ok thanks

Don't go for the Passive's - save up for the active - you won't be disapointed.

Echosystem's list is good. Personally I think the Alesis m1 MKII are crap - shitty response on most frequencies. People seem to love them on TA but whenever I've done A/B either personally or for clients, they were never made the top five for that price. They sound rubbish compared to the 2031a, but then they are cheaper.

The Near05's are a joke in terms of quality - only worth buying if you have no budget and just want a (small) stage up from PC speakers.

Try to get second hand 2031a's - the build is quite solid and you shouldn't have a problem - which is unusual for Behringer....

MY first monitors were B2030A's and I was very impressed when i first got them. As i listened to them more and more, i started noticing ear fatigue. It got to the poing that i could not stand listening to them anymore, so i sold them. There is a spike in the tweeter's frequency responce. Unless Behringer fixed that problem, i would save for something better.

... are cheap monitors worth it? Let me try to think of a good analogy for you. Would a surgeon use cheap tools to operate on a patient? Would a Lotus automobile mechanic use anything second-rate? Obviously what you're looking for is QUALITY, and if you can't hear what sounds exist in your music there's no point in making any.