I agree with all the others, you must listen for yourself before departing with the cash. Its a nightmare buying the right monitors without trying them first. Do a few mixes on them, see which translates better for you.

I also recommend you try out the Genelec 8000 series, i had the 8040a's and liked them, but in my room they bloated a lot of unclear bass (the rear port design). The 8040s and 8050s might work in your room though and may suit your ears too.

Just to add to the listen-and-decide-for-yourself crowd - be sure not to buy Adam's without hearing them for yourself.

I know lots of people are crazy about Adam's but although they are very revealing, personally I did not like working and mixing with the ribbon tweeters. Also I'm not a big fan of the low end.

The new Genelec series are way better than the old ones so they are a serious contender.

My favourite would be Dynaudio and you could add the AIR6 to the list - I don't know if the digital connections would be of benefit to you but the Class-D amplifiers make them more transparant than the BM6 (which has the same drivers but different amps IIRC)

hth,

Ivo W.

Just to contradict all of the excellent advice already given, I say DON'T audition anything--just buy something everyone seems to like. Make sure you buy from a place where you CAN'T return them. Never listen to other's monitors for comparison. This way you don't go crazy or waste time deciding on something you won't know you like for a couple of months anyway, and you'll be forced to quickly rationalize your decision as being a good one because you can't return them. Try to get a contractual arrangement that will force you to keep them for at least a year. You'll almost certainly be happy

(I'd definitely check out the K&H 300Ds, though.)

Having listened to them all I would like to say that I liked the Genelec 8040's more than the 8050. But I'd choose the ADAMs over any one of those.
Having said that, I'm going for the K+H 0300 myself.

Wow, so much great advice! Thanks everyone. I'm going to take a listen to all of them and way all the pros and cons. I'm debating costs too, what do you think is the best value?

Thanks again for all of the input! And yes I am in San Francisco (downtown).

I think value depends on how much money you have. For some people 2000 large is a lot - for other's it's not.

It also depends on your room size.

I have a smaller room to mix in, so for me the 8040's were the best balance. If I was in a huge control room, running a business and making profit from my investment, then I'd have gone bigger.

Remember, bigger is not always better - it depends on your mixing space.

Rez

The best value is what suits your pockets.

If you are making a commerical return from your monitor purchase, then buying the best is not a bad thing, but if not, then you need to play wise.

All the above speakers are going to be great starting from the BM6A & Genelec 8040a to the Adam S3a and K+H o300ds.

I would even consider the Adam P11a or new A7 with the new little Sub 8.

If it were me, i would not get the Adams. There is something about them that I just don't like, almost like they were too boxy. However, I heard them with a sub and was more impressed.

I really like the 8050's, but for the price, you could get a pair of BM-15a's and a pair of 8020's or 8030's. Now that would be even better.

S3A + SUB10 here, from Craig/Calistro...best! WDIK 3d