Supernoob needing advice: headphones and studio monitors

BarlesChukowski · Post by **BarlesChukowski** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 5:49 am

First off, thanks in advance for any responses.

Me: about to pick up a Kronos 61, complete novice, will be using it to noodle around, eventually making some tracks for fun. Looking to spend about 200 to 400 on some comfort friendly headphones (amp?) and about the same on a couple of studio monitors, maybe more.

Just looking to thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound in my ears, and also while playing for others. That said, I'm willing to spend some money to maximize the Kronos sound (without breaking the bank hopefully).

Suggestions?

Liviou2004 · Post by **Liviou2004** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:13 am

Hello,

Welcome to the Kronos' Band !!

I'm using Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro. It is comfortable and very accurate.

I'm using JBL LS 308 as monitors. They are not too expensive (about 400 $ for the both). They are not too bad for the price. But that's not the must !

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:41 pm

I am using 770s as well and they sound good with the Kronos.

I know these are out of your price range but the single best thing I did to improve the sound of my Kronos was running it through 2 API preamps. I run them nice and hot and they give such a lush saturation to the Kronos. Everything sounds better and more real.

I feel like these days we buy $4,000 synths and they put a $4 pre-amp in them. Anybody else feel that way?

In any case, you could try something like the little presonus stereo tube preamp for a couple hundred and see if you like it.

Liviou2004 wrote:Hello,

Welcome to the Kronos' Band !!

I'm using Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro. It is comfortable and very accurate.

I'm using JBL LS 308 as monitors. They are not too expensive (about 400 $ for the both). They are not too bad for the price. But that's not the must !

BarlesChukowski · Post by **BarlesChukowski** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 6:35 am

For the 770s, 32 ohms? Also should I consider the 990s? I won't have too much noise to worry about around me and also might need to hear when my child is crying, ha ha. Again, not looking to do any hardcore mixing, just enjoy the sound in my ears.

As far as the presonus, something like this?:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/PreSonus/T ... EREALw_wcB

Or something else? And what monitors would be good with it? I guess bottom line is I'm definitely willing to spend money to get the best sound possible right now, just not megabucks. And if years down the line I truly figure out how to use this thing maybe I will upgrade. Anyway thx again for the replies, this is helpful!

Liviou2004 · Post by **Liviou2004** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:30 am

BarlesChukowski wrote: As far as the presonus, something like this?:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/PreSonus/T ... EREALw_wcB

Or something else? And what monitors would be good with it? I guess bottom line is I'm definitely willing to spend money to get the best sound possible right now, just not megabucks. And if years down the line I truly figure out how to use this thing maybe I will upgrade. Anyway thx again for the replies, this is helpful!

Not really !!
API units cost about the same price as a Kronos itself : about 3,000 $ !!!

http://apiaudio.com/product.php?id=145

Dont' be afraid, it's absolutely not necessary to add such a unit to the Kronos. You can get very good results without it.

The point is to get good headphones with the most linear response as possible. For a studio usage, you will want to get a 80 or 250 ohms.
The DT 990 Pro is an open headphones (so you hear the external sounds) and the 770 is a "closed" headphone.
The DT 990 enhances high frequencies.

There is also Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro. But it is far more expensive : about 450 $. But not sure it worths this price difference.

Personnaly, I do prefer the DT 770 Pro for its more linear response.

So it is for the monitors : the most linear response as possible.

(The Presonus preamp is a valve preamp. It adds tiny saturation to the sound. So, it modifies the Kronos output sound.)

number6uk · Post by **number6uk** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:37 am

I have the 770s and the 990s.
The open backed really give the sound more room to move about (more like a 'HiFi' headphones rather than reference on the 770s), rather than let more sound in, so as far as hearing things outside of your headphones I don't think you will notice much difference. Only other thing to note is the 990s will leak more sound out. Personally I have a few pairs with different Ohms ratings, but for the Kronos I tend to use the 250 ohm versions, they work great straight from the headphone jack of the Kronos. The 32 Ohm version I tend to use on things like iPhone.

For studio monitors I use the Adam Audio T5V. They sound great (I know everyone has a preference) but I find the ribbon tweeters work a treat. They do them in a few sizes if you need bigger and the price point is very good.

Hope this helps.

average_male · Post by **average_male** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 6:49 pm

Kali LP-6 gets pretty good reviews.

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:55 am

Yes something like that. That is the single channel version which is fine if you want to listen in mono. There is a 2-channel version though. Good luck!

BarlesChukowski wrote:For the 770s, 32 ohms? Also should I consider the 990s? I won't have too much noise to worry about around me and also might need to hear when my child is crying, ha ha. Again, not looking to do any hardcore mixing, just enjoy the sound in my ears.

As far as the presonus, something like this?:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/PreSonus/T ... EREALw_wcB

Or something else? And what monitors would be good with it? I guess bottom line is I'm definitely willing to spend money to get the best sound possible right now, just not megabucks. And if years down the line I truly figure out how to use this thing maybe I will upgrade. Anyway thx again for the replies, this is helpful!

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:15 am

Sorry, posted twice.

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:30 am

Sorry Barles, I missed the second part of your question. The preamp makes the Kronos sound much, much better to me on multiple monitors (Genelecs, JBLs, and Behringers at the moment).

If you're not looking to mix, hi-fi speakers might be a better choice and sound more pleasant to you. Good studio mons are designed to reveal the flaws in audio; consumer speakers are designed to make audio sound as good as possible, which it seems like you want.

A far as headphones go, the Kronos sounds pretty awesome to me on quite a few pairs. The Sennheiser 280 is an industry standard and is a hell of a deal in my opinion. They're not exactly flat but they sure sound good for the price. Up from there is the AKG 270 (and others) and the previously mentioned Beyers. Generally speaking, those three brands are going to perform very well for their price points and you probably won't be disappointed.

When you go headphone and monitor shopping, take your own music that you know well and do your demos on that. Enjoy the journey!

Liviou2004, of course API preamps are not necessary; neither is a $4,000 workstation.

The thread is not about what's necessary, it's about Barles and his desire to "thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound in my ears." I thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound that preamps give me in my ears.

Cheers!

BarlesChukowski wrote:For the 770s, 32 ohms? Also should I consider the 990s? I won't have too much noise to worry about around me and also might need to hear when my child is crying, ha ha. Again, not looking to do any hardcore mixing, just enjoy the sound in my ears.

As far as the presonus, something like this?:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/PreSonus/T ... EREALw_wcB

Or something else? And what monitors would be good with it? I guess bottom line is I'm definitely willing to spend money to get the best sound possible right now, just not megabucks. And if years down the line I truly figure out how to use this thing maybe I will upgrade. Anyway thx again for the replies, this is helpful!

Liviou2004 · Post by **Liviou2004** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:57 am

Kilroy wrote:Liviou2004, of course API preamps are not necessary; neither is a $4,000 workstation. The thread is not about what's necessary, it's about Barles and his desire to "thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound in my ears." I thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound that preamps give me in my ears.

If you've read the BarlesChukowski's initial post, he said he wants to spend about 400 $ for the headphones and about the same for monitors. So, we are far, far away from the 3,000 $ of API units !!!

omvibraphone · Post by **omvibraphone** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:28 pm

in terms of headphones I went through the same kind of search about a year ago, was expecting to buy DT770s, which are an 'industry standard', but ended up buying a 'dark horse' AKG 371 pair, which to my ears sounded far superior, and have not been disappointed with my choice, they sound great. YMMV etc

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:54 pm

Liviou,

I respectfully request that you stop mischaracterizing my posts. Your opinion about "$3,000 preamps" is baseless because you have no idea what preamps I have nor have I recommended "$3,000 preamps." Please confirm that you will stop mischaracterizing my posts.

Best,
Kilroy

Liviou2004 wrote:
Kilroy wrote:Liviou2004, of course API preamps are not necessary; neither is a $4,000 workstation. The thread is not about what's necessary, it's about Barles and his desire to "thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound in my ears." I thoroughly enjoy the Kronos sound that preamps give me in my ears.
If you've read the BarlesChukowski's initial post, he said he wants to spend about 400 $ for the headphones and about the same for monitors. So, we are far, far away from the 3,000 $ of API units !!!

Liviou2004 · Post by **Liviou2004** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 3:23 pm

Kilroy wrote:Liviou,

I respectfully request that you stop mischaracterizing my posts. Your opinion about "$3,000 preamps" is baseless because you have no idea what preamps I have nor have I recommended "$3,000 preamps." Please confirm that you will stop mischaracterizing my posts.

Best,
Kilroy

So, what is your preamp unit ?

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 6:51 pm

I first run my Kronos into an old Presonus Studiolive 16.4.2 mixer. From there I have the main output going to my studio monitors. I have 2 sets that I can switch back and forth from. An old pair of Edirol MA-15D's and my Kali LP6's. I love the Kalis. They were cheap and sound amazing. I also use a pair of Sennheizer HD 280 Pro headphones.
I have a small home studio. I think that you could probably come directly out of your Kronos into the Kalis and not need a pre-amp but if I'm wrong, I'm sure somebody here can correct me.
Good luck!