Final Pick for my Studio Monitors..I know~

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SaltSlasher

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I have read countless forums, and have listened to every speaker(in my $ range), but I need help again to make that final decision.

I know that many people have told me KRK especially since I am just a Hobbyist and will be just learning. Then when I am more serious to get Adams, Genelecs, JBL or anything that is $500-1000 a piece for true performance.

I originally bought the Truth B1030a's for $200 cause I thought they would be like $300 speakers and I wasn't satisfied plus they were cosmetically damaged and they didn't sound right.

I now have an extra $100 on top of the $200 refund, so I can get anything that is in the $300 range, which for me is perfect, even though I should spend a minimum of $500 a pop on some JBL, Genelecs or Adams, but I just need anything for now.

My question is different in that fact that I have found good deals, and I am pretty much debating on the best deal/performance:

RP5 G2 w/auralex foam and standard stand @AMS=$300 or w/ no extras @Bh=$280

RP6 G2 w/no extras @bhphotovideo=$320 or w/foam and stand @AMS=$400

Then I have considered the TRUTH B2030A's($300) and Mackie MR5($260)mk2($300)

If I saved an extra $100 I could get the TRUTH 3030's or JBLS, which I am also considering. I technically could get another $100, but I am actually saving up for several things, and I didn't want to spend $400 unless it would totally be worth it.

As much as I would like the stands and foam, the RP6 has more kick in it's bass compared to the RP5 and is overall better.

So I would like your opinion on the RP's or a different $400 pair. I am not sure if the foam and stand would serve a better pupose with the RP5's over the RP6's, but I could always buy the stands and foam later for the RP6. Then I am not sure if the 3030's or JBl for $400 would be much better than the technically $400 RP6's?

In my mind its obviously a easy answer, the RP6's for $320 or an extra $10 per speaker. So even though the RP5 has a good $75 in free stuff per speaker, I am really after the best speaker for the best price!

Thanks for any help, I plan to buy tonight or this weekend, just depends when I make the final decision!
 
Sounds like you are running around in circles about your monitors. ;)
I do the same thing at times when I buy equipment and it drives me crazy! :eek:
My suggestion is that you take a CD of recorded music material that you know very well and listen to that material through each set of monitors you are considering.
My primary monitors now are the M-Audio BX8's.
M-Audio Studiophile BX8a Deluxe 130-Watt Bi-Amplified Monitor Speaker in Bookshelf Speakers at JR.com
They have a lot of good bass response and get quite loud if needed.
 
I really haven't looked into the prices of the speakers that are over $300, but BHphotovideo has them Bx8a Deluxe's for $350, which is only $25 more than what I was planning on, but if I do go that route I would get $500 speakers like I thought I should get!

This is a very diligent decision, on account it will be the most important part of my system. Being able to get $500 speakers for my first set would be exactly what I wanted even if they are M-Audio.

I did listen to the bigger speakers last couple times I went to GC for fun, I thought they were all badass, and all sounded just as good as the next, besides for the $400-$500 a pop speakers like the JBL's.

The 8" monitors have insane bass and power!
 
The only thing I don't like about the Bx8a's is that they are back ported and I think that it makes it sound better when they are front ported. The Bx8 is probably to BIG for my desk's shelf I would have to pull my desk out a little more, which I already have it out about 4 inchs for when I put the B1030a's up there, but I would seriously need speakers stands to put the Bx8's behind the shelf that way I would have at least some clearance.
My face is about 2-3 feet from the woofers and face level.

So these kinds of things I got to watch out for.
 
M-Audio BX-5a, I use 'em, they were easy to get used to, get plenty loud, although I rarely turn 'em up very far, and they're a bang for the buck contender, go to Guitar Center for instance, and look at what they use for the keyboards.

The CD suggestion is a good one!

Good luck.
 
well my guitar center has two desks, one with a imac, krk rp5's and an axiom 49, and a bunch of ableton songs to listen to through a fast track pro.

The other desk is a iMac, with 5 shelves with every last speaker, with $500+ on top, and down to the $150 a pop, they don't carry anything below the RP5 and Bx5as. But there is a switch board, that you flip the switch on the speaker you want, and each speaker has a number 1-20 or something.
But I can load up a sample song, and loop in ableton, and switch through all the speakers. But you have to get up and walk over to the single speaker and listen.

I really like RP's and JBL's. I have a good ear, I am just not use to really nice sounding speakers. By comparison, the RP5's and Bx5a's were similar, the RP6's and other ones with 6" woofers all had way better bass, than there little brothers. The power in the 5" woofers is plenty for my small room but I will soon out grow it. Since I don't have a treated room the sound isn't going to sound the same as they would at GC.

I personally just know that I don't want to buy from a cheap brand like behringer. Maudio is still weary to me on account that hey do have crappy interfaces. I just don't really trust maudio.

Krk seems to have a solid build quality, and for a front port they don't lose on anything, I actually prefer it over the ones who fire it through the back. The others like MR5, I do think the weren't as clear as the krk, neither was Bx5's. But all the $300 pairs didn't sound as good as any of the $400 pair.

Since i can afford a bigger speaker thats what I want to do. If I wait til the end of the month, I can pick any $400 pair I want, but if I can get them KRK's RP6 $400 a pair for $325 then I might just do that.

I really did like the JBL's and they a little better but they would be an extra $75, and I could get stands and foam if I did spend that much.

SO I will have to do another run, mainly testing the RP6 against the BX8a, along with the JBL LSR2325p and Yamaha HS50m's. From reviews I have never really heard anything bad about the JBL and Yamaha, so they would be on my top list if I want to drop the 400. I am just not quite sure on how much better they are compared to the Rp6??
 
Well, thats the same kind of statement I made about the Behringers, saying that I would considered them, even know they are behringers.
I only say that is cause I have never had much good times with m-audio stuff, never with their speakers, cause I have never owned one. I already learned a lesson in buying a cheap brand.

I think the Bx8a's are cool an all, I think they sound ok, I just don't want to send them in for warranty work with in a year, cause they fail on me.

With all these monitors there are 5 opinons about each speaker and its hard to base a solid conclusion.

pros who have been in the game know a thing or two, but only recommend stuff I can't afford. Others who have owned many speakers and our gurus based on experience, usually have good info, but not all of the say the same things. THen there is also people like me who can only base an opinon based on what they listened to at the store.

So politics aside, its up to me to go to the store and listen to the ones that I am considering, and compare everything in that price range. Cause it's my ears that count.
 
My final pick, hands down the best~

I just got back from the Guitar Center and tested every speaker against each other, with electroic/industrial, rock, rap and with the "Mashine".

For the record all my assumptions were based on brand name and not on the actual speaker.
However I do want to take back everything I said about the M-Audio, as far as their speakers go.(I still don't like their interfaces)

This is how it breaks down. The KRK RP6 is what I thought I wanted, but up against the BX5a, they were nothing, they were muffled and really low sounding. The RP5's were decent, but still the BX5a's were smooth and clear, while the RP5's had that same muffle sound, which isn't clear.

THe only pair to sound better than the BX5a is the Yamaha HS80, plus the HS50 were't half bad, they were about the same.

Then the BX8a were just as cool as the BX5's, but they were a little to bass heavy for my taste, cause I want clear sound. But the BX8's would be awesome to just listen music to, espeically like DR. Dre's the chronic, or other bass heavy songs!


So my final pick is clear cut choice with no holdbacks, the BX5a are the single best speakers GC had for under $500. The Jbls LSR weren't even that good, which was a surprise, but them and the mackies were kind of "muddy".

For $230 the bx5a is an awesome choice, and I would only get the HS80's as an upgrade if I had the money. No other speaker would be good for me and since the HS50 is very similar, I would just save my $170.

I don't know what speakers other people listen to but them KRK's were not that cool. HOwever the line that takes KRK into majestic is the VXT's they were so good, just like the HS80's.

BHphoto has a brand new pair of BX5a's for $234 or I can get a used pair for $169.
THe used pair is rated 8+ which means "shows moderate wear or finish marks".
 
actually I just found a steal of deal on the BX5a's.

For $280, I get the Bx5a's w/speaker cables, audiotechinca ATH-M20 headphones, the MXL 990 and the MXL 991 mic package with cool case, two mic stands w/arm, and mic cables.

I am ordering it right now!!
 
Good for you for going out and actually listening to speakers before making your purchase.
 
yeah it was pretty cool. THey got two iMacs w/ two full setups, one with just the RP5's, then the other imac is hooked up to a switcher board, for about 20 pairs of speakers.

At first I was just playing pinball wizard and tom saywer and various songs on iTunes, back n forth between the RP5's and RP6's. Then I looped a eletronica demo track within ableton and really got a feel for most of them.

Then a worker came in with this dude who wanted to plug in his guitar into the profire, and test their ProTools, and as they did there thing I switched between the speakers. Which was perfect, cause I mainly bought the Line6 UX2 to play guitar out the speakers.

After the worker after gave me a demo, showing me that the RP6's are really low and not clear. Then went back n forth between various competors.

He told me that he owned the HS80's and then he showed me why by comparing each speaker with it. THe bx5's were about just as clear, but not as powerful.

After that I told him I was looking at 300 or 400 tops, and he recommended the BX5's over anything they had under $500. Which was obviously a easy thing to pick from at that point cause I couldn't afford the HS80. But then after he left, I was taking my time comparing the BX5's with everything else, the same way he did it.

As I did this for like 30 minutes, I was set on the bx5's, but I was going back n forth on the bx5's and bx8's. I know the 8's were really bassy which is fine for bumping music(which in that room was so sick), only problem is that it is way to much bass for trying to record a track.

Another worker came in to show of the redrum on reason to some guy. I asked him what he thinks of the Bx5 and bx8, and he said the same thing I would of said, I actually finished his last sentence when he was trying to explain the difference between the 8 to the 5's, "there a little bit to bass heavy".

But yeah, from what I read and heard on youtube and in forums, i had all these notions of speakers, but they were far from the truth.

I have a good ear, and that muffle, muddy, or deep low sound is what most of them sounded like, mainly all the 6-8"s. That crystal clear sound that I heard in the HS80's is what you need for recording music. All those other bassy speakers would be cool for blasting music with but not mixing or mastering.

anyways yeah i was very skeptical against many things, I guess I should spend more time at GC then on the internet forums. Instead of asking, figuring out my own answers!
I am just one who likes second opinions.
 
They have that setup in most guitar centers. I spent a hour with my bandmate who was getting pissed at me thinking "Dude, just pick one". I got the krk RP6 and 8. Knowing nothing about brand name and doing little research about monitors in general. I let my ears make the choice.
 
See thats cool, because you ears are differet then mine. I might be able to hear perfectly out one pair and not the other, while you could differ.

I have been thinking about what I plan to do on my upgrade. I have been considering getting the BX8a's instead of the subwoofer.
I think the reason I like them is because they could bump the SH&t out of my house, which is something people do when they listen.

I probably won't upgrade for awhile, but I know I am going to want that SBX10! I just knew if I got them bx8's, I would have way to much bass espeically if I upgrade with the sbx10. So I got the BX5a for the crystal clearity(as far as bottom line goes for under $500) and hopefully will get that subwoofer or bx8's for a full system!
 
Remember though that most people won't be listening to your mixes through good speakers. As long as the mix sounds good on many sources (laptop, home system, car, boombox, etc).... You know you have a good mix!
 
I could vouch for the RP6's. I use a pair in my studio. I love the way they sound, I feel like I can easily pick out every element in a mix, and they have a fairly decent frequency range, so your not loosing alot of the bottom and top end, the low end cut/boost has really come in usefull to get an accurate picture in my room. I often use a pair of ADAM A7's at a production company I work at, and they are fantastic, in a mediocore space. But as you say they are above your price range. I also use a pair of genelecs at university but I have found them to sound a little too coloured for my taste. But for your price range you can't go wrong with the RP6's, I wouldn't bother with the 5's. Cheaper small monitors from experience, I find hard to mix on. They can't really handle alot at a decent volume. focals are pritty sweet aswell.
 
Well I got my Bx5a's here and they are fantasic.

I just have a problem because I use my "2nd Room" for an office and music room, but now it is starting to look more like a music room, But i need it for school and whatever I want.

I can't permentely put stuff on the wall, but I though of getting a pieces of wood or plywood, and gluing the foam to it, and put them up against the wall.

Should I just put foam in the corners like it says?
 
Truth of the matter"no 2 people hear music the same!Just like no 2 people see color the same.I look at red and you look at the color red and if we could compare,you would be surprised at the different shade of red we each see.Take one of your CD's and play it through the different monitors"after all your goin to be listening to them more then anyone else.You might be surprised.The cheaper ones may sound better to your ears.Get the drift?
 
My approach to choosing monitors is simple but effective:

Buy the speakers that make your favorite CDs sound great and make your recordings sound like shit. The more noticeable this gulf is, the more accurate those monitors will be for your purposes.

I used this approach and bought some sweet DynAudio BM-15 speakers.
 
Well the iMac's were filled with iTune songs, so I just listened to songs that I like on there. Then I opened up the demo songs through the programs I used, and listened to the demos that sound like what I would do.

THen pretty much a/b every speaker that I could afford against everything else, I personally thought the BX5a's sounded better than everything under $500, including the BX8a's and RP6's
 
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