Is there a big difference between 5 inch and six inch monitors?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SAMTheGreat
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It all depends on what you define as "big."


I have 5 inch monitors and I really need a sub to check the bass. If I were to get 6 inch monitors, I would probably keep the sub. So IMO I don't think the difference is that great.
 
I would be a YES vote.... I think the 5 loses a lot of bass, and it could be due to the models I had a weekend or two with, and the amplifiers in the BX5 and RP5....but I like 6" better.
had one set of 8" once and they were bigger sounding...
but the 5 and a sub was like a "wow" in a good way as I recall.

I finally took advice from others and stopped swapping them every weekend and trying to learn what I have for a few years and then make a move later. the room and all that gets trickier with a sub, or more important because you get out of the 3ft triangle thing...
if I could mix worth a crap, Id have a more focused opinion. ..mines a pure HR hobbyist opinion... the group here recommended Yorkville YSM1P which I still have and not one issue with still...amazing. Got some KRKV6 SurfCity California versions and put some focal tweeters in, and theres bass....but its not Rap/Raggae low low bass by any means.

what kind of tunes you doing?
 
Bigger is usually better... depends what it is used for.. but from 5 to 6, I would honestly say SIX.

I WILL very much depend on the manufacturer and model! So test them out and pick your poison. (another topic - Speakers are/can be the worst thing to put in a signal chain) :facepalm:

I know some 8" speakers that will far outperform some crappy 12" speakers. ;)

Cheers,
John
 
CoolCat said:
I would be a YES vote.... I think the 5 loses a lot of bass, and it could be due to the models I had a weekend or two with, and the amplifiers in the BX5 and RP5....but I like 6" better.
had one set of 8" once and they were bigger sounding...
but the 5 and a sub was like a "wow" in a good way as I recall.

I finally took advice from others and stopped swapping them every weekend and trying to learn what I have for a few years and then make a move later. the room and all that gets trickier with a sub, or more important because you get out of the 3ft triangle thing...
if I could mix worth a crap, Id have a more focused opinion. ..mines a pure HR hobbyist opinion... the group here recommended Yorkville YSM1P which I still have and not one issue with still...amazing. Got some KRKV6 SurfCity California versions and put some focal tweeters in, and theres bass....but its not Rap/Raggae low low bass by any means.

what kind of tunes you doing?
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iM MAKE KRUMP , SOUL , ABSTRACT HIP HOP . HARD HITTING TYPE MUSIC
 
SAMTheGreat said:
Is there a big difference between 5 inch and six inch monitors?
Click to expand...

Naaaaaaaaa......not that big...

.......only one inch.



All depends on how much low-end you want and how low it can go. Six inch will always outperform five inch in that regard...BUT...the cabs and porting can offset that, so again, it's the whole package and not just the speaker....though personally I would go for bigger if your room can handle it.
 
We all tell the female vocalist that it's 8 inch anyway!

Seriously, it all depends on the quality and design of the monitor. A good, well designed (and probably expensive) 5 inch monitor could easily be better and have a better bass response than a cheap and cheerful 6 inch. The design of the box is as important...maybe more important...than the size of the drivers.

However, anything less than an 8 inch and I'd likely be looking at using a sub anyway, making the bass driver in the "full range" less critical since it'll be doing more of a mid range job anyway.

Have I sufficiently confused you?
 
A lot of 6 inch ones are actually 6.5, so I'd say there's definitely a noticeable difference! I think a sub would be great for either though.
 
And yes, Jon, you should definitely get one as well. You want to be able to hear the subs, in any situation. Just because a set of monitors sounds good for any situation, it does not mean it is telling you what is there.

Room treatment should probably be first, but if it were my decision, I would/did buy the sub first. I could not ever get things right without one. :)

How is that for cross thread integration/confusion? lol
 
I heard some KRK rokit 5's a few weeks back and they were decent. But I much prefer my Tannoy PBM 6.5's. The 5's really lacked lows. I suppose you could say some more money and an inch and a half can make a big difference. :D
 
JG96 said:
I heard some KRK rokit 5's a few weeks back and they were decent. But I much prefer my Tannoy PBM 6.5's. The 5's really lacked lows. I suppose you could say some more money and an inch and a half can make a big difference. :D
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Much luck for anyone that tries to get mixes to translate easily, from Rockit 5's, to other listening devices. I struggled, to say the least, while using them. Not to say that any monitor setup, is better than another (You must take the time to 'learn' what any set are giving you), but those were some lying bitches IMO.

Anyone could make a mix on them, but I realized quickly after upgrading, that those KRK G25's are not ideal. Hyped low end, and inaccurate in many ways. Even with a sub, they just seemed to give me a false impression, of what my mix sounded like.

Things just fell into place, after upgrading to the KRK G28's.

If this were a poll, I would possibly vote 8". But that would not answer your question. It would depend on the speaker in question. I have my eyes on some $8000 monitors, that have dual 6" drivers. Size does not matter as much, when quality is thrown into the equation.

My guess of an opinion here:

Under $800 in monitor budget, 8's best. 6's a compromise. 5's are an attempt at moving to monitor reference, from headphone monitoring. Good start, but IMO, not anywhere near ideal. Better tho. :)
 
At the risk of repeating myself, don't fall into the trap of thinking that the size of the bass driver alone controls the bass response of you monitors. The design of the box (and the resonances that design can control) play just as big a part. Ported or non ported, baffle design inside, etc. etc. all make a huge difference. You can easily find good five inch boxes that'll out perform a cheap six inch box.

That said, I wouldn't normally want to use anything smaller than a well designed eight inch without a sub. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking all six inch monitors are equal.
 
Bobbsy said:
At the risk of repeating myself, don't fall into the trap of thinking that the size of the bass driver alone controls the bass response of you monitors. The design of the box (and the resonances that design can control) play just as big a part. Ported or non ported, baffle design inside, etc. etc. all make a huge difference. You can easily find good five inch boxes that'll out perform a cheap six inch box.

That said, I wouldn't normally want to use anything smaller than a well designed eight inch without a sub. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking all six inch monitors are equal.
Click to expand...

+1

Cheers,
John
 
If you are used to mixing on YOUR monitors, whatever the size is, you can learn how what you hear translates on other systems.

Jumping from speaker to speaker (or even changing mixing rooms) can change your perception of bass level, and throw you off.

I have been mixing on my M-Audio 5" for years, and my mixes translate fine.:rolleyes::listeningmusic:
 
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