I got lucky and picked up a great pair of used Altec Model 14's a few years ago.

These were the last of the Altec studio monitor series before the "real" Altec Lansing went under. Mine are the home version with nice wood veneer as opposed to the battleship grey painted studio ones. I'll mix in the bedroom on my RSL 8" and then take it to the living room to listen on the Altecs. Definitely no sub needed. The small studio monitors we all talk about are nice and all but you really need a pair of old school serious studio monitors to really tell what you've got.

Back in the day when I was doing session work they would have a big system like my Altec's or a big pair of JBL 15" with the baby cheeks, smaller home type stereo speakers like Pioneers or KLH or similar and a small car radio setup.

For the first time in years I did a thing at a studio in N Hollywood last October and it was like nothing's changed. They had a big pair of UREI's hanging from the ceiling in the control room with a set of computer speakers on the console. UREI used to have Altec drivers I don't know what they have now. You need at least a pair of 12's being powered by about 1000W even if the volume is not that loud, to really hear what you've got. The engineer used to work for Ray Charles and I asked him about subs and he said unless you're doing the modern rap EDM super low stuff he never uses them. That's a different world from what we're talking about here.

Anyway, bottom line imho if you're really trying to mix something that's pro guality at home you need a proper space with good acoustic treatment and the proper equipment including serious monitor speakers. You can only do so much with 5 or 8" monitors and unless you have really, really good ears, trying to balance a sub can throw off your mix.

Bob

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