Best nearfields for under $400???

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Kasey

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I hope this is an ok place to post this, i wasnt sure... Anyways, I'm looking for some active nearfield monitors for $400 and under (if you can really, really convince me that an amazingly better valued monitor is just a little more i might go for it). I've been looking at the M-Audio BX8's, but recently I've noticed others that may be quality in the same price range (for example, Samson resolv 80a, Alesis M1 Active 620, TAPCO S-5, Tannoy Reveal 5A, etc, etc, etc.) Does anyone have any suggestions??
 
if you have the chance, listen to all your choices first. if not, don't sweat it and just pick some. i have the wharfedale 8.2a's and they seem pretty good. i don't do anything too serious though.
 
BX5's -one vote

Kasey said:
Anyways, I'm looking for some active nearfield monitors for $400 and under- Does anyone have any suggestions??
Click to expand...

Active:
BX5's and a small sub (if doing below 80hz).

i thought these really showed details.
and at nearfield distance,1meter, and a small room....

as you go to larger, like 8" cones, BX8's for example..
your going to need to move the speakers away most likely, and that will in turn add more of the room effect.
A Larger equilateral triangle, in short.
this isn't good for most HR studios with minimal acoustic work, if any.

I think acoustic suspension is better too, no ports. but good luck finding them...they cost too much to mfg., sealing the cabinets and all.
flabby port bass seems to be the rage, for now.
 
In choosing monitors, I tried a whole bunch of different ones... in the end, got a pair of KRK RP8s - normally $250 each, but I got GC to cut it down to $415 for two with tax. These things rock.
 
Wharfedale 8.2 Diamond Active Pro's. Best bang for your buck. These are more accurate than any monitor in it's price range.
 
COOLCAT said:
Active:
BX5's and a small sub (if doing below 80hz).

i thought these really showed details.
and at nearfield distance,1meter, and a small room....
Click to expand...

I've been told that its better to have monitors with larger speakers without a sub than small speakers with a sub.... maybe this source was wrong.
 
The Engineer said:
Wharfedale 8.2 Diamond Active Pro's. Best bang for your buck. These are more accurate than any monitor in it's price range.
Click to expand...

These are designed for home stereo use. Where I have for years advocated home stereo speakers for project recording studios that don't have to meet standards out side that particular room I find it unlikely they are "accurate".

The very nature of designing a speaker that excels in a home theather environment is counter to a flat response accurate monitor.
 
one vote for m-audio

HI,

I tried Alesis and KRK before I settled on the m-audio's in this price range. They aren't speaks your ears have to "learn" as far as I can tell. They just give a pretty accurate idea of the sound. The Alesis and KRKs both seemed to trick my ears again and again. Don't expect to hear a ton of low end, but I'm able to mix without the low freq. information.
 
What NOT to get...

Stay the hell away from the KRK. (rockit 5's)

I bought these and they absolutely do not translate well to the real world. I'm going to get something else real soon.

tim
 
Joseph Hanna said:
These are designed for home stereo use. Where I have for years advocated home stereo speakers for project recording studios that don't have to meet standards out side that particular room I find it unlikely they are "accurate".

The very nature of designing a speaker that excels in a home theather environment is counter to a flat response accurate monitor.
Click to expand...

actually, I don't think they function very well as home stereo speakers. they don't have that home stereo speaker low end boom or high end sparkle. just my opinion though. have you heard these speakers for yourself?
 
If you can go up to 500 I would recommend going to this site and checking out the blue sky systems

they have a media desk system that is great for small rooms. I recommend reading all their information and it will answer most of your questions.

http://www.abluesky.com/p_s_gb/p3s7.html

for the money i don't know of a more complete monitoring solution.

definately read this

http://www.abluesky.com/p_s_gb/p5s15s1.html

they have some more good info under the our products link and then click the additional technical information link.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
actually, I don't think they function very well as home stereo speakers. they don't have that home stereo speaker low end boom or high end sparkle. just my opinion though. have you heard these speakers for yourself?
Click to expand...

You know what...I haven't and perhaps I was a bit assumptive. Sorry.

The buzz word "accurate" is mis-understood by many here. What this forum needs less than ANYTHING are more wives tales.
 
Fostex PM 0.5 or PM 1.0 (depending on the size of your room)

Compared these to the Wharfs, KRKs, and Alesis and these came out on top.
I have the 0.5s and they rock my world.
 
Joseph Hanna said:
You know what...I haven't and perhaps I was a bit assumptive. Sorry.

The buzz word "accurate" is mis-understood by many here. What this forum needs less than ANYTHING are more wives tales.
Click to expand...

I agree. There's alot of that going on around here, at times. After owning the Wharf's for awhile, I think they're pretty functional for home recording. One thing I have noticed after using them for awhile are that the highs are kinda weak. A couple of weeks ago, I made a mixed cd of some tunes from the mp3 mixing thread. Me and a friend were listening to the cd in his car, which has a pretty decent stereo system, and I noticed one of the tunes sounded really harsh in the highs. I listened back on my monitors when I got home and could'nt here the harshness nearly as pronounced. I tried the cd in my boombox and the mix sounded really harsh there too. My guess is that these monitors, home stereo speakers, whatever you want to call them, were designed to subdue the harsh high frequencies to minimize ear fatigue. I guess that would make them good for long mixing sessions but that does'nt exactly sound like the definition of accurate to me. I still like them though.

I did'nt have the luxury of listening to a bunch of different monitors so I just bought mine on the reccomendations of homerecording members. I narrowed it down to these and the Behringer 2031a's. I went with these because I got them at a low price, which left a little money to put into other gear.
 
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