Howdy folks.

I'm in the market for a pair of monitors $300-$400.
I don't have a power-amp.
Can access either analog or digital (TOS-optical, S/PDIF) signal.

What are the pro's and con's of amplified v unamplified speakers and a digital v analog input ??

And a side question - what's the difference between 'balanced' and 'unbalanced' ?

Thanks.

 

@ Dalmation,

In this case, 'Active Monitors' will be the solution vs 'Passive Monitors' (which are not 'amplified' by themselves, thus needing an external Amp to be operative).

You'll certainly find some 'Active Monitors' that permits you to output the Sound via 'S/PDIF' (Digital), either by 'Coaxial' Connectors, or 'Optical' Connectors as well, but in general, most of the best 'Active Monitors' Brands in the Market, provide you with 'XLR' Connectors (almost the 'Professional Standard'), as well as with 'Jack' Connectors... *yes*

In its purest form : 'balanced' Connections/Connectors handle the common 'Professional Standard' of '+4dB' (either at the Input, as well as at the Output), whereas 'unbalanced' Connections/Connectors handle the common 'Standard' of '-10dB', as found, for instance, in the Hi-Fi ('General Public') found in your living room (in the case that you have one, of course !). *yes*

 

+4dBu vs. -10dBV. ;)

Simplified, balanced cables have three wires whereas unbalance only has two wires.
Unbalanced cables (two wires) is more prone to interference/noise/hum and will have more degraded/noisy sound the longer the cable is.
Balanced cables (three wires) will carry an extra wire of phase inverted duplicate signal, which will be phase inverted again in the other end, which will cancel out interference/noise/hum that might be picked up along the way/cable.

Balanced cables gives better quality in sound compared to unbalanced cables and is therefor recommeded (if your audio interface supports balanced cables). Most noticable is it if you are using very long unbalanced cables, and switch to balanced cables.

 

If your budget is $300-$400 I would take a look at the used market.

Unfortunately this is one of those categories where bargains rarely exist, generally speaking the quality of new monitors is close to that of the price that you pay.

 

Absolutely friendly advice: if you can't afford proper monitors, don't buy them. Or why not buying some really good headphones? e.g. BeyerDynamic, AKG, Sennheiser, Sony? It's better having high end headphones than crap monitors IMO. *yes* That's how I started, actually...

I simply cannot think of any monitors in that price range that I can recommend with clear conscience. Maybe some Yamaha HS-50s?

 

all monitors are amplified

unless you bought some broken ones ;)

 

@ Rickbarratt,

Certainly not !!! *no*
And here, I'm sorry to be disagree with you, but :

"Amplification: Studio monitors may be "active" (including one or more internal power amplifier(s)), or passive (these require an external power amplifier). Active models are usually bi-amplified, which means that the input sound signal is divided into two parts by an active crossover for low and high frequency components. Both parts are amplified using separate low- and high-frequency amplifiers, and then the low-frequency part is routed to a woofer and the high-frequency part is routed to a tweeter or horn. Bi-amplification is done so that a cleaner overall sound reproduction can be obtained, since signals are easier to process before power amplification. Consumer loudspeakers may or may not have these various design goals."

From 'Wikipedia' Source that you can find here (the last sentences of the 'Uses' Topic) :

'Studo Monitor' (Wikipedia)

Another Source :

Active vs. Passive Monitors

While there is a vast array of active studio monitors to choose from these days, it’s worth noting that the recording industry grew up with passive monitors. Because one type isn’t completely superior to the other, it’s important to understand the differences.
Passive monitoring systems are modular in nature, requiring you to match your speakers with an appropriate amplifier and crossover. The main advantage to this is that, if you have a power amplifier that you you trust for accurate performance, you can use it to drive your monitor system.

'Sweetwater' Studio Monitors Buying Guide


P.S: So, no need to buy some 'broken ones' to need to amplify these !!! *no*

 

What about these?

http://www.prodipe.com/en/products/studio-monitors/item/458-enceintes-de-monitoring-pro-8-v2

http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Professional-LSR308-Studio-Monitor/dp/B00E8CEW7I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/Tannoy-Reveal-802-Studio-Monitor/dp/B00HU7F6QY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418411889&sr=8-1&keywords=tannoy+reveal+802

http://www.amazon.com/PreSonus-High-Definition-Nearfield-Studio-Monitor/dp/B00CS6XUE2/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1418412402&sr=1-2&keywords=presonus+eris+e8

(Amazon is having a -15% deal on some of them these days)

 

Monitors "philosophy" is everything but simple. I've been into building speakers once, but now it's all a bit hazy to me after so many years not being into it.

If you had a good amplifier, you could get some great passive monitors for this kind of money. At the time, mid 90s, I owned a really great hi-fi system that consisted of a Yamaha amplifier [200W@8ohm] and Akai CD, turntable, and a cassette player that I paired with some low-mid class two-way 100W@8ohm Tannoy PBM II 6.5 monitors [if I remember correctly] with a passive crossover. That setup sounded quite decent to me. There are high [and low] profile mastering studios that use passive monitors as their main monitors. The main drawback of passive monitors is that they should be matched to an amplifier and finding a good match can be tricky, although if you buy a good amplifier that is a bit more, or about double the watts of monitors at the same number of ohms, it should probably be alright.

Speaking of passive monitors, there's always a question of good cables. I'm not going to recommend you some 100$ or more speaker cables. *no* I have a great tip for choosing cables: use CAT5 network cable. These cables are made with rather pure copper and great for driving speakers, not to mention - cheap. Or just about any cheaper speaker cables will do the same job as those really expensive ones. At least something cheap to get away with.

A big difference between passive and active speakers is also the crossover. The part that splits the audio into high/mid/low [3-way] or high/low [2-way] speakers. Best speakers and active speakers usually have active crossover and passive speakers usually have a passive crossover. Active crossover gives, of course, better sound, more linear. There are also digitally [DSP] controlled crossovers nowadays [JBL uses them in some models] which are even better. However, not everything is in a crossover, either... *yes*

A problem with cheap active monitors is that they tend to put really cheap and not really good amplifiers in them. And they break more often. So the question really is should you buy a cheap passive system or a cheap active system? In that case, I would actually rather go with a passive system. You can find really good amplifiers for about 150-200$ and pair it with some good speakers for 300-400$. In that case you could probably afford some small [6-7" bass driver] passive Tannoys or even passive Dynaudios.

However, if you can somehow save up for those Yamahas HS50 or HS5 or even better HS7 or HS8, those would set you up nicely. HS50 and HS80 are older and HS5, HS7 and HS8 are newer and better. Linkage: http://ca.yamaha.com/en/products/music-production/speakers/hs_series/?mode=series These are the cheapest good quality speakers I know of [and I've heard them, even mixed on them - HS80].

Cheers!

 

Well, for this amount of money you will have to sacrifice something. You're looking for the best compromise.

- You can save up and get something more expensive
- You may want something mid-term 'till you can upgrade
- You may not want headphones
- You may want headphones
- You may not care about 2-way or 3-way
- You may not care about the type of twitter
- You may not care about shielding
- You may or may not want used
- ...

Cheaper models will lack somewhere but they can be decent. If you're just starting out you'd probably want a medium-budget, decent set-up (a stepping stone) and be skeptical about spending a lot of money (not because the quality would lack but because you most likely can't sink a lot of money into it or if you're doing it from your bedroom or for fun or just can't spend more).

That said, the op barely shared any info. He did say he doesn't have an amp. And getting a 200$ amp would blow his budget through the roof.

Is bass important?
Is the room untreated?
Is the room small?

Also, have a look at the top sellers (most are 5-inchers):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/musical-instruments/11974991/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_MI_1_3_last

As you would expect it starts from the very bottom. Just look at the top twenty. The Presonus I pointed at is #71. Hell, he could even make do with M-Audio BX8 D2.

 

Gramofon. But youre absolutely right.

And if he can get a chance to visit a store and hear the damn speakers himself, with the material he brought himself, that's always the best.

He might like some KRKs, or Fostex, or passive speakers like Mission or Wharfdale, or some XXXX? Who knows? I have a friend who uses some *hi-fi* passive Yamahas for years and years and he makes some really decent mixage on them. *yes* I think he said they cost him like a 100 or 150 quid. And he's got a hi-fi Yamaha amplifier that's really nothing special. He makes EDM and uses Reason. So yes, it all depends... on dependence.

Good mood today. Red wine. Talky-talky.

 

Yeah, I forgot about that. If you've settled at targeting a certain price range or selection of monitors, it would be a good idea to test them (if you can) with your (and commercial) content and decide. (Well, even with more expensive ones to see the difference) Just keep in mind they aren't supposed to sound exactly "pleasing" or forgiving.

P.S. If he listens to more expensive ones, maybe he will have second thoughts or back off by himself. (But, in the end, you'll adapt to anything to the best of your ability)

 

The kind of philosophy I'm leaning to when buying monitors is: if it sounds good to me, they will be good for me. That "school of thought" teaches that when the speakers sound good to you, with your music/mixes [especially if you bring music made by you], those speakers are right for you. We all hear music differently. So in a way it's like matching an amp to speakers. *yes* Also, some speakers are better for this or that genre of music. The thing with expensive ones is that they usually sound good with any kind of music, though, because they're more linear. Linearity is the key to everything. But it's also not just about the frequency curves, but transient response, so they have to have high SPL, for example. However, high SPL is crucial for classical music. If one makes EDM with 3dB of dynamics... you know.

It might sound strange, but I think that for EDM or Hip-Hop/Rap, I'd prefer speakers with less bass, actually. When you mix on speakers that have pronounced mids and highs, you tend to boost the bass more. That's good to keep in mind, because speakers work in reverse to what you want/hear if you get what I mean. Simply put: if you want bassy mixes mix on less bassy speakers. But... I don't mean some 10$ PC speakers, of course.