I Need New Monitors

[nordberg]

i've been not very happy with my monitors for the last few years (m-audio bx5) and one of them crapped out on my the other day.

i'd like to acquire some "better" ones for no more than $500.

i know monitors are a pretty personal thing, but if anyone can help me not make the same mistake you made...

i was briefly checking out the yamaha hs series and the mackies, but i have nowhere to hear these.

i need to get on this asap and learn them quickly as i'm doing a bands ep in a few weeks.

oh yeah, and they need to be active.


thanks in advance - mike

[calaverasgrandes]

I like the KRK RP6v2 speakers. The RP8V2 are a little better.
The Yamahas I foundto sound kind of boxy. But they have that, "if your mix will work on here it will work anywhere" kind of tactic going on I think.
The Mackies have been undewhelming every time I tried them.

[jgimbel]

+1 on the KRKs. I've got the RP5v2s and I really like them, but I've got some friends who use the 6s and they're always nice to work on.

[chris harris]

but i have nowhere to hear these.

You should be able to go here and listen to a lot of options in your price range.

[calaverasgrandes]

but i have nowhere to hear these.

You should be able to go here and listen to a lot of options in your price range.

I will admit, that for as much as I bash GC, I usually go there on a quiet weekday to check out monitors. Most of them actually havea "studio" set up with 8 or so pairs. I brought a CD and played it from itunes out through a PT hd setup into some fancy monitor switcher. I settled on either the adams or the rokits after listening to everything they had hooked up. The mackies and yammies were awful. The genelecs that they had sounded too nice. I really want some passive adams now.

[cgarges]

Buy from somewhere you can return them. Check out some that you think you might be interested in. See if you like they way they sound. How do they translate outside of your mix environment? Are you hearing everything the way you want to? Can you listen to them all day long without your head hurting?

All these factors are different for different people. If you can get a few sets of speakers at a time (like, by putting them on a credit card) and then returning what you don't like, you'll have an easier (and faster) time making a decision. It's much more about finding some speakers that really fit your own needs than finding something else that other people are using.

Choosing a set of speakers that fit what I wanted to hear has probably made the biggest difference in my mixes than anything else I've bought.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[calaverasgrandes]

I guess it bears mentioning because, it wasnt obvious to me at first! You want to shoot for speakers that maybe dont sound super hifi actually, but that let you hear more into your mixes. the Rokits actually do this allright for the price. I really didnt want to like them. I dont like yellow. I dont like cheap popular brands. But I could hear reverbs very well, I could hear sticks hitting hihats, not just hihats. I could tell that the bass had too much low mid mud.
The Genelecs I didnt like because I felt they sounded too finished on those.
The mackies kind of try to do this as well.

[Babaluma]

try out a pair of yamaha msp5 studios if you can. i love mine. but you gotta try for yourself.

[FBH]

try out a pair of yamaha msp5 studios if you can. i love mine. but you gotta try for yourself.

I had a pair of those as well. Apart from a very slightly crispy high end, they sounded pretty natural and full to me. I would recommend. Not that I'm a somebody, but still...

[Babaluma]

yep agreed, the high end is a little crispy, but it's one of the things that i love the most about them, as it forces me to make all my mixing and mastering decisions based on that sound. i've been using them solely for nearly ten years in the same room. i get lots lots of praise for my "warm and analogue" sounding mixes and masters.

if i ever move to a bigger room i'll probably just opt for the msp7 studios instead.

[casey campbell]

event tr-8's. best bang for the buck. you can find them used well below your budget.

here are some reviews:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec03/a ... venttr.htm

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi ... /TR-8/10/1

[ctmsound]

Save your money and buy something better in the future.

[CedarSound]

I'll second the TR8 recommendation for bang/buck on the cheaper side. I have Adam A7s now, and love them, but I mixed on TR8s for a few years and several of my friends have them as well. You certainly have to learn their idiosyncracies, but once I did they served me well. As was previously mentioned, it does come down to personal preference. Good luck in your search.

[Warhead]

The Yamaha MSP5 are excellent.

I always liked the old KRK V6 II if you can find them used and in good shape.

Excellent 6" speaker with great midrange detail.

War

[ddorman]

I've got a pair of Samson Rubicon 5a's that I've become quite fond of, they work better with a sub though. I can be listening to them for a long time and they don't hurt my ears. I used to have some Behringer monitors, and even if they were quite it just felt like it was forcing sound at my ears the whole time and they'd get irritated pretty quick.

I also have always liked KRK's whenever I've heard those too.