Studio Monitors

[Rainbowjack]

Help me please!!!

I can't decide which pair of studio monitors to buy:

A pair of KRK Rokit 5's



or a pair of Tannoy 501a's



Thanks for anyone who can help!

/)*(\

[Navron]

I was originally set on the Rokit 5s, but changed my mind at the local Guitar Center when I heard how much better the JBL LSR2325s sounded.

They were only ~$25 more for each one.

[Unlimited Mana]

NavyBrony, did you also test the Rokit 6's? The model you mentioned is right between the RP6 and RP5 pricewise, might be perfect for me.

[Applejinx]

I still swear by Avantones

[the4thImpulse]

Don't get rokits, I have used the 5's and they colored the sound too much. My friend has the 6's and he has not been too impressed with them. Navy's JBL's are a good choice and I would add Yamaha's Hs50m's to your list. I have heard the Hs50m's but didn't get them because a better deal came up on the used market.

[cyrricky]

My monitors of choice are the M-Audio Studiophile AV40s

Just sayin' >.>

[PrincessAddictia]

Studio Montitors are a very individual thing. Go to your local music store and listen to all of them.
Don't listen to people recommending monitors ever. You need to listen to them yourself.

[Rainbowjack]

I've used the Rokit 8's and they sounded alright. My music tech teacher said Tannoy was a great choice but these JBL's look nice and apparently they're good. I really can't test out anything because the nearest shop thy sells this stuff is three yourself away so I'm shopping online. I found a deal from a shop on eBay that sold the JBL's with stands and cables and another deal with the JBL's and an interface. Now I have to choose which monitor and which deal :/ this isn't getting much better.

[Navron]

NavyBrony, did you also test the Rokit 6's? The model you mentioned is right between the RP6 and RP5 pricewise, might be perfect for me.

I did not test out the Rokit 6s, simply because they were over my price range of $200 max per monitor.

I did test out the Rokit 5s while I was there, and was able to hook up my iPod and play some of my own songs.

Overall the Rokit 5s were decent, but my songs sounded slightly muddy and sort of flat on them, almost like the bass was a little overpowering of the tweeter.

When I switched to playing the same songs on the JBLs, the overall sound was more balanced and felt tighter than the Rokits. Given my songs didn't have a muddy sound on the JBLs, my car stereo, my desktop computer speakers, and 2 different iPod headphones, I can safely say the muddy and flat sound was something within the Rokits themselves, which was what ultimately swayed me away from them.

Obviously you don't want to mix and master something based on monitors with overpowering bass, because then your songs will lack the bass when played on other systems.

[Unlimited Mana]

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely give those JBL's a listen, along with the other sets mentioned in this thread.

[Rainbowjack]

I made up a spreadsheet in Google Docs that compares the three monitors (KRK Rokit 5, Tannoy 501a, JBL LSR2325P) with important information about each.

Here it is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0An_vNrFQJr8ldEpWS3VXNnE5aEd6aklyelNjbzJQckE

KRK Rokit 5:

Tannoy 501a:

JBL LSR2325P:

[Ed Viper]

My first thought is to recommend anything made by Klipsch, but they haven't made any dedicated studio monitors :/

I use their proMedia computer speakers for my music though, and man can those things belt out some noise.

[GhostXb]

One thing to keep in mind is the influence of the room your in. Is it too small, are you in an apartment? Do you have enough space to place the speakers equally apart in a perfect triangle between the two speakers, and you? Can you control echoes and reflections with well placed acoustic foam?

This is one of the reasons why I've never gotten studio monitors. I live in a small trailer with a roomate, and the only place I can fit my computer desk is in the living room, where there are lots of obstacles, and when I move out, I can only afford to move into an apartment. I just can't afford to take advantage of monitors right now.

[Spirit]

I am way too poor to buy some studio monitors, this thread makes me sad. But then again, i dont really ahve the space in my room to be getting a good representation of the sound. so im gonna wait before i invest

Right now, i use a set of Logitech Z506s for basic arrangement, synth creation and such.
then i mix and master on a pair of AKG K240 Studios, after this i go over what ive done with my Creative Aurvana live headphones, then i go round the house and test on all the other speaker i can find

[Sgt-Whip (DJQ)]

I use Rokit 5s. They do have a habit of coloring the sound, but not greatly, and you can easily balance that by lowering the HF level dedicated knobs, because what they most do is make the high end frequencies brighter. They're also great because considering price, they're cheap for high end monitors. Beautiful bass too, and no embellishment there (based on moving back and forth between different speaker systems and headphones).

I don't know much about the other models unfortunately.

[Sgt-Whip (DJQ)]

Also, excellent spreadsheet on Rainbowjack's part.

One thing to keep in mind is the influence of the room your in. Is it too small, are you in an apartment? Do you have enough space to place the speakers equally apart in a perfect triangle between the two speakers, and you? Can you control echoes and reflections with well placed acoustic foam?

This is all very true. I don't know much about acoustic foam placement unfortunately, but I have a rough concept of monitor placement.

I put this together for my Dad a while ago when we were considering building some props for getting a studio setting together (tell me if it isn't visible and I'll try to fix it):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1frv ... j4-8c/edit

It discusses basic speaker placement plus the benefits of having speakers propped up on stands over right on your table. Its not a huge in depth thing though just super basics.

[Rainbowjack]

What I really need is a frequency graph that shows if it's stronger or weaker at different frequencies, like if the bass is boosted you'll mix the song so that if fits the bass on the speakers and it'll sound like there's no bass on normal headphones or speakers (as I did with my last song).

[Kromium]

Sorry for bringing this thread back to life. If you have chosen your monitors then you will be happy with any of your choices. I myself own the Tannoy 5a's the previous version of the 501's and do enjoy them very, very much. They don't go as deep (bass roll off at ~60hz) as my HD280's but they do remain accurate and are nice to rooms that are untreated (like mine). The sound stage is almost startling and at times you can hear everything around you. The Tannoy's are great at depicting the proper image. You can most definitely feel the bass boost of any track with deep bass like dubstep. Without any equalization though, they remain neutral and accurate. If you have been mixing on previous equipment then there may be a slight learning curve to working with monitors. I think I have spent about ~250 dollars on the pair over craigslist. You can save quite a bit of money if you buy monitors used but be warned there may be hidden consequences. I bought mine in near perfect condition from a studio owner that was hit by the economic downturn.

[Diss Order]

These babies.
http://www.bax-shop.nl/dj-studio-monito ... rettyPhoto

I want them. I need them. I really like their mane!

[Kromium]

I'm not a Behringer basher but you could get much better for the price of the 3031's. Have you heard mackies, adams, tannoys, krk, or yamahas? Those sounded more neutral to me when I was ab'd them at guitar center.

[Diss Order]

Implying krk's are more bang for your buck...?

KRK's are more expensive for the same quality. I even know people who went to test them out and even preferred these Behringers over more expensive KRK's.

Don't know about other brands though, but in EDM people either recommend these Behringers or a set of ultra-expensive KRK's.

[Acsii]

This seems like the right thread...
I'm also looking for some studio monitors... The catch I don't have much room... And money
Any recommendation

[Kromium]

Perhaps you are comparing woofer size against KRK monitors. In that case the 3031's are probably the best monitors that have 8 inch woofers under 300 dollars. That said I wouldn't need a woofer that big of size in the room that I use, nor have I the room treatment to deal with the bass frequencies. I don't own KRK's so I wouldn't know the quality of KRK monitors, but in my brief time at Guitar Center the KRK rokit 5's seemed quite pleasing and deep... almost too deep for a 5 inch woofer, which is why I settled on a used pair of Tannoy 5a's because they were in my budget and sounded very good for the price of 250 dollars. The Tannoys were far more "revealing" in the mids and highs but I found the low end lacking without a sub. In the same price category I found that the Behringer's had less detail in the mids but were far superior in the low end compared to the Reveals. I settled on the Reveals however because in the future I will save up some money for room treatment and a TS10 subwoofer to pair with my Reveals rather than buy 2, 8 inch woofers which decreases the accuracy of the mids. The music that I listen to isn't all edm but I do make it and in this case the Reveals do the job just fine with EDM even with a rolled off bass at 60 hz. In general the basic ideology of buying monitor speakers is that if you buy the best then you won't be stuck with something "sub par" to professional. Yes some monitor brands such as Genelecs or Adams are quite expensive (I can't even afford these lol ) compared to the Behringers but they do have some competition from other brands with smaller sized woofers like the Mackie mr5's in the same price bracket of 300 dollars and below.

[Kromium]

This seems like the right thread...
I'm also looking for some studio monitors... The catch I don't have much room... And money
Any recommendation

I would recommend that you buy headphones with a flat response first and learn to mix on them before you buy monitor speakers. Right now I have some pretty big issues in my own workplace such as comb filtering and flutter echos which I will be addressing during the summer. If you already have headphones that you can mix decently with then go ahead and buy some entry level monitors offered by mackie, tannoy, behringer, or KRK, but be warned, speakers won't sound to the "fullest" of their potential until you do some acoustic work in your room/home studio. I believe the ratio of acoustics is 70% monitor placement/room (bigger rooms are technically better) and 30% treatment. I plan on treating my rooms with "Safe n' Sound" mineral wool insulation which is only 40 dollars per pack of 8 at my local Lowes.

[the4thImpulse]

I would like to remind everyone that you can compare specs of the monitors all you want but every monitor will have its own imperfections. Those imperfections combined with the size and shape of the room your in, the funriture in your room, the position you sit in the room, the postion the monitors face you, the soundcard and even the wires you use will all change the sound. You will never get a perfect mix that way so you must learn your speakers and how they sound compared to every other audio system/location out there. When you think this way its doesn't matter so much what speakers you get but how much time you spend listening to them.

When you are buying brand new monitors go to the store (if you can) and listen to every pair they have and base your judgement on what sounds right/best to you. Otherwise reaserch all the monitors in your price range for weeks and than make a choice.