The Monitor Thread™

[bouncingfish]

Sucks they don't go lower though, would totes buy them otherwise. Subs seem hard to set up and complicated to balance, don't want to much or too little bass and I can't trust my retarded ears.

[bouncingfish]

Yeees, before you begin complaining, yes yes I used the search, I read the threads.
I still want to start a new one because I want to ask about monitors in this particular price range, and about new ones. Probably not the right thing to do but meh whatever.

I am currently using headphones, and "normal" speakers with a sub, not at all monitors - doesn't translate to anything, really hard to mix on (way too much bass and hi-s).
I have been thinking of treating my room before getting monitors but treating a room with my current setup just seems dumb since the speakers are completely un-flat and wierd anyway, so I'll treat it after I get the monitors instead (when I can afford it, and that might take a while before that happens ).

So I will, at least for a while, be mixing in an untreated room, and when I do treat it I won't be able to afford the best of the best anyway. That's the reason why I'm not going to spend like 1000+ bucks on monitors, that feels stupid since this room probably has lots of wierd resonance peaks etc.
Subs seem overall hard to setup and balance with the monitors, I don't have very high standards but I'd rather just get monitors that go a bit lower to begin with (hopefully down to like 40 or 45 hz, but I'm not sure if I can hope for that).

So far I have been looking at:
-KRKs, probably Rokit 6 or 8
-Equator D5
-Yamaha HS80 or HS50
-Adam F5 (although I think they are kinda out of my price range)
-Tannoy Reveal 601a
-Behringer (spelling) Truth B1031As
-Presonus Eris (I believe they're called that, Wub posted about them the other day, seemed interesting)

Have you tried any of these, or do you use any other monitors in the same-ish price range?
What did you think about them and what would you recommend?

Would really appreciate answers, as you have probably noticed in this post I'm not the best guy when it comes to this technical stuff. Also sorry if I messed up my english, it's my second language, but you probably understand what I'm trying to say anyway.

[forbidden]

i considered all the options you listed, and i went with the equator d5's. those are all viable options though, the equator's just have more options for a small untreated room and have a solid reputation. they are also from san diego which is my hometown.

[Crimsonghost]

Theres a lot of users on dsf that have the Equator's and seem to love them. Personally id love to try a pair.

Krk's are, well, Krk's. If youre buying them its because you know what they are. They are an industry standard, just not the RIGHT standard. That being said, me and most of the "producer" community own a pair. One thing to be said is that they are VERY constant.

If i had the money, id go with Adams. I like them, and think they sound great. That would be my #1 over the D'5/8 (exception being Genelecs).

I wouldnt trust anything by Behrenger.

Presonus i love as a company. I use S1 and there interfaces and think there fantastic. As far as there monitors go, i have no idea. Im sure there not bad (from what i hear there very good for the price), but ive never tried them out.

TL;DR
Try a bunch of shit and see what you like the sound of. Opionions do help, but at the end of the day you have to think about what youre trying to get out of youre monitors. I got the Rokits because they had more bass then what i was looking at. Good for what im doing with them, but not good for a "proper" mixdown.

[fragments]

I think you can easily narrow that list to Equator, Adam, Presonus and maybe Yamaha. I mixed on Rokits for about three years and moving on to Equator D5s was like...fucking life affirming... ;p

I've owned and worked on the D5s for about a year now. Solid monitors, great for an edit: untreated room (nice controlled bass, a bit less low end than most people making bass music probably want...but you can add a sub later). Overall the monitors are clinical, the mids are spectacular--clear and accurate. The highs are bright. Stereo image took my breath away. Transients sound sharp w/o being fatiguing.

I've listened to the Presonus Eris a couple times up against Rokits, Yamaha HS and Mackie. They immediately made the KRKs sound like a HiFIi system (as did my Equators). The Yamahas stood up against the Eris, I'd have to listen more. The Mackies transients sounded flabby and stereo image sounded 2D in comparison.

EDIT: I got decent mixes on the Rokits, but frequency clashing becomes immediately clear on the D5s...where as on the Rokits...it kinda "smeared" the clashing and it was hard to hear what was really going on. I also don't like the boomy bass on the Rokit series. Also, I found on the Rokits, when mixing I'd keep turning up the volume and my ears got fatigued faster. On the D5s, I prefer to turn them down most of the time and have to remind myself to crank them a bit once in a while to get the "loud perspective" on things.

[Crimsonghost]

One of the few opinions i trust around here would be Fragments. Man knows his stuff. If youre not sure about something, him, EH, or Sunk can usually lead you in the right direction.

[Ledger]

I myself am picking up a pair of KRK Rokit 5's in a month or so, hopefully sooner, as I am on an extremely tight budget. If I do end up selling what I've been trying to sell, I'll be $300 richer, meaning I'll have another $300 to add to a pair of quality monitors, which I'd then up going with a pair of D5's because Fragments praises them like they are gospel, and me being a bitch makes me want to get them because of that.

[bouncingfish]

Thanks alot guys! Looks like I'll be trying the D5s, you seem to know what you're talking about.
Lack of bass is bothering me though, but I'll have to live with that (scared of subs, like I said in the post). Fragment, thanks for narrowing my list down a bit!
Might sound lame but those monitors you mentioned were actually the ones that looked interesting for me. Extra excited about Presonus Eris because they are a bit cheap. Saw some people complaining about the yamahas being way too bright, don't know what that was? Can't find much info on the adams, which is strange. I assume they're good just because they're adams but maybe not? Hm.

I'll be checking these, and some more, out. But since my ears are pretty untrained and unreliable (is that a word?), I'm not sure I'll be able to hear which ones are better monitors. Sure, I'll be able to pick the ones I "think sound best" but that's a whole different thing, I want translation and flatness, not a 'cool' sound. Thanks for your replies

[fragments]

I honestly think the Eris are worth a serious look. I happen to really like the D5s...but everyone's ears are different. I think we forget that when talking about monitors. Personally I found my mixes better w less bass on the D5s than with more when mixing on Rokit 6s.

Funny you cant find reviews on those Adams. Did you search gearslutz? There is extensive discussion about the D5s on there as well.

I wouldnt go so far as to call D5s gospel lol...but honestly for the money...I dont think you get more clinical and accurate mids nor will you get a stereo image of their calibre. I think the D5s also have a really honest bass response for their size and design. Id rather have less and accurate bass than boomy/hyped and more bass.

Edit: also if you are buying factory direct from Equator they have 60 day money back deal...so you can test the monitors. Just save the original packaging and you can return them and get your money back. I doubt you would return them because t the option is there.

[kaili]

They are rather new models aren't they? Most people won't have had a chance to hear them yet.
But someone told me he was quite impressed with the F7's and that guy is used to top of
the line stuff.

cheers, this along with someone on snh saying they were an adam fanboy had made me pretty excited to be gettin em

[bouncingfish]

Thanks man!
Yeah, that money back deal was cool, might want to test how they sound in my room.
Adams are supposed to be good but I dunno about the f5s.... anyway thanks alot for your help man.
Looks like I'll be getting Eris 5, Equator D5, Yamaha hs 5 or adam f5. None of them have any sub bass really but I guess thats just good in an untreated room like mine.
Thinking of getting Eris 5 because they are a bit cheaper and then use some money to buy a proper pair of headphones, maybe sennheiser hd 380 or 280, to mix bass on.
THanks for your help!

[Tom_Autobot]

I think you can easily narrow that list to Equator, Adam, Presonus and maybe Yamaha. I mixed on Rokits for about three years and moving on to Equator D5s was like...fucking life affirming... ;p

Couldnt agree more!
i've tried all of the above (as i run a shop)

The Presonus Eris is my fav if your budget is really tight, the 8" ones are particually good value considering the low sub frequencies they reproduce.

Adam F series are excellent, i personally prefer them to the Equators, as the bass extension is better, but for entry-level monitors any of that bunch are great. Try to upgrade with a set of iso-acoustic speaker stands when you have the cash.

[Musick]

1. Dear god why would you even consider yamahas?
2. It doesn't matter what monitors you really get, what DOES matter is knowing what each sound sounds like to YOU on those monitors. KOAN Sound used piece of shit monitors for like10 years but they know what each sound sounds like out of their monitors and that's what counts.
3. Definitely like the KRK's should be considered.

I don't own a shop, but I work at one and have had the pleasure of hearing a few of these.

[wolf89]

1. Dear god why would you even consider yamahas?

erm why not?

[ehbes]

1. Dear god why would you even consider yamahas?

erm why not?

Because he recommends the KRK's

[tpc_uk]

I got the Studiospares SN10 Classics (got em for £50)... they sound rubbish, but making tracks on them is really good assuming you can switch back & forth to hi-fi speakers on your amp just the check sub/bass.

They magnify mid-range & aren't ported so they work very well in my room (which is very reflective/poor).

[NJ-VOD]

Hey DSF,

I know, there are lots of Monitor-Threads out there but i think this was never answered:

I have a low budget for monitors for my bedroom-studio. (Max 500€)
This is why i am looking at 3 different setups:
2 KRK RP8 G3
2 Yamaha HS8
2 Equator D5

Here is my problem:
I don't really want to buy KRKs because i have heard pretty often that they dont translate that good. (Overpronounced mids etc). And the equators are the same price but only with a 5´´ woofer.
That is why i wanted to buy the Yamahas but they are the only ones that have their bass reflex vent opened backwards.
My question is: Is that relevant? My room is an acoustic disaster so i have to treat it so or so, but i always was frightened because of the bass reflex vent. Note: The speakers will only stand like 20cm away from the wall maximum.

Please dont just tell me to dont get monitors in a room like mine because i will move to another city in 6 months and take them with me. Hopefully the acoustic situation will better for me

Thanks in advance for your anwers!

[Capture pt]

Meh I've never bothered to give it a thought tbh. I'm sure more professional people will say otherwise but when producing in a bedroom on a budget you have to make compromises. My monitors have rear facing ports and sound "fine". Also right up against a wall.

Also - any monitor worth it's salt will have room treatment controls on the rear for controlling bass. Fairly certain the yammys have controls also. The yammys are the best of those bunch for sure.

[AxeD]

What size (roughly in m3) will your new room be?

[fragments]

If you are going to treat the room pretty well (kinda sounds like that is your plan?) doesnt matter so much. Personally in my untreated room I prefer less bass in my monitors. I worked on KRK Rokit 6s for about 4 years. When I bought my D5s the bass was tighter and more accurate (not boomy or hyped) and my bass response lost about ~10hz . I like mixing so much more with these monitors. I instantly had less trouble with the low end in my mixes. You can check the sub frequencies on another system. The D5s are so clinical in the mids and have such a really nice stereo image. To my ear they made the KRKs sound like hi fi speakers.