It depends how large you room is and if you are going to get it treated or not.

If you have a small room with low ceilings and are not going to spend money on treatment get the smaller speaker.

If you are going to spend a minimal to somewhat average ($800) amount of money on treatment and your room is small (under 14 feet wide) still get the smaller speaker. If you have a medium sized room at least 14feet wide and at least 16feet long and are going to spend average money on treatment then the larger speaker comes into play.

If you have a large room, (over 20 feet wide & at least 24 feet long) are going to treat your room and place your speaker at least 2.5feet to 3 feet away from the closest wall the larger speaker will give you a bit more low end (a low end that would be too hyped in a small room that will not be able to deal with resonances and dissipation of all that energy.)

Of course you can treat a small room to handle large loudspeakers and mitigate low freq. build up to a negligible amount but the cost in doing so rises considerably the more absorption you need. You budget for treatment could jump up by a factor of two quite easily.

Of course in the end get what you like and just learn your room and the speaker - but why make life any harder than it needs to be... unless its fun then by all means...

 

@mozee Thanks man for your wise advice.
My room is roughly 12 x 12 ft with medium treatment

 

My 2 cents: Because of pure physic, if you are not going to use these speakers at more than 70 watts RMS (and this is loud), don't buy anything under 8'
Or you'll never listen correctly to the bass frequency.

 

Gotta say I'm with @Olymoon here. Having that sub has been a real plus now that I know what I'm listening for down there.
Of course having other systems to reference your mixes alongside pro mixes could help you overcome this as well.

 

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/equator-audio-d5

Active studio monitors

• Internal DSP
• 100 Watt amplifier power (2x 50 W RMS, HF + LF)
• Coaxial design with 5.25 "woofer thomann and 1" silk tweeter
• Steep 4th Order L & R Crossover with DSP
• Frequency range: 53 Hz - 20 kHz (+ or - 3dB)
• Max SPL: 103 dB
• Limiter & Driver Protection
• Power LED
• Volume control
• Balanced input XLR and 6.3 mm jack
• Dimensions: 247 x 177 x 216 mm
• Weight (piece): 4.08 kg

https://www.cnet.com/news/kings-of-clarity-the-equator-audio-d5-speakers/
https://www.thomannmusic.com/equator_d5.htm

you can't beat these homie.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Equator-Au...774314?hash=item362539baaa:g:R0kAAOSwvTpaAOsN

 

Equator is actually one of the best you can buy in that price range as nicely MMJ indicated. As for the KRK haters, i have a pair of rokit6s for about 12 years now, which i have used as a secondary monitor, my main sys is Focal Twin6BE + Sub 6. I also have Dynaudio BM6s and Yamaha NS10 and Rokit 5 too. The thing is, every mix i 've done using those cheapo Rokit6s translates perfect in the real world. Surely as my friend superliquid said the VXT is a far better monitor. Personally, i swear by my Focals 'till death tear us apart hehe. But, there will always be better speakers up 'till you reach the million dollar threshold lol.
Knowing how to shape sounds in the mixing (and the creative too) process and having the talent- ear for it, is where this whole monitor debate concludes for me. In my sense (and you can add a 30 years experience for your cherry on top), if you are incompetent at mixing no speaker will save your butt. I 've heard good mixes done on 20 bucks earbuds, and i 've heard lousy mixes done on Adam S7s and top of the line Genelecs and so on. If i sit here and write down my testimony of how many untalented peeps have had the luck to be loaded with cash it will take the next millenium.
Pick whatever suits your pocket best mate. Never forget there is always room for improvement in art, so you ' ll have plenty of time to prove yourself , make some money perhaps and upgrade to the next level. A bit like an RPG game hehehe.
Cheers

 

Last edited: Nov 13, 2017

I don't know what the root mean square of 70Watts even means in this instance. 70W from the amp, what out impedance, do you mean 70 dBSPL? The frequency response of the loudspeaker and the room as well as how well the crossovers are setup between the driver and tweeter are what dictate the output parameters not power from voltage.


@1m SPTA

A normal conversation is a broadband average of 40-63 dBSPL (2.0×10^−3 Pascals to 28×10^−3 Pa)

A safe monitoring level an average of 71dBSPL (71x10^-3 Pa) it's also a good level to set your monitors at for mixing, but work backwards from 87 dBSPL.

70 W/M^2 is something like 138.4 dBSPL or 166.4 Pa that is enough to cause pain, disorientation and permanent permanent hearing damage.

I don't know if there are rules about posting other sites urls so i will not but I remember a thread on the other audio site gearwhorez in which people went over all this stuff. I think if you search LSR305 and Adam F5 and the correct name of the sire you'll probably get there.

If it was my money and that is all I could spend I would be looking at the JBL, though I would probably stash a little bit more and save up for an Adam or Focal solution it was possible.

 

Last edited: Nov 13, 2017

Don't buy any of them, KRKs suck big time.

 

Yeah, the first thing that came in my mind when I heard the JBL for the first time was it's bass. So strong, deep and warm. The bass was also even more than I expected. Especially for it's size. But overall the sound is really clean with a great balance and really detailed. I don't know, but I also really feel like it's 3D or something. The stereo image is so wide. Something else that I have noticed is it's available volume. Great to see how much power these little monitors can produce.

At least that's indeed the best thing you could do. Don't go straight for monitors based on reviews, but make sure to take your music with you and check them all out before you buy. Let us know for which one you go.

 

What's your maximum budget mate?
For the prices you mentioned you could get
Focal Alpha 80
Fluid Audio FX8
APS Klasik
Those are some of the beast cheap monitors with a good sound for critical mixing.

And if you can spend a bit more look at eve audio sc207 or sc208.
Again not ultra cheap but for their price are fantastic.

 

I was settled on the JBL LSR305s (300€ pair). Then I wanted the Focal Alphas (500€). Then I decided to stretch out a little bit for the Focal CMS (900€). Finally I decided to get those together with the Neumanns KH120 (1200€).

Holy shit there was no comparison. I financed the Neumanns and I don't think I'll ever change my monitors unless they crap out.

Some things to consider, in my experience:
- Bigger is not always better. The Neumanns sounded twice as big as the Focal CMS65 even being smaller. And I'm talking about punchy defined lows, not KRK Rockit's mudfest. If your room is under 12m2, you'll be perfectly fine with 5" monitors.
- Monitor location is important. If you're going to have them close to the wall, look for front-ported monitors. Your choices will narrow down if you do so. If you have plenty of space behind the monitors, EVE SC sand APS Klasik are top choices.
- Listening distance and dimensions are also important. Due to space restrictions I sit about 70cm from the speakers, so the deeper speakers are, the shorter your listening distance. This can affect the sweet spot of the sound.
- Black Friday is coming. Keep an eye for deals.

 

Yes, the VXT series delivers a higher quality sound, but I have been using the older V6, second incarnation. I checked out the VXT model to see if I would upgrade and felt that the V6 was better for me, the highs on the new were fatiguing after a short period of time whereas with the V6 I had no such reaction. The bass might have been a little tighter, but these V6 monitors just work so well for me and translate nicely to other systems. And since the room us only so big it is important for me to have the port in front and not facing the wall.

 

I`m on a similar boat.. My first monitors were the Rokits 6.. Then i thought i could get better.. so i sell them and bought the Focal CMS50.. They sound great, but for me they don`t translate good to other systems.. i could never get the mids and highs right.. even when they sound good on them they fall apart on other systems.. So i buy a pair of Rokits 5 to reference to a cheaper monitors.. Bam! Now i could get better mixes to translate with the rokits 5.. This really pissed me off! How could a way more expensive monitor deceive me so much and this cheaper ones translate so much better.. So now mids and highs are ok with the rokits 5, but the bass is not there with a 5 inch woofer.. So now i need a 8 inch monitors so i can really hear and feel the low frequencies.. I don`t want subs.. So i will probably just get the Rokits 8 or the Yamaha HS8 and sell the Focals.. Because at this point they are just in the corner getting dust.. All this to say that you have to try for yourself and find what suits you.. People always will always tell you that a more expensive monitor is best.. But if i have to choose, i prefer the cheaper rokits 5 to the expensive Focals CMS50.. And to the people saying that in a smaller room you need a smaller monitor, i think is always good to have a full spectrum monitor to lesson the full bass extension.. i have a small room and i will buy a 8 inch monitor to complement the 5 inch ones.. just apply some room treatment to tame those excessive reflections and you will be fine..

 

People say that because in untreated rooms you're just fooling yourself with uncontrolled reflections of bass waves. That's not having full spectrum, that's just hearing frequencies incorrectly. Smaller speakers produce less bass and suffer less of this problem. You obviously won't hear ultra low frequencies with them, though. But sometimes is better to fine-tune the low end with headphones that messing a whole mix with deceiving lows from your monitors.

But in the end of the day, what matters is how good they translate and suit your needs. I found the Focal CMS65 had a bump in the mids that made them fatiguing over time, with a very tame bass response for their size. The Neumanns on the other hand had thunderous lows (being smaller), very natural highs and unobtrusive mids. You just hear it everything very even, which is the point.

Then again I'm not into bass-heavy material like Hip-Hop or electronic music, so YMMV.

 

Possible option. You would need to buy separate amplifier(like around 70W per chanel) and possibly a sub in future , but ended with somethink that should be better than standard mainstream offerings for money.

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html





If you don't want to mess with all that, Equator d5 or used sceptre 6 should be on your short list.

 

I am into Hip-Hop or Electronic Music. So being able to hear those sub frequencies is fundamental. You just can`t fix what you can`t hear. Headhones are good to check but i can`t rely on them.. The 8 inch monitors don`t just have more bass.. the perception of the mids and highs with a 5 and 8 inch is very different! That`s why i suggest to have both types.. in the end you have to apply some room treatment to get an even balance in those frequencies.. even with 5 inch monitors...

 

Buy anything but KRKs, bro.

 

http://subpac.com/
a nice enhancement for your headphone
get perfect lows from 20hz to 100hz with no interference from room problems( when combined with high end headphones

then alternate with your studiomonitors
you'll be able overcome room problems

 

Everyone thinks you need good sounding speakers. BULL.
Yamaha NS10s sound like crap. If you can get a good mix on them your mix will sound really good on other speakers.
The JBL 305's are kinda like the NS10's without as much mid bump. My Rokit 6's sound better (probably the front bass port) for released music but for making music the 305's with the 10" sub is the way to go. It will leave money for treating your room which is just as important as the speakers. If your just going to DJ then buy PA speakers.

 

I'd like to contribute to your confusion.

I experienced that in some cases 5'' monitors in comparison to 8'' ones are forced to produce more low frequencies than they naturally could - at the expense of the mids. With the consequence that the 8'' models have better low and mid frequencies.

So, if you've got the chance take some reference tracks for low, mid and high frequencies of the genre you're producing and compare the different monitors.