Remember though, OP wants them for monitoring vocals, not mixing or mastering.

Honestly i'd go for something small and be done with it. KRK Rokit 5, Kali LP-6, JBL-305p mk2, any of them will do nicely for this purpose.

KRK rokit 5 G4. They are small, front ported (which is good if space is an issue), and you won't have trouble reselling them once you get your genelecs back. If space is not an issue, i'd go for the JBL's, they have a nice spot for vocals which would be great to have in this case. The HS would be great to have in combination with something else, but not on their own, not for monitoring at least. They are nasty, which could affect your performance while singing if you have too much of a sensitive hearing.

 

You can buy almost any monitors/speakers you want, but in my experience these two secrets help to get the most out of your monitors and make mixing easy:

1. A decent well treated mixing space. I know a lot of guys skip over this part, but in my experience this is the part that can make the most difference, so its worth investing the time and money if you can improve you space acoustically. Sometimes it may not be practical, but if you can do it.

2. EQ your monitors/system. his is the number 1 game changer that many people don't know about, but major studios generally always have their monitors calibrated with a EQ setting that is tailored for that room/speaker. You can use almost any decent speaker or monitor as long as you EQ to have a frequency response that you like, meaning the way YOU like to hear music. So if you like to hear music with more high-end, or maybe you like more bass, the idea is to listen to records you are familiar with and calibrate the speaker/EQ setting in a way that you like, so when you are mixing, you can trust the curve of the speaker according to your preference. I do this system wide using UAD interface and applying an EQ for all of my system outputs, (I don't use any of their plugins for anything else). But this can be done with any interface that has on board dsp/fx capability (RME, Presonus, Antelope, check out a few here). If you don't have or want to purchase an interface that can do that, you can do the same thing using software like Voicemeeter pro, or you can just buy a basic hardware EQ and patch your outputs into them.

I have tried a few cheap monitors when on monitor from my main pair blew a tweeter, after numerous listening tests I settled on a pair of JBL 305P MKII's (aprox $150 each). They seemed to have the most 'clear' response, in contrast to other monitors like the Yamaha HS line, which is very colored and is more pronounced in the mids. Once I EQ'ed the JBL's to hear music the way I like, mixes have translated effortlessly with little to no fuss.

The idea of the "linear response" in audio is overhyped, as humans we rarely listen to anything that resembles a "linear response" in audio production. Matter of fact I find that when something is truly captured with a linear response, it sounds dull and boring, in comparison to what people expect in a finished production. There is very little need for 'linear response' in most modern music production.

 

Not on my monitors I don't. You should be checking your mixes on different systems anyhow. Nope don't crank the monitors. Not meant for that.

 

Absolutely, checking on different systems is important.

But your declaration that "monitors aren't meant to play loud" is total rubbish. Just because your monitors can't play loud doesn't mean that all monitors aren't "meant to".

(Unless you're talking about the specific monitors you own, in which case I agree, they're certainly not built to slap).

 

37Hz !? Maybe in -12dB standard from 1960s. But I doubt it is even so. They look like a pair of oversized desktop speakers. No subwoofer. No bass reflex... With such low mass 37Hz would make them shake out of position. The 'frequency response' is created by fixed EQ-ing in the amplifier - stressing the amplifier by depleting the power supply, THD must be over 10%. Tweeter horns are highly non-linear, they belong to stage equipment with hundreds of Watts handling, competing with screaming audience. And 'active' speakers in fact represent textbook speaker/amplifier electro-acoustic feedback coupling.

 

M-Audio speakers? If I was stranded on a deserted island and they were the only speakers I've got then I'd use them. Nobody would be able to hear what I've made anyway.

I'd heard several M-Audio "monitors". I was like "huh?! Terrible". I was most impressed with the amount of distortion in the lows. Good for guitar players perhaps.

 

dilettante!
Maybe you have heard any m-audios in any environment!?
but according to her specific demands (vocals,18sqm,budget), i recommended these specific speakers!

 

On a budget?
I say get a pair of Presonus Eris 5 and the new PreSonus Eris 8 sub. Presonus stuff is really good on a budget and in my opinion, always punches above its price range. This setup will go down to 35 Hz (if needed on moderate volume levels). Should be in your price range.

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2022

Hey whatever you say. Crank it up. Knock yourself out. Are you making a quality mix or partying? Doesn't even make sense. They are NOT meant for loud.

 

i have the cheap jbls since day 1 they make a white noise kinda sound fom the tweeter i checked my cables unplugged everything and i only connected the power cables and still freaking noise i never sent them back because i was lazy and learned to live with them

 

Have you already compared any monitors to each other personally?
If not, here's a channel that has done quite a few comparisons.
https://www.youtube.com/c/DSAUDIOreview/videos
Live comparisons are surely better, but this will give you a useful impression of what you may prefer.
Nobody can tell you which ones to pick, everyone will have different favorites.
Good luck with your choice!

Btw: I've been producing & mixing on headphones for many years now. I got some Sennheiser HD 660s, Sonarworks SoundID Reference and an SPL Marc One interface. A few years ago I treated my room with Basotect, tested speaker after speaker and finally bought some HS8s which are awesome (to my ears). But today I don't use speakers anymore, I prefer my over-ears.

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2022

I heard them [BX-5, I think] in a pro studio, along with Dynaudio, Focal, and Adam A7 speakers. I maintain computers, and work as a tech - mixing and recording, recording live concerts for living. You know, it's my job, and that's why I don't make a lot of money any more, due to Covid-19... However, my clients very much appreciate my IT skills, and I assemble special PCs for audio for them. Been doing that for the last 20+ years. Started with mixing in a pro "classic analogue" studio around '92. I've heard tons of different speakers in my life.

When money is short, I'd absolutely go with Yamaha's HS7 no matter what anybody says. Alternatives include Equator [but they're hard to find], JBLs, KRK VXT6, Tannoy Reveal 502, in that price range, but Yamaha's are really great bang for the pound.

Both M-Audio and Presonus pretty much suck as companies. The quality and durability of their profucts is awful. Krk Rockit's too.

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2022

Hell yeah, that's the spirit

 

Well geeze... that's like comparing a Hyundai to a BMW even at the low end...

 

I can comprehend. But even poor quality companies have exeptional products sometimes.in this case the bx8 d3 are such an exception, imo.

 

I must admit I have no arguments against what you said there. There are always cheap gems [I could make a list, but it would be too long, and I'm sure I'd forget some :lol:] and I haven't heard newer M-Audio speakers, especially not that size. BX-5's are pretty small, so no wonder they distorted the lows so badly it was simply repulsive to listen to them.

Anyway, I'm sure I've listed the best budget ones there are and I would mix on every one of them. It would be a hard choice between Yamaha HS7's, Equator's, VXT6's, JBL LSR's, and Tannoy Reveal 502's for me. The most special in the list are actually those little Equator speakers, they're great, but as I said - hard to find. I guess even harder to find these days when everything is hard to find, like even simple quality capacitors!

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2022

For the treble and mid frequency range, I'm pretty happy with these:
https://www.thomann.de/gb/presonus_eris_e5.htm

With some interesting settings for personal preferences:

• Mid-range controls: Peak EQ, 1 kHz, +/- 6 dB
• Treble controls: Cow tail filter, 4.5 kHz, +/- 6 dB
• Switchable highpass filter: 80 Hz - 100 Hz.

(A test with M-Audio monitors was a disaster. But I do not want to generalize, this refers only to the tested...)

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2022

I am really grateful to all of you for your comments and your advice. I have searched a little around me and I have found few Yamaha HS7's @ 300 euros (pair) second hand. One is sold by someone in my hometown and advertised as (like new). KRK-VXT6 sells for 400 Euros (Second hand also). The jbl 305P MKII is priced @ 160 Euros. and JBL LSR 305 @ 180 euros. I think that I will have to choose between these options.
Last thing to take into consideration is that I will also use these speakers to listen to music and need them to be pleasant for this purpose also.

 

Out of those options, I definitely recommend the JBL 305P MK II.

 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIFI SPEAKERS AND STUDIO MONITORS?

Pop music is produced for playback on stereo systems. Wouldn't it make sense to use the same hi-fi speakers for monitoring and mixing? Nevertheless, professionals prefer special monitor speakers for studio work. There is a reason for that!

TECHNICAL DIFFERENCES

First of all, let's talk about the technical differences. Hi-fi speakers are almost always passive speakers, i.e. they require an external amplifier with power amplifier and speaker outputs. Studio monitors are, with a few exceptions, active speakers, i.e. the power amplifier is built into the speaker. Active speakers must therefore be connected to an adjustable line output, i.e. to a monitor controller or an audio interface (provided it has a volume control). How can you tell from the outside if a speaker is active or passive? Quite simple: an active speaker always has a mains connection.

Active speaker cabinets offer several advantages. Usually they contain not only one power amplifier, but several. The bass speaker, the tweeter and (if available) the midrange are driven by separate power amplifiers. The result is more precise sound dynamics with a rich punch. The bass speaker in particular needs a lot of energy for every bass note and every beat of the kick drum; by being driven by its own power amplifier, it does not take away power amplifier power from the other speakers, as can happen with a passive speaker, where one power amplifier has to supply all the speakers at the same time. Active speaker cabinets also have the advantage that it is much easier to build high quality crossovers. Not only because the crossover can be placed in front of the power amplifiers (which is technically cheaper), but also because power is available to build very steep-edged filters with active circuits. This reduces the overlap between the bass speaker, midrange and tweeter. The result is a clearer, more detailed sound image.

DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES

When professionals listen to music, they do so with a different mindset than music consumers. Fans and hi-fi enthusiasts simply "want" to enjoy their favorite music in the best possible way. Whether the sound they hear is exactly what the artist intended is unimportant. What counts is the pleasure of listening. Most music listeners therefore prefer speaker cabinets that enrich their listening experience.
Many hi-fi boxes achieve this by selectively boosting bass and treble. This "bathtub curve" makes music seem especially punchy and crisp.
Musicians, producers and sound engineers want something different. They want to hear the unvarnished truth. They need speaker cabinets that don't prettify anything and don't hide any flaws. It's no different in the home studio! You want to take care of wrong notes, noise or sloppy sound in time, because nothing is more frustrating than being pointed out embarrassing mistakes later, when you actually want to proudly present your new track. So even in the home studio, you need monitor speakers that show much more sound detail than ordinary hi-fi speakers.

Good studio monitors are especially important when mixing, because you have to be able to tell when the sound balance is perfect. There is a fine line between loud and too loud, between drums that really push and drums that push vocals into the background. There is an even finer line between a rich bass and a boomy bass, between fine highs and sharp highs. Only with precise and linear speaker cabinets can you make such mix decisions with the necessary confidence.

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT STUDIO MONITORS
When you go to the store to buy studio monitors, be careful not to approach the sound comparison with a consumer setting. Most dealers will demo studio monitors with a Steely Dan CD or similar high-end productions. In this way, they want to give you a pleasant buying experience. The only question is: How should you know, when listening to a perfect recording, whether a studio monitor is capable of relentlessly pointing out flaws? At the end of such a listening session, you probably buy the pair of speakers that sounded the most impressive. Unfortunately, that's usually not the pair with the most accurate and linear reproduction, but rather one with a hi-fi oriented sound that exaggerates bass and treble.

It's much better to bring your own music or other productions in which you've noticed small flaws. Try to put aside any vanity! Don't look for the boxes that make your mixes sound especially great. Look for those boxes that reveal all the mistakes you would have liked to fix, if you had heard them. Because only when your tracks sound great on relentlessly honest studio monitors can you be sure they'll sound great on all other playback systems!

www.neumann.com/homestudio/de/worin-unterscheiden-sich-hifi-boxen-von-studiomonitoren