studio monitors?

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Nathan1984

New member
Hey guys, I am in the market for some good studio monitors. I have been looking and looking, reading review after review. I am on a tight budget, but I can't get a good mix on headphones. I was looking at KRK rokit 6s, behringer b2031a's, tannoy reveals, mackie mr5's, yamaha ns50's or whatever they are called, or I could go with some m-audio bx5a's, maybe fostex 0.4's? I have heard good things and bad things about all of them, what are you guys two cents? I have always gotten pretty good advice from the forum, so once again help a guy out.
 
The only advice I will ever give isn't a pair of cheap home recording monitors at all. Technics New Class A amplifier + KEF C Series speakers.
 
Of most of the 5, 6 inch monitors I've heard, I really liked the sound of the Tanoy's. The Rokkit 5s sounded terrible to me,the MR5's weren't too killer either. Behringer I haven't even bothered to check out. Have you gone to a nearby GC to check em out? They have them all hooked up and you can give them all a listen.
 
You can't really get an accurate picture of how a speaker will perform in a room filled with dozens of other speakers because of sympathetic resonance and so forth, even when all of the other speakers aren't being driven. You should try to take them home and try them. Since it's not practical to take every pair home and try them out, I'd narrow it down to the Tannoys and Yamahas. They have the best reputation of the choices you listed, as they make professional studio monitors too, not just cheap "prosumer" monitors marketed to the clueless. From reading interviews, I've found the Yamahas are popular among professional engineers as main monitors. All of the other brands mentioned here are geared more toward the prosumer market. For example, I've only ever heard people on home recording forums crow about the Rokkits. I'm not saying they're not good, they just don't appear to have much penetration in the professional market. There must be a reason for that.
 
diggy_dude said:
You can't really get an accurate picture of how a speaker will perform in a room filled with dozens of other speakers because of sympathetic resonance and so forth, even when all of the other speakers aren't being driven.
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That's true, but it can help in narrowing down the options. It'll give you an idea of which brands you lean towards. Then you can work to get them in your listening environment to decide which one you want.
 
diggy_dude said:
For example, I've only ever heard people on home recording forums crow about the Rokkits. I'm not saying they're not good, they just don't appear to have much penetration in the professional market. There must be a reason for that.
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I'll have to agree there. I was content at home with the KRK G25's until I just picked up some Event TR8's. $300 btw, off Craigslist :D. Those KRK's lie! I got used to them so mixes were translating, but man, the clarity of the Event's makes me want to redo everything I have mixed for the last year. I'm keeping both until I get used to the new ones as cross reference.
 
jimmys69 said:
I'll have to agree there. I was content at home with the KRK G25's until I just picked up some Event TR8's. $300 btw, off Craigslist :D. Those KRK's lie! I got used to them so mixes were translating, but man, the clarity of the Event's makes me want to redo everything I have mixed for the last year. I'm keeping both until I get used to the new ones as cross reference.
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The main reason I keep touting the KEFs is because I've been using them for over 20 years. Combined with a good clean amp, they're astonishingly transparent. I trust them because of long familiarity with them. I know what a good mix sounds like on them, and I know what a bad mix sounds like on them. I'm not necessarily implying they will be right for everyone. Other people may have another brand of speaker that they've developed that kind of relationship with.

As for the budget monitors sold at Guitar Center - well, it just goes against common sense that a plastic box produced in what amounts to a Chinese slave labor camp can compare to something that was maniacally engineered and built in Britain for the audiophile market.
 
I keep hearing(as far as budget home recording goes) that it's more or less irrelevant what you get, as long as you"develop a relationship with them" as you put it.

I personally have a hard time trusting online reviews, as you never know if it's just some sales rep trying to boost sales. A few guys on here seem to like the KRK Rokits. 5s, 6s, etc. I'd lean towards those or Yamaha. They seem to have a better reputation
 
theD1CKENS said:
I keep hearing(as far as budget home recording goes) that it's more or less irrelevant what you get, as long as you"develop a relationship with them" as you put it.
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I'll buy that. Once you're familiar with the characteristics of the monitors, you'll be able to predict how the mix will sound elsewhere. Start with some well-known records that you've listened to all your life. Listen to some records that you know are good and some that you know suck. Listen to the same music on an iPod, in the car, on a boombox, on your home theater system, etc., to get an idea of how it translates to all of those systems. Some engineers make a reference disc of known good and bad mixes for just that purpose. They use the reference compilation to orient themselves to a room and pair of monitors they've never used before. You'll gradually get a sense of how the sound from your monitors will translate to the other systems.
 
Doesn't referencing on an iPod give you a skewed view, having been converted to mp3, or would that be a good thing?
 
theD1CKENS said:
Doesn't referencing on an iPod give you a skewed view, having been converted to mp3, or would that be a good thing?
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Yes, it's a less than ideal view, but that's how many consumers listen to music. You have to check your mix on systems that people actually listen to it on.
 
Nathan1984 said:
I haven't, I live about an hour away from my nearest guitar center, that's kinda why I ask.
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Well, the Yamahas are almost universally used in pro studios. If I had to buy monitors by mail order without hearing them first, the HS series would inspire the most confidence.
 
I was thinking that, I have come to this conclusion. Space is a element, quality, and price as well. I know yamaha makes quality gear, and they hs series is affordable, at 400 for a pair. I haven't heard anything bad about them yet, so I think that I will give them a go, after all I can return them and try something else.
 
I use a 20 year old Nad series 20 amplifier through a couple of big, equally old, Celestion boxes. A 20 year relationship means I can trust what I'm hearing.
 
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