Pls Help Narrow the Options for Active Monitors

[frets4fun]

Help! I'm looking to get my first pair of monitors. I've run multiple searches and have done lots of research. I've even listened to a few in Sam Ash & GC. The problem is that I'm more confused now than before!

Here's my situation:

• setting up a home studio. Will be using MBOX2/ProTools LE so I'll need active monitors
• this is a just a hobby for me, but I would like a decent set of monitors so I don't need to immediately upgrade as my skills develop
• speakers will be located at either end of my desk (~4ft apart, ~3 ft from my face)
• located in basement: small room, 6ft ceiling
• type of music: elec. blues, acoustic, some jazz (not real "bass-heavy" music)

I don't really have a budget, but based on research I've done, I am convinced I can get a decent pair suitable for desktop use for $300-$400. I realize that in many cases you get what you pay for, but--for example--would I really need to buy those $400 Yamaha H50SM's if the $300 BX5A's would do nicely?

Just looking to narrow the possibilities.

Thanks!

 

[pandamonk]

Help! I'm looking to get my first pair of monitors. I've run multiple searches and have done lots of research. I've even listened to a few in Sam Ash & GC. The problem is that I'm more confused now than before!

Here's my situation:

• setting up a home studio. Will be using MBOX2/ProTools LE so I'll need active monitors
• this is a just a hobby for me, but I would like a decent set of monitors so I don't need to immediately upgrade as my skills develop
• speakers will be located at either end of my desk (~4ft apart, ~3 ft from my face)
• located in basement: small room, 6ft ceiling
• type of music: elec. blues, acoustic, some jazz (not real "bass-heavy" music)

I don't really have a budget, but based on research I've done, I am convinced I can get a decent pair suitable for desktop use for $300-$400. I realize that in many cases you get what you pay for, but--for example--would I really need to buy those $400 Yamaha H50SM's if the $300 BX5A's would do nicely?

Just looking to narrow the possibilities.

Thanks!

You won't NEED actives with that setup, but they make things easier. The Behringer Truths are well repected budget monitors. At that price, you'll still have money left over to sort the acoustics of your room. And btw, if you're monitors are 4' apart, they should be 4' from your ears.

 

[Guitarer]

I was just about to suggest the BX5A's before finishing reading your post. Great monitors, won't disappoint.

 

[Mr. Antrobus]

I think some folks find the tascam vl-x5 monitors to be quite good for their price. Not the last word in monitoring...but very serviceable.

 

[fishkarma]

Fuck the m-audio's they will dissappoint I have them
as for Behringer Truths, well their behringer! behringer in general = bad though I havent heard these ones but generally behringer suck worse than any other budget gear.

My advice, Get a pair of alesis monitor one's they cost nearly the same as the other two (mabe a bit more) but are definatly better. Really you should demo each pair before you buy, but if your like me there isn't any where to demo stuff (going to people's studios or to the local college to hear stuff)!

 

[PenguinKiller]

HI, If I could do it over again. I would make a good list of monitors that were in my pricerange/or monitors I fancy for whatever reason.
Then I would really have a listen and not be led by reviews. They can be handy and in my case, the event TR8XL, most were right spot on.

I am not too happy with the TR8XL's...

My opinion about these? If you're looking for BASS... These are for you.
They have alot of what they call "sub-bass" wich is something you really have to experience for yourself, otherwise it would be just meaningless trying to comprehend what the f Im trying to say.
If Event would have a sub with just the bass-driver, it would rock.
The highs and mid are too defined, too tuned, too round. they do not excite.
I dont have bad ears, and yet they are really quite fatuiging even when the highs sound quite "dampened", and the mid, well, it just sucks and sounds harsh. If you're a hardrock fan, dont lsiten on Event TR8XL....

Try putting a thin cloth or veil over your speakers and listen to them like that. Then you have the TR8XL minus the big (well defined linear) bass.....

For accoustic guitars, slapbass whatever, they sound spot on. For House music, synthesizers, they sound great. For sampled music, they are not the way to go.
Then again, IF you can get sampled music very spaced out and open on these they will
translate very open to other systems, but its ver very hard.
I tried with some funky president drums, lo-fi the hell out of em and try to make them sound good.
With the TR8 instead of just thinking, oh well, its good enough, you'll just give up and reach for another smaple...

Hope this helps.

 

[PenguinKiller]

Also, I have quite a big space. A room of 9 x 3.5 Meters.
These Events with an 8" bass driver Are way too much for this room..
They fill it easily.
I think you could even do with smaller speakers an not be worried about volume with these technologies to date if you have a small room..

I bet the engeneers of Event are old tarts that lack alot of frequency in hearing anyway...
So the only thing they CAN hear is BASS.... Wich is what they engeneered perfectly for this set of monitors...

But the highs and mids would've been a problem for them to judge by ear.
So what I think they did, is trying to make "sound judgements" through math-formulas on paper and let "software robots" do the listening....

I was envolved with the creation of "LAME" MP3 encoder a few years back, untill they started to fiddle with the ATH-settings too much and the PSych-model wich is a piece of software that "duplicates the human hearing" like a filter. So I got into arguements and left them.
What they did what exactly that. instead of human A-B testing and
judgement. They used third party software robots to do more extensive analysing, killing more formants in sound than needed.
The result was music sounding so clean and had this dull even more lifeless feel to it,
Creating a very dull/computer like sounding encoder... But they corrected this a few years after changing back to old software routines that worked better and incorporating it with the newer Psych-models.

I think Event instead of doing too much measuring wich kills sound by math-models, wich is not perceptive, and you can easily kill too much, they shouldve give the speakers some more flare.. They sound narrow and compact to me.
They sound quite dull in the high end. Like typical HiFi midclass-HiFi speakers do..

 

[pandamonk]

I think some folks find the tascam vl-x5 monitors to be quite good for their price. Not the last word in monitoring...but very serviceable.

I agree, but they seem to be disappearing...

 

[pandamonk]

Fuck the m-audio's they will dissappoint I have them
as for Behringer Truths, well their behringer! behringer in general = bad though I havent heard these ones but generally behringer suck worse than any other budget gear.

My advice, Get a pair of alesis monitor one's they cost nearly the same as the other two (mabe a bit more) but are definatly better. Really you should demo each pair before you buy, but if your like me there isn't any where to demo stuff (going to people's studios or to the local college to hear stuff)!

alesis aren't really known for their monitors. The only budget ones I've heard good things about are the M1 MKIIs, but these are alongside behringer truths as good budget monitors. The truths have an 8 3/4" woofer, whereas the alesis have 6 1/2". The truths are cheaper also. I'd go with the truths.

I agree, not all behringer gear is great, and their support is appalling, but they do have a few good pieces of gear. Their truth monitors are one of them.

 

[frets4fun]

Thanks for the input! I listened to a bunch of monitors over the weekend including BX5A, Yamaha HSM50's, and RP5's. I couldn't do a side-by-side between the BX5A's and the RP5's, but both sounded really good and are around the same price. I believe the RP5's are slightly larger physically, which might be a problem for me given limited desktop space. I liked the HSM50's best, but they are $100 more/pair. Not sure if it's worth it.

Unfortunately, I was not able to listen to the other monitors recommended on the post, but the ones I heard will be a great reference point (no pun intended).

 

[pandamonk]

Thanks for the input! I listened to a bunch of monitors over the weekend including BX5A, Yamaha HSM50's, and RP5's. I couldn't do a side-by-side between the BX5A's and the RP5's, but both sounded really good and are around the same price. I believe the RP5's are slightly larger physically, which might be a problem for me given limited desktop space. I liked the HSM50's best, but they are $100 more/pair. Not sure if it's worth it.

Unfortunately, I was not able to listen to the other monitors recommended on the post, but the ones I heard will be a great reference point (no pun intended).

Well smaller monitors won't have such a good bass response. So it's either lose desktop space and get good bass, or more desktop space, but less bass response...

I know what i'd choose.

 

[fishkarma]

Just put another thing the same height as the desk next to it and put the monitor on that! then you have more desk space due to one less monitor on it!