Passive monitors and the home stereo?

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EveningSky

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Is it a good idea to purchase passive monitors and run them attached to the amplifier/tuner of my home stereo?

Is it better to buy a separate amplification unit or active monitors?

How much do I need to spend to get a decent monitor for home recording and what are the recommendation do readers have for monitors in the <$500 price class (for a pair)?

Thank you.
 
you can get a decent passive monitor for $189 pair, Tannoy Proto J's.....

its fine to rum them with a home stereo reciever if its good clean power.......

active monitors are better, especially bi-amped for many reasons, most of which imnot qualified to give....JBL LSR25p's are highly recommended here and can be had for about $500 pair......
 
Yo Noche Cielo:

I have my Yorkville passives hooked into my Yam amp which really runs my entire home studio.

This amp supports two sets of speakers, CD, am/fm, phono {yeah, I still use one], Aux, a clear through switch so the amp does not "color" the recordings when mixing down and plenty of power that has little white noise.

I also have two tape decks hooked into the amp and and run them either way or both at once if needed.

So, if you have good components, should be no problema using passive speakers with your stereo system, etc.

Green Hornet



:D :p :D
 
I read a while back that a lot of pro studios actually use audiophile-grade component receivers to power there monitors.
 
Is there a danger of damaging an active monitor if feeding it from a receiver?
 
Yo Gripper:

Active monitors have a 1/4 inch phone plug connection; passive monitors have screw-on-the-wire or banana plugs.

I don't know if this is true with all active monitors.

But, my Yamaha DAW 2816 has 1/4 plugs in the back to go to the monitors.

Thus, using my integrated amp would prohibit me from using active monitors unless there is some way to patch them in which, I'm sure, there is.

Green Hornet:D :D :p :p
 
I should make it a hobby to comb through the Recycler (So. Cal) ads on the internet for big ass Japanese reciever/amps. The more weight the better, specs don't matter in this arena. Set them up flat and they sound great plus you get a radio. They're running around $80 to $100 in excellent condition.

Seriously, I use mine for playback off my Tascam 788, stereo mixes from Sound Forge, and an avenue to record from phono and tape if necessary, all with just a few clicks. Plus a second set of small monitors.
 
hey gidge.....

I've been looking at the Hafler M5s....and I think I read that you bought and returned those monitors and picked up the Tannoy's...

can you give me a real quick comparison of the two?? (what did you like, not like, etc.) the M5s sounded pretty good when I checked them out at the GC....and they seem to have gotten really good review so far...

thanks
 
outside of the low end the two were very similar in frequency response, flatness,stereo imaging (disclaimer:my opinion only). they performed very decently....it was ONLY the weak low end that made me bring them back....you would almost HAVE to use a sub with these...the ProtoJ's had enuff of a low end to give me a clue how to place this.....

did i have a faulty pair?...maybe....but by that time i was eyeing the ProtoJ's anyway....
 
thanks gidge....

of all the reviews that I've read on the M5s - that was the one big knock (lacking low end)...I'm going to check out the Tannoy's (hopefully GC has some so I can compare...)....

though I did just see a pair of KRK KroK passive monitors at a pawn shop for $250/pair (could probably get them for $225)...tricky proposition though as I'm not sure if they will hook them up to an amplifier to test that they are not blown....the guy did ensure me "they're clean, man" - but I trust him as far as I can throw him...
 
I don't think so...the Rokits are a step down...

here are the KRoKs:

http://servermarket.com/marketplace/KRKKRoK.html

they have a 7" woofer (Rokits have 6") - looks like a bit better bass response - but less power handling (75W as opposed to 100W for the Rokits)....

I did see though that Musician's Friend is running a deal on the Rokits/Hafler TA1100 combo for $399:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...40046716455/search/g=rec/detail/base_id/57915

I wonder how the Rokit's sound - how they compare to the M5s or Tannoys?? I've read good things about KRK, in general...and that's a good price for the combo (about the same as the Hafler M5/TA1100 combo that I was considering)...
 
Guitar Center here usually stocks the whole KRK line (well, most of it) so you may wanna try them out....

i picked up the M5/TA1100 deal when it was $299 internet special and GC matched it....they gave me back $150 on the M5's when i brought them back so i have the amp for $150....

definitely check out the ProtoJ's wherever you can.....they go for $175/pr locally and you can get the Hafler amp for $199.....also Samson makes the Servo line of amps that arent that bad....see if you can find someone that stocks both and give you a combo deal.....

one thing to note.....if you are going to be monitoring in a room that is acoustically challenged, you may not want a monitor which such a big bottom like those Kroks.....this was one of the reasons i went ProtoJ...if that isnt an issue youll be ok.....if you get a chance to listen to them let me know what you think.....
 
Gidge, are ya gonna f#ck up powered monitors if you feed them power from receiver, amp, etc.?
 
i would think it is very possible to cause some problems doing that....i wouldnt advice it.....why would you even do it?.....
 
Plug it in, Plug it in!

Grip, my man: It depends what exactly you feed to your active monitors from the receiver. Many consumer receivers have tape out circuits which basically route the currently selected source to a pair of line level outs on RCA connectors. Your only problems would be when the active monitors are expecting a +4 line level signal, and the receiver is putting out -10, or as I assume you suggest- you plugged the speaker outs from your receiver into the active monitors without some sort of voltage dropping device inbetween.
 
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