Agreed. If you want a pair of KRK's, get a pair of these. Good sounding and good looking...

 

KRK Rokit series is crap (sorry, they really are - as much as I would love to have yellow woofers, the sound they produce is not translating accurately enough to be used as studio monitors for mixing and production),
if you need to stay on low budget, then better get Presonus Eris E8, for practically same price those are tier higher (I have both E8 and E5, depending on genre you might even go for E5, those will not disappoint unless you need serious low-end monitoring)
KRK VXT series are great, but price rises accordingly

 

the secret is to either treat your room professional enough to not have peaks or dips larger than +- 3 DB
OR to have some high end in ear monitors that replicate the diffuse field while at same time having mastering speaker quality transient response.JH audio ANGIE II in ear monitors (then add the subpac)
IF you get great small field monitors but your room has dips and peaks of +- 7 DB at 90hz 118z and 225hz your not going to get that far!

(keep a spectrum analyzer on your master fader also to see your audio BEFORE it changed by the speakers and room)

if you take a measuring microphone (complete flat frequency response)
in order to get an exact measurement of a perfect speakers inside the perfect room to measure as one thing.
what you will see is a pink noise slope (equal energy per octave)


if you then look at the equal loudness contours of the human ear(its because we hear frequencies differently at different volumes)

this information shows us the frequency response need in a\ in ear monitors with accurate transient response in order that we may replicate high end speakers in a room decent enough to use the in ear monitors this way.
next once you get those in ear monitors you need to have reference tracks that you get to know very well on the in ears.
usually tops songs in the genre the song your making is in.

you can then put all this together by having in ear setup, combined with your best attempt at your small field monitors ina decent room.by know reference material well on each system and switching back and forth you can overcome obstacles inherent in each method.

There may also be instances where you have a mobile setup to do jobs where you need the in ear setup also.

https://www.moon-audio.com/astell-kern-angie-ii-in-ear-monitors-universal-iem.html
for a grand you can save thousands on nutty soundproofing your studio ( you still need the basics)ex. save thousands on the sealed room in a room with air intake exhaust systems

if you want the high end IEM https://www.jhaudio.com/p/layla-custom

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

MMJ took the words out of my mouth literally. Treating your room is so important. Peeps who don't know what to do would sure want to watch that video @dragonhill posted. Surely helpful for newcomers.
People complaining about this or that monitor is shit, guys you really make this discussion pointless. You have some proof/evidence/scientific analysis of why some pair is shit, put it on the table or stfu please. Some dudes (i won't name them, we all know who they are) spit out Schwarzenegger one liners and fk off. Dude, you don't impress, grow up already. State your case or just leave it be man.
I spent my entire youth mixing on Yamaha NS10 (bought in 1987) and Urei 809A (bought in 1991 second hand, sold in 1999). There is nothing crappier than a pair of Yamaha NS10s, yet i never complained about them being shit. I patiently tried to hone my skills to be able to get an acceptable at first and proper mix on them a couple of years (oh yes) later. All in all it took me 4-5 years to be confident of my tweaks while mixing on NS10s. The cheap Rokits or any other cheap current monitor line are so improved over the original NS10 shortcomings that it nearly makes me say for the current generations that are lucky bastards lol. We learned the fkn hard way.
So, to put this to rest, there is no crap monitor. Compared to actual hifi speakers, any monitor is a much more honest speaker for the money you pay. There is only what you can afford, so compare the ups and downs of the speakers available in that price range to what suits your needs better and make your pick.
Cheers
PS:I dunno how some people suggest monitors that cost 3 times the price the op posted originally. Ahh so you got those cool Neummans. Yes they are perhaps the best small monitor ever (made by K+H), a buddy of mine has them and i enjoy them too, but they cost 1200. Next time perhaps suggest this :

 

+1 on room treatment

I have recently bought a pair of Rokit 5, 2nd. gen. I did it out of necessity. I got a great deal for them when one of my Gen's tweeter blew. I bought them with mixed feelings about them. Lots of people complain about them being unreliably bass heavy, not translating well, and all that. However, some great mixers have them at home, in the likes of Graham Chocrane. The thing I noticed first is that they are not really bass heavy, but to get them to show their true bass response, I had to put them on foam decouplers. Actually they are really bass shy (My Genelecs have a smaller cone 4" and they are more bass heavy). There is one thing that I really like about my Rokits: They have really fast transient response and very good stereo imaging. Now they are always in use. It's a fairly steep learning curve to learn to interpret mixes through them, but it's time well spent. If budget is a limit or if you want to put money on something else, for me, they do the job.

 

I am glad I posted this thread asking you guys your opinion, suggestions and wise advices. This place is great and so are you!!

I have been trolling for a while seeking decent monitors without busting my budget. I have mostly been mixing with good headphones (Audio Technica ATH MT-50) . Otherwise, I have cheap 6” Kenwood home speakers and am using my big 18” Peavy SP-2XT from my old road gear as sub at a very low level with a low pass filter… Not the best for mixing.

After reading your comments, reviews, comparing and listening, I finally gave up on KRK and decided to go for the JBL LSR308. I don’t know why I haven’t thought looking toward JBL in the first place, I have yet owned a pair of those old big 12” in wooden cabinets in the 80thies and was very satisfied with it. The LSR308 sound is great and meets my expectations. The price was also appealing : 199 $ US at Sweetwater. So in Canadian dollars it sums up at 700 $ for the pair including shipping, exchange rate and custom taxes. If I would have bought them from Steve’s in Montreal, I would have paid 850 $ CAD for the pair all included.

Even though I have the money to buy expensive gear, I have other priorities and need to restrict my expenses.

I have lived on music for over a decade in the 90thies doing covers in bars and events of all sorts and even though I had a great time and amazing experiences, one day I got sick of prostituting myself playing stuff I didn’t like just to please the audience. The day I decided to quit, probably the most difficult decision in my life, I promised myself that from this day I would play but for myself and what I feel like playing.

Some say it is selfish, some others say it’s a waste, however, it’s the way it is for now. Maybe when I retire from my daily job I will reconsider.

But for now, all I want is a descent little cozy place for myself to express my art as a hobbyist only.

This weekend I will lock myself up in my little oasis and experiment with my brand new Scarlett and my new JBL.

Thank you so much for your always precious contribution.

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2017

Congrats, @safran5020, great choice. Enjoy your soundfeast this weekend.

 

Bon choix et bonne chance mec.
Mange une grande poutine pour moi, bois quelques bières et profite du monde pour un jour avec tes nouvelles baffles.

 

Hey! Merci mon ami, c'est gentil !
J'en déboucherai plus d'une à votre santé

 

Congrats, yep it's a good choice, its slightly more expensive than your original thought but it is a slightly better monitor as well. Happy listening mate. Salute

 

IMHO used JBL lsr4328p would have been a much better choice. They were 1500 new, you can get a pair for around 600 now. They are better and offer a more honest picture and also have a built in EQ DSP, which adjust to your room by calibration (with an included mic), even if untreated, it corrects the curvature.

 

I would shoot for Tannoy or Yamaha. That is just me though.

 

Others: "KRK's suck"

It would be useful if that opinion was quantified in some way...