Quick q: choosing between Behringer truths and KRK Rokit 8?

[br0ken]

I need a quick answer as I will be picking on of these up pretty soon. Which of these (they cost the same) would be better suited for mixing electronic music, mainly trance and house.

I really like the truth's (B2031A) from what I read. I know these are both pretty much low end monitors, especially the truth's seem like love or hate types, but they are used by quite a lot of EDM producers including by some of my favorite ones.

Then there are KRK Rokit 8's (the old version) - KRK RP-8 Rokit from zZounds.com

I don't know much about these monitors or know anyone that mixes electronic music on them, so some input would be nice. All I know is that the G2 Rokit's are quite praised for their value, but I have no idea about the first generation.

[Reptil]

none of the above

save up for better IMO
otherwise you'll later have to upgrade (=sell these at a loss and buy good ones)
it's more economical to get something good rightaway.
IMO don't skimp on monitors.

good luck

[br0ken]

I can't afford anything better at the moment. Even either of those I'll be getting second hand too, because I'm so broke.
And as I said, there are well respected edm producers using the truth's and they can surely afford some high end genelec's or something so I don't know what the deal is... Ian Carey and Sied van Riel off the top of my head.

[mikecook]

ya, and.. ?

maybe Ian Carey mixes his tracks in a pro studio. Who knows, and who cares..

The truths are some of the cheapest active monitors on the market.. they sound like utter bollocks.

[NAWAX]

Go for the KRK
It's low end but good value for money IMHO.
Please stay away from Beringher. Your music deserves better !!

[seen-da-sizer]

Originally Posted by Reptil

none of the above

+1

Originally Posted by Reptil

save up for better IMO

If you desperately need a monitor in your price class, look into the Mackie MR8. They are a good value. My vote however is to buy the cheaper and smaller Mackie MR5. The money saved can go towards a higher end monitor like Genelec, Adam etc. later on.

[lhm1138]

What size is your studio room and is it treated at all, because these factors could determine that even the two models you're mentioning aren't the right monitors for your needs.

[Reptil]

on a budget: 2nd hand or DIY?

[br0ken]

@mikecook: well I care don't I? Because these two are the only viable choice right now and when searching around for more info and reviews I came across a lot of EDM producers with these monitors. They don't make them anymore AFAIK so I can't really go to a store and hear them.
And even if someone like Ian Carey doesn't mix his own tracks (which he does) use these if they were as shitty as everyone claims? And there have been a lot of positive response about them even on this forum.
Surely he has more money than me to spend on, even if just for auditioning, monitors...

@NAWAX: Do you own the KRK's? I'm having trouble finding some serious info about these, apart from all the "omg, best monitors evar!!!111" store reviews". Keep in mind I'm talking about the first generation Rokit's not the G2's which I heard are great (but far from my budget).

@lhm1138: About 10ft x 14ft. Untreated (as of yet). I understand the truth's have some controls on the back for room compensation which I guess is always a plus. I'll probably get my room treated (at least some basic stuff) when I get the monitors.

I'm really leaning towards the Behringer's unless I find someone with the Rokit's that produces EDM and sheds some light.
Also keep in mind that I'm currently on some hifi speakers which have a huge resonance everytime I hit D# so it's not like I'll only settle for some Genelec's or something
As I said, I'm poor.

@Reptil: second hand.

[thehuman]

The KRK's are better, but they are both pretty bad. I agree that you should save up for better. I have the KRK's now, and I can't wait to replace them. Big mistake of a purchase...

[Oli]

I also bought cheepies, and am not happy with them. Actually damn tired of them. I got Alesis M1 active Mk2 second hand for $40. The value for money was there, but the low end was tubby as hell.

Personally, I've found Behringer a little less fatiguing than KRKs, though I've not heard the KRK model you are considering.

It's true that some people have found Behringer speakers to suit them. There was also a rumor (yes, just a rumor) that the design/manufacturing may have changed post law suit.

The truths are famously poor for build quality and EM shielding. I think many tweaters have died. Personally, I can generally accept part replacement for cheap kit. The EM issue, with picking up radio stations is probably a show stopper, if it happens to crop up. I'm wouldn't know if it had been addressed.

Perhaps some reasonable quality headphones and whatever hi-fi speakers you happen to have, may be OK in the interim. Also, patient research can still turn up some bargains in used markets.

[Oli]

Originally Posted by Reptil

on a budget: 2nd hand or DIY?

Is DIY really feasible for monitors? I had thought that it's not so easy to get the cabinet and driver selection right, first time. Then there are amps to consider as well. An R&D environment is a different story, of course.

I tend to think that working a second job is often a more productive means to an end, except for more exotic DIY projects

[GeorgeHayduke]

Originally Posted by Oli

..
Perhaps some reasonable quality headphones and whatever hi-fi speakers you happen to have, may be OK in the interim. Also, patient research can still turn up some bargains in used markets.

Yea, I was going to say the same. If you have any speakers at all, as reference, maybe you should look at the best neutral headphones you can afford.

Monitoring through headphones is certainly not ideal, but you can always keep the headphones for use in the future, poor monitors is not something you'll want to keep.

[Oli]

Originally Posted by GeorgeHayduke

Monitoring through headphones is certainly not ideal, but you can always keep the headphones for use in the future, poor monitors is not something you'll want to keep.

That's pretty much my thinking. I hate listening to headphones for extended periods, but they sure have their good points. I left my cheap monitors at a friend's place, and am really not missing them too much.

[pac0r]

Originally Posted by mikecook

ya, and.. ?

maybe Ian Carey mixes his tracks in a pro studio. Who knows, and who cares..

The truths are some of the cheapest active monitors on the market.. they sound like utter bollocks.

YouTube - Ian Carey - Intro (part 1 of 7)
check it out.

[RobJB06]

Behringer.. yikes...



What about Dynaudio BM5/6 or something like that.

[br0ken]

I can't see my reply... I posted it a few days ago, was it deleted or something? Do the mods need to approve it or what?
Anyway, to pick up where I left off...

@Oli: Yeah I know about the lawsuit. I'd be buying the pre-lawsuit ones anyway.
And about the headphones; I had some Sennheiser pretty good ones (broken now), but I found that I really can't mix well on headphones, because of all the usual things; inaccurate stereo image, levels seemed way off when I listened on speakers etc... I know some people like mixing on headphones, not my thing.

@tuman: Could you please elaborate? What kind of music do you make? Any more info would be nice.

[mikecook]

Originally Posted by pac0r

YouTube - Ian Carey - Intro (part 1 of 7)
check it out.

I don't need to check it out. Those monitors are sh*t. The better the monitors, the less guess work involved. I'd save my $$$, or if you really can't afford anything better, perhaps save the money for college education. thumbsup

[jbuonacc]

Originally Posted by mikecook

I don't need to check it out.

yeah, you've been a lot of f'ing help here.

to the OP: get what you can afford for now and upgrade down the line if/when you need to. how much are you paying for these and where are you getting them from?

[Reptil]

you could take a pair of "not so stellar" (polite-mode ) and pull out the bad parts? start small, replace the caps of the PSU, that doesn't help the caps of the ampreplace the PSU first, then amp, then the rest. IME the amps are often very cheap, and just enough for those drivers. Mind you this is no rule, just my idea of "improvement"
(and fun)

a second hand pair of Dynaudios would be in your budget. do you have some seperate amp around? you could try passive. Sometimes sounds much better.

[controlvoltage]

I think Wharfedale monitors are truly underrated. I never hear about them but I picked up a set of their Diamond 8.1 Pro active nearfields and they are surprisingly, eye-openingly decent. The 8.2's are a bit bigger and give you correspondingly more low end (the 8.1's roll off steeply at 50Hz).

I think you'd be hard pressed to find significantly better without spending at least twice what you'd pay for the Wharfedales.

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by controlvoltage

I think Wharfedale monitors are truly underrated. I never hear about them but I picked up a set of their Diamond 8.1 Pro active nearfields and they are surprisingly, eye-openingly decent. The 8.2's are a bit bigger and give you correspondingly more low end (the 8.1's roll off steeply at 50Hz).

I think you'd be hard pressed to find significantly better without spending at least twice what you'd pay for the Wharfedales.

interesting. what did you compare those with?

[controlvoltage]

krk rokits, alesis monitor-1 (crap IMO), and some Genelec nearfields that are the same size... I forget which model.

The Genelecs sounded the best, no surprise there, but that's way outside my budget.

The krk's really do have a sort of brittle or over-hyped quality to them in my opinion.. I think there's a reason this description keep s coming up.

I don't know if alesis makes the monitor1 any more... if not, it's no great loss. They lack detail and presence to my ears.

The Wharfedales seem to me to be very balanced, clear and open... very good detail and transient response, very solid sound with good coherence and spatial imaging. Very low fatigue factor. Once I'd broken in the carbon fiber cones, I have had nothing but love for these speaks. Again, they are lacking in the low end, but they roll off right where a speaker this size is required to by the laws of physics and are impressively flat in response (for their price) above this. No artifical hype and no brittleness.

I have no association with Wharfedale other than I happened across their speakers and bought a set, and I'm amazed that they don't get more play here in the USA. It's a British company and I gather they are much better known (although still perhaps underrated) in the UK.

[lhm1138]

Originally Posted by jbuonacc

to the OP: get what you can afford for now and upgrade down the line if/when you need to. how much are you paying for these and where are you getting them from?

Yeah man, what is up with that? I see this a lot. "Save up for the best". Then when you get all the "pro" stuff that meets the sensibilities of anonymous elitists on the intenet, you'll have no knowledge, no experience, and no progression. Just get what you can afford, try to get something flat, and just compare your mixes on other systems so you truly KNOW your monitors. Then when you do get the Genelecs or what-have-you, you'll have a secondary pair of monitors to put on an A/B switch which will help you get better mixes for the variety of systems out there, from iPods to home stereos.

I know someone locally who uses the Truths and he's happy with them. He's making well-mixed music and releasing albums instead of hanging out on forums telling people they need a large bank account to have a decent studio.

[gsabin]

Originally Posted by controlvoltage

I think Wharfedale monitors are truly underrated. I never hear about them but I picked up a set of their Diamond 8.1 Pro active nearfields and they are surprisingly, eye-openingly decent. The 8.2's are a bit bigger and give you correspondingly more low end (the 8.1's roll off steeply at 50Hz).

I think you'd be hard pressed to find significantly better without spending at least twice what you'd pay for the Wharfedales.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found a Pair of Mint Wharfedale 8.2 actives on Craigslist a while back for $150 and I think they sound Amazing compared to what I was planning on buying ! Im in the cheap ass College Student Price Range !! anyways, Im an Audio Engineering student who has access to Genlec 1032As, Icons, Tannoy Ellipse 10s, and Adam Monitors and think these sound pretty dam close compared to what I spent and what all of those monitors go for !!

And Ya The 8.2s are a good size but thats what I liked about them and they are Solid as hell !! Simply put im very happy with them ! Id check them out if I were you !

[DocT]

I use the KRKs and am quite content. My mixes are better now then with the passive Event 20/20 I had before because of the better bass response. And they are way better than my room anyway.

I compared with more expensive monitors but couldn't see many advantages in my acoustically untreated room, so I decided not to spend more money on monitors until I can afford to move into a better room

[Konketsu]

I know of several Juno Award (Canadian music awards) nominated albums that were mixed on a PTHD system and monitored through first gen Behrry truths. Are they great monitors? No. Can they be used to make music? of course. You will outgrow them, and they might crap out on you, and they won't sound as good or as accurate as monitors that cost 5X as much, but they'll get you up and running for minimal cost.

if I were in your shoes (and this is my personal taste) I would try and track down a pair of the blue Tannoy Reveal Actives, the first gen ones. I had a pair of those in an untreated room for a while years ago and the mixes that I did on them still translate well.

[wafflesomd]

The Behringer 2030p's are pretty damn good monitors for their price.

Here's the measure response of the speaker.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...f?t=1259603015

This graph contains the off axis response.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...f?t=1259603106

I can't say anything for the active version of the monitors.

The KRK's are better monitors though. Of course, they cost more.

[ManOnAMission]

Lots of untruth about the truth monitors.

I have been using mine for close to ten years. I auditioned them against the event 20/20bas, Mackie HR824, and other monitors at the time.

The truths really stand up well to the mackies which are 3-4x as much money. They smoke the event 20/20bas of that era.

People make good music with them. I have never felt they are a weak link in my signal chain. Once they sat on my desk, there has been no incentive to change them.

[deep]

I bought KRK R8's after reading good reviews of them in a Shoot out in some music tech mag. If u have a small room I would go for the R6 tho, as the R8's are a "little" boomy.

If yo do take things further an get high end monitors in the future you can always use them as a 2nd reference.