Thoughts on these (cheap) DJ/studio monitors please

[MyUsername]

Last year I bought a hercules 2.1 speaker set for €25. They were good to say the least. But the last few weeks they have the occasional crack and pop. And today I was at a rather large multimedia store and they had these on sale for €119. The hercules xps 2.0 80 dj monitor.



I still don't have dedicated DJ speakers, I plug my 2.1 system in the laptop and the mixer so that is quite a hassle all the time. And my early production attempts have also been on the little 2.1 system. Is it time for a set of new speakers ? My goodwill shop has some home stereo speakers but the connections are just cables that are stripped at the end. So that sucks. And these are a quarter of the price of KRKs, what is on my wishlist when I take producing to new level.

Anyways, I think these hercules monitors are marketed to the beginner controller DJ that aspires to be the next David Guetta and they look cool and sound alright but that they are not a smart buy.
What do you think oh wise men of DJTT ?

[JasonBay]

Just save your money and mate and invest in a pair of Yamaha HS50/80's.

[keithace]

try to find a place to listen to them...

there was an earlier thread that someone else started that pointed to some monitors that are in that range by either Alesis or M-Audio...try the search function...

[keithace]

Just save your money and mate and invest in a pair of Yamaha HS50/80's.

even if he is just going to play music at home?

i love my polk G6's....but then again...i don't produce music like you do...

[JasonBay]

He did say he would like to take his producing 'to the next level'.

[keithace]

He did say he would like to take his producing 'to the next level'.

ah...i missed that...

hey OP...buy some concrete blocks and put them under the legs of your production desk...voila! the next level...

[MyUsername]

He did say he would like to take his producing 'to the next level'.

No, I was more saying when I finally get good, like actually quite decent, I'd get some KRK's

[Serkan Yerdan]

Hey ;

I am considering my self also a cheap speakers that ı can connect my Audio 2 with the cables that came with the product.Any advices ?

[deevey]

I've seen quite a few pairs of Yamaha NS20's on ebay for around $100 which are pretty nice speakers - Bose 201's can be had pretty reasonable as well and either would sound 100% better/louder than the Hercules/Behringer/M-audio route IMHO.

... sure you'll need an Amp, for bedroom use You could go with the lil "Lepai t-amp" a try for $25 .. they are freaking awesome sounding lil units with tons of praise from audiophiles worldwide and ripe for modding!

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class...ta2020-56.html

I used yo have a sonic impact - same chips as the lepai (2020) I got for $18 with my old Control5's it was defineltly loud enough for bedroom/small party use - and I do regret selling it - sounded awesome, unfortunately the sonic impact is quadruple the price now.

http://www.amazon.com/Lepai-Tripath-.../ref=pd_cp_e_0

[TreTuna]

As a working engineer I'll tell you this on monitors...

Find a place to listen to them, and make sure you can listen to your music on them. Take CDs of the music you listen to everyday, the stuff you've heard on dozens of different sound systems, and just listen to them on the monitors you're thinking of buying. If you like it, then think about getting them.

The key is here, not the actual response of any certain speakers being better over the rest, but these are the speaker's you are going to DJ/Produce on nearly everyday. These are the speakers you are basically going to have to become more intimate with then any others. This is one of the keys to monitor selection most people don't really think about in the right way. I've been using a pair of M-Audio BX8s, the first model, for about 4 years now, and they aren't the best by any means, but I know them in and out. I can put them in a good or bad environment, and I know how they are going the react, I'm very happy with the way they sound, and have mixed many great tracks on them for myself and many others.

Basically it boils down to this. Don't believe any hype you hear on speakers. This is music... Believe in your ears. If in doubt, just put on your favorite track, close your eyes, and listen... The answers right there.