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Elena and I finally got to see Before Sunrise (we watched the sequel, Before Sunset, previously), and we both agree that the second film is better. The first one is more idealistic and romantic, but at the same time, the emotional impact isn’t on the same level. In the sequel, they never even really touch each other in the entire film, but the emotional impact is far more real and mature, as they’ve had time to understand just how much that day they spent together has affected their lives. I guess it’s also because we are roughly the same age as the characters are in the sequel, so we relate to how much they’ve grown since the first film. I suppose if Elena and I had watched the first film when we were in our early twenties, we would’ve related to that film more. The beauty of the second film is also in that even after nine years, they are still so perfect for each other, despite having had more life experience since their day together nine years ago.
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I’m sure this has happened to some of you before–you were in the market to get a (insert anything), and after some research, you felt like you’ve got it narrowed down to a few sensible candidates. Then came that fateful day when someone who knew quite a bit about the products you’ve been looking at innocently made the following remark:
“Well, if you don’t mind spending just a bit more, you can look at the higher-end manufacturers/models such as…”
And your response was, “Huh? I never heard of those companies before, and I’ve been researching for a while now.”
“Of course not. They are the higher end stuff–totally different league compared to what you’ve been looking at.”
If you controlled your curiosity at that point, your life would still be pretty normal, but as soon as you took a peek into the higher-end, the seemingly comfortable surrounding you live in suddenly unravels, and you realized you were living in a box, and outside of that box are the serious stuff. Respectable stuff. Stuff you now drool after because they are out of your reach.
And you can never go back once you decide you want to leave the box.
This happened to me recently, and I am, of course, talking about studio monitors (I already kind of went through that with Photography).
Until the fateful day, I would’ve been fine with a pair of Mackie HR824’s, or even JBL LSR4328P’s–and this isn’t to say they’re bad monitors, as they are actually quite good for their price range–but since having heard higher-end monitors like the Klein & Hummel O 300’s, Focal Solo 6’s, Digidesign RM2’s (which are essentially PMC’s technology), Dynaudio BM15A’s…etc, I would have a hard time going back. At the same time, we’re talking about up to four times the price though, not to mention the fact I still need to spend quite a bit on acoustic treatment–at least a grand or more (check out this demonstration of what acoustic treatment can do for you).
A quick summary of my recent listening tests (conducted at Cutting Edge Audio in San Francisco and Leo’s Pro Audio in Oakland):
Klein & Hummel O 300 – $4,000, or O 110 – $2,000
Buttery smooth and accurate. Probably too rich for my blood though (the 300). The 110 might be doable, but I’m afraid I’d want to add a sub to it and that’ll get expensive again.
Focal Solo 6 + Sub 6 – $3,500
Sounds very lush (especially on orchestral/vocals). I heard it without a sub, and it definitely needs one–at least when compared to the Dynaudio BM15A’s.
Digidesign RM2 – $3,500
The ATL technology works as advertised! At low levels the bass was still full bodied. Everything else about it really didn’t stand out all that much from the JBL LSR4328P’s I A/B’d against though, but the RM2’s also weren’t burned-in properly though (suggested time is 14 hours).
PMC DB1S-A
Have not heard, but am definitely interested. Should be similar to the RM2’s since both are PMC technology.
Dynaudio BM15A – $2,000
Very nice, but when compared to the Focal’s, they seemed a bit clinical in the orchestral/vocal area.
JBL LSR4328P – $1,450
Pretty amazing performer when pitted against more expensive monitors. Often it was hard to tell that the JBL’s were “inferior” in any way–whether in soundstage, frequency response, reaction time…etc. In fact it sounded very close to the BM15A’s and the RM2’s when I A/B’s with them. In some instances, the JBL’s actually had slightly better soundstage and clarity than the RM2’s (once again, the RM2’s were not burned in properly though). The onboard DSP calibration system is also a big bonus. I can totally use it in conjunction with acoustic treatment to get the desired accurate sound.
Mackie HR824 MKII – $1,200
I could always save some money and get these. They aren’t bad monitors–just not quite as good as the ones listed above (you get what you pay for). The rest of the money can all go to acoustic treatment.
It appears the the middle-of-the-road is always the most complicated. With el cheapo options, you don’t need to be picky. With super high-end options, you only have to consider the best of the best. It’s the middle range of the market that requires you to do a lot of research and choose which battles fight, and which ones to compromise on.
