Active monitors for home DJing

[keeb]

Cheap speakers tend to sound... cheap. Especially as far as computer speakers are concerned, they'll tend to overemphasize the bass. Speaker manufacturers (Bose and Altec Lansing in particular come to mind) do this to sound "better" to the average consumer while keeping costs down. Unfortunately, it also drastically reduces clarity, making it far harder to tell if your mix is on point or not. For your bedroom, use whatever you think sounds decent; if you're the only one listening, it only matters what you think sounds good. The caveat is, if you're using speakers that don't have a relatively accurate response, you'll run into two problems.

1) You'll develop poor EQing habits. If you're running two 20 watt computer speakers with a 120/200 watt sub (as those setups often are) the bass will probably be far more apparent than it should be. Hence as you're practicing EQing, you'll tend to either turn down the bass (to increase clarity) or leave it where it is, which will cause you to want to turn it up on a more proper system to sound more like what you're used to. Essentially you're training your ears improperly. If you're not going to play on other systems anyway, feel free to ignore this point.

2) When you record your mixes, they will not sound like they did for you when played on other systems. With extra bass, your mixes will sound fine on your system, even when you play them back for yourself afterward. However, they will sound less vibrant on other systems because you can't accurately monitor the bass levels. In order to make your mixes sound fine on other systems, you'll have to turn up the bass on your system, which will sound like junk and again will train your ears to overemphasize bass.

As far as choices go, the Alesis that AtgAni mentioned look decent for the price, though I have no experience with them. You need to be careful of reviews as well - your general reviewer on Amazon is far from an audiophile, and they qualities they like in a speaker might be the opposite of what you're after; so take what they say with a grain of salt.

Personally, I opted for a pair of JBL2325. They're about the same price as the Rokits (I got mine cheaper than Rokits at the time) and they're rated/specced better. They're also not quite as ugly, though that's personal preference. They produce accurate sound without breaking the bank and sound decent at lower volumes. Be careful of getting a speaker that's less than a 5" cone though because they tend to not produce lower frequencies very well. You'd probably want a sub as well with speakers smaller than that, and the smaller speakers tend to not be quite as good. There are some exceptions to that rule (Genelecs do tend to sound nice from what I've read) but after a certain point there are some limitations to what you can do with a smaller woofer.

[Nicky H]

I have a pair of the Alesis, got them a couple of years ago cos they were cheap.

I thought they sounded alright till I listened to them next to my KRK's - they sound awful side by side.

For DJ'ing I have some Mackie MR8's which are perfect.

[mostapha]

...and if budget isn't so tight, take a listen to Genelecs.

Not a good idea for DJing. They're really boring speakers to listen to. Great for mixing…horrible for DJing or enjoying.

KRK Rokit 5 ?

That's what I use. Also use them as general computer speakers (movies, general listening, etc.) and I like them for that as well…though I sometimes wish I had a sub. I don't think you can get better for the price, though if you're looking for smaller, a friend likes his AudioEngine 2s……but I don't think they're worth 2/3 the price of RP5s.

[coupon]

i love my pioneer sdj05s. great for home studio with the multiple inputs and being able to switch between pc, controller, etc with a single button.

[sebastiannz]

I've got some alesis m1 active 520's. They are very nice, especially when paired with an 8" sub.

I tried the KRK Rokit's in a shop as I was thinking about upgrading, but I didn't notice much of an improvement, if anything. So I stuck with my Alesis'.

[shr3dder]

http://www.eventelectronics.com/2020BAS

[chrisrawles]

I have found that the Fostex PM0.4n monitors seem to be a good set for a budget priced set up. Anyone here use them?

[Eldomi]

Just bought a pair of mackie mr5 mk2 for 300$ and for my small room they are more than enough !

[psykx]

Depends on your budget and bass requirement. I'm mostly into production (moving into DJ'ing) and I use a pair of Genelec 8020's the sounds is great and easily loud enough for me but I'm seriously considering a sub as physically small speakers simply can't replicate the bass notes.

personally I'd stay away from monitors unless you have serious money to spend, as they will be just as accurate as hifi speakers at low prices but sound worse (may make you try harder though).

if your set on monitors you need to listen before you buy and make sure you check out the yamaha hs80/hs50 and any set of monitors far more expensive than you can afford so you know what your missing. That last point is optional but fun.

[mostapha]

personally I'd stay away from monitors unless you have serious money to spend, as they will be just as accurate as hifi speakers at low prices but sound worse (may make you try harder though).

I'm not insulting or attacking you, but where are all these hifi systems that people keep talking about…the ones that cost around $300 for stereo or around $500 to $600 with a sub and don't sound like crap?

Just about every hifi I've heard has sounded like utter crap compared to half-decent bookshelf/desktop monitors unless it involved names like ESS, Acoustic Research, and Bob Carver. I'm sure there are others, but are there speakers out there that actually sound better than half-decent budget monitors, even if you're looking for pleasing instead of accurate? 'cuz the ones I've heard all sound like muddy, un-defined, staticy crap.