Need near-field monitors.. confused.. what.. to.. do.. Spock?!?

  • Thread starter Thread starter WATYF
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No mate - I retired from the working world 6 years ago at the age of 39....I don't work for anyone :-)

KEV
 
the mackies are definately not crap, and they arn't *that* inexpensive.
 
Well,

Nobody here is saying that the Mackie's are CRAP, epsecially ME....coz they definitely ain't....in fact the 824's are bloody good.....BUT, they do cost $2500 Cdn + Tax a pair here in Canada.....which is a helleva lot more than the Yorkville YSM-1P's which only run at $740 Cdn + Tax....AND, the original poster here was only intending on spending under $500 USD.....so the Mackies (both the 624 & 824's) are out of his budget...

Actually, I tested the Yorkies next to the Mackie 824's for a couple of hours....and YES, the Mackie's DO have a somewhat better mid-range definition/seperation....however, I didn't actually like the sound better than the YSM-1P's, which seemed warmer & flatter to MY ears......

Monitor performance is very "subjective" anyways......but, in the under $500 USD category...I still stand by my comments above that the Yorkies are definitely the best of the bunch...

Rock on Tommy :-)

KEV
 
Phonic P5-A

Does anyone ever heard them? They seem nice...
 
Hey Kev, I check out your 1st song, the one about the middle east. Pretty interesting music. I like the sound effects used also. I will listen to more when I get the time. I'm on dial-up and it takes forever to download stuff.

Regards, Don
 
Kevzmusic said:
DJC....


Well, ya gotta have a strategy...and think "outside the box" the normal 9-5 routine just doesn't cut the mustard I'm afraid...

KEV
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Well yeah, recommending Roland DS-50's to anyone could fit nicely into the "Thinking outside the box" category.

"Gee uh Doc, is that a bad thing?"
"Yes Cutter, that could fit nicely into the bad things-category." :D

Kev, you were right on about the other sub $500 monitors.

WATYF, The Mackie HR824's are very fine, but $1100 USD a pair.
Stay away from any Genelec. Way overpriced and way to harsh. Dynaudio makes some very good but expensive ones.

Event PS-6 and PS-8 are something to look into as well, but they are settled in the very nasty 'middle of the monitor-road' category, with pair-prices from $500-800. You know, the kinda price that is cheaper than the Mackies, but not *really* far away....

Tannoy Reveal Actives are nice too. Not so much bass, but a very good midrange. (and that's where most of the mix 'happens', eh?)
 
I listened to both the Roland DS-50 and DS-90.......they sound OK, the DS-90 'is' better of course and quite a bit more money...

The whole idea of 'digital' monitors is a bit of a marketing HYPE tho.....coz SOUND all ends up as analog anyways in the end....Ie: YOUR EARS.......not unless you've got some "Borg" implants - LOL!!!!!

When I mentioned the bit about "thinking outside the box" I was actually referring to "LIFE strategy" and not monitors :-)

I think the best mid-price range monitors I have heard are the Event 20/20 bias at $1600 Cdn a pair.....Didn't like the Tannoy's much, they sounded more like HI FI speakers with NO bottom end....

KEV
 
Kevzmusic said:
Didn't like the Tannoy's much, they sounded more like HI FI speakers with NO bottom end....

KEV
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This is something I thought of the Alesis Monitor Ones: Beefed up hi-fi speakers, with no MID. Most hi-fi speakers from THESE days, that I know, lack mid, and overemphasize the bass and treble. My good ol' Panasonic speakers from the mid-70's have a nice midrange.... those were the days... ;)
 
Well, if you want a sound that is not "colored" then the Yorkville YSM-1P's are very good.....very flat response..but with a WARM feel.....easy on the ears....or at least that's the way I hears it.

The overal frequency response is 80hz - 20hz with 0.05% distortion at -3/+3 dB.....

I like em......and the price is right :-)

KEV
 
Speeddemon said:

Stay away from any Genelec. Way overpriced and way to harsh.
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Well, I've certainly heard a lot of criticism about some Genelec models being "too pretty", but I think this is the first time I've ever heard someone say they were too harsh! But, I should quickly admit that there are models I haven't heard yet. So, Speed, which model did you listen to and find harsh sounding?
 
1029, 1030 and 1031.

instead of te 1029, you'd be better off with:
-Behringer Truths
-Tannoy Reveal Actives
-Event PS-5's
-(probably,haven;t heard them yet): Studiophiles SP-8B

instead of 1030's, you'd be better off with:
-Event PS-8
-Dynaudio BM6A

instead of 1031's, you'd be better off with:
-Mackie HR824

the only thing i liked about the 1031 (which I believe cost twice as much as the Mackies), is that the low-end is pretty tight and focussed.

Overall, Dynaudio's have a much smoother top-end than the Genelecs. I can imagine serious fatigue from working with Genelecs.
 
I waited a long time to test the Behringer Truth's (coz they were out of stock in NA for ages...and still are actually)...and to be honest I think they are not very good....the lows & highs are 'coloured' and when yu up the volume it gets harsh...up close they are just a cheapo copy (ie:of the Mackie's) which seems to be par for the course with Behringer products...

The Studiophile series are OK, not bad for the buck I guess, but not that great either....The SP-8B's are obviously better sounding than the smaller version 5B...

The Tannoys Reveal Actives certainly "lack" bass/bottom end response...and don't sound as good as the Yorkville YSM-1P's, but cost $500 Cdn more a pair......

Personally, I think the Mackie 824 & especially the Dynaudio BM6A's sound great...and wish I had the funds to get em :-(

But until then.....the Yorkies will do just fine...

KEV
 
Speeddemon said:
1029, 1030 and 1031.

instead of te 1029, you'd be better off with:
-Behringer Truths
-Tannoy Reveal Actives
-Event PS-5's
-(probably,haven;t heard them yet): Studiophiles SP-8B

instead of 1030's, you'd be better off with:
-Event PS-8
-Dynaudio BM6A

instead of 1031's, you'd be better off with:
-Mackie HR824

the only thing i liked about the 1031 (which I believe cost twice as much as the Mackies), is that the low-end is pretty tight and focussed.

Overall, Dynaudio's have a much smoother top-end than the Genelecs. I can imagine serious fatigue from working with Genelecs.
Click to expand...

I have no problem with someone preferring Dynaudios, but some of your other preferences would lead me to believe that maybe looking at too much ass might be affecting your judgement. But then, I realized, I'd probably have the same symptoms in that case...

I guess it's just one of those classic "your mileage may vary" situations...
 
Something else?

I don't know about anyone else...
But, I've found that the Event PS5's are great in that price range, as well...
I've used mine for quite some time with great results...

I hope others feel the same...

riverdog
www.homepage.mac.com/riverdog
 
littledog said:
I have no problem with someone preferring Dynaudios, but some of your other preferences would lead me to believe that maybe looking at too much ass might be affecting your judgement. But then, I realized, I'd probably have the same symptoms in that case...

I guess it's just one of those classic "your mileage may vary" situations...
Click to expand...
Point taken, but WHICH of my preferences didn't you agree with then?

I know most people here have something against Behringer as a brand, but when considering buying monitors, and there are TOTAL CRAP monitors like the Spirit Absolute 2 and Alesis Monitor Ones MK II Active around, the Behringers are a VERY good buy for their price. I mean, the Behringers cost half of the Alesis ones, and sound way better... And the little Genelec 1029a just doesn't cut it.
But lemme hear your thoughts on this, Littledog.
 
Speeddemon,

After trying to find a pair of Behringer truths for 2-3 months...I did finally manage to locate some and conducted a side by side comparison with the Yorkvilles, the Mackie's, Roland DS-90's and Tannoy's last week.

I'd read a lot about the Truths on the web, so I at least wanted to check 'em out...

Yeah, I do agree with you...that for the PRICE they are a reasonable product...(albeit, an obvious cheapo copy of the Mackie 824's :-)...

At first glance they look rather good...and they do have plenty of power...at 150 W per side...BUT, I was rather disapointed with the sound reproduction which I found to be quite harsh (not warm or sweet like the YSM-1P's) and I thought the bass end was exaggerated.

When I turned them up real loud...the highs also became somewhat 'brassy' which I personally don't like :-(

Of course, one can become "accustomed" or used to any set of monitors after a while...and I only listened to them for about 1 1/2 hours in total, ....however, upon my initial impression I wasn't happy with their sound...and thought that I would get definite audio fatigue using this set for any extended period.

I listened to several pre-recorded CD's...and some of MY own tunes....that I obviously know to the "T".......the Behringer Truths did not reproduce as well as the YSM-1P's by a long shot....and I even found the Mackie's to be over-pronounced as well....

In the end I think there's so much "subjectivity" invloved here....and WE all do tend to 'analyze' things to death sometimes.....that it's just best to buy whatever works for oneself....and concentrate on producing 'dem TUNES, as apposed to worrying about perfection or mixing correctness :-)....

After all JIMI didn't have all the high-tech gear n stuff we do today....but he sure made it sound GREAT - eh!...

KEV
 
Kev, not to imply that the Yorkvilles suck, but if you say they sound 'sweet and warm', I'm a bit suspicious. As far as my knowledge goes, monitors shouldn't make something sound 'nicer', they should clearly represent it. I know what you're saying about the high-end of the Behringers though.

My feelings about the Truths were halfway the same:
-rather harsh/forward highs (which BTW CAN be turned down by switches on the back)
-the mids are a bit scooped
-low end goes very low but is a bit sluggish

but still, you don't wanna know what I think about the Spirits and Alesis's.
With the Mackie HR824 I could hear EACH individual vocal reverb tail almost seperately (Guns N'Roses-Appetite for Destruction, song "Welcome to the Jungle"), with the Behringers I only could If I 'searched' for them.

Actually, I think the Behringer Truths are much more ment as a cheap copy of the Genelec 1031's instead of the Mackies. Like the Behringers the Genelecs also have a sort of 'scooped mid', albeit a way better scooped mid (with a 'way better' :rolleyes: pricetag to come along with it ;) ) and 'forwardish' highs. And the Behringers also LOOK more like the Genelecs than the Mackies.

And I'll bet, if you can't afford Dynaudio's, the Behringers are your best bet if you do house/dance/techno music, where high and low-end matter more than the midrange.
 
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