I got into producing music with ableton and now I need some good speakers (comparable to focal) to put on the table what should I be lookin for in the Axiom line.

Thanks

Aldo Nova has M2 and M3.

I have Alesis M1 Active Mk1s in my project studio, and M22s in my living room. Other than room acoustics, I get no surprises when moving between the two. I would guess that the M2s would be excellent in the near field, and plenty flat too.

When it comes to reference monitors isn't really isn't how good they are, it's how well you know them. So when you listen to a track produced by someone else, you can compare your own to make sure you're getting the same type of sound.

That said, I spend a lot of time working with headphones. Open back are great for bass response, but bad for monitoring with vocal recording (too much sound leaks, and will be picked up by the mic). Closed back are a bit weaker for use on the production side, but best for vocal monitoring. Having a limited budget I got a pair of semi-open Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pros. They are a compromise in both cases, but a pretty good one. The Pros are a bit hard to drive (they have an even higher impedance version too), but while they are quiet when plugged into the jack on my mobile, my audio interface drives them to any level I want.

With a good pair of reference headphones you can get the Focusrite VRM Box, that uses speaker and room modeling to give you the ability to preview your mix in a lot of different situations. That's one problem with headphones, the stereo field is greatly exaggerated, so you need to hit speakers sometimes (but if your near fields are very near, as mine are, the same problem exists there), the VRM Box helps judge that too. I drive my Box via the S/PDIF out on my audio interface, it still needs to be plugged in via USB, because the sound passes up the USB cable, the modeling is done in the computer, and then passed back to the box. There is a pretty large latency gain there, so it isn't useful for live recording, just playback.

What style of music are you planning on producing? (I'm into EDM.) Also what else have you picked up hardware and software wise?

If your just interested in the Axiom line there was some talk on here months ago about powered versions of their bookshelf line with built in Class-D amplifiers.

You should inquire about these through email or phone if they are still in the works. I think these might be worth the wait over their current passive line especially if there is going to be changes to the port location and crossover for near field listening applications.

That's a great article. Or, at least, it was until I read where Alan wrote: ("I never understood the reverence for Jimmy Hendrix's playing". Blasphemy! AND, he spelled Jimi's name wrong, too!

Double Blasphemy!

PS- I will never share a reference-level meal at a Swiss Chalet again with you, Alan!

Jimi said himself: He did not play guitar, he played amplifier.

I think Robb Hutzal was pretty happy using M3's, IIRC.

While I dj everything from pop to hip hop to house and trance and everything in between.. Im more into producing EDM - mainly dirty house... I'm just starting out though, so any tips you can give me would be great... I've always had these sick melodies in my head and when I'd "vocalize" them... All my friends and fellow dis would say "you need to create that"... Just never knew how or where to start... So I figure what the heck, why not try. I have a Yamaha midi keyboard but I'm not sure that's gonna last too long may have to go to the akai soon..

Also looking at the Midi fighter (more for dj'ing)