Of the equipment that I've worked with, I'd vote for the THX monitor/crossover (the old-ish model; I'm not sure if these are still being installed since THX now has separate standalone crossovers). These sound pretty good and are reliable. The faders and selector buttons don't seem to wear out over time. They're set up for LE and RE channels out of the box. My only major complaint is that they often aren't loud enough to be heard across a large booth (a sometimes-useful feature).

The best-sounding monitor that I've heard was a homebrew job involving a small PA speaker and a 100w PA amp, along with a channel-selection knob. It was simple, but it did the job.
As for others: most seem to have poor quality faders that don't hold up for more than a few years. The SMART, Kelmar, and Odyssey monitors all seem to have this problem...
On a related note, does anyone sell a full 8.1-channel-capable booth monitor for Dolby EX setups?
 

The THX monitor coupled to a JBL 8340 external speaker is the best one I've found. My only complaint is it doesn't handle EX.

I haven't had the problems with the USL monitors that some have had, there was a bad run on the CM-60 speakers that came unstuck and blew out too easily. The CM-60 uses a "I'll take up 4 outlets cuz I'm so big" wall-wart and a noisy switching power supply. It can also deal with processors that have built-in crossovers. Since they placed that feature on the "D" connector input, it does not follow the THX standard exactly.

USL has addressed the low volume level that plagued the CM-35. Both the CM-60 and CM-80 have plenty of volume now.

If you have an EX system, then your favorite monitor can sacrifice the Subwoofer channel for the rear or EX channel, if you can't feel the subs, then they are not on and a 2-3" speaker isn't going to acurately represent the sub channel anyway.

SMART makes the MN-610 that has ALL of the channels (10 of them) so LC, RC and all four surround channels are represented. It has the nice feature that it is differential in on all channels too since many of the modern processors are now differential out. It is accommodating in that it has a DB-25 input connector that conforms to the THX pin-out though they got the gender wrong for the connector they use (you must either make your own cable or use a ribbon cable but put the connector on upsidedown so wire 1 goes to pin 13 on one side). It also has phoenix type input blocks for all channels if you want to go that route. It fits in a 2-u rack space so it is space accommodating too. The little 2" speaker is very tinny so don't look for Hi-Fi output but they do offer an external speaker jack to use a real speaker. Each channel can be added to the mix and processor/amplifier monitoring is available...the dinky 4 level meter is near worthless but it does function as a SPI indicator so you visually know the channel has signal.

The current THX monitor, the THX-D1138 is actually quite good in many respects. The sound quality for it's size is simply the best. It only may be used for a THX theatre so that limit's it's availablility but if you have a THX theatre, it is a VERY nice piece.

If you are looking for high quality sound from your booth monitor, Panastereo has a solution. Their monitor is only 1-u tall and has a two channel amplifier built in. There is also a substantial led based VU meter to visually see what it going on downstairs. How do they pack it in 1-U of space? There is no speaker, that is up to you! After all, how can one put a quality speaker in a small package (except BOSE of course, physics doesn't apply to them). So get a couple of what you think are good sounding speakers, place them above the ports and have at it! Panastereo has a thing for stereo monitors. Though it can be programmed as a mono monitor, the stereo idea has left from left, right from right, center from both and surround from both. The current monitor does handle EX (I believe the model is the CM-230EX). It does not handle LC and RC though and their is a mix mode for the three stage channels (like the THX monitor).

A hidden feature in the Panastereo CSP-1200 is the built in booth monitor, the catch, you need their remote to select the channels. In that case you will need your own amplifier(s) (yes it is stereo or mono out) and speakers but the channel selection is available to you.

QSC has entered into the monitor fold with their crossover/monitor (I believe USL also has one available now). The monitoring facilities are adequate and can handle what ever channel arrangement you might have since there are 3 models depending on what channel configuration (both number of channels and how many crossover points). The input is a D-25 connector that conforms to the THX standard so hook up can be quick. While it doesn't offer any sort of VU or SPI indication (after all it, only works with the DCA line of amps that have VU meters) it does have a "FAULT" indicator that lets one know if something has gone wrong with a channel. The installer programs what the speaker loads are (max and min per channel) and the monitor looks at that over a long time period, if a driver shorts or opens or goes horribly out of range, a red fault LED will flash and by pressing the fault button the problem channel can be identified.

Well those are my top contenders for current units and they each have their place in life depending on the application.

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
 

The only issue we have is when we use the QSC amps with the newer THX D1138 monitors. The amps have a "sleep" mode that is controlled by the QSC monitor. But in THX houses, you have to use the new THX monitor which don't control the amps.

For some reason, almost every time I plug headphones into a THX 3417 monitor, the speaker fuse blows. I admit I don't do this often, but it's happened several times.

I still like that old Ampex switching thing that would switch out one of up to eight amps. The amp that got switched out got a 8 ohm 100 watt resistor switched for a load. A rotary switch selected which channel went to the monitor amp and speaker.
 

Is there something I can do to solve the problem? Would contact cleaner work?

And what about the low volume level in these? That pot at the back did nothing for me.

------------------

~Manny.

Now...where was I ?
Leonard Shelby, MEMENTO.
 

I have good memories of the MS-100 from my AMC days.

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~Manny.

Now...where was I ?
Leonard Shelby, MEMENTO.
 

That said when I have worked with off the shelf monitors, I quiet like the QSC DCM series. The Ultra Stereo is too quiet, you can't hear it over the mechs.

A lot of good monitors are held back by crappy speakers too.
 

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Have a good projection ....

Giorgio.
 

NEVER use contact cleaner in potentiometers! You will ultimately destroy the pot (it will freeze).

Use a cleaner with a lubricant in it like DeOxit(Cramolin).

My favorite monitors are:

THX 3417
Component Engineering MS-100
CFS 4 and 8-channel (yes, CFS- these are not that bad compared to some of the others I have used, and the 8-channel unit can handle EX)

Worst factory-manufactured monitor:
Smart EX500. Granted these things have a JBL 5" speaker in them, they are just plain crap, the pots die quickly, some of them I have used were horribly noisy and/or introduced noise into the system.

I know of several really bad 'tech built' or 'home-made' monitors as well.

-Aaron

 

Thanks for the strong caution. I appreciate it.

I did a Google search and learned that Deoxit comes in a spray (Deoxit D5) and also as a red liquid (D100L).

The Cramolin product is discontinued. They are now referring users to the red liquid manufactured by Caig.

In the interest of absolute clarity (I have to mail-order just about everything I buy)...are you recommending the liquid over the spray?

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~Manny.

Now...where was I ?
Leonard Shelby, MEMENTO.

I ordered NuTrol and my Smart monitors are working perfectly now. The Ultra-Stereo monitors are just crappy...not nearly enough volume. But the NuTrol gets rid of the scratchy pots.

Also...

Replacing all of those Smart monitors with MS-100s at the flagship site. The Smarts are moving over from there to the older location to replace the Ultra-Stereo monitors (and some older Smart monitors).

The MS-100s arrived on Wednesday and I'll start installing them tomorrow (Monday).

These were the monitors we used at the AMC where I once worked. I loved those monitors. It will be good to have them again.

(Just so you don't think I'm spending my days worrying about booth monitors...this is part of a fun upgrade I'm doing. DTS theatres are becoming Dolby Digital and Dolby analog houses will be getting those DTS players. Smart processors are getting replaced by Dolby processors...and Centre-Surround houses are finally getting full cinema stereo. I'm going to be very busy and very happy. Maybe I will even post a set of pictures.)

Glad to hear the Nu-trol spray worked well for your scratchy pot problem. It's been a lifesaver at the Skyline Drive-in.