best monitors for under $1000

  • Thread starter Thread starter n8tron
  • Start date Start date
you get more responses if you ask about Wharfedales or Yorkvilles. :p

i think your getting into a level with the $1,000 that has fewer knowledgable posts.
(i wonder if there's been a poll on "How Much Did You Spend on your Monitors?")

I'd bet majority here is around $100-$500.

those Dyn BM5A's just cause me gearlust. :rolleyes:
 
:D Yo Tronic of 8:

For less than 1k, you can get a pair of Adam passives--Blue Bear gives them good marks for those who want to move up from the 200 to 500 arena.

I'm planning to get a pair; however, my KRK passives are pretty good considering their original price, which, BTW, has gone UP. That's show biz.

Green Hornet :D :D ;)
 
I have heard pretty bad stuff so far about the ADAM ANF passive's (the only cheap ADAM's). Most of your ADAM users are using much more expensive ones:)
 
And if you buy the passives, you are going to need to get a nice Hafler amp to even begin to get that side up to scratch!!

It's a funny price range - I don't know USA prices, but I guess Mackie HR624s would come into it, as would the Genelec 8030As which are very good in my limited use of them. But other than that you're between the cheapies (Alesis, Tapco, M-Audio, Samson, Wharfedale, etc) and below the good ones (Dynaudio, Adam, most Genelecs, etc).

Good luck with it! :)

Nik
 
i haven't read much steallar reviews of the ANF either.
the Adam's yes..but the ANF, their attempt to go into the lower cost market.(maybe compete with the DYN BM5A??).

i get what the companys are doing, i've seen similar charts and bar graphs, I guess, getting into that cheaper-market= HUGE VOLUME INCREASE= $$$.

i worked DLP for sometime, the HDTV chip..and it was pure high end market for years, Speilberg and $$$ Cinemas were the only buyers, very,very low volume...
now I see them in WalMArt for $1800 HDTV- DLP!!
volume is huge, no doubt, outsourced=$1800 =reduction (US labor force$$) an reduction in cost of parts/materials.. etc..
its all the web, no confidential sht here...its just basic Manufacturing crap.

The cheap TV is not the same as the Hi-End one...again parts/material..and design.
Personally when they do this its about greed and is no longer the prized- over freaked out Engineering sht trying to make it better than the average person could tell anyway...

Its like will Porsche start making $10,000 Porsches?? the cheaper line, but still has a Porsche logo??

personally i think it degrades the company name...look at Fender.
Horrible... used to mean pure a WorkingMans Tool, well built to withstand the road etc.... and it did withstand and maintain its sound for years.

now you say I bought a Fender..and no one knows what to think..is it the plastic gear $99 model? no the Tex-mex, no itmight be the China, no Korea,,,hmm maybe the US cheap line, no maybe the US parts assembled in Mexico..no maybe its the Deluxe fake gold hardware plated one,, or the

oh no...its the fhkng FAKE WORN-OUT CLASSIC MODEL!!! Now you can just buy a FENDER that looks like YOU ACTUALLY PLAY'D IT!!!!
(seriously, they are selling FAKE WORN OUT FENDERS!! a company actually puts a chemical on the tuning gears and sht..so they corrode!! :eek: ..
my friend was there!!)

and even crazier..people are buying these FAKE, LOOK AT MY GUITAR ITS WORN OUT... AND I JUST BOUGHT IT!!!

I wish ADAM would just make Hi-End stuff and be happy there.
Cheaper market...The quality goes man, theres no way around it.
 
Yo Dude of educated Sounds:}

I run my speakers via a Yamaha integrated amplifier--probably not as good as a Hafler; however, this amp lets me connect EVERYTHING. I have two tape decks and can go either way or both at once; then, the CD player and plugs for the "turntable," and it hooks up two sets of speakers/monitors AND, it also has a "clear through" button which cuts any coloring from the amplifier. Love that piece of gear.

But, I had thought of going into a Hafler if I decide to buy the Adam passives; from what the folks are telling me here, the passives are not that cool. Well, for a few more bucks....isn't that always the story? :D

Summer is still around these parts but the arrow still says winter is creeping in.

Green Hornet :eek: :D :cool:
 
i'm similar. i use a Adcom pre-amp for a patch-bay..it has really nice Mono button. (no SIAB menus needed)...and a volume control going to my Tascam studio ref. amp.

no offense... meant on the ANF10, i just haven't read or located many good articles. and "definately haven't heard 'em."

but for your ANF money $750.
for a small amount more, the new DYN5A has a lot of good press and a reputable Active bi-amp'd cab, most likely. same tweeter and drivers as their high end line. or the KRK V8..
like the KRK Corvette line.

You could Upgrade speakers and Amplifier!

my main concern is the 5a 50+50watts..is it loud enough? i've a 300watt (150 x 2) TAscam ref. amp.
the V8 is 180watts. Bear had some for awhile, for what thats worth.

your ears would be the final say..you can always take em back...yadyayada


Second thought!!..GET THE ANF 10's...
and write a nice long detailed article...with pictures!!. :)
 
Yo Mosquito of MontiVERdi: :o:o :(

You speak sense, as always. Damn that winter creeping in - it's foggy here today and it starts to get dark before I leave from work now already. :mad:

Nik
 
fernandoesmaron said:
Desicion For budged monitors are really not easy. Those are New Monitors and add the old models to them. So there will be a great list:

- Event ALP-5 = 330 €
- Yamaha HS50M = 320 €
- Yamaha HS80M = 500 €
- Alesis M1 Active 520 = 269 €
- Alesis M1 Active 620 = 359 €
- Samson Rubicon R5a = 350 €
- Samson Rubicon R6a = 435 €
- M-Audio Studiophile BX-5a = 244 €
- M-Audio Studiophile BX-8a = 399 €
- Esi near05 Experience = 248 €
- Tascam VL-X5 = 266 €
Click to expand...

i think you'll need to go higher to really upgrade your Wharfs, just my opinion.
KRK V, DYNAUDIO BM6A, ADAM$$, Mackies..

Fern, your going to be busy listening to Studio Monitors! :p
 
Last edited:
Yo' N8, are you anywhere near any musical gear shops/stores? The advice & opinions given here are all excellent but only your ears will lead you to
the path of monitoring righteousness!

If possible and you are near a gear supplier, bring a c/d of songs you have recorded and perform an audio "taste test" between monitors in your price range. Listen carefully to each set of monitors auditioned to determine which provides the flatest response. Note any signal hypes in each of the low, mid and/or hi freq'y ranges as this might cause you to adj freq'y dynamics falsley
according to the monitors translation (yet by the same token, you can also train your ears to adjust to the monitors perf knowing freq'y adjmts are'nt needed). Also keep in mind that the acoustical enviornment where the mons you are auditioning will more than likely differ greatly in sound from where you will be recording at (near-fields are great). Whatever your choice, take some time out to familiarize yourself with your new monitors, exploring & noting how the unit responds to your tracks & mixes.

Good luck!


I'm a Tannoy-Boy & Event-Gent yet Yorkies & Wharfs do yield excellent results!
 
I reccomend that you also bring some commercially released CD's to reference and not just your own stuff. Newer and/or better monitors may reveal some flaws in your own work that could lead you to not like the monitors you are listening to. Your work may sound good on other systems, but there is always the possibility that fixing the flaws that better monitors reveal may serve to make your stuff sound even better on other systems. At least with some good commercial releases that you trust you can isolate whether or not the flaws (often times considered to be things that we hear that we do not like about a monitor) are actually a part of the monitor that you do not like, or whether that only exists in your recording (meaning it is not the monitor's fault).
 
fernandoesmaron said:
Desicion For budged monitors are really not easy. Those are New Monitors and add the old models to them. So there will be a great list:

- Event ALP-5 = 330 €
- Yamaha HS50M = 320 €
- Yamaha HS80M = 500 €
- Alesis M1 Active 520 = 269 €
- Alesis M1 Active 620 = 359 €
- Samson Rubicon R5a = 350 €
- Samson Rubicon R6a = 435 €
- M-Audio Studiophile BX-5a = 244 €
- M-Audio Studiophile BX-8a = 399 €
- Esi near05 Experience = 248 €
- Tascam VL-X5 = 266 €
Click to expand...


COOLCAT said:
i think you'll need to go higher to really upgrade your Wharfs, just my opinion.
KRK V, DYNAUDIO BM6A, ADAM$$, Mackies..

Fern, your going to be busy listening to Studio Monitors! :p
Click to expand...

if i had the money i would buy all and would test them to know them all and to say that´s my favorite but would buy then ..:confused:.. another, cause i would have the money for .. new genelecs :eek: :D

I only need monitors which are more anlaytical than my wharfe8.2´s. That´s my problem with them. I want to seperate instruments more and want to use both. But which budged monitor is more analytical ? Rubicons ? fostex ? None till 500 € ?
 
Last edited:
yeah, man i get you.

more detail. i say it too much, too many times.

but my JBL Control5 had a harsh sound, then i listened more and more..and started noticing the harsh sound was more mid-range, vocals, reverbs, guitars...then went back to the BW303 and it was no reverbs ..the mid-scooped out. BW303 are same range as Wharfs, etc..good for that price range.

the BW 303 sound very nice and are built excellent, with numerous allen screws, very nice quality...but!!

but i agree, Fern's....... the details man...analytical.yes.
maybe try some JBL Control 5..very cheap used. ebay for $100..new $500.
more mid range detail.
 
My question about the ADAMs ANF10s is "are they 'not good', or are they 'not as good as the active ADAMs monitors'"? For example, pairing them with a quality power amp, say a Hafler that runs $500-600, you're looking at just under $1300 for the monitors. How do they stack up next to something like the Mackie HR824s for the same price? How about the Dynaudio BM5A? I think the question should be "how do they sound compared to stuff in their price range?" instead of "how do they sound compared to their more expensive brothers?". After all, you can only spend as much as your price range.
 
i did phoned here in germany with an technician of adam and he said me their anf´s paired with an really god amp "could" be as good as active p11´s.

I think your 500 - 600 dollar hafler should be his mentioned good amp but then ( cause they cost the same ) you could buy p11´s and the sound would be a little better.

@ coolcat.

couldn´t here the jbl´s. don´t know them. I think i will wait till december to hear the new yamaha HS too.

@ all

i have an friend which uses krk v8 vII since this year and he did hear new genelecs 8040 or 8050 last month. He told me that the differences are too much. The new genelecs blow the KRK´s away. Hey they are in the same price league and so much differences ? Yes that´s the problem. You don´t know which is really good. Every Review says hey yes superb and bla bla but there are not correct enough.

And I don´t think that the recommandation, go and listen your self is right. Ok for an Pro user could be but not for me. If the reviews would be more realistic than it would be easier to trust them, but when i go and compare monitors i think i would buy the wrongest, and have to look later for an better one to repeat the mistake, and so on. Oh man i am confused :( :mad: :o :rolleyes:

you don´t understand what i am talking about ? Then go and read the SOS review about new rubicons ( you have to be esubmember ), then all the other reviews which you can find on web about google and then go in some forums and look at rubicon topics. And then go to shops or call them and ask there. Some say hey wonderful, some say shit, and what they are now really ? Good bad ? One review says there are problems here, the other says no there, the other says no here are problems, when i would add all opinions then i would have the "shit-iest" monitor which was ever build !!

What should i say when i hear them in shop or at home ? Hey superb cause i did buy them they have to be superb ? No, the problem is i can´t say in 2 hours or days they are good or bad, i need people which i can trust. But where are this guys ? --> SOS ? can i trust them ? If not why they write reviews ? To earn money ? To Sell them ?

Hey Those are all MONITORS, we are talking about STUDIO MONITORS - not Hi-fi speakers which have no really NORM. But Studio Monitors and so much opinions, no i don´t understand this game.
 
Last edited:
fernandoesmaron said:
i did phoned here in germany with an technician of adam and he said me their anf´s paired with an really god amp "could" be as good as active p11´s.

I think your 500 - 600 dollar hafler should be his mentioned good amp but then ( cause they cost the same ) you could buy p11´s and the sound would be a little better.
Click to expand...

That would put the price at $1350 ($600 for amp plus $750 for the monitors) vs $2100 for the p11s...if they are comparable I would be in favor of the ANFs. $800 cheaper, and the option of using different speakers with the same amp.
 
fernandoesmaron said:
i would add all opinions then i would have the "shit-iest" monitor which was ever build !!
.
Click to expand...


HAHAHAHAAAA HAHAHAAA>..thats so funny!! i'm laughing.... very good and true. :p :p

yes, me too. i read too many articles.

after many articles.. I feel like
WHO IS RIP ROWAN!!??? :eek:
WHO THE FUcKhead doomkuf!! :eek:

IS HE TO TELL EVRYONE THESE SPEAKERS ARE GOOD!! THESE SPEAKERS ARE BAD????..he gives KRK V8 and "F" FAIL!!!...per RIP ROWAN!!
Rip Rowan says Mackies are GREAT!!! :rolleyes: :eek:

hahahahahaa...... :p :p :p :p

money$$$$ = Good Article?


ok, i stopped laughing. that was funny to me.thanks.

OK! Wharfedales..Active.
Harvey Gerst says their very good for the money. He is a trusted pro around here. :D
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top