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Recommend me some studio monitor speakers

finelikewinefinelikewine "ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts
edited January 2011 in Strut Central
It`s finally time for me to buy some decent studio monitor speakers. The crap I`m using at the moment doesn`t serve me well.
Everything I produced with them sound like ass when played out somewher else.

Now I`m looking for some decent speakers but unfortunatly money is tight. I can spend 600$ max. I`m aware that this not much for decent monitors, it certainly wont buy me Genelecs. Right now I`m considering to buy the Yamaha HS 80 M or KRK Rokit 5.
Which one has the better cost-benefit ratio?

Is there anything better out there in this price range?

Thanks in advance!

  Comments

  • spoonieteespoonietee 110 Posts
    I have the Rokit's and though I'm not super intensive about pristine sound quality in comparison to real producer folk, I love the way they sound. Very clear, crisp, and decent low end for their size.
  • lefunkmoblefunkmob 28 Posts
    If you search a bit, you can get an used pair of Tannoy DMT-10s/12s or even the Tannoy DMT-15s in that price range. I paid 400 Euros used for my DMT-15s and had to recone one speaker for an additional 350 Euro.

    If you need nearfields then go for the DMT-10 or 12, the 15s are huge and need space and heavy stands

    The newer Tannoys are crap, but the older ones, like the ones I mentioned, translate very well.

    Oh and whatever you do, don't buy Genelecs, hyped bass response and the mids aren't well defined in my opinion.
  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    What not to buy:

    Mackie HR824s (had 'em about 3 years ago, yuck)
    Newer Adams (I hear the manufacturing quality has gone downhill)
    Newer Genelecs (some people swear by them but to me they are one big ice cream scoop of big bass and ultra-bright high end)
    Blue Sky (I have a 2.1 system from them now and it's decent, but lacks detail in the upper mids and I've had fuse issues, customer service has been pretty non-existant - the phone number I was given sent me straight to the distributor. A shame since I think their general design principles and product lines are great, just the execution leaves something to be desired)

    I'd personally go for:

    Older Genelecs (1031a)
    Older Adams (something made at least 4 years ago)
    Older JBLs, circa early 2000s - really tight low end and built like tanks
    Barefoot Monitors (okay, if you can afford them at around 4k, but still, I heard these at AES and even in the showroom, holy shit. made in California too, up in the Napa Valley)

    There are tons of other options if you're pairing an amp with something unpowered, or using older speakers, but it's not going to sound as good straight out the box, gonna have to put some work/thought into it.

    At the end of the day how you treat your room and where you place your monitors matters much more than the monitors themselves. Which sucks when you're renting or have limited space, but a non-rectangular, treated room makes a world of difference.
  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    finelikewine said:
    Yamaha HS 80 M or KRK Rokit 5.

    I've heard the Yamahas and if you like NS10s then you will like them. If you hate NS10s you will want to jump out the window, because all the same issues are there. Yamaha designed it as an updated NS10 with better bass response.

    Rokit 5s are pretty small, and it shows in the low-end, but I don't know how big your room is.
  • SnuffdaddySnuffdaddy 44 Posts
    good points made here so far.

    a few years ago i was looking for the same thing for my room about 3mx4m. a local store had these EMES monitors i'd never heard of before. had a look online and at the time it was obvious the minority stocked the emes range. i had a listen to them and realised i thought they sounded the most balanced pair of a group of similarly priced alternatives.
    i thought they were great but needed to upgrade and i realised i needed more output. i had some cash saved and wanted to get something that wouldn't need replacing. with the reference sounds i went back to the same store and another and went with emes again. the violetthr models which are similar in design to the 5" pinktvs originally. against the similarly priced or more expensive dynaudios, adams, and maybe a few others, after a reasonable back and forth they just stood out to sound as organic as it could be.
    didn't bother with mackie or krk. still have never heard a pair of yamahas ns10s. the build of the cabinets is sweet and the whole package is top shelf.

    my advice is definitely to find them if you can.
  • finelikewinefinelikewine "ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts
    Thanks so far! Everything mentioned is worth considering. Unfortunatly all of them are bit too expensive for me. I guess the best thing would be to save up some money instead of going for the cheaper ones.
    It`s silly how the better ones hold their value, used ones still sell for 2/3 of their original price. No bagains to be found on the bay.
    The room I need them for isn`t ideal either. It is quite big, around 45 square meters and has very high ceilings (3,5 m).
    In an optimal way i would need something BIG. But I can`t go for that because it*s an old building and it is very clairaudient.
    The neighbours are already complaining regulary.
    The only option I have are proper nearfield monitors.
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey Finelikewine,

    I have these joints right here for $399:



    I also bought these stands to place them on:



    I think they cost about $100 or so. Good luck finding what you're looking for, my man.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
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