Entry Level Monitors

[mildtwist]

hey peeps..i using m-audio2496 as my audio interface and currently using sennheiser HD 280 pro headphones..don't have a monitor currently..just a normal altec lansing desktop speakers..i research on buying monitors..it aint really easy to choose one ey..it all depends on your room size..your needs for accuracy..and also active and passive ones..but i just need a monitor that has flat accuracy..a bit of bassy..im lookin into the behringer series..but i heard lot bad reviews than good ones..im makin music straight out of a balcony of a 5 room flat..yes..a balcony..wat kind of monitors do u guys suggest? And..pardon my stupidity for d next question..im quite a newbie at this..why some monitors u can control its volume or treble or bass on the speaker itself like just other normal desktop speakers but some cant..monitors like the krk or m-audio?

please enlighten me on this one guys..thankx

 

[mildtwist]

oh yea..fergot to mention..budget around $250 to $500..

 

[logicdroid]

oh yea..fergot to mention..budget around $250 to $500..

Vandamissjoaquim is selling a pair of ns10m.
R.

 

[atee]

For a budget of $500 I'd recommend maybe the KRK Rokit 5 - from most reviews it's very good for its price, and it's got a pretty much flat frequency except just a little bit lacking on the bass side - but it'd be pretty hard to find monitors that're flat for such a low price.

But finding as flat a frequency response from your monitors as you can should of couse also be accompanied by the acoustics of the room you're mixing in (which hopefully isn't the balcony) - but that's another topic altogether.

As for the controlling of the bass and trebles on your monitors... I don't see a need for those because technically you'd want to be mixing on as flat a frequency spectrum as possible, and the monitors should have come as close as they could to it. If you were to boost the bass on your monitors it would not affect what you are mixing at all, and would just result in a lack of bass in that song if you played it on other speakers. So imo I'd think you'd want monitors that don't have those.

Just my 2 cents worth in my inexperience!

 

[annikk.exe]

Hello :>

I bought a set of Behringer Truth B2031A active studio monitors for my studio ages ago. I had spent weeks poring over reviews and eventually went to a large music shop in the UK with a portable CD player, and had them hook up a bunch of different monitors to see which sounded best.

The best sound quality was from a set of Mackie monitors, but they were about $3000 - way too expensive for me at the time. Instead I went with the Behringers, which sounded flat and balanced, sweet, and basically perfect at anything but the loudest of volumes, at which point the woofers started making an unpleasant fap-fap noise.

Now before anyone pounces on me to say that Behringer are the laughing stock of the industry and you should never buy their gear, I agree a lot of their stuff isn't very good, but these monitors really are the exception to the rule. They sound awesome and I've not felt the need to upgrade them yet, fully 6 years on.

They have high, mid and low attentuation settings on the back to adjust the sound for the room you are using them in. They also have an inbuilt hard limiter which prevents the cones from blowing out if you push them too hard - instead a little red light comes on to let you know you're cranking the volume knob too hard.

Each speaker also comes with a chart filled in by a Behringer technician showing the exact frequency response, as well as temperature and pressure readouts taken at the time of testing. Behringer then pick monitors with matching graphs (as far as possible), so you shouldn't notice any speaker-induced frequency differences between left and right. The whole thing just oozes professionalism. :>

Input is from standard 1/4" jacks - like guitar cables.

I believe they are around $550.00 - a little above your price range perhaps, but if you want to hear what is actually there (including all the really low bass frequences) I honestly couldn't recommend anything better for the money. :>

-Annikk

 

[smurfpiss]

I'd urge you to refrain from getting any pro audio equipment from Behringer. I have heard praises for the Samson Rubicon 6A if it doesn't drop into you budget then try to go for the 5" version.

A couple of other contenders.
Yamaha HS-50
KRK Rokit 5
Mackie MR5

 

[annikk.exe]

I'd urge you to refrain from getting any pro audio equipment from Behringer.

As I said, most of Behringer's stuff is pretty rubbish.. but honestly, just listen to these monitors. They really are good. Very much the exception to the Behringer rule.

I used to own some Behringer effects units - they were awful. The signal to noise ratio was actually laughable, and when we tried to use them live the engineers had to mess around for ages with their static-reducing modules just to get them to sound half decent. I agree Behringer in general is to be avoided. Except these monitors! They blew everything else in the price range out the water.

As always, try before you buy. Who knows - maybe they aren't for you. They are most definitely for me, though.. :>


-Annikk

 

[smurfpiss]

I've actually had first hand experience on the Behringer Truth monitors but I don't know if it's just a faulty piece I was listening to. Well it must be looking at the positive reviews.

 

[Ichiro]

At the end of the day, we don't mix from one set of monitors and from my believe even the pros will have a pair of consumer arrange speaker to check their mix.

My point is, try to reference from different monitors for a start and after time you find the pair that we can work well with.

"A piece of equipment could be one engineers most priceless and could be another engineers dirt."

 

[2aminthemorning]

Plenty will tell you to go listen and decide for yourself, but if you have never worked with a pair of monitoring speakers before, it would be difficult to judge, also, it would be difficult for you to reference them in the same conditions you intend to use them in, with the same kind of material you work with.

but for a start, and given your budget i would suggest going for the krk RP5s. Cheap enough to be chucked at home, and good enough for studio applications. Small and hassle free =)

 

[sonam]

RP-5s are $480 for a pair @ valentine music.
What about the studiopro3? Any good about it?

 

[turbochicken]

For a budget of $500 I'd recommend maybe the KRK Rokit 5 - from most reviews it's very good for its price, and it's got a pretty much flat frequency except just a little bit lacking on the bass side - but it'd be pretty hard to find monitors that're flat for such a low price.

actually no, krk rokit 5 IS heavier on the bass, lesser on the mid ranges.

 

[turbochicken]

RP-5s are $480 for a pair @ valentine music.
What about the studiopro3? Any good about it?

depending on the type of music you'll be doing and what you intend to mix.

krk rokits are good to start with, and they're robust.

 

[sonam]

I'm starting out on the electro-indie/house(ya, subgenres!) and a pair of desktop monitors that connect direct to the mixer would do great. Home use basically.

M-Audio Studio Pro 3 & Alesis M1 Active 320 USB are at the top of my mind at the moment. I saw some discussion thread stating that both the products are going at S$190+/- for a pair respectively. They are sold for US$99.95 each pair. Pretty attractive price if the pricing are so. Or are they not?