Using 3 pairs of Monitors

[johnnyburleigh]

Morning all, hopefully someone can confirm a potential solution.

Currently i have both Main & Near Field in operation from the outputs on the desk.
I would like to add another pair.
Am i correct in thinking, that i can output from the Near Field jacks to a Mackie Big Knob passive monitor controller
and then reference 2 pairs of monitors from that box, thus giving me 3 x pairs to play with.
The monitors i would use through the Big Knob would be Rokit 4's and Mackie HR624's.

Any potential problems ? before i commit to buying the controller.

Cheers in advance
Johnny (Gold Coast, Australia)

[Y-my-R]

Hi Johnny,

I have it set up like that, but do NOT really recommend it. I was using the Big Knob before I added the D8B and it always served me well. When I added the D8B initially, it was more of an experimental thing to me, so I hooked it up like you're describing.

I used the Monitor/Speaker outputs instead of the Master Outputs, so I can sit in front of the console when I actually use it, and use the Speaker Level knob to make level changes... rather than having to roll over to the computer desk, where my Big Knob is set up. I figured, a line-level signal is a line-level signal. The only difference is the level-control element... but as long as I would match the levels carefully, it should sound the same, right?

Well, it never did. There's something about this extra gain-stage, that muddies up the sound for me. It's subtle, and you might only hear it in a direct A/B test, but to me, the sound lost some definition, and I blame that I send a level control unit into a level control unit (D8B Monitor Level control, into Big Knob Monitor control). Not sure how to describe this in technical terms, but it just didn't sound as good anymore... gain staging problem, I guess... and a superfluous one at that, if it's "post mix" and just causes that you don't hear everything you should.

I still have it set up that way, because I don't want to run a giant mixer like the D8B, when I do simple computer work, but still want to control my different monitor pairs and audio sources (e.g. Computer Audio Out / E-Drums Stereo / ...and since I added it D8B Stereo).

The Big Knob is still my "Monitoring Center". But I don't "mix" on the D8B in that sense, usually. I'm mostly routing to the direct outs, rather than summing anything in the D8B. So, for an occasional listen from the D8B's Speaker Outputs, it sounds good enough. But I would absolutely not trust that "D8B -> Big Knob" chain, when doing a serious mixdown. It kind of adds some "blur" to what you're hearing.

I hope this makes sense.

This setup is convenient, but takes away from the overall sound quality. At least in my opinion.

The better option, IMO, would be to connect the "Master Out" on the D8B to the Big Knob. You won't be able to control the level of your third set of speakers from the D8B, and will have to reach to the Big Knob... but to retain the best possible sound quality that goes to your speakers, I think that's a necessary evil.

I would not recommend to "chain" a speaker out of the D8B to one of the stereo inputs on the Big Knob. It just doesn't sound as good, no matter how carefully you try to match the levels everywhere.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck!

[Old School]

I struggled for years trying to get my mixes to translate and sound good no matter what system someone might play them on. No matter what combination of A-B monitors I had, nothing seemed to quite get me to where I could just mix it so it sounded good in the control room and have it translate. Out of frustration I put a non-OEM woofer in the left of a pair of JBL 4410's and a non-OEM silk tweeter in the right side of the pair. The difference in the frequency response seemed to work for me because now I can hit the right tonality without having to go play the CD in 5 different peoples cars. I'm quite sure this kind of solution is not for everyone, but it worked for me.

Have a blessed day,
Mike W.

[Crash]

I used the "Studio Level" for my 3rd monitors.