Active studio monitors for under $400?

garysun · Post by **garysun** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:38 am

I'm looking to add another set of studio monitors for my 001 setup.
Any reccommendations?
most of my recordings seem to be song-based indie singer/songwriter stuff.
Thanks for your time!

John Jeffers · Post by **John Jeffers** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:49 am

Event TR series. TR-5's are $300, TR-6's are $400. I've used the TR-5's for a couple years now, and I think they're great small monitors.

jrsgodfrey · Post by **jrsgodfrey** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:18 pm

Hope this isn't too rude, but if you're interested for used I've got a pair for sale...

http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=31198

Beg pardon!

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:53 pm

John Jeffers wrote:Event TR series. TR-5's are $300, TR-6's are $400. I've used the TR-5's for a couple years now, and I think they're great small monitors.

i second that. i got a pair of TR-6's about 3 months ago and am very happy with them.

honkyjonk · Post by **honkyjonk** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:23 pm

Do a search for Wharfedale Diamond Pro's, 8.1 I believe. I havn't heard anything as good as these in terms of mix translation in the sub$400 range yet. [/i]

Radioaction · Post by **Radioaction** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:32 pm

I would check out KRK's rokit series. I have the RP 5's and I love em (theyre about $150 each). Here's the link http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=602312

Scott

klangtone · Post by **klangtone** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:42 pm

another vote for Event's TR5.
They've served me well.
Just like any monitors, you have to learn them.
But I find them pleasant to listen to.

Roy

TheStevens · Post by **TheStevens** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:54 pm

i'm very happy with my m-audio bx5s. They're very bright, and kind of lacking in low bass. But other than that, they're great, and would probably work awesome with some kind of subwoofer.
Not sure how the new ones are different.

Dubious · Post by **Dubious** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:07 am

ditto on the m audio bx5s cheap and good

Zoltar · Post by **Zoltar** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:00 pm

I have to vote against the events. I have the TR5s, and after a year, one stopped working. I don't use them often, and never push them hard. now I can't even find a single one to replace the broken one. The guitar center tried to sell me a new pair of some other thing. uggh. I think I would go with the KRKs.

BradG · Post by **BradG** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:36 pm

You say you're looking for "another set" of speakers. If you're supplementing some larger monitors, you might want to check out the Yamaha MSP3's. In a shoot-out a while back in Future Music, a bunch of producers picked them over several sets of bigger and more expensive pairs, finding them to be extremely accurate.

dirty · Post by **dirty** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:03 pm

I've got the Event TR-5s. They're the only real monitors I've ever had, but I love em so far. 9 months and counting....

I use em for indie stuff, my friends' bluegrass/acoustic stuff, my wack reason beats, and video post, and they're certainly good enough for me right now.

garysun · Post by **garysun** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:12 pm

You all are awesome. Thanks. I'm still reading!

peterc · Post by **peterc** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:01 pm

I tried about 8 sets of small actives (up to 6" bass speaker) & the nicest set for me was the Fostex PM01.

I am very sensitive to the harshness a lot of these speakers show at about 2-3k (crossover freq?) & the Fostex's didnt bother me there. Very nice.

Peter

Professor · Post by **Professor** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 3:10 am

I say this all the time... don't buy active monitors at that price range.
If you're like most musicians or most people for that matter, there is probably already an old home stereo sitting around the house somewhere, that may not even be in use.
If not, then go visit a pawn shop, thrift store, or other place where you can find similar old stereo gear and spend about $25-50 buying a 2-channel home stereo receiver or amp from the 80s or 90s. Even an old Pro-Logic receiver will be fine. Just look for something that's a respectable company like a Sony, Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo, etc. and delivers maybe 80-100 watts into 8-Ohms. Or something like this on eBay.
Then you have $350 left in the budget to get some nice entry-level home hi-fi speakers like B & W Speakers or perhaps Dynaudio or Tannoy. Find a dealer for any one of those in your area, and that will likely be a place that sells other, similar hi-fi products.
I really like B&W speakers, and while their flagship 'Nautilus' speakers run about $50,000 a pair, they still have entry-level models in the $300 range. Same for Dynaudio which runs up to an $85,000 flagship but still enters the market in the low hundreds. Maybe something like this from eBay.
When you're buying products like that, your getting a company that does lots of R&D and has some really spectacular engineering & design skills that 'trickle down' to their lower-line products.

Plus the best thing about having passive speakers at that price point is that when you're ready to upgrade, you can upgrade your speakers without needing to buy a new amp at the same time, or you can upgrade your amp without blowing half your money on new speakers. In the end, it's far more cost effective and will get you a significantly better product right out of the gate.

-Jeremy

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Active studio monitors for under $400?

Active studio monitors for under $400?

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