Ok, here's the deal:

Rule #1: No silly flame wars of KRK vs Yamaha etc etc

Rule #2: Consider what I'm asking and don't just read the title and suggest something I'm not asking for!

I live in a first floor apartment and there have limited scope for monitors. I predominantly use my Audio Technica ATH-M50X headphones and then stick things on a USB and take to my lounge or car to listen to how it translate and tweak from there if need be.

I#m now considering purchasing some monitors just for referencing as I will probably still use my headphones in the main as that's what I'm used to. Bearing in mind my setting, the fact I may not get much use if neighbours complain about volumes/bass thump and the anticipated limited usage, what monitors would you guys recommend that are cheap and decent? The cheaper the better ideally!

Muchos gracias!

 

how about this one : http://www.reloop.com/reloop-wave-8

 

I have a pair of Mackie CR4, and for what they worth...they sound pretty awesome.

 

you get what you pay for. Especially with monitors. A decent driver has its prize. One rule i learned over the years is if you want cheap but decent audio gear buy presonus or Mackie. Really i never got disapointed for the price i payed. So i recommed you to take a look at presonus eris or even cheaper mackie CR.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 4, 2017

Again, for the $$$, I'll recommend JBL LSR305. Or, a set of AVANTONE MIXCUBES (active).

AVANTONES are great for focusing in on the low-mids and mids, the most important range in the mix.

Do some research on them, but if you're not going to be pumping the monitors regularly, these are used for checking the balance of your freq ranges for color, power, and especially too much low mid - mix balance. AVANTONES are the next gen of the AURATONEs (80s-90s). Some people consider AVANTONES to have too much bass - comparatively; I think they do the job well.

Yep. CR4s are a good cheap monitor too. You'll never get rid of the AVANTONES though. BEHRINGER makes an AVANTONE clone, but I've never had a chance to try them. Look on GEARSLUTZ forum for great 'Pro' discussions/arguments and banter.

 

Last edited: Apr 5, 2017

Well since you mentioned yamaha, https://tektondesign.wordpress.com/...atest-loudspeaker-in-history-the-yamaha-ns10/

basically why they sound so goot is 'cuz their response is the inverse of the equal-loudness curves.

 

They don't. They sound "specific". I keep a pair of Ns10s almost 30 years now. Half the work you do on the NS10s is guesswork and not listening to precise and accurate audio material reproduction. Arguably, it's one of the less enjoyable speaker pairs to listen music to lol. (Oh and if you really enjoy your mix on Ns10s you either have a bad mix or you 'be been listening to cheap desktop speakers too long). It is a classic reference though and that's is how it should be considered as.

 

http://www.presonus.com/products/Eris-45

Probably not the best on the market but sounds relatively good.

 

Wait for 2 months, keep your money, buy Yamaha HS80 M , they do sound precise even with lower volumes as long as you know how to read the signs

 

Presonus Sceptre S8's... best bang for buck on a tight Budget.

 

http://www.equatoraudio.com/New-Improved-D5-Studio-Monitors-Pair-p/d5.htm

 

for small rooms the Tannoy 402 are pretty decent considering the price and performance, a friend of mine bought them for around 100 bucks each, i gave it a try and they're surprisingly good if you dont have too much expectations, no sub bass below 50hz but for anything else there's plenty of bass and very acceptable overall performance for reference even at low volumes.

otherwise i would stick with the Yamaha HS-5 but they cost twice.

 

Neumann just released their KH 80. They are smaller than the KH120, so they just go down to 57hz, i guess that would be perfect for you. They have an awesome feature set, including room mesurement and setup via dsp. And they are very reasonably priced. I havent heard them yet, I just love my KH120, so.. i just suggest to check them out
Ps: Just had a look, in europe they are 488Euro per piece. Dont know if that is "as cheap as possible" but keep in mind that you invest in that sort of hardware that might last the longest nowadays.

 

Last edited: Apr 4, 2017

True, i did some of my best mixes on NS10s. Best example for "whatever works"

 

See if you can find some used M-Audio CX5's or CX8's. They aren't the very best on the planet but are much better than people would assume due to the M-Audio name and price point. I got my brother a pair of CX8's for $300. Bang for the buck I've found nothing that beats them. Lookup some online reviews.

 

thomann has some yamaha clones from swissonic

pretty cheap

 

Oh, if you want to go down to that price tag, i could also recommend Fluid Audios F4 for about 170€ per pair. I put those on top of my masterkeyboard for playing kontakt. They have a 4" woofer, so they are neighbor friendly, the tweeter doesn't sound harsh.. all in all a nice speaker.
But at that price you get a "semi active" pair. Means there is one amplifier in one speaker, the other one is wired with speaker cable and both speakers use passive frequency crossovers for the chassis.
Could you specify your budget? As cheap as possible even includes Fostex PM0.3 for 99€. Good if they just replace logitech, but not a serious tool.

 

This right here. I have a pair of Adam a7x and I bought the LSR305s for a second setup and I'm shocked at how great those little speakers sound compared to the Adams. I don't know how JBL did it, but the amount bass those little 5" woofers can produce is pretty darn impressive.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alesis-M1...378317?hash=item360142a30d:g:sxwAAOSwGvhUJcox

 

KRK sukks