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From a recent thread:
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ RANN
I've written so many threads on this subject discussing all the choices in this thread and I'm trying to refrain from my usual posts on the subject of monitors (LSR 2325p, HS80's, FocalTwins, Barefoots in that order relating to price group) but whatever you do stay away from KRK period. The VXT's are just shit as the rest of the range.
the BM5's are great, as are Gene's. Adams, whilst they present great detail, are too bright IMO and I've tested them extensively.
My advice is to: either go all the way and get focal twins, or to go for HS80's and room treatment. If you can't produce on either those then it's a problem with you, not your kit.
Oh, and palm is exactly right in that Subs will not help your produce in stereo, as there is no discrete LFE channel. |
Apologies for the wall of text but it's worth it:
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ RANN
quote:
Originally posted by Zombie0729
def try the Focal's man and the Adam's. You can't trust online reviews until you've heard them yourself. I abused guitar centers 30 day return policy, i tried 4 sets of speakers before i picked
Same here. I drove my local GC's (two of them) fucking crazy testing shit for hours over several weeks.
Nik, here's some previous posts to save you trawling through tons of threads.....
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
tbh, the mackie HR824 are known for, if anything, sounding a bit too sweet (if you disclude that muddy bit and scoop between upper bass and lower mid), so you're going to be hard pushed to find something that rapes you less.
The only monitors I can think of are going to set you back some serious coin:
Focal twins ($2k).
Quested VS2108 ($3k pair)
Barefoots ($4k)
PMC MB2's ($10k pair)
I've used all of them (the Quested and PMC's we have at the studio) and I think the first three on that list would be a great upgrade (especially the Focals or Barefoots) but honestly I would exhaust all other possibilities first - If you're getting fatigue with HR824's then maybe your room and listening position need to be looked at.
Is your monitor system calibrated to the K ssystem - if not I think this is probably going to change everything for you as you physically can't clip without making your ears bleed an it teaches you monitor at suitable volumes.
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
I explained everything in this thread. You can't ever really do a fully scientifically controlled test unless you had a completely controlled environment and the space to set them up so you could A/B all of them without interference.
The best I could do was a comparitive test, taking the environment and placement in to consideration, so really they were all subject to the same disadvantages, then seeing if that same flaw (and positives) presented in the other listening environments, to really see if they were common traits of each monitor. I'm also an engineer so I've used a lot of monitors professionally and some of my feedback is based on my experience in professional studio environments (not bedroom or project studios).
http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...d=&pagenumber=5
And from the above thread.....
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
Finally, I've had time to sit down and write a review.
Preface: I listened to every monitor they had at two different guitar centers and one other pro audio store. I listened to mainly electronic music (becuase the whole point of this was it's for us) but also checked some classical such as Chopin, Bach and Bartok for more diverse reference. I used the same music sources and went on several occaisions. Bear in mind this is a comparitive test in every sense; going from my hifi speakers at home (Scnadyna Minipods) and Custom Quested VS2108's and B&W 802's (albeit less experience on the latter two for electronic music but still having referenced all the test material first on these several times). This was not a blind test but but I tried to remain objective between models on really noting differences first then overall perception. I set the monitors and the system so the volumes were as equal as could get them so A/Bing would be accurate with the same material. I don;t care for aesthetics ubnless the thing is just plain fugly, in which case I'll state it. Finally this is all my own subjective opinion.
This thread is about monitors, for the studio to the review I did is with that in mind as the primary requisite.
I'll start with the most noticeable things in no particular order:
Firstly, nearly all the 5 inch monitors, from every brand fell short in bass and/or mid reproduction. The ones that really felt lacking compared to their larger same brand alternatives were the KRK's and the Yama's, partly becuase the larger version were quite good and partly becuase the smallers were so bad.
The mackies/tapco's in 5 inch sizes (mr5's etc) were lacking a lot of detail but probably good for small home DJ setup and these went seroiusly loud before distorting. The HR624 were very crisp in the upper mids and hi's and but had so much bass response lacking they would be unusable for a serious monitoring setup. I would find it quite difficult to get a bass mix right on these without secondary referencing.
The bluesky monitors were good, if not some of the best smaller monitors but not quite enough to challenge the bigger monitors. They wer well balanced with good detail and a good amount of bass for their size but it did get a little muddy in the upper mid and the very low bass rolled off sharply. These were also quite pricey for what they were bearing in mind their competition.
The mackie HR824's were, at one point my monitor of choice, and even though a large part of mixing with monitors is knowing them, the more I've got to know them the less I like them. I find their mids very pronounced, bass hugely extended and hi's generally good. However, they have one of the biggest (and misleading) stereo spreads combinedwith a hige sweet spot meaning mixes done on them that sound wide and full come out narrow and lacking on most other systems. Also the bass is becoming my main gripe with these. I used to love it, but now I find a definite muddyness in between the lower mid and bass and have problems listening to subtle differences in these bands to the point I can;t hear what's going on. Don;t get me wrong - these are good monitors, but personally, I wouldn't shell out the $1000 per pair anymore as there's others that do a great job....
The KRK's: I would go through the models individually but all them (yes all of them) suffered from one common problem: there was this lack of fine detail accross the whole rnage of frequencies. It's wierd - none of them stood out as terrible but because of this problem, none of them stood out as fantastic. It's like a screen of material was placed over the driver. In fact the VRX8 were quite difficult to hear what was going on at all becuase like the mackies they suffer from the huge and unnatural stereo image. They were my least favourite 8inch monitors.
of the larger monitors (6inch+) , the ones that stood out were the Dynaudios BM5A, BM6A, Adam A7, Quested F11, Yamaha HS80m.
The dynaudios were superb in detail with strangly enough the BM5a's sounding slightly more natural than the BM6's due to the overall balance of the frequencies. The BM6 have more bass but the detail was just outstanding on the BM5's. The only critiscism of the BM5's was that they did lack bass slightly - It's like they slowly roll of at 100hz but that was the only flaw I could find and that can be adjusted for. They also did not change frequency balance depending on gain, which the BM6's did ever so slightly (bass got a tiny bit more pronounced as you went higher).
The Adam A7's were simply incredible with Hi's - crisp and sizzling, nothing else came close but the mid and bass felt lacking and they were not as clear as the Dynaudios and would not give a true representation of bass frequencies I felt.
The HS80's were quite great in general. The bass full and deep without being muddy or overpowering, the mids nice and clear and the hi's just nice and present. I felt you could listen to these for hours and they wouldn't even take long to get used to. The only problem is that you need a bog room as they begin to boom in a smaller room (as one of the test sites did). They don't have a misleading huge stereo image and I felt quite comfortable hearing productions I've made. These were in my top three especially as they are cheaper than a lot of other monitors.
Alesis m1 mk2 - not massively impressed but the again I never have been with these. They're not terrible and you can mix on them but again I find the lack of definition annoying, especially in the bass frequences.
Now for the surpise.....the moonitors that got me to part with money?
JBL LSR 2325 - New 5 inch monitors from JBL. Why? becuase for $400 (less with my discount ) nothing else in that price bracket sounded anywhere near as good. I was torn between the HS80's (too big) the BM5's (too much $$$) or these. They are small, clear powerhouses! The bass is sharp and defined, the mids clear and punchy without being boxed in and the hi's are just right to give detail without inducing fatigue (hi's are what always get me tired in a session). The main thing I like is that it's like having larger monitors wihout needed the space for them, They sound like 6 or 8 inch monitors in terms of bass response but can be used in small room. The stereo image is broad but not too wide and so far translation is so easy. No weird spikes or compensation. There were no reviews on these anywhere (they were only out for 4 days when I bought them) so I was taking a big chance but I can say that after two weeks of owning them I am seriously pleased. honestly nothing comes close at this price and they just destroyed every other monitor in terms of perforamnce at that price range.
Sorry for the wall of text, but honestly it's all been covered before. I may do an update in the next few months to see if any new offering change my mind but for the mmediate future this info still stands completely true for me.
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Simply put STAY AWAY FROM KRK. Buy HS80's if you have a big room, JBL LSR 2325P is you're on a tight budget and Genelecs or Dynaudio if you have a bit more money, and focals or barefoots if you have a ton of money and a professional grade audio interface.
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