So I finally got some new hardware for my homestudio.
I switched to a #Focusrite Clarett+ 8Pre USB audio interface. So far things are running really smooth. The "ALSA Scarlett Control Panel" (https://github.com/geoffreybennett/alsa-scarlett-gui) is an amazing piece of software. It allows me to control the internal mixer, and all other features, I otherwise wouldn't have any access to. (1/3)
As monitors I got a pair of second hand #Genelec 8030C RAW speakers, without any #DSP (digital signal processing). I am quite happy with them, though I thought about getting the #Neumann KH120 II. At first I thought it is a no-brainer: why should I want to pay extra money for the DSP (for room correction) when I can't access it, but then I found out there is a recent tool called khtool (https://github.com/schwinn/khtool) which allows one to control all settings via the Linux CLI.
Anyway, I want to focus on making music and not playing with the CLI, so I decided to keep a room-correction upgrade for a later point.
Solutions in a creative progress have to be invisible, and yet I must be in control, which does not mean I understand every little detail. Set and forget. I can't waste time playing around. (2/3)
And lastly I wanted to mention "Cable". A graphical GUI for managing #PipeWire and #WirePlumber. An amazing piece of software. Simple but so important! Having the basic audio settings like sample-rate or offset and restarting the system-d services at hand. Latter has sadly been needed with my old interface, because it did not get detected by WirePlumber after Stand-By. (3/3)
cc @amadeus another pipewire utility
@linos thanks for sharing André, some really cool things I need to look into!
I have the Neumann, and they sound awesome, also without any room correction. Without a doubt, the best speakers of that size I have ever heard, when it comes to low end.
But I'm afraid I never heard the Genelec 8030, but have been using the 8020 for years.
@mosgaard Yes, you were posting that recently, and that wasn't making the decision making any easier for me :)
I guess additional factors for my choice were, just in case others are interested:
- Genelec seemed to be the more sustainable company
- The Genelec have super cool table stands, that are not too over-expensive (70€ each vs 190 for the Neumanns, which is crazy).
- The price difference was almost 550€ without the stands.
And I heard the same from another source: the Neumanns sound amazing. The specifications say so, too.
However, in the end, I thought to myself, I will get used to both anyway, and both are good enough for my current use case, that is being a professionally trained musician/audio engineer, but not financially relying on releasing audio either for me or for clients into to wild (at least in the near future).
@linos there is no doubt the Genelec will work for you for a long time with that purpose.
I have a several of the 8020 in the theatre, I have used to all kinds of installations. The quality of the Genelecs are outstanding.
I work with using my Zoom H6 as audio interface at the moment, and I can't really see the reason to upgrade - kind of the same arguments you come with. Of course getting a dedicated interface could make a difference, but it's not crucial to be productive.
