So I'm buying my first pair of monitors and these 3 seem to be the most frequently mentioned in my price range.

I produce electronic music, both dance music and more ambient stuff.
Not recording or mixing bands.

I don't have an opportunity to try to hear these in person, so I was wondering from the community how these 3 monitors might be different so that I can make a better buying decision?

Assume that my room is treated with acoustic paneling, diffusion etc but it is not a commercial studio. I don't know the exact size but it is a medium size apartment room.

The JBL studio monitors will always be better than the KRK and Yamaha studio monitors

that good huh?

i THINK SO

How about the Kali LP8? It has less midrange suckout than the JBL 308 while being cheaper than the overpriced HS8. The HS8 is the best of the cheap 8" stuff but it doesn't go very low and has its own issues. For the Rokits, I only like the Rokit 5 G4. The bigger ones with the extension and bass volume you need for dance music are gross.

Did a little research and people seem to like them. Thanks for the suggestion.

My studio monitors are the older JBL LSR308's. I used to have trouble getting the low end (bass) correct until I got the LSR308's. I get it right the first time on most mixes. Made my life much easier.

I have Yamaha with 8 inch and JBL with 5 inch. Both are one of the iterations of the models you mentioned. Recently I was planning an upgrade and decided against it. Nothing wrong with mixing on either of them. The only caveat is to sit in the best spot and keep them away from walls as much as possible. If anyone says you need expensive monitors believe if you must. But don’t overspend because it’s trendy. Won’t make much difference. When you score a hit tune, treat yourself if you like. Until then, any one of your choices are fine.

I've owned hs7, hs5, and two different sets of jbl 308's.

I hated the JBL's, didn't like the hs5, and thought the hs7 were the best, to my ears.

What speakers are best for you are the ones that suit you best.

I have a nice pair of Genelecs but the sound is dry and clinical. Not fun to listen to for long periods of time. So there are many different things to consider.

I like the HS8's.

Good stuff

Monitor speakers are something fairly personal, and unless you're going to be able to upgrade in a short while if you end up not liking the speakers you get, you owe it to yourself to find a demo room/music store and try the ones you're interested in.
It's not going to give you a 100% accurate image of how things will sound in your own room, but it will definitely give you a clear enough idea of the differences between them, and you may find that you especially like a particular pair, or you may find a slightly more expensive pair that's worth saving up a bit more for, or you might find something else in your price range that you like better, like Adam F7's.

Personally, among those I'd chose the Yamy, the cheapest pair of speakers that I like better for mixing are Genelec 8040/8050 and they cost quite a bit more, but again, you might find that the Yamy's high mids are bit too forward, or anything else, so do yourself a favor and audition them.

Another consideration: if you're going to be working on EDM you'll most likely want very low bass, so getting the 5" woofer version of those speakers + a sub might be a better idea.

As above from spambot_2 - with any speaker it's always good to listen before you buy if possible. I have the Yamaha based on hearing a friend's set who uses very similar equipment to me and similar kind of production. I find for Hip Hop production they're perfect for the price bracket. My advice is to take one of your mixes that you're happy with to a store that has them to demo with your mix.

I've not heard the hs7 or hs5 monitors mentioned. Used to own krk rockit 5 (gen 3 I think), and currently own the JBL LSR 2328p, the 8" version that preceded the JBL 308p. So while maybe not expert on the subject, I have an opinion or two :-)

1) Seriously doubt I'll ever buy another krk "rockit" again. No, certain I won't...

2) The JBL LSR 2328p weighed in at a hefty 28 lbs each, The JBL 308p (that replaced the 2328p) weighs in at 17.87 lbs. I've always felt there's an honesty to the bottom end with that extra weight and wonder what they gave up for the savings of 10 lbs per monitor other than the 20 lbs per monitor set saved on shipping from China.

3) Can't comment on the Yammies but they seem to get a lot of love on GS.

For those who suggest for me to walk into a music shop to listen to monitors, what would be the point of this?

Lets assume a pair of monitors sound great: aren't they not supposed to sound great, but sound accurate and forward instead?

The only way to solve this problem I think would be to burn my own demo cd and walk into a store and request to have it played.

Most guitar centers I have been to have a studio desk and DAW set up somewhere.

If you want to make sure you should set each speaker up on a desk by a wall and sit down and listen. But that still is just a bad "general" set up.

Speakers will sound different in each room.

There's also the Kali LP series speakers.

Do you think there would be a disadvantage of purchasing the Kali LP 8 over the Kali LP 6?

I recently purchased a pair of the JBL LSR305 when they had them on sale for $129 each last month to carry for remote work. My mains are B&W towers with 15" subs, McIntosh & Hafler amps, my regular nearfields are Dynaudio BM5 Mk III. These small JBLs are nothing to laugh at, particularly at this price point. I would imagine the LSR308 would be an excellent choice for a small/home studio unless it's a really small room and then I'd opt for the 5 or 6 inch version. I was never a fan of Yamahas even when I had an original pair of NS10Ms when they 1st came out. I never could wrap my head around "Don't listen to 'em, just watch the woofer and when it crinkles a certain way the low end is right!". Kiss my country ass! My 1st monitors when I was 16 was a pair of JBL 4320s powered by McIntosh MC75 tube mono-blocks. I been doing this for just minute.

I listened to all and chose Focal Alphas.

Well, FYI.

when the 308Mk2 came out I bought a pair. took them home and set them up only to realize they sounded way OFF!

I used REW and a measurement mic and measured them in my room and also outdoors free field.

My pair of JBL 308mk2 both had a SERIOUS defect! at the cross over region there was a 6db dip in frequency response!

This was not an issue with reflections or floor bounce.

I did a few tests .

I measured the JBL's with different mics and ALL mics showed the 6db dip in the xover region
I measured a control speaker with the same mics and they all showed a flat response with my reference monitor.

Needless to say I took them back and probably won't by anymore 308s from JBL.

Since the issue was with both speakers it wouldn't surprise me if this issue/defect is wide spread. There could be thousands of PPL mixing on defective speakers.

I will consider these as well thanks. Hopefully gc will gave them for demo

suprised to see almost no mention of the rokits in this thread. sounds bad?

I had a pair of rokit 5s and can say I never got a good mix out of them when played on other systems. They sounded great if you only played back on the rokits. Everything else was way off in the low end. Either too hyped or too weak.

A monitor should playback an accurate representation of a recording.


Agreed. Honestly don't know how anyone can actually call the rokits "monitors". Based on prior ownership of the rokit 5 (I gave 'em away) they were nothing more than a colorful thump box that made a favorable impression on inebriated party-goers. If that's your goal you'll make the correct decision going this route.

I discovered recently that Sam Ash has a wide range of monitors, including the Adam T7V.
I bought the latter and I like them a lot.

As for this:
"I think would be to burn my own demo cd and walk into a store and request to have it played."
... great idea!

I won't be replying to this anymore. I believe I may increase my budget

FWIW I replaced my rokits with yamaha hs8s. I find that while I don’t think they’re the best I’ve been really happy with the mixes I’ve made on them. I don’t know if they sound like ns 10s or not(I suspect not) but if I make a balanced mix on the hs 8s it sounds pretty good everywhere else. I start off mixing in mono to get the levels and eq done and then make it stereo to get things spread across the sound stage.

I just tested some monitors out today, the KRKs were muddy compared to the yamahas in all of the sizes. The yamahas had less bass response in the smaller sizes but were good full range in the 8 inch versions. Focal alpha 80s topped them both for clarity and bass response and the focal 65s were clearer and had more bass response than HS5s and KRK 5s if you're into smaller speakers.

Kali LP6's are also in that price range. That's what I purchased and am using happily.

Yammy HS8 and you can't go wrong. I liked Kali LP6 but havent used them more than a week only for tracking.