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Sale Price: $75.00
Today's Bonus:
- Virtual Reference Monitoring lets you audition your mix in different environments through different speakers just using headphones
- Provides a significant audio upgrade from low-grade laptop headphone outputs
- Pocket sized and built to last
- Pro Tools Native and HD friendly
- High-quality audio playback interface
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This is an excellent product, plain and simple. It is NOT a replacement for a good set of nearfield monitors, and as far as I'm concerned, no sane person (with a modest budget) would mix anything solely with the VRM. BUT, used alongside your trusted monitors, it gives excellent references and enables one to make a better guess at how mixes will fare in other environments and on other speakers.I am running Cubase 6.5 on a PC laptop, with the Yamaha-Steinberg UR28M as my audio interface (fantastic value as well, BTW), my nearfields are powered KRK Rokit 6, and I'm feeding the VRM a S/PDIF signal using a high-quality S/PDIF cable. I had the unit up and running in about 2 minutes, and the S/PDIF locked in immediately. I have been using it for 2 days now, comparing old mixes I've done, music I'm presently working on, and listening to music I know very well. With the VRM I am listening on my trusty old AKG K270 headphones. There are better headphones out there, but I know and love the K270s.
The size is great. You can throw it in a pocket of your laptop bag and it gives a nice, ample signal. Great little headphone amp in and of itself.
My conclusion is that this is a no-brainer for the small project studio owner who is looking to get a better sense of how one's music will translate to the real world.
At about a hundred bucks, this thing is a huge value. I got mine used for $69 (free shipping), and I could not be happier unless it came with a roll of hundreds and the keys to Kaley Cuoco's apartment. Sorry, Kaley.
OK, if you're a hobbyist/geek who does entire projects without any nearfield monitors, then yes, I WOULD recommend this over a mere stereo feed from your laptop to your headphones. Better imaging and tonal balance, hands down. But this is not the purpose of the VRM. It is a reference tool, and an excellent one at that.
Buy it.Some time ago I decided to save some bucks and bought the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 instead of the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP, that already had the VRM system built in. Now I decided to get the VRM Box to go along with my Focusrite Interface. This is a great product for those who mix and sometimes depend on headphones. Also it is a great reference tool. I have both KRK monitors that the VRM Box emulates and it is very accurate. Of course it is not a substitute for them, but does take you a long way.So, having owned or used some of the monitors that the VRM box "simulates," I can say it actually "parodies" their sound more than anything. I downloaded the latest software before using.
When I first used it I plugged in my AKG K701s, which I use to check EQ on most of my mixes. When I first enabled VRM on the default settings, my gut reaction was "ICK!" I what sounded like comb filtering on anything that was panned dead center, i.e. any vocal centric music. I went through some of the models, and it wasn't getting any better.
Now, I had read before purchasing that they were tested primarily on Sennheiser HD 280 Pros, which I also own. These are closed headphones, unlike the AKG cans, and usually sound so boxy to me that I ONLY use them because they are tolerable and don't leak during tracking. I started them out without VRM, and they sounded like their usual boxy selves, and then I engaged VRM. I closed my eyes, suspended my disbelief, and there it was. I felt like I was listening to some Genelecs, albeit in a large, relatively live studio. I listened for 10 more minutes, letting my brain adjust to the sound of the VRM box through the phones. Then I disengaged VRM. WHOA! I was again reminded of how terrible the HD 280s sound, except more so! I engaged VRM again, and suddenly they sounded much more full and accurate.
I then went back to my AKGs, and they still sounded better and more accurate without VRM engaged, so I'll be using the HD 280s with this. For mixing. I'll listen to everything else on the 701s.
As far as the D/A conversion goes through the USB port, it's not distracting. It's not FABULOUS, but doesn't get in the way. I haven't bothered using the S/PDIF.
Overall, I recommend it as a useful tool to supplement your mixes, not a substitute for actual monitors. I leave a star off for the rooms sounding too wet, and for the way it undesirably messes with the clarity of center panned tracks. I'm sorry, but real speakers just don't make vocals sound like the speakers are pointed at each other.This really works! It's not a substitute for near field monitors but it is an asset. Once you've established your basic mix, you have 3 environments and 10 very accurate reference monitors modeled to check your mix against. The NS 10 and the Auratone C5 settings are my favorite. I've used the real thing and they both are very much like the real thing. Great for detail balance and imaging. I've spent more and gotten much less! For $100.00 you cannot loose!
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