Low price range monitors

[TheJeffAllen]

I'm kinda new to the site and just trying to get a feel for it, but Im currently looking in to buying new monitors for my home studio. I have looked at the KRK RP-8s and the Yamaha HS80s/HS50s. I was wondering if anyone out there had some suggestions for the $200-$400 price range (for each speaker that is)

Jeff

[Cosmic Closet]

Hi Jeff,

I'd suggest at least checking out the Samson Resolv line. They don't get a lot of mention, but I bought a pair of their big model, the Resolv 80A (self-powered)
and I find they give good soundstage and balanced, fatigue-free reproduction.

I didn't want to spend more initially, because if I went into a higher price range, I would wind up too close to things like the small Genelecs, and still not get them, so the Samsons work well for me for now.

Here's a link:

Samson Active Monitors | Sweetwater.com

Best,

[WeeFace]

But make sure you do some serious listen to a lot before you buy, because I have a few friends who went with the samsons based on paper specs, and I can't stand them. Sound really muddy, cheap to me. I think you'll will get more of a "monitor" experience with the KRKs, but the 8" ones you mention are a little much down the bottom - try the rp6 perhaps? That said I was in the guitar centre in Orange, CT a couple of months ago and they had V6s for $200 each... which would be a steal. I can't recommend much else though as not being from the USA (that was during some brief work abroad) I don't know what stuff costs over there. Have a look and see if you can try some Events, they probably fall into your range too.

Good luck!

[Master Tang]

For that budget the Blue Sky EXO's are the most complete sounding set of monitors out there.

Excellent translation, full range, and easy on the ears.

And they can be yours for the small sum of $350.

If you know your guy at Guitar Center, you can probably get them for $300 even.


Edit: You said each speaker, not the whole setup. Step up to the Blue Sky Media Desk 2.1's. More power is the difference between them and the EXO's. And for 599 bux still the best choice out there in that budget IMHO.

[1 M.I.C]

im scared to get the exo's. i think if i get em and they sound great i will be so curious as to how good the media desk would sound.

[Trombley]

I was looking at picking up the Event Reference 8's. Has anyone had any experience with those?

[Master Tang]

Originally Posted by 1 M.I.C

im scared to get the exo's. i think if i get em and they sound great i will be so curious as to how good the media desk would sound.

The only noticeable difference is power. The Media Desks are louder. For near feilds the EXOs will make your wife yell at you. With the Media Desks, your neighbors will probably be pissed off too.

Both great choices.

[gio.vanni]

I use the HS50s in my studio and like them for what they are. In a treated room and good placement, I don't see why you would have a problem. If you have the space though you might want to spring for the 80s for the better bass response. Or just get the 50s and get a sub later to accompany them. They are great monitors for the money you pay though.

[WeeFace]

Does $400 each cover Adam A7s over there?

[gio.vanni]

No, but $500 each or 1 grand a pair does just fine. Might want to up your budget just a bit and grab a pair of A7s. I don't see how you can go wrong with them.

[yuppie]

Yamaha hs80 are very good for the price.
i like their sound.

[ttauri]

Tremendously happy with my MediaDesks. They may depend on the size of your studio and also having a little flexibility in placing the sub, though: mine sounded a bit lost when I was in a larger room for a while, and placing the sub took a little experimentation.

Peece,
T. Tauri

[1 M.I.C]

Originally Posted by Master Tang

The only noticeable difference is power. The Media Desks are louder. For near feilds the EXOs will make your wife yell at you. With the Media Desks, your neighbors will probably be pissed off too.

Both great choices.

oh really? hmmm thanks man appreciate that a million..

[johnwayne]

Originally Posted by ttauri

Tremendously happy with my MediaDesks. They may depend on the size of your studio and also having a little flexibility in placing the sub, though: mine sounded a bit lost when I was in a larger room for a while, and placing the sub took a little experimentation.

Peece,
T. Tauri

Me too. I think they translate very well. Sub is cool once you get it calibrated. Also treat your room as well.

[bamm]

...Also treat your room as well.

johnwayne

The Duke is right. thumbsupthumbsupthumbsupthumbsupthumbsup Set at least $300 aside for some traps.

BlueSky's are excellent...Low fatigue and translate well. Great service too!

[CassidyGT]

I use the Event Reference 6.5" and I am very pleased with them

[TheJeffAllen]

Originally Posted by gio.vanni

No, but $500 each or 1 grand a pair does just fine. Might want to up your budget just a bit and grab a pair of A7s. I don't see how you can go wrong with them.

We have the A7s in the main control room at Webster University. I found that they dont translate well to other systems. That might just be the complete lack of bass in the control room though.

[gio.vanni]

Originally Posted by TheJeffAllen

We have the A7s in the main control room at Webster University. I found that they dont translate well to other systems. That might just be the complete lack of bass in the control room though.

Lots of good records have been mixed on them, I don't think it's the monitors fault. As I like to say, monitors are subjective.

It really depends on your ears, your content and your room. Room treatment is the key that unlocks a good monitor and I believe that is where a lot of home and project studios fail.

[Robobaby]

Originally Posted by gio.vanni

Lots of good records have been mixed on them, I don't think it's the monitors fault. As I like to say, monitors are subjective.

It really depends on your ears, your content and your room. Room treatment is the key that unlocks a good monitor and I believe that is where a lot of home and project studios fail.

Pretty much agreed. I only figured it out over a couple of years because I'm renting. Thus I've had the opportunity to monitor on my Dynaudio BM5as in 4 different bedrooms in 4 years.

Alls I can say is they sounded different in every single room and not always pleasant. When I was in a boxroom with thin hollow walls they produced *terrible* flutter echoes (no bass trapping) and I found them really unusable at anything greater than low listening levels. It was a mistake moving into that room now that I think about it.

Every monitor I ever auditioned sounded different. They sounded different in different rooms. The key thing is to get used to the way they sound and learn to compensate in the mix accordingly. They will not mix for you and it would be a mistake to think that by buying an expensive monitoring system thats your ticket out of amateur mixville. I don't really care what monitors I use these days so long as I have time to adapt to them and some sort of reference system I am used to listening on. Its really amazing actually, the sort of influence that your environment has on the sound you hear.

In recent years I also find myself much more concerned about things like build quality and customer support - something which is definitely lacking on the budget end of the market. There are few things worse than having your monitors die on you a couple of weeks out of warranty or having to go through some labourious returns procedure to get replacements. When you get to a certain price point, customer service generally get much better and they will generally go out of their way to help you out if you have trouble.

I have to admit my glowing appreciation of Dynaudio has much less to do with the way their monitors sound as opposed to how well they are built and how they will ask no questions when you have technical problems and simply replace the unit because its quicker and gets you back on track sooner. They have done this twice for me whilst Alesis basically said 'hard luck' when my housemate's M1s broke down out of warranty. Is it worth the extra to get that level of support? You decide. I found the M1s to be perfectly usable monitors. You just don't want to get problems with them after a year.

If you are going with budget monitors, I'd definitely check out their build quality and check around to see what their after sales support is. I know Alesis wasn't great in this regard a few years back but they may have improved. I also remember Event having a bad rep for a while on this score but I found their ALP monitors to be really good. From a practical standpoint no better or worse than the monitors I currently own.

[ChuckG]

If you are willing to cough up 500$ a monitor you can get the old Mackie HR824s new on clearance at most places right now. They are great and you will not regret the extra 200$.

[uncle duncan]

Tascam VLX-5. They own the $300 price range. Lotta bass for a small monitor.