Studio Monitors

[DeanM]

Hey guys, have been reading up on studio monitors. iv been looking at active nearfield monitors. was just wondering what people here are using? and what experiences they've had etc etc!

Cheers
Dean

[surfnorthwest]

Probably the single most import part of any studio is the quality of your monitors. If your monitors are shit the mix might seem fine to you in the studio but when your song is played back in your cars stereo or on a home stereo it probably will not sound right.

A good monitor is going to have a calibrated flat response which allows you to set the mix and eq right. Good monitors are not cheap and you do get what you pay for.

On the low end Behringers and KRK are OK. Mid level Yamaha or Mackie. I use the JBL LSR with 8in drivers and they are fantastic, correct deep bass and great mids and highs.

[DeanM]

yeah i read that, if you have 1000 to spend and you need monitors and a mic. spend 100 on the mic and 900 on the monitors! To be honest TOP quality monitors would be a waste in my room, aswel as being way above my budget! but the room aint treated (not yet anyway), the mic preamp/interface isnt top end, mic is only an sm57. so even with the highest quality speakers, the mix is limited by what other gear i have and the room its in anyway!

So my point is, I wont be expectin record label quality or anything! i have a budget so will have to stick to it but will try to stretch it as far as i can!

I was looking around at prices and i saw a pair of krk rokit 5's for a good price. 2/3rds the price of new so im gonna try get my hands on those! my bedroom is also tiny anyway! so anything more would be overkill! and they get good reviews for home studio use! so il try get my hands on those and see how it goes!

[surfnorthwest]

The KRK speakers will work fine but I would recommend looking at the Behringer Truth series before those KRKs, they are the best for a low cost monitor.

[HappyBlues]

Dean, I cannot stress enough how much you need good monitors. I made a mix on my Genius wodden (not plastic) speakers, which ain't that bad, and found out everywhere else it sounded horse poo. If I had at least 300EUR monitors it would be SO much better....

[DeanM]

@Surf, hmm yeah iv seen those truth monitors advertised a few times! I always got the impression that behringer makes cheap stuff tho! i had a V-amp 2 and it was kinda crap! i just have the impression they make cheap products! but that said, the review for those seem good for the price too! and maybe their quality has gone up over the years!

the krk's have a very good reputation and seem to get great reviews. one review said "Cons: None at the price!" they seem to be popular and hold value well. the truth monitors as i said are advertised fairly often! il look into it more and see which i can get the best deal on!

@freesun, really? thats interesting! the krk's are €145 each new! so nearly 300! but i can get them for 220 @ 3months old! which i think is a pretty good deal! so will prob go with that! altho i will prob look into those truth monitors surf mentioned aswel before i pull the trigger!

-- Fri May 21, 2010 1:20 pm --

Ok so its down to either

Mackie MR5
or
Yamaha HS10m

Iv looked up reviews and its hard to tell which is the better! Iv even seen "Mr5 vs HS50m" threads! and they never seem to reach a general consensus! its always 50/50! some say Yammies n others say Mackies! Some say hs50m's have no bass. some say mr5 bass is too boomy! but then other people say the opposite! i went to a music shop and asked what monitors they had and all they had was Edirol ma15s!! so cant try either of the other two out so wondering has anyone here used either?