What are some good monitors for production
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  1. #1
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    Default What are some good monitors for production

    hey guys,
    I think a thread discussing the multiple monitor options could really be beneficial to people who are just getting into music production. What are some good options and what kind of price tags do they carry?

  2. #2
    Tech Mentor Chael's Avatar
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    i hear the krk rokit series are pretty good if your on a lower budget (£200-£300) but a mate was telling me just last week hes looking to upgrade to the 6's as he has a little trouble monitoring bass on 5s

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    Personally I'd avoid the KRK Rokit's, not very flat frequency wise at all. really exaggerated bass and lack in Highs.

    The lower priced JBL LSR305 seem to get really positive reviews, as well as the Yamaha HS5's. Both in the £2-300 mark.
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    Tech Guru William Gibson's Avatar
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    Everyone says stay away from the KRKs but they are the number 1 selling monitors in the world so go figure.

    HS5s as amadeus said get really great reviews in the "budget" range. If I had a little dough to spend I would get some Adam A7Xs.

    .02

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    Tech Guru Kwal's Avatar
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    Only thing I liked about KRK monitors is that they're front ported. Other than that I have learned that I can't really rely on them as they're not very flat. They have managed to trick my ears in every way imaginable according to my mastering engineer. I also learned I can't rely on my M Audio BX5 monitors either. I'll eventually have to sell those. I am debating on getting a pair of Monkey Bananna's lol.

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    Tech Guru ImNotDedYet's Avatar
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    Rokits are crap for production monitoring IMO, (too much low end bump) although they are good for DJ monitors since precision isn't as necessary. They're the best selling monitor because they were the cheapest for a long time. There are a number of options out there now in a similar price range and the JBLs are far superior for the same price.

    Truth is, anyone shopping for monitors should listen to a number of them side by side with reference material they know very well to see which spit out the best representation of all frequencies.

    The effect of having to have rear ported speakers a good distance from the wall is also just that IME as well as the opinion of a lot of audiophiles around the Interwebs. I had mine a good distance out from the wall, but they sound just as good if not better only a couple inches away from the wall behind them, and this way you don't have to deal with SBIR. (http://www.gikacoustics.com/speaker-...response-sbir/ and http://www.hifizine.com/2010/09/the-...ually-correct/)
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  7. #7
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    Rokits are crap speakers. I've had a set for a long time and about the only good thing i can say about them is that they refuse to break. They're harsh. They're mid-scooped to all hell. They're slow and inaccurate. But, like I said, they haven't broken and they were cheap...for where I was in my life they made sense....several years ago. Today, you can get much better for the same money.

    Recording a DJ mix on them and then using that mix to demo speakers was one hell of a wakeup call...it was like hearing all those songs for the first time. Literally every speaker I tried was better....some for the same money.

    What I've found from listening all over town, talking to a bunch of people, and shopping for a house to put them in is that the room & how it's treated matter at least as much as the speakers. The speakers that are actually entry-level monitors these days are really good for the money, though they tend to occasionally have some QC issues (rattling, amp hum, etc.) that should be dealt with immediately (by exchanging them or getting a warranty replacement).

    I haven't been able to do it with every single speaker I've demo'd (which means the comparisons aren't totally valid) but listening to a speaker in a "wherever they can put it" room vs. a room with halfway-thought-out treatments and placement is huge. If your budget increases, spend it on the room first if you can. It's neither fun nor sexy, but it's huge.

    Since you said nothing about your budget, here are my personal picks at several different levels....assuming that you're going to treat the room to at least some degree (bass traps in corners + first reflections and a big enough room). If you're not going to treat the room....like most people don't...I wouldn't buy anything over the $300 level, but that's me....the $300 pairs can sound very accurate and quick and revealing and still fun if the room isn't fighting you.

    For what it's worth, as to my thoughts....I'm mostly just sick of hearing bad sound. It's as much for pleasure listening when I'm at my computer as it is for anything resembling my shoddy attempts at production or my DJ sets/practice. The DJ gear is going on a rolling table so I can just put it in the right place for the listening position when I want to spin for myself. So, here are my choices at a few different budget levels....all prices are for a pair.

    ~300: JBL LSR305 or Tannoy Reveal 502. The tannoy's are brighter and more "forward", but they're both very accurate and good. Bass extension isn't great because they're 5" cones, but they're both still relatively fun to listen to. "Flat" and "forward" refer to the big 2 schools of thought on monitors...one that's as flat and natural as possible vs. the other that exposes flaws and can sound a little nasty if the mix is wrong (bit of a mid/high bump). They both have their supporters. You just have to listen to a couple to figure out which you prefer.

    ~500: JBL LSR308 or Tannoy Reveal 802. This is where you really need to start thinking about acoustic treatments. There are a handful in this area that are good, but those are the 2 I've liked best and heard the most positive things about.

    I don't think anything in the $800 area is worth paying for over those.

    ~1500: Neumann KH120. They're damn-impressive speakers for only having a 5" cone, and I'd say you'd need a good, treated room before you try to justify spending $1500 on a pair of speakers. When I first listened to them, I kind of discounted them because they sounded too good...nope. They're dead-accurate. Good music just sounds good. Bad music still sounds bad, but with really specific and easy to identify flaws. This is about where you should be comparing them to Genelecs and some of the Focals, but I don't think anything comes close to the Neumanns for my ears.

    ~3000: Event Opals. Damn they're impressive....and way too expensive for a crappy room. They're kind of just good all-around. A
    good alternative at about this level is the Focal Twin. I prefer the events, but they're both good speakers. There are a few others (nicer
    Genelecs, etc.) worth looking at if you can demo them, and it really depends on your ears and the room.

    ~5000: Neumann KH310. They're basically 3-way versions of the KH120 and about the biggest nearfields out there. These, I haven't gotten a chance to demo because no one stocks them, but based on reviews they're probably what I'm going to buy....along with letting GiK treat the room with a budget of about 3K. You know, assuming I can find a room. If I don't end up liking them for the money, I'll go back down to the Opals. ATC and PMC both make monitors in about this range, but honestly...I just like the way Neumanns are voiced (lush and gorgeous and fast and just amazing...I can't find a fault) and the way their controls are pretty much all stepped and how the input gain tops out at 0dB. Really, I liked the KH120s enough to buy these blind, since they're supposedly voiced similarly but 3-way and with a much bigger woofer.

    Here's where it gets weird....'cuz I give up on Studio Monitors. These, I've only heard in untreated rooms because hifi people don't get it. Fortunately, the rooms were huge so the effects weren't that bad. There are a lot of options in here...I know Tarekith loves his Tyler Acoustics, and with what he says about them....they're probably a great choice. I just haven't heard them or anything like them in this price range. There are a lot of floor-standing and large-enclosure hifi speakers that might be worth looking at....I just don't know where to point you because where I've demo'd them, either they're really disappointing or B&W. As a result, I've become a huge B&W fanboy, and I really wish I could find a place to listen to the 683s, since the price would wind up more like what I want to spend than what follows...which is still very much in dream territory for me (and the vast majority if people).

    ~10,000: B&W CM10S2 with an appropriate amp (marantz, bryston, etc.). Listening to my DJ sets and the demo CD they had (choral recordings, SRV recordings I've listened to for years, a Stevie Wonder track that I've mixed from stems) was again like hearing everything for the first time. They'd absolutely be worth the money [i]if you can afford it without going into debt and want to spend it on this instead of something else[i]. That Stevie Wonder track....I've mixed it from stems in a treated room with Genelecs that cost as much, and these speakers brought out detail that I didn't know was there. They're beautiful. Bass extension isn't amazing, but there are a lot of subs around if your room can handle it. Actually, that sub if the room can handle it goes for basically everything at this point or below...but if your room can't handle it, it seems like it just makes thumping and masks other problems.

    ~30,000+: B&W 800D2 with McIntosh monoblocks. Holy. Shit. These are my gold standard for speakers. That thing I keep talking about...like hearing something I know for the first time. It happened again. One of the choral recordings they had was an arrangement of Psalm 150 sung in Latin that I've performed. It wasn't us in the recording, but the recording was very good. You could hear the conductor turning pages at a loud but not stupid volume. Snares crack you in the chest the way they do in a club...without distorting...at loud but still sane listening volumes. Everything a speaker is supposed to do, they do better than anything I've heard. Once you add in an amp that has the speed & headroom to drive them, they also cost as much as a very nice car. I don't see myself ever owning them, but if I win the lottery, the first things I'm going to do is build a room big enough to treat and buy a set. Seriously...I didn't know recordings could sound this good. These are also the speakers in the Abbey Road main control room, and they have the budget to have anything. I've also worked in a fairly high-end studio (Tree Sound has recorded Elton John, Ludacris, BOB, Mastadon, 50cent, etc.) and heard 6-figure soffit-mounted monitoring systems with the room designed around making them sound right. As far as I'm concerned, 800D2s sound better, and it's not in that strange, probably snake-oil-esque, "they just make things sound good" kind of way...the'r flaws are really obvious. They're as perfect a speaker as I've heard, and it's a pity that the vast majority of music-dorks will never hear them.

  8. #8
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    Equator D5s. 60 Day money back guarantee and a lifetime parts warranty. They're above and beyond the pair of KRK Rokit 6s I had before. Better stereo image, clarity, and translate well to almost any other source.

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    I like my Mackie MR5's!

  10. #10
    DJTT Ninja Mod tekki's Avatar
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    I agree with nezza.


    I compared a wide range of somewhat 40 pairs of monitors; Yamaha HS5, Monkey Banana, KRK Rokkit 6, Mackie MR-5, Behringer Truth, Fostex PMC.05, Genelec and some other brands.

    The MR-5s came out top trumps. Especially for the music I tend to create, the Mackies were the only ones that could cope with them seemlessly.
    Other brands somehow resonated/distorted internally at some points.

    SO that's why I chose the MR-5 within that pricing range.

    Basically what I can tell you here:
    Go out and test all you can, before buying!

    Everyone here has a solid preference for their choice. But no one can tell you what to buy, without knowing what you like in sound, and what you like to produce.
    Go out and test, it almost is the most fun!
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