Focal Alpha 65 or 80 are great!

 

I'm producin hiphop for a decade now, and I owned a pair of krk6 for a long time, but after a lot of trials (focal, ns10, krk8) i upgraded with the Adam A7X two years ago. i never missed the money spent. Very good basses, the high end is clear, the krk almost looks like a toy in comparison (but to be fair, they're not in the same price range...). Even the focal solo6 be, which are (way) more expensive, didn't seem as good to my ears. But you have to try some models by yourself and figure what suits you. Some online stores let you try the monitors during a month, and give you your money back if you eventually don't want it. I wouldn't take the risk to do that 10 times because dealing with after-sale services can be tricky , but it's worth to know. Good luck finding your ideal monitors!

 

well you cant give a recommendation.. because everybodes "hears" different, then it depends what room you are in. years ago someone said..Mackie...its gotta be Mackie... well in MY opinion they sucked..others loved them.. I am now using KRK VXT 8. and i am very satisfied with them because in MY opinion, they have a very straight sound. Producing EDM.. Also have Yamaha NSP10..

 

Here is something that helps me make these kinds of decisions---about tools in particular(any kind of tool). If every time I use this particular tool, am I going to sit there and say-
"I wish I had gone ahead and saved up, or spent the extra now, and got what I really wanted (within reason) in the 1st place."?-- I hate using something often and for a long time and thinking it's OK, but not quite what I wanted.....and gear lust never really stops. It's just gets appeased for short periods of time.

 

JBL LSR-308's.

 

Focal Alpha 80 cost € 660 per pair in mainland Europe. I don't know where you live but you might try getting them from http://www.bax-shop.com/

 

The strange geranium struck it lucky and recently scored a set of rarely used KRK VXT 8'S, a single bx 12 sub, the KRK ergot room correction device, and all the high quality cords and xlr connectors, for $800 Aus.
They had been kept in a small smoke home studio where they were used in a very limited capacity making music for video games.
The man and wife were moving to the U.S.A. and were happy to see them go to a friend of a friend.
I like them. I do not even need the sub, but it is still fun to rattle the windows occasionally.
i had wanted Adam's or Focal's. I had never been impressed with KRKR Rockets, but I knew the VXT were a different ball game, and well, the price was right.
I know this doesn't help any.
I just felt like sharing .

 

yeah tricky one. Depends if you want monitors strictly for mixing...or if like me writing too. This is why commercial studios always have a few pairs. I've had Events, Alesis, Yamaha NS10's (eghh!) ...currently rocking some Yamaha HS80's which are loads better than similar priced speakers from 20+ years ago. I'd defo go with the other guys here and say sort your acoustics out first before choosing the monitors. And also mix at very low volume. Took me years to realise this golden rule! haha

 

I bought yesterday my new speakers. Amazing!
Fluid Audio FX 8 (Great price, Great Sound) Price around 400 $

http://www.fluidaudio.net/products/fader-series/fx8

Review by Future Music:
http://www.fluidaudio.net/global/upload/mqPPQ/files/Reviews/future_fx8.pdf

 

Sonodyne Sm200

 

+1 or some of their new models(SRP 400 and up)

 

Srp400 is for travelling. Up is 1300 and 2000 euros (he said 1000 $).

It is more of a merchant exaggeration (my opinion).

 

Last edited: Dec 18, 2015

Well srp-500 is still reachable, depend where he live. Example from Europe where prices is among the highest for those kind of stuff: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sonodyne-SR...765006?hash=item567f59960e:g:rcEAAOSw4SlV7~im So around 1040$(pair) + shipping.

Yes srp400 is small, therefore most convenient for traveling, but from "forum talk" i hear they sound somehow better, more natural, because don't use DSP(at least that they say). Many prefered it with sub over higher models. So he can buy srp400 and with the rest of money he can add sub and have stellar performance for home studio.

But yeah there are many good speakers. Problem is most of us can't try it. So our safest bet is user experiences(not top 10 chart from c-net) everyone praise own horse also many praise the same horse, but that doesn't mean you will like it. Maybe you are different and you will not know that untill try it in person. I am quite sure there are speakers(for the price) that are better of all those mentioned, but they don't get enough publicity as they don't have enough power in PR.

So we just need to live with what we have, what they serve us and somehow belive what they say.
So srp series was tested among some of most respectable studio monitor products in a lot higher price range(Quested, Event, sE Munro Sonic Egg, Neumann, higher models of Adam and some other) and they keep close quite well and surprisingly beat them in some areas. Most that was involved on that test agree srp series are outstanding value for money. But that is true for many other speakers and brands.

So there we have Equator D, Presonus Spectre, potentially Audioengine, Fluid audio and many others.

 

@pamjadi: Have you purchased already? I guess so ;)
Anyway, I can say that I'm lucky in that I know music stores with a big enough wall of different monitor speakers.
But even when I'm able to compare them, deciding for the right one is not easy at all.
I like to take a variety of contrasting music to the "audition", listen from 5m away, then 1m close, first softer, then louder, and what sounds good at the first listen can sometimes get annoying after a while, and when this happens with a well-mastered mix that will at least tell me what speakers *not* to buy. I would also go through at least two sessions before deciding, but I know, that's not an option for everyone, so here's my personal summary.
I have owned JM Lab (Focal) Chorus 706 (Hi-Fi speaker but surprisingly good when EQ'd with a simple 1-band PEQ), KRK RoKit 5, Tannoy Reveal (Active), Alesis (yes, the same M1 Mk2-Active), HS8, Monkey Banana Turbo 6 and Adam A5X. My taste of sound is maybe something between "warm", "full", "authentic", "clear", "crisp", "tight", "analytical". Stereo imaging was never my first concern although the A5X surprised me quite a bit in this regard.
Out of all, I have kept the Alesis M1 Mk2 for listening to everything most of the time, and the A5X for mixing and mastering.
Quality-wise, I would judge the Adams and the Monkey Bananas of very high standard and very much in the league that twice as expensive Genelecs used to sit on a few years ago. The reason for keeping the Alesis instead of the Monkeys was just a matter of cash and the fact that I wanted to keep my A5X without doubt - also, they complement the Alesis well.
My last listening session is about two years back, so I can't say anything about the latest models.

 

Got the Munro Sonic Egg 150 for a good deal. I haven't heard better stereo imaging, analytic sound and flat frequency response in any other monitors. They are simply awesome.

Presonus Sceptre sounded brittle and sharp, and Neumann/Klein+Hummel KH120 sounded "papery" in comparison.

 

Last edited: Dec 18, 2015

i would only do that if everything else fails and you sit in a room mode
(to be precise if you cant move your position, or the speakers are on a gallery or even stranger situations)
better invest 30 bucks in some rockwool and move around with the help of some calculations.
http://www.mcsquared.com/modecalc.htm or similar should help

its difficult even with a treated room to learn what really sounds optimal
you learn with time and different listening situations, like cars and listening at a mates place, or even ask your local studio to have a chat. but nearly every Monitor will be a real step in the right direction, btw the smal monitors like jbl 305 or lsr2325 are quite nice even in the lower register.

i don´t know the focals but out of these
the genelec offered a real difference in percieved headroom, that is a real difference to every monitor below 600 a pair, you hear it instantly. (leave the 8020 and 8040)
the beloved kh felt a litle bit "cold"
the bm5mk II fell flat in comparision (just my opinion)

used between 600-1200 check (most impressive )
adam p series 22 and up
Munro Egg 100 and up
Pmc tb
JBL lsr43 and up

hope i didn´t make it more confusing

 

I like
Yamaha HS8

 

Check out the Focal Alpha 65 or 80, and forget about the KRK, they are the worse speakers i've ever heard. I work with the Focal Twin 6Be, but i also tested the Focal Alpha. And they are amazing for the small budget.

 

Close your eyes & buy Adam A7X !!!

 

Behries B2030A,JBL LSR305...paired with good open/half open studio cans like AKG K702/712 will get you far.
Someone said investing into 1000-2000$ range is a waste of money as it will give you perhaps a 5% better sonic transparency,you would have to dig a lot deeper in your pocket for monitors that will get you true professional accuracy.
You have to get to know your speakers/headphones,listen,learn EQ,Compression,treating the room will solve many issues.
A good technician will learn the flaws and traps of cheaper speakers and achieve pro results.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 3, 2016