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Help: First home studio based on a Mac.

post #1 of 10
12/21/11 at 10:19pm
Thread Starter 
I've never really gotten past a basic 2.1 Swan speaker setup, or a good pair of headphones. Well, I'm kind of wanting to get into it a little more.

I just bought my first Mac. I plan on using bootcamp. Apple O/S for music needs and Windows for my work needs.


With that being said, this is what I am basically looking for. I would like to start putting together a basic studio. Right now I will mainly just be using it for listening and editing music. However, I would like to be able to start recording basic stuff in the near future. I would just like to make sure that what I buy now will be compatible with my future plans.


Right now I am just looking for a 2.0 setup. I am quite a audio head, and bass nut, but I don't really want to sacrifice sound quality for bass. So, sound quality has to come first. If I need to add a sub later I can do that.

To be honest I'm not sure what I need to start out with. I know I'm definitely going to need a optical cord for my mac. Possibly a receiver? Or speakers with built a built in amp? My only concern with this is I'm used to having a good sound card. With a Mac will I need to worry much about this? I don't really think they make any Sound cards for a Macbook.


Basically I'm still a noob to all of this, but I am willing to learn. Any tips, or suggestions would be great!



Would like wood cased speakers if at all possible. Any suggestions on those?
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post #2 of 10
12/21/11 at 10:23pm
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I don't know all that much about them, but since it's a Macbook and you obviously can't have a soundcard, this seems to be a perfect situation for an external DAC.
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post #3 of 10
12/21/11 at 10:28pm
I use a MBP 15" w/ a FiiO E7 + E9 w. my Senn 650's plus I use my FiiO setup to connect to my Denon receiver over component w. my 2.1 Mirage satellites plus sub

you can use any external usb DAC and run component cables to a receiver to run any kind of bookshelf speaker setup

I am also using bootcamp

I hope this helps you in the right direction
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post #4 of 10
12/21/11 at 11:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by yang88she View Post

I use a MBP 15" w/ a FiiO E7 + E9 w. my Senn 650's plus I use my FiiO setup to connect to my Denon receiver over component w. my 2.1 Mirage satellites plus sub
you can use any external usb DAC and run component cables to a receiver to run any kind of bookshelf speaker setup
I am also using bootcamp
I hope this helps you in the right direction

This actually helps out a lot!

Whats a good DAC to start off with? Should I be looking for a specific type of receiver?

I really like the looks of the Fiio e7 + e9. I see that it has a build in headphone amp. This would be pretty cool! Would I necessarily need the e7 right now? My focus is just getting a good speaker setup going now. I could get the portable dac at a later time.
Edited by THEoBZ - 12/21/11 at 11:32pm
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post #5 of 10
12/22/11 at 12:43am
Usher Audio, Revel, Dynaudio all have speakers that have finished or gloss wood.

The BE-718s (below) are excellent and will hit below 40Hz in-room with it's 7" woofer.

500

Examples of some others: Revel M20 (yellow), Paradigm S2v2 (orange)--to give you an idea of what is out there wood-wise (disregard the crappy matte black Ascend CBM-170SE behind the Usher -_-):

450
Edited by astrallite - 12/22/11 at 11:28am
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post #6 of 10
12/22/11 at 1:25am
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450

bowers and wilkins DM601 s3 with a REL subwoofer. 2.1 setup. in a BIG room (5,5m by 4m) fills the room (thats my monitor with Traktor Pro 2 on it 43")

HIGHLY recommend Bowers and wilkins,

a decent sterei amplifier 4channel amp and then a simple set of speakers, and then a decent powered sub and you will be set,


and im using my marantz amp to power my sennheiser HD428s.
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post #7 of 10
12/24/11 at 8:02am
If you are going to be recording, you will want to start investing in a decent audio interface. How many channels will you be recording? That is good to know because if you will have many, you will want to start investing in a mixer as well.

Your signal flow will be like this.

Microphone --> Mixer --> Audio Interface --> DAW

Unless you are recording into a high quality tape machine (aka analogue), you are going to NEED an interface to get any decent recordings. The outputs from the mixer will feed into the audio interface which will then send the signals to your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) via USB/FireWire.

Having said that, if you will only be recording a few channels, you will not necessarily need a mixer, but you will still need an interface. Modern interfaces have multiple mic pre amps, which eliminates the need for a mixer when recording a few channels.

Also, for starting out, I would actually recommend using headphones, until you have more money to get a decent pair of speakers for mixing. You can then listen to the output from the interface with your headphones. The audio fidelity will of course be based on the quality of the interface, but if you get a decent one, it will not be an issue. Eventually, when you get speakers, you can connect them straight to the interface if they are active loudspeakers. Passive loudspeakers will of course require an amp.
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post #8 of 10
12/24/11 at 7:51pm
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Ya, I'm starting to realize if I want something that is going to be worth buying I am going to need to spend upwards of 1200.00 - 2000.00.

I think for now a decent headphone setup would be best for me right now. Back in the day I had a pair of Sennheiser 555's and Audio Techna 700's.


They were both AWESOME. However, that is when I was strictly a gamer. Now, I am more focused on listening to music and audio.



I am a huge fan of underground dub step, and have been for years. Now, at the same time I like metallic, slipknot, linking park, rise against. Hell I even like a little bit of country, and even Eminem. I listen to any and all music.


I would really like a pair of cans that give me a nice deep bass, yet still sound good doing it.


Could anyone recommend me a pair of Headphones for Under 200-150? I would like to run them off of a Fiio e7, unless someone can recommend me a better dac/amp for the price.
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post #9 of 10
12/25/11 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
I've been looking around this weekend. I really like the Denon 1000's.

I was wondering if there was anything a tad bit smaller and somewhat more fashionable? If that makes sense at all.
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post #10 of 10
12/26/11 at 9:10am
If you want a pair that is good for music listening, as well as mixing/producing in the future, you could try the Shure SRH940. Excellent headphones and really good to mix with! I still have my SRH840's, can't wait to get the 940's though!
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