio when looking for an audio interface I won't consider their popular AV 40 monitors. Because I read nothing but praise for, and had a good expirience with, Akai, I am considering their new little monitors...though they came out very recently.

 

What's a consumer to do?

 

This will all depend on who is doing the revue. Low budget monitor's for studio work... I use a pair of Tannoy Reveal's when I'm wanting to do some super critical listening, I've had these powered speakers for years and they work great for me. But I have a good enough ear and know my work-station well enough that I can do some thing worth keeping with a a set of AKG 240 headphone's. But a good speaker will not help if your in a bad room.

[Tim Plains]

Electronics and car models/redesigns - I never buy first year production. That's just me, though, and my set ways.

[CowboyBillyBob1]

I've been gear shopping, which for me means RESEARCH, and in doing so I have noticed a trend on forums and sales sites:

 

Once a brand lets you down with a single product, you don't trust them on any more.

(just think of a car that "did you wrong...never buying one of those again, aye?)

Once a brand does right by you, you willingly give their other products a try.

(I've had several biucks and hyundais...I'm faithful)

 

 

My question is this: Is it best to wait for a product to have been on the market for a while so that reviews on reliability and quality and so forth are available EVEN IF the commpany is trusted or should the fact that the company is reputable be enough to comfort the buyer even if the product is new?

 

Reference: I am in the market for monitors (speakers for mixing and keyboard) and because of all the bad I read about M Audio when looking for an audio interface I won't consider their popular AV 40 monitors. Because I read nothing but praise for, and had a good expirience with, Akai, I am considering their new little monitors...though they came out very recently.

 

What's a consumer to do?

I just purchased the M-Audio AV 40's. They do exactly what I want and need right now. I think they are a great deal. I did a lot of research and for like $150 bucks a pair I do not think you can get any better. A lot of the bad reviews are not from musicians looking to so some mixing. They are listeners that want home stereo speakers for their PC's. These are more flat and even though the bass is not LOUD it is punchy, clear, defined, and more like what you want to hear when you do a mix.

Say you do a mix where the predominance of bass is built into the speakers then you play it on audio equipment that is built to enhance bass. Well now you have a mushy mess.

 

Ask me questions if you like. Not that I am an expert by any means.

[RowdyMoon]

Ya.. it's kinda like when people pick paint colors for thier walls from an online paint website then wonder why it looks nothing like the actual color....or they take a picture of a dresser they have at home then show you the pic on the iphone to try and match it up...good god man...facepalm.

[CowboyBillyBob1]

Electronics and car models/redesigns - I never buy first year production. That's just me, though, and my set ways.

I do not think this is a new model but just a tweak on an existing one. They got rid of the Bass Boost of the original version which was called the M-Audio Studiophile AV-40.

They work well for what I expected of them.

[badbluesplayer]

I tend to shop like that. I try to be objective but if I have a bad experience with a particular brand, I tend not to buy stuff that's the same brand, even if the product is highly rated.

 

I'm like Tim in that I avoid the first year of production of complicated stuff like cars.

[Izzy]

I am with you all on the car thing...I don't ever buy a NEW car anyways, but I prefer something that's gotten tens on reliability three years running.

 

When I look at eviews I look less at performance and more at reliability, will it break down.

 

@ Cowboy

I looked into those and saw great reviews regarding sound BUT I saw several, "broke down after a year," bad reviews, stating, "they sounded great until they broke." For the price it is tempting, also, I am nice to my stuff, God knows how people treat their equipment...fk it, imma go buy 'em.

 

@ Rays

I have closed headphones, but I've heard about the, "best to mix by monitor," enough to know better.

My room isn't great but I have shelves and furniture all over the place...meh, it will come together.

I will ask for expertise on arrangemebt sooner or later, no doubt.

[RaysEpiphone]

It can be an added advantage to look at how well a monitor will translate, but like I said I know my set-up well so I can do a typical mix in a few well rehearsed steps. Closed headphone's... yep, that's what 240s are, but you know how it is. LOLZ! Cars are cars but cars are not audio gear. I understand the point but the relevance is no where near the truth of how it is in a real studio situation. If you have no desire to do it by the book right the first time and every time then don't bother with brand's or research... just buy the cheepst thing you can find and hope you get something worth liking and be done with it. If you really want to understand how it all work's and get it right the first time and have a worthy product to show for. I'd suggest booking some time in a real working pro studio with all the good gear and pro people and spend the time talking with them and see just how they do it. If you do this and you get so board and can't get a thing they say in the first 10 min's then don't bother investing in becoming a good studio guy (or girl in your case Izzy) and do your recording at a working studio and pay for your studio time. The same applies for live sound too.

[Izzy]

...and the winner is: BRAND NAME

 

Went with the Yamaha HS80, because they are YAMAHA.

I did sample them at the store against KRKs and Mackies (also sampled because of their brand name) and I may still get the Mackies, but I let my ear do the buying...these sound flat. Not "good", but flat.

[CowboyBillyBob1]

...and the winner is: BRAND NAME

 

Went with the Yamaha HS80, because they are YAMAHA.

I did sample them at the store against KRKs and Mackies (also sampled because of their brand name) and I may still get the Mackies, but I let my ear do the buying...these sound flat. Not "good", but flat.

Glad you made an informed choice. I would have gone with the KRK's if I wanted to spend more than twice what I did. As I understand it they are about $200 for one as opposed to $150 for two. Wish I had the budget you had.

 

Hope to hear something from you soon.

[FirstMeasure]

You should be happy with those Yamaha's. Personally I always trust my ears and eyes when it comes to buying any sort of gear. I don't trust manufacturers claims and I don't trust random reviewers to have the same opinions I'm going to have.

 

I never buy the most expensive, and I never buy the cheapest (unless it's pretty obvious that the cheapest will do the job I expect). Bottom line, If I can't trust my own judgment about a purchase then I go for it and start learning why I should never have bought that POS. It's the only way to get "Real World" experience.

[duane v]

I would have gone with the KRK's

 

That's what I use, and they work well

[RaysEpiphone]

...and the winner is: BRAND NAME

 

Went with the Yamaha HS80, because they are YAMAHA.

I did sample them at the store against KRKs and Mackies (also sampled because of their brand name) and I may still get the Mackies, but I let my ear do the buying...these sound flat. Not "good", but flat.

 

I have a Yamaha MG82cx mixer that I use for my computers and some other audio devices, it's not a bad mixer by any mean's, not as good as my Crest console but the Crest board was a lot more costly and is not as portable as the Yamaha. The Yamaha pre-amp is use-able for recording buy I wouldn't trust a Yamaha product for accurate live sound or critical playback.

 

Just out of curiosity how did you check the response on the speakers you where comparing? A test tone works great for this sort of thing and will show in translation if you have a descent room to throw tones into. Some thing like this...

http://www.jackstuff.com/test_tones_cd/tones.htm

Many DAWs have a spectrum analyzer that will allow one to see any bumps or drop-out's at any one frequency point. This is the only way to truly know what you have to work with.

[Izzy]

@ Cowboybilly these were on sale. They are the HS 50 not the HS80 (my bad) and they were 150 each. Double the money, but more than double the quality and probably won't wanna upgrade any time soon.

 

 

Just out of curiosity how did you check the response on the speakers you where comparing?

 

Honestly, I had the guy set the three contenders up on the same computer and run the same couple songs with all three (one hip hop song and one Alice in Chains song I am very familiar with and have heard on many many systems). KRKs had mad bass compared to Mackie and Yamaha, making it a no for me because I don't want to think I have decent bass to find out I don't. Mackie sounded good, but not flat. The Yamaha's didn't sound "good," but they seemed to have enough of the low end.

 

Until I got home I was kicking myself for not getting the Mackies but when I set them up I realized how good Yamahas are. The folk music I want to make, Ani DiFranco style, sounds perfect, so I feel confident emulating it on these.

 

Now I am learning mic placement and my fingers hurt from playing the same thing over and over. This recording stuff is no joke.

[martinh]

Electronics and car models/redesigns - I never buy first year production. That's just me, though, and my set ways.

 

 

You're right . Before I became a lawyer, I worked in the biomedical electronics industry, and I think what I learned there is applicable - never buy anything in the first six months to one year of production. The decision when to release a product is seldom left up to the engineering or production professionals who know when it is ready to be released. The finance, sales and marketing departments decide when to release a new product based on their own calendar, forecasts and targets, whether it's been properly tested to be reliable and ready for prime time or not.

Pre-release testing is costly and time consuming, and slows your return on the investment in the new product. Consequently, the modern way is to do very limited testing, and allow your first six months of paying customers to act as your final test/qc. When the customers/dealers come back and complain that something fails or doesn't work, then you change the design specs, or produce the new "improved" Mark II version to avoid the stigma that has already attached to Mark I. . Modern industry persistently uses its paying customers as beta testers to expose problems that should have been addressed before the product was ever released.

[RaysEpiphone]

The Yamahas should do you good for learning but they are Chinese made so don't expect them to be solid and perfect. Not total trash but not professional. You will see/hear a difference if you ever go with something that is more professional and get into a room that allows you to hear everything.

 

KRK's have always been heavy low-end speakers that's why they're perfect for a Hip Hop studio that's on a budget. I've seen studio guy's cover the tweeters on old Yamaha NS10's with paper to give them a better mid response and cut some of the treble to get a more even mix but the old one's are passive so that may or may not be the case with the ones you have.