# Monitoring with Hi-Fi audiophile stereo system, why not actually?



## hag01 (Jan 6, 2021)

As the beginning of the discussion, I'll just put here the specs of my Hi-Fi Cambridge Audio stereo system, which consists amp and two full spectrum audio system:
Amp specs:
https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/row/en/products/cx/cxa80
Speakers specs:
https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.c...-Specification

And please tell me what do you think about mixing and mastering with this unit, judging by its specs(because I can't demonstrate how it's sound in my room).


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## BassClef (Jan 6, 2021)

...just a hobbyist here. I started with that same integrated amp and a pair of KEF desktop speakers. (not exactly audiophile) The system was a little boomy in the lower midrange, but workable. When I wanted to add mic inputs, I replaced the amp with a Focusrite audio interface (Clarett2PreUSB)and a pair of Focal powered monitors. (Alpha 65) With this setup (no room treatments) I get a more detailed and flatter sound. I also have a sub that I can add/remove for testing and also use a pair of Sennheiser HD650 headphones for comparison.


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## greggybud (Jan 7, 2021)

hag01 said:


> As the beginning of the discussion, I'll just put here the specs of my Hi-Fi Cambridge Audio stereo system, which consists amp and two full spectrum audio system:





hag01 said:


> And please tell me what do you think about mixing and mastering with this unit, judging by its specs(because I can't demonstrate how it's sound in my room).


If you really learned your system and your environment, maybe success. However ask yourself why so many engineers mix on NS-10s. Are you mastering for clients?

At the mastering stage, very high end hi-fi monitors are often used. But relatively flat. And learned well over time in a learned engineered room.

I don't know anything about Cambridge. 

When a client comes in for a listen, I still run things through my old McIntosh pre-amp>McIntosh Amp>B&Ws. 

However in my project studio I have Mackie HR824s (originals). I feel, over 20 years, I have learned them, even though they are a bit relatively sweet and others will curse them. I feel they are a part of me. They certainly are not great, but I know them well. To upgrade, would be like a divorce. It's really about your room and learning your monitors.


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## hag01 (Jan 8, 2021)

Just want to mention that my stereo system marketed as one that give results which are as true to the original recordings as possible, without coloring the sound, and it’s written in the links to the specs which I put on my original post, just checket the speakers specs and see for yourselves.

I know that many Hi-Fi stereo systems color the sound, but that’s not seems to be the world view of Cambridge Audio.
I can tell you that before this Cambridge Audio unit I have now, I had other stereo systems, and when I firstly got my current unit, I was dissatisfied by the sound when listening to music not for professional usage but solely for the fun of it, because suddenly I heard so many imperfections in the recordings that I didn’t heard with my previous system.
Eventually I brought a Creative home entertainment sound-card that capable to color the sound in many ways, and via the creative card I do color the sound to my liking when listening to music just for self joy, while I keep my RME interface for professional usages.


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## wst3 (Jan 8, 2021)

I am familiar with Cambridge, and many other high end products. They all sound great. None of them are neutral. And that's not a criticism. I will criticize the silly marketing statements all day long, but all of the high end Hi-Fi systems I've heard have been quite impressive.

They just are not suited to tracking and mixing. They can be useful for mastering, but most mastering houses will have several sets of loudspeakers (and amplifiers).

Ask yourself two questions:
1) If Hi-Fi loudspeakers are so good why have recording and broadcast studios not adopted them?
2) If Hi-Fi loudspeakers are so neutral why do mastering houses have so many sets?

These were big puzzles when I started working in recording studios. It made no sense to me.

The owners of the studio where I worked brought their home Hi-Fi systems in one day and we had a shoot out.

The home Hi-Fi systems sounded great. The gently hid any imperfections, and just generally made the tracks sound "better than real".

So we mixed a couple of tracks using each system, and were surprised to learn that they did not translate well to the other Hi-Fi system or the studio monitors.

I do not remember everything about the home Hi-Fi systems, I do know that Klipsch and Macintosh were represented because I really liked them. Pretty sure the other system used Phase Linear amplifiers, can't remember the loudspeakers.

I do remember that we used Altec 604s in custom cabinets, powered by Crown D-300s - no one's idea of high fidelity! And yet everything mixed on them (by people that knew what they were doing) translated nicely to other environments and other systems.

We do not use studio monitors to compliment the sound, we depend on them to expose all the warts.

It doesn't hurt if, after some time, you grow to love the sound of studio monitors<G>!

Caveat - different studio monitors still sound different, and the marketing hype behind them is every bit as bad as the marketing hype in the consumer space.


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## hag01 (Jan 9, 2021)

OK, let me clarify myself:
I'm not asking whether my stereo system can compete with some of the best studio monitors that can be found in the most professional studios, I'm sure they are not, but I'm asking whether they are acceptable for a semi professional home studio for a composer trying to do his first steps in the industry, like me.

The reason I'm asking that, is because I've been told by a musical studio equipment salesman in my area that my stereo system is very nice for professional usage, although not the best and the most professional, but certainly nice enough for a semi professional usage, and he got to this conclusion only by looking at the specs, so I wanted to see some more opinions.


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## pondinthestream (Jan 9, 2021)

They are completely acceptable. The main problems I have encountered with monitors is that low quality ones dont reveal detail very well, both in terms of the micro sound qualities of the material and in the spatial detail. If you are happy with that from your speakers then they are good enough.
But of course you can get better and moving to a powered monitor like say Adam A7x will be noticeably better in the areas I mention. And you can keep going up and up and up. But you dont have to
(I wouldnt go by specs though)


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## kgdrum (Jan 9, 2021)

As someone who actually worked in the higher end of the hi-fi industry for 12 years from my perspective your setup is perfectly fine for casual hi-fi listening and enjoyment.
But if we are actually address the premise of the thread and your question while a system like this is nice consumer big box store hi-fi it’s by no means “audiophile “ from a hi-fi perspective and as far removed from reference in the hi-fi world that it is,it really has no correlation with a reference recording & mixing system.
Will it sound pleasant,yes but it will not offer the level of transparent audio re: accuracy(power,transients etc....) that a reference recording and playback system in a DAW based recording system requires.
My DAW playback system while it’s OK is not reference and if I had the finances I’d improve on it but we all have to work with what we have.
Besides my DAW rig (RME UCX——->Focal Twin 6)I actually have a pretty good hi-fi system in my apartment,I run a digital coax output from the UCX to a very good dac and that goes into a stereo that has speakers that retail about $15,000 and the tube pre-amp and mono-block amps that would retail for $10,000,does it sound nice,sure. But honestly I’d never use it as a reference for mixing or recording.
Most hi-fi is created to sound great not to reproduce music accurately and expose detail on a level of minutiae that a recording system requires.
So I think it’s OK to listen to what you are creating through a stereo system for enjoyment but I’d advise you not to confuse this with a reference playback system,it’s not and unfortunately it never will be.
The level of accuracy of a good recording and mixing system can not in my opinion be replicated using a home stereo.
Additionally if we train our ears to accept a hi-fi sound as reality it only gets harder to know how much you can trust your ears and differentiate between pleasant sound and an accurate Mix.


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## telecode101 (Jan 9, 2021)

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## steveo42 (Jan 9, 2021)

One item often overlooked is that the better "studio monitors" (I hate that expression) are designed to run 24x7 and deal with the usual studio accidents like feedback, plosives, dropped mics and so forth. Consumer speakers are generally not as rugged in that respect. Of course exceptions on both sides exist but generally speaking.


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## pondinthestream (Jan 9, 2021)

Lets keep in mind that Andrew Scheps often mixes on his iMac speakers. 
(It might be worthwhile for you to have a listen to a familiar CD through some low cost studio monitors as a comparison - example JBL 305P mkII which are incredible value for a low cost. See how they stack up compared to your home hifi)


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## Rossy (Jan 9, 2021)

hag01 said:


> OK, let me clarify myself:
> I'm not asking whether my stereo system can compete with some of the best studio monitors that can be found in the most professional studios, I'm sure they are not, but I'm asking whether they are acceptable for a semi professional home studio for a composer trying to do his first steps in the industry, like me.
> 
> The reason I'm asking that, is because I've been told by a musical studio equipment salesman in my area that my stereo system is very nice for professional usage, although not the best and the most professional, but certainly nice enough for a semi professional usage, and he got to this conclusion only by looking at the specs, so I wanted to see some more opinions.


I went to collage for audio design (many years ago) and then worked at a hi-fi shop installing Quad amps and speakers (not quadraphonic) Linn lp12 Sugden Naim all that lot. In my opinion, unless your going to to write/record for someone big, they will do perfect. Hi-Fi is incredibly subjective, I will mix down on headphones and then take the music to my Woo Wa6 with Cambridge audio dac magic 100 and a pair of AKG Q70's this is the system I put together to listen to my classical music on (not good for pop) and I feel it gives me a good reference. I am by no means a professional composer and I do it all for my self but, after being in the audio field for over 40 years, I know what I like (although my top end hearing is not as good as it used to be) My Woo is a valve headphone amp so I do get a "warm" some say coloured sound but since I write for me, I like that. I think your system would be fine but if your looking for the most accurate reproduction (which usually doesn't happen, all engineers tweak the EQ to their liking so that instrument may not be the sound that was actually recorded) then stick to what you have.


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## Robin (Jan 9, 2021)

Another issue that might arise is that most Hi-Fi systems are not conceptualized for near field use as often used in smaller (home) studios. So when sitting close to them you might be able to distinctively hear the different drivers in each speaker and overbalanced treble frequencies which will make mixing more of a guesswork.


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## Wunderhorn (Jan 9, 2021)

For the OPs scenario I think it is perfectly OK to start out this way. I do not know the Cambridge system, but generally the better the HiFi system is the flatter it should sound. Of course it is all subjective and differences will be there, but just generally a good HiFi system _should_ aim for transparency, detail and accurate sound reproduction.

Also, as a composer I would perhaps get my music mixed and mastered by a professional instead of doing it yourself (unless you know you are good at it). For composing a HiFi rig will definitely work.

The bigger issue is that HiFi speakers usually are designed to be enjoyed sitting at a certain distance, while studio monitors are in closer proximity to the ears.

It is therefore a good idea to get some good headphones as well to check your mix against the impression you get from the speakers.


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## method1 (Jan 9, 2021)

hag01 said:


> And please tell me what do you think about mixing and mastering with this unit, judging by its specs(because I can't demonstrate how it's sound in my room).


Mixing & mastering, no.
But first and foremost, do you have a frequency response measurement of your room?
Even the most expensive studio monitors aren't going to perform well in a poor acoustic space.
Room acoustics is the most fundamental issue to deal with for mixing & mastering.
Your Cambridge setup in a good room will work better than some high end monitors in a bad room.

These days I would recommend the magical VSX headphones from Slate, if you don't mind working on headphones, it's the best solution available now for the price.


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## telecode101 (Jan 9, 2021)

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## hag01 (Jan 9, 2021)

Wunderhorn said:


> It is therefore a good idea to get some good headphones as well to check your mix against the impression you get from the speakers.


That's exactly what I'm going to do.

In fact, right now I'm mixing solely with headphones because I'm in untreated room.


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## telecode101 (Jan 9, 2021)

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