$400 to spend on a pair of monitors

[DrDeltaM]

KRK is pretty good for the money, I've no personal experience with the others you list.

[kingofswing]

Originally Posted by Tonal-Retentive

Ok, I have a friend that wants a little setup for his house. He wants to spend $400 on a pair of speakers. The ones that come to mind are KRK, Yorkville, maybe Wharfedale. Whats the popular choice around here? Any good places online to buy from?

p.s. He will do rock and probably a little r&b on them. I will probably use them too b/c we write together sometimes.

For $400, the KRK Rockit range are great performers, the rp6 or rp8.

Also look at the Event TR6 / TR8.

Alesis M1 Mk2 Actives are great, and have a well balanced sound from low to high. I have a pair, and IMO the are not far off from much higher end models costing 3-4 times more.

[mrbowes]

KRK V6 (used) and M-audio BX8s are both great for the money. Don't discredit passive monitors - A pair of used KRK 6000's (which are some high quality monitors) recently sold on eBizzle for less than $200!

[Tonal-Retentive]

Ok, but how do you buy used monitors? I've always been paranoid about doing that.

[Tonal-Retentive]

I've heard the Samson resolv stuff is supposed to be really good for the price too.

[warhead]

We have the Yorkville, Wharfedale and KRK RP and V series stuff all lined up side by side...and the RP series stuff is what makes it out the door and doesn't come back for folks on a budget.

Yorkville is "ok", somewhat cloudy while the Wharfedale stuff is kind of dark and opens up a bit when you crank it...but the KRK RP stuff has a smoother overall sound from low to high volume compared to other budget lines.

So that is our experience with those 3 lines on a daily basis.

War

[Tonal-Retentive]

Would it make a big difference to go for the RP8 over the 6? Not had much experience with 6" drivers...

[warhead]

More midrange clarity, less low end and volume. The 6" just aren't going to move as much air. While the RP6 sound fine, we've noticed that they tend to make kick drums sort of all sound the same on lots of source material. All speakers are flawed, especially in this price range. That may be something you don't want to hear, but it's just the truth.

Even the expensive ones are going to be flawed in some way though, to quote a friend of mine: "speakers SUCK".

Bang for the buck the RP series is killer, I really like those RP5's for the $$$.

War

[Tonal-Retentive]

So with rock/pop sources, which ones would you go with? RP5,6,8?

[slh0dges02@hotm]

i have a pair of event tr-6's that i picked up for $400 that work pretty well. only problem is that you will probably not hear the low-end as well as you want... meaning you might overcompensate for the lack of it.

[kingofswing]

Originally Posted by Tonal-Retentive

So with rock/pop sources, which ones would you go with? RP5,6,8?

If it was my $400, i would go for the RP8's for xtra low end and spl power.

hers a review of the RP 6 & 8:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug0...s/krkrokit.htm

enjoy.

[gsilbers]

try the m audio bx5 or other m audio monitors. they are really and unexpetly amazing.
the bass is enourmous and the stereo field is good. of course i dont recomend them for
a studio or main monitors but for that price theyre really good. i have genelecs for that.
if u decide for maudio get a good look at return policy and warranty cause there is a lot fo their gear which brakes easily but other times its just last for a long while.

ps i had the krks v and i didnt like them as much as the maudio.
krk are good when u go over 1000, really good!

[AdamJay]

if you dont have a CRT monitor or TV's around...
Tannoy Proto J's They are unshielded but have to be the flattest, least fatiguing passive monitors i've heard south of $600/pair. More honest than Reveal Passives.
These things are basically my preference for NS-10's.

Add a Samson Servo 260 amp and that sould keep you under budget. Pushing 90w per side into the Proto J's And thats a solid, quiet, fanless amplifier.

I've had the same pair for 6 years and never an issue.
I've always stayed the hell away from powered monitors, keep that PSU away from my cones, bitches!!!

[kingofswing]

Originally Posted by AdamJay

I've always stayed the hell away from powered monitors, keep that PSU away from my cones, bitches!!!

Strange.

The best mastering studios in the world use actives or powered monitors.

Im pretty sure Metropolis Mastering, UK use PMC BB5XBD Active Stereo mains, in each of their mastering suites.

each to thier own.

[supaheef]

Now they won't suit everybody, as they need to be used close, and at a carefully judges width, but I am quite impressed with the Genelec 8020s's (about $385 for a pair). They are quite revealing on the mid-range (their definite strength) with a surprisingly solid and reliable low end. Genelecs do have 'their' sound, which is not for all. I have tested the 8020, 8030, and 8040 side by side, and they sound (apart from the extreme lows) extremely similar. The trick with the 8020's is to run the amps (knobs on the front) fairly low (around halfway) then drive them with a healthy line source. With the volumes on the speakers up, they lose a lot of headroom. Driven hard, with low gain, they have excellent transient response.

All above props should be followed by the phrase "for their size". Well worth a listen, if nothing else. Depending on your fuel of choice, YMMV.

sh.

[warhead]

Supaheef, the 8020 Genelecs are more like $385 each. If they were $385 a pair KRK would be out of business!

It is amazing how consistent those 8000 series speakers are as you move up the line, you typically gain another 10hz of reach on the low end and another 7 to 10db overall volume but the sound is very much the same through the mids and high end.

War

[rids]

Behringer Truths can be had for cheap on ebay, around 300. Good sound and they do tell the truth.

[Fast420A]

Originally Posted by supaheef

Now they won't suit everybody, as they need to be used close, and at a carefully judges width, but I am quite impressed with the Genelec 8020s's (about $385 for a pair).

$770 a pair and in stock ready to ship, call if you need them.

Seriously though, if he needs a good main monitor he should be looking for something in a 6 or 8 inch woofer so the bass response is decent enough to hear and mix correctly. The other option would be to get a 2.1 system with a sub.

I would definately be looking at the Event TR6 for $399, the Samson Resolv come in a 2.1 system for $399 with an 8 inch Sub and 5 inch mains, you can get the 8 inch Mains for $399 or the 6 inch mains for $299. If your friend can spend $100 more the Blue Sky Media Desk wouldn't be a bad idea.

[ozraves]

I wrote this last year...

http://www.mojopie.com/monitoring2005.html

Powered monitors are ruling the market so even though this article is only a year old it's dated. Hafler no longer makes power amps.

[copperx]

Originally Posted by ozraves

Hafler no longer makes power amps.

There's always the T-Amp for those on a budget (you need efficient speakers, though).

[b2001]

We have the Yorkville, Wharfedale and KRK RP and V series stuff all lined up side by side...and the RP series stuff is what makes it out the door and doesn't come back for folks on a budget.

Warren:

I'm finally getting close to being able to afford and get a pair of monitors. I know listening is the final test; I've been thinking its either the RP5's or the V4 II's for me. I'm sure many end up with the RP5's vs. the V4's because of the price difference.

Are the V4's better enough than the RP5's to justify the cost difference? I'll spend the extra money, if need be. However, if not, then I have plenty of others things on my wish list. I want to stick with smaller speakers because of the small room that I'm in - I'll add a sub later. If I end up with the RP5's, then I'm well on the way to the sub already ...

[warhead]

The V4's are different, they have a little less low end response than the RP5 but they have somewhat more mid-clarity than the RP5 also and a smoother more detailed top end response.

If money's not a huge object, the Genelec 8030's are a LOT of speaker coming in a small package.

War

[supaheef]

Originally Posted by warhead

Supaheef, the 8020 Genelecs are more like $385 each. If they were $385 a pair KRK would be out of business!

War

Whoa! Sorry War! Still thinking in UK pounds! They can be had for under £400 in my store in London...

My bad... tee hee. Good speakers though. I have avoided about an hour of work today testing rough mixes through them. It won't be long until a pair comes home with me!

sh.

PS: Did someone seriously mention Behringer Truths? Yikes!

[Elijah]

Originally Posted by rids

Behringer Truths can be had for cheap on ebay, around 300. Good sound and they do tell the truth.

Absolutely not. I've used these a lot at church (closed-circuit TV mix), and trust me, you will want to throw them out the window sooner or later.

[matucha]

What about a new yamaha white cone series... I'm going to try a pair of HS50M for my temporary suite at barcelona, I'm used to adam s3a at prague, so this will be quite an interesting expirience.

[brokemusician4]

All I can say is that to say the KRK RP stuff is in the same league as the Yorkville is a joke. Remember dealers often find speakers with higher profit margins more musically pleasing. Definitely go with the M-audio's before the KRK's, the only KRK's I've ever heard that belonged in the studio were a pair of $5000 dollar KRK's. That company sells crappy sounding speakers that look cool and they're geniously marketed and since most people can't hear anything anyway somehow they're still in buisness.

[blaugruen7]

samson rubicon r6a

[Eric Greedy]

I'm with the Genelec 820 tip...but even more bang for the buck. Because they're a lot cheaper and mixes still translate amazingly well are the new Yamaha HS50M's you can get a pair on a good deal for your target price. They go down to around 50Hz..crazy.

[AxS]

Do try and audition some Event monitors, the TR6 are a great price/performance tradeoff. I'd certainly take them over Warfedales or Behringers.
The V2 KRKs are also good as are the Genelec 8020A but they may be over your budget.