Best value for money Studio Monitors

[cheddatom]

Yo, I'm hoping for some really good studio monitors for under £350

I realise it's a big ask, but that's my budget. I don't mind buying used. What do you recommend?

[OldG]

Are you wanting nearfields?

The guys on the Reaper forum absolutely rave about the[url="http://www.equatoraudio.com/D5-Studio-Monitors-with-DSP-p/d5.htm"] Equator D5's[/url]... available in this country for £349 from [url="http://www.handinhand.uk.net/"]here[/url].

If I could ever afford decent monitors - these would be on order..

[cheddatom]

yes, nearfields sorry... also active or passive, I don't care, I have a fairly decent amp

[Twigman]

I love my KRK G2 Rokit RP6 monitors £329 per pair here:
[url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/krk-rokit-rp6-g2-active-studio-monitors-pair--68122"]http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/krk-rokit-rp6-g2-active-studio-monitors-pair--68122[/url]

[RockfordStone]

ive got some of these i paid bout 200 add the time for them [url="http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudiophileAV40.html"]http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/StudiophileAV40.html[/url] and they are awesome.

you can obviously get more powerful ones, but ive had no issues with these.

for 350 you can probably get some high end ones second hand

[cheddatom]

Twigman - I've heard a lot of bad things about the KRKs, do your mixes seem to translate to other system well?

on Ebay I've found the following 2nd hand stuff, but can't find too much info about them:
acoustic studio minitor series 3311
event 2020 v1
Adam A7
Spirit Absolute
Hafler M5

[RockfordStone]

ive heard good things about the adams

[winterfire666]

I have recently bought some equator d5 monitors and my mixes have improved greatly. I shopped around a lot and in my opinion nothing gets anywhere near them for the money.
I even prefered them over some of the £700 + models.

[Twigman]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1365081651' post='2034985']
Twigman - I've heard a lot of bad things about the KRKs, do your mixes seem to translate to other system well?

[/quote]
So far mostly yes - however the Sapere Aude mix I did for your competition seems to be far more mid heavy when played back through both my poxy office setup and through my home hifi than it sounded in my studio room through the KRKs.
This is the first mix that has happened to though, others have translated to other systems as expected......

[cheddatom]

From what I've read, it sounds as though the KRKs accentuate the highs and lows at the expense of mids. I have a mate with KRKs, I'll check them out tonight.

[Twigman]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1365083620' post='2035033']
From what I've read, it sounds as though the KRKs accentuate the highs and lows at the expense of mids. I have a mate with KRKs, I'll check them out tonight.
[/quote]

that might explain why my mix of your song sounds boosted in the mids on other systems then? I have fallen foul of the KRK curse then..

[cheddatom]

IME you just have to get used to your system. For example, my monitors at home are not great. They're too bright and lack bass. I use the EQ on my little mixer to compensate somewhat, but basically I know that if it sounds a bit harsh in the highs on my system, it'll sound allright on most other systems.

I added a sub to compensate for the lack of bass, which really works for me, but I've been told by pros that this is an absolute no-no

Edited April 4, 2013 by cheddatom

[charic]

It mostly comes down to personal taste and experience.

If you have a list of Monitors you want to try give your local digital village a shout and they usually have a room where you can hook up about 4 sets of monitors simultaneously (with switches) to compare.

They're good guys and they've always pricematched for me

[danthevan]

I have a pair of m-audio av-40's which were just over £120 off amazon. I'm no production expert, but listening to ac/dc when i first plugged them in was like hearing music for the first time

[discreet]

I've been using Tapco S8 (made by MACKIE) for about five years now and never needed anything else.
I've done countless mixes on them which have sounded brilliant on any system. They are fully professional kit.

They are being sold for £279 EACH here:
[url="http://www.djkit.com/tapco/tapco-s8-studio-monitors-pair-engineered-by-mackie.html"]http://www.djkit.com...-by-mackie.html[/url]

BUT there is a PAIR currently on the Bay for under £200, which is a total bargain!
[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tapco-S8-Active-Speaker-Monitors-pair-/221209098225?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item338116f7f1"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item338116f7f1[/url]

Check out the dimensions, they might be too big for your needs!
These are active studio monitors, by the way: 40Hz - 20kHz.

Here's a review:
[url="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/S8/reviews?sb=date"]http://www.sweetwate...reviews?sb=date[/url]

Recommended!



To give you some idea of size, I'm using a 19" computer monitor:

*Edit: They are 16" tall, 10.5" wide and 14" deep.
*The woofers are 8" in diameter.
*They are bi-amped.

Edited April 4, 2013 by discreet

[cheddatom]

that's very interesting discreet. They seem bigger than the others I've been looking at, I might just get that Ebay deal if I can get all the way to Edinburgh to pick them up.

I have no short-list in mind nor favorite brands. I want the flattest response possible, and hopefully plenty of low end at volumes so I don't have to employ my sub.

[discreet]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1365087556' post='2035139']
I might just get that Ebay deal if I can get all the way to Edinburgh to pick them up.
[size=4]I have no short-list in mind nor favorite brands. I want the flattest response possible, and hopefully plenty of low end at volumes so I don't have to employ my sub.[/size]
[/quote]

Oops, I didn't clock they were pick-up only!

These are very flat. AND they have loads of heft when you wind them up, down to 39-40Hz. I have a producer mate with a pair of GENELECS who regularly brings his mixes round to play them on my Tapcos to check that the bottom end is OK!!

Edited April 4, 2013 by discreet

[cheddatom]

I could drive to Edinburgh but not until Tuesday... not sure it's worth the journey. I do get free petrol so that wouldn't be a big concern

There's a pair of Event ELPs in the for sale section - any opinions?

[discreet]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1365088254' post='2035153']
I could drive to Edinburgh but not until Tuesday... not sure it's worth the journey. I do get free petrol so that wouldn't be a big concern...
[/quote]

Music Tech review here:
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/rs/MTM/MTM23/MTM23.Mackie-Tapco-S8.pdf"]http://www.dolphinmu...ie-Tapco-S8.pdf[/url]

My work here is done! Shazam and away!! *leaps out of window*

Edited April 4, 2013 by discreet

[dannybuoy]

I went to Digital Village several years ago expecting to buy the Tapco S8's but ended up walking out with the Alesis M1 MkII active monitors, to me they just sounded the best of the bunch. Dirt cheap used too, mine were £200 new at the time.

[discreet]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1365094542' post='2035310']
Alesis M1 MkII active monitors...
[/quote]

They look not half bad. Probably a lot easier to get hold of, too.

[CraigPlaysBass]

I have a pair of the Alesis M1 MK2 Actives that I picked up from ebay for £113 second hand, had them 6 months and they've been perfect. I think they're nice, to my ears they sound more neutral than my friend's Yamaha HS50s which sound much more forward and agressive, they also go much deeper.

[cheddatom]

I had a listen to KRK RP5s last night... sounds pretty good!

For some reason I'd been skipping over the Alesis stuff on Ebay. I obviously have a subconscious prejudice about the brand. I'll check them out

[charic]

[quote name='CraigPlaysBass' timestamp='1365113637' post='2035663']
I have a pair of the Alesis M1 MK2 Actives that I picked up from ebay for £113 second hand, had them 6 months and they've been perfect. I think they're nice, to my ears they sound more neutral than my friend's Yamaha HS50s which sound much more forward and agressive, they also go much deeper.
[/quote]

You see, I'm not a fan of the Alesis stuff and love my HS50ms.

Kind of proves the each to their own thing

[winterfire666]

I found that krk's sound great when hearing a demo (in a shop) but every time i did a mix i had to keep going back to it because of lack of balance in the mids.
the alesis monitors work great, you have to get used to them like any monitoring system but good results are easily achiveable
the Equator D5's are in a different league in my opinion i have never found it so easy to place vocals naturally in a mix.(i prefered them over adam a7 and some genlecs too)
they have just announced the D8 too, GAS imminent, my wife may well kill me........

Edited April 5, 2013 by winterfire666