Yorkville or M-Audio?

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Froinlavin

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I'm going to purchase a pair of either the Yorkville YSM1p or the M-Audio BX8 sutdio monitors. I can get either for the same price (around $400 which also happens to be the size of my budget). Wanted to know what kinds of opinions are out there for these.

I realize I should listen to them with my own ears, but finding these monitors at a place close to me hasn't been easy. Besides, with my untrained ears, I'm not sure of what I would be listening for.

The kind of music I'm recording is somewhere between jazz and rock. Call it wuss rock if you want. I'll be recording (separately) acoustic guitar, vocals, and drums. Maybe bass once I can afford it. I have a Boss BR-864. Um...that's all I can think of as far as details go. If I've forgotten anything, remind me of what I've forgotten and I'm sure I'll remember.

Thanks.
 
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I have the Yorkville passives. They work fine for me. Don't know the M-Audio's except by reputation. But everything else I've tried by M-Audio does what it's supposed to. I think either will work. You'll have to adjust you ears to either set. The Yorkies are a little crispy in the highs sometimes, and you only hear the bass rather than "feel" it. These are not complaints, just descriptions. They do their job ok, and after you get to know them mixes will translate fine. And I would guess that another set of ear adjustments would be in order on the M-Audios.

Bottom line is, I can reccomend the Yorkvilles. Not a purchase you'll be sorry about. Someone else will have to speak to the specifics of the BX8's.
 
did read yesterday in the german KEYS magazine a test of the ESI near05 EXPERIENCE. Streetprice 250 € ( there is an ESI sub to go down 30 Hz )

They love them and find them especially in the mids better than the bx5.

Don´t now how the bx8 are in the mids but mids are the most important range.

Massive Mastering ( member ) uses the bx8 and could help you.

I have the wharfedale pro diamond 8.2 actives and be happy with them.
 
I love my Yorkville YSM1i (branded ART SLM1). They are the passives. I don't want to sound like a commercial here, but they have a well-deserved reputation for outperforming many monitors twice the price.

I've heard the active Yorkvilles in a showroom but no experience with them to recommend. I can say they are a solid company with a good rep for their passives. Sorry, I don't know the M-Audio BX8 at all.

I'm not a big fan of powered monitors though. I know many people use them with great results, but I'm a little old school in this regard. Not every company with a handle on speaker design will have the same wizardry with amplification and visa versa. Once the two are amalgamated into an inseparable product you have what you have with no option to change one or the other.

I mix only in a near-field LEDE environment. The Yorkvilles are all I need.

As far as amplification goes Crown and Yamaha are still my trusted friends. My Yorkvilles are paired with an older Yamaha P2050 Natural Sound amp. I'm very happy with it. I'll go as far as to say it's as close to perfection as I've ever had in my personal studios.

If you're going to have more than one set of reference monitors around it doesn't matter so much. Then you have the luxury of mixing and checking on different configurations. Since I was looking for one pair to get it done I chose the above approach.

Lots of really nice people that know what they're doing have chosen a different approach and it's working for them. ;)

The ART SLM1 and the Yorkville YSM1i are identical inside and out. You can find the ART brand at a lower cost than the Yorkville in North America. Not sure about elsewhere. They are all made in Canada in the same facility. Yorkville acquired ART a few years ago and a Yorkville tech I spoke to when I was shopping confirmed they are the same product.

Good hunting

-Tim
 
Well I was leaning towards the Yorkvilles, but now...

Maybe I should flip a coin.
 
Yorkville YSM1P

I bought the yorkvilles about a month ago. I thought they were pretty good but I have a skeptical mind so I took them apart. I am not to fond of the drivers. I had a friend who looked at the Amp schematics and he said it was decent but could use a couple of capacitor mods. Thinking about all the work involved, I reconsidered and went over to the retailer and this time took a CD that I have owned since CDs were invented. The yorkviles were more transparent and Linear than. Mackie 624, Behringer truth, BX8, KRK Rockit8, The mackie was tigher and faster as it rolled down into the sub bass region and the xylophone, I have to admit sounded nicer on the Mackies but the Yorkville smoked the others. I have decided to keep my yorkvilles and learn to love them. Yorkville support is incredible. Just call Yorkville tech and they'll help you with speakers as well as everything else in your studio. I also bought YSS1 Sub. It is not a Kickas Sub but the foot switch for the high pass is great. I even use the high pass footswitch with sub turned off. 60Hz high pass really clears up monitors for those little touches.
When I get settled in I am going to replace Yorkville Drivers with Morel Tweeter and a Silver flute woofer. A gentleman at solen.ca used software and expertise to select these. The Yorkvilles with a $250 driver replacement will probably parallel Genelec and Dynaudio. Plus Yorkville doesn't mind us Hacking their stuff. In fact they like It
 
Well, after more searching and reading and fretting, I think what I'm gonna do is get a pair of the BX5s. Found them at below budget and if I have to get a sub in the future, I can.

Now if I can just get the right cables to hook them up to my 864, I should be good to go. The 864 only has RCA outs so I know what I need on that end. The monitors have both XLR and 1/4" inputs. Is one better to use than the other, or does it really not matter. And I need to get balanced, shielded cables right?
 
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It's always nice to see folks post their decisions in these threads. Do a search here for M-Audio BX5 + sub to find suggestions for the future.The matched M-Audio SBX sub would be the best bet, but I use a Wharfedale Powercube 8 (about $125) with surprisingly great results. The high-pass switches on the BX models really help. You can find more information on these and other options in previous threads.

Enjoy,
J.
 
Froinlavin said:
Well, after more searching and reading and fretting, I think what I'm gonna do is get a pair of the BX5s. Found them at below budget and if I have to get a sub in the future, I can.
.........
Click to expand...

250 $ ???

i would go with one of them:

1) http://www.americanmusical.com/item--i-WHA-DP81A.html
2) http://www.americanmusical.com/item--i-WHA-DP82A.html

and get an wharfedale sub later ( kevlar woofer also )-> SW150

Kevlar Drivers
The same material used in bulletproof vests, Kevlar’s high resilience makes it ideal for use in speaker cones—although it is typically reserved for monitors with higher price tags. Needless to say, Kevlar represents a significant improvement over the polypropylene and paper used in most monitors for this price.
 
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More support for your decision. The BX5's are very useful, and with the SBX, it's a perfectly good monitoring system.-Richie
 
Was the PowerCube $125 when you bought or is there somewhere that sells them for that price? The prices I've been finding have been 180 and above.
 
Ive been using Yorkville YSM1's for many years now. They're very easy to translate amix on. And it only took a few weeks for me to gain proper understanding of their sound. I can place things in a mix very well with them. Knowing them so well after all this time, mixes are a snap.

I also mix on Mackie HR824's, some old Yamaha NS10's, and KRK V8's....depending on where I am at the time. But I like my Yorkies best cause I know them and hear everything in the right places on them.

H2H
 
Froinlavin, I bought the Wharfe Powercube 8 sub for $99(+ shipping) through www.audioadvisor.com about 4 months ago. I've heard that the price is higher elsewhere, but with some patience you may find a similar price.

There's a 10-inch model, too, slightly higher in price, but I was worried about low-end mush, so I stuck with the 100-watt 8" model (the same sized cone and power as the SBX). The 8" handles freqs down to 40Hz, and the 10" model down to 32Hz.

Both models have both line ins and outs, and a phase switch, so connecting them with the BXs is a snap. If you have the extra money, though, you probably can't beat the matching SBX sub for all-around integration. Otherwise, I believe the Wharfe is a wonderful low-cost alternative.

Good luck,
J.
 
i would choose yorkville over maudio because maudio has a pericing highend... that i can't stand

for pleasuer purposes, they both dont sound good IMO
BX8: nice tight strong bass, ... err... the highend... err... imaging is fine
ysm1p: the imaging is good, yet still not having that "soundwall" . bass can go low enough and loud but it's just not big and round, sound too solid and narrow. the more i listen to it, the more i feel it's a beef up NS10 with smoother highen and with the presence of bass, so i guess it's that magic again...?!

actaully for this price range, i strongly suggest that u go try out the new samson ribon5a or 6a
they sounded a bit like the ADAM
their imaging is much better than their last generation, and so as the sound. the highend is super smooth, and the bass the so big and tight even on the 5a model!!
 
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