What studio monitor do you think is the biggest bang for the buck!

dustinsing

New member
I realize when it comes to monitors you don't want them to sound great, but instead transparent and true. So, I want other opinions what do you think the biggest bang for the buck. I've been told tannoy is a dark horse flying under the radar due to they're cheap price. What do you think, Mackie, Tannoy, Yamaha, Jbl, etc......
Thanks
 
Cheap? Equator. I've been tossing around the idea of putting together a surround system here and I'm seriously considering just grabbing up a half dozen D8's. The D5's don't suck either.

HOWEVER - mjbphotos holds the key there - The greatest speakers on the planet will only ever be as accurate and consistent as the space they're in allows them to be. Bad room = bad sound. It might be "big" sound, it might be "cool home theatre" sound, but it won't be critically accurate sound.
 
Don't know about the Tannoy but I picked up a pair of the JBL305 (very low price and some good reviews in groups) and I was extremely surprised by how well they actually sound and translate. At the price point I don't see how you could go wrong but at the end of the day it will come down to personal choice. Putting aside the need for room treatment for a moment (it's a given). I have tried them in both treated and untreated environments. They aren't big and volumes levels weren't 100dB (not that I mix at that) so I was able to get half decent results (after a couple attempts) in the untreated room. They are rear ported so positioning with respect to the front wall, will definitely influence the bottom. I currently have them set on stands about 2.5ft from the front wall and 3ft from the sidewalls in a treated room and while they are not my only monitors, I'm not planning on unloading them anytime soon - IMO they are a keepers.
 
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I love my Yamahas: if I can make music sound good through those things, it will sound great everywhere else.


EDIT: I forgot to mention that they also worked nicely as easy-volume mains during an acoustic set I did recently.
 
Cheap? The greatest speakers on the planet will only ever be as accurate and consistent as the space they're in allows them to be. Bad room = bad sound. It might be "big" sound, it might be "cool home theatre" sound, but it won't be critically accurate sound.

I will +1 this statement as it is of utmost importance. Low budget monitors will likely represent what you are recording better in a properly treated room than high end monitors will do in a poor environment.

The good thing about that is that room treatment is not really very expensive if you have some basic DIY skills and take the time to research what it is your room needs.

I am still looking to upgrade my monitors in my quite well treated room. From my personal experience with the few I have owned, I can only give my opinion on those.

I have gone through a couple versions of the KRK G2 series and would never recommend them now. Even in a treated room. KRK G2 5's are horrendously low end hyped. The G2 8's (I still have for blasting for the deaf) are similar to the 5", but are way 'scooped' in their frequency response. A smiley face curve does not equate to a quality translation of mixes to other listening sources.

My favorites so far are some kind of rare powered Event TR8's. They lack in the lower frequencies but are crystal clear in the mids. My sub (PDC 1020) takes care of that for the most part. Mix translation after working with these are way better than with the KRK's.

I also had some Yamaha NS 10's and gave them away. Not a fanboy of those at all....
 
I also had some Yamaha NS 10's and gave them away. Not a fanboy of those at all....

I'm in full agreement on the KrK not being accurate. Especially the scoop of the 8s.
When i first got equator d5 s I went back and forth between the rokits and the D5s. On the rokits, vocals dissappeared. With the D5s they came back.

With regards to the yammis, you never had an actual NS10 set. You had the junk (Ns10T)
Real NS10s, while not for everyone, are wonderful. IMHO
:D
 
I'm in full agreement on the KrK not being accurate. Especially the scoop of the 8s.
When i first got equator d5 s I went back and forth between the rokits and the D5s. On the rokits, vocals dissappeared. With the D5s they came back.

With regards to the yammis, you never had an actual NS10 set. You had the junk (Ns10T)
Real NS10s, while not for everyone, are wonderful. IMHO
:D


Complete agreement. The vocals were just lost on the KRK's. Pretty much everything that was important to an actual song was lost in mixes on the KRK's.

And you are correct. I did try and sell the 'NS10t's'. I thought I would give them a run just to see how they performed. Obviously miserable. But know that I have had experience in studio's with the white coned bastards.

Personal experience with the NS10M: I will say they are revealing, but for no reason would I mix a recording with them as my only source. In an ideal treated environment with multiple monitoring options, yeah. The NS10's can give some huge insight as to what is working/conflicting in any mix. As to using them as the sole monitor for tracking and mixdown? One will likely throw in the towel as the frequency response does not allow it to be the ideal monitor for mixdown-unless the low frequencies have been dealt with already. That being said, I still use the consumer audio system in my work van to make final decisions. Those Infinity speakers are shit compared to any studio monitor. But the key is 'knowing' what any monitoring is telling you in any situation...

Though the NS10t's that I bought (thankfully cheap) were the consumer model and ported, they were very similar to what I experienced in studio's before. It was not for me personally. That is not to say others would not find use for them. The studio version I mean.

But, I would never recommend a newbie use a pair of NS10's for their first attempt at recording/mixing. They are more an 'alternative/informative' type of reference, as opposed to a full range monitor that gives a more accurate representation of the whole spectrum...
 
I have the Event PS8's which I believe are similar to the TS8's Jimmy recommended. They are also a bit lacking in the low end but I like them a lot for mixing.
 
Just jumping in here. I have a set of G2-KRK's 6......a set of JBL LSR-305's and a set of Tannoy 501A's. First of all..............let me say that time has proved me wrong about my Tannoys. I've posted here in the past about them being too bright and other complaints. That was the rookie mixer talking. Time has proven me dead wrong. Others here have already pointed out that the KRK's are terrible............in more than one way....and they are. The JBL's are popular here and do have their merits but they often have a "reedy" (no other way to describe that) sound when reproducing voice..........especially spoken voice and female voices and seem to lack a little clarity as well. In their price range however..........they are among the best.

Over time I've come to really love the Tannoy's. And I've also heard the new models (502...etc.) and they are even better.....especially in the low range. So...all I'm saying here is to give the Tannoys a try.......side by side. Their prices are as low as any and you might be very surprised at what you hear.
 
Some years ago I was looking for budget monitors for a small bedroom "stooodio" (<1300cu ft) and modest musical forces, jazz, Beatle type stuff, not looking for trouser flapping bass.

A recording magazine had a blind "shoot out" and the Tannoy 5As came out top. We, son and I have been very happy with them.

Another factor that led me to Tannoy was the fact that they have been making speakers for longer than I at 71 have been alive and the fact that they do not also make every other electronic gizmo around!

Dave.
 
Just jumping in here. I have a set of G2-KRK's 6......a set of JBL LSR-305's and a set of Tannoy 501A's. First of all..............let me say that time has proved me wrong about my Tannoys. I've posted here in the past about them being too bright and other complaints. That was the rookie mixer talking. Time has proven me dead wrong. Others here have already pointed out that the KRK's are terrible............in more than one way....and they are. The JBL's are popular here and do have their merits but they often have a "reedy" (no other way to describe that) sound when reproducing voice..........especially spoken voice and female voices and seem to lack a little clarity as well. In their price range however..........they are among the best.

Over time I've come to really love the Tannoy's. And I've also heard the new models (502...etc.) and they are even better.....especially in the low range. So...all I'm saying here is to give the Tannoys a try.......side by side. Their prices are as low as any and you might be very surprised at what you hear.

Time and experience does tend to change preference of monitors. Like you I did the exact same thing. I realized that the KRK's were making it difficult for me to make good decisions. Thought my TR8's were 'thin' sounding. I was so wrong. The hyped/scooped KRK's were screwing my perception of what was actually going on.
 
Weird, those KRKs always get such good reviews online and I think Pensado even has them on his show.
 
KRK has a "higher grade" line that is often what you see on-line in professional settings. They look very similar but those are not priced anywhere near a Gen 2 six. Maybe they're better. Consumer grade KRK's got VERY popular. I fell for that too. Time has changed many opinions about the consumer grade KRK monitor products. These days it's not hard to find negative reviews from actual users. They look cool..........and it's not that they can't be used.........it's just that for the price you can do much better. I knew I was having mix translation problems. Some of the reason was me. As my experience grew.......so did my realization that I was fighting my monitors when I didn't have to. I own 3 monitor brands all in a similar price range. If you A/B/C switch them........the KRK's become very obvious and more than that..........mixing is so much easier. When all is said and done........this is only my opinion..........nothing more.
 
There is something to be said about 'consumer grade'. It seems that manufacturers are supplying products to what the majority of consumers they sell to desire. Well guess who wins the demand factor here with the KRK G2's? Bass punchy without a sub for little money? ... Seems many of us while searching reviews forgot to mention we not 'all about dat bass'. Well, not about only that...

Just my opinion on the KRK G2 series, but I stand behind my description of them. I have no experience with the more expensive models. Not yet anyway.

Honestly, I don't even care to. I am looking into investing in much higher level monitors at this point. For myself, I feel that the next step is to actually spend the money to hear what I am recording.

I still recommend the TR8's as they made me realize what I was missing in the mush of the KRK G2's. That does not mean there are not other lower budget monitors that can represent similar mix translation. I just have no experience with options myself.

And here it becomes a personal opinion based on who has tried what in their personal situations. It is tough to give specific advice to another because we all have different tastes and levels of experience. Then there is room size and quality of room treatment. Both will help determine what is best for any particular person.

But an experienced guy in 'his' room will be the only true judge of what works for himself. That may not be the best option for someone else.

Advice as to what is 'best' for any given situation is kind of like asking what brand of 'bang for budget' tires to buy for your car? If you have kids, hopefully one would go with the best they can afford for the safety of their children. Music is much the same IMO.


That being said, I would myself ask for the best rated tires for my kids at the price point I can afford.

Problem is, we won't know until we are in a real world situation where our personal decisions becomes important....
 
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Old US made krks are wonderful. They were passive, solidly built and used high end Focal drivers.

Now they are made in china, use crap components and are owned by Gibson.
With the marketing money, connections, and reach of that company, sure they're going to be popular.
 
There were (I *think* still are) KRK's that were in the $2500-3000 range that were quite decent. The $250-300 ones out there are - less than quite decent.

IMO/E, YMMV, etc.
 
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