Alesis M1 Mk II'sYamaha MSP5sEvent whatevers (probably 8s if I can afford 'em)
And other monitors in that price range. Fostex and Behringer have already been ruled out in after a brief listening comparison with the first two I mentioned. And I sure as hell can't afford Mackies. What's your home studio monitoring solution?
― Millar (Millar), Saturday, 25 January 2003 00:19 (10 years ago) Permalink
Linn Kabers!
― Sean (Sean), Saturday, 25 January 2003 00:43 (10 years ago) Permalink
― chad (chad), Saturday, 25 January 2003 00:48 (10 years ago) Permalink
― Sean (Sean), Saturday, 25 January 2003 00:53 (10 years ago) Permalink
― David (David), Saturday, 25 January 2003 01:53 (10 years ago) Permalink
― ara, Saturday, 25 January 2003 05:34 (10 years ago) Permalink
Before I had the Yamaha speakers, my mixes wouldn't translate system to system. Now pretty much what it sounds like on mix down, it sounds like on CDR, no matter what stereo/player I use.
― earlnash, Saturday, 25 January 2003 08:26 (10 years ago) Permalink
I use shielded B&W Solids at home with the PC soundcard, but generally mix through the hi-fi (Audiolab amps, Heybrook Quartet speakers). Probably not flat or neutral, but it's the only reference I have.
― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Sunday, 26 January 2003 04:14 (10 years ago) Permalink
― recovering optimist (Royal Bed Bouncer), Monday, 10 October 2005 22:16 (7 years ago) Permalink
― jimmy glass (electricsound), Monday, 10 October 2005 22:22 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 10 October 2005 22:23 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 8 November 2005 20:06 (7 years ago) Permalink
― mathaniel, Tuesday, 8 November 2005 20:14 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Tuesday, 8 November 2005 20:49 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 8 November 2005 21:02 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 8 November 2005 21:04 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 8 November 2005 21:06 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 8 November 2005 22:02 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 04:42 (7 years ago) Permalink
― john p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 05:03 (7 years ago) Permalink
― philip sherburne (philip sherburne), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 15:22 (7 years ago) Permalink
High-end speakers always tout accuracy and not color and sweetening, though.
― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 15:44 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 16:58 (7 years ago) Permalink
i own them, they have surprisingly good low end for their size, thanks to ventilated enclosure. also you can put them close to back wall (thanks to ventilated enclosure again, the lower frequences don't go to the back of the speakers, the sound escapes through the holes on the front). they have a pretty even frequency response, and they also have pretty fast transient response (means the sounds will have no 'extra tails')
but anyway, you'll have to get used to any monitors you choose.
― nique (nique), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 22:03 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Wednesday, 9 November 2005 23:01 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 10 November 2005 00:02 (7 years ago) Permalink
Please keep in mind when digesting the preceding review that the only other speakers I have ever owned were floor-model Kenwoods that I think I bought for $35 each.
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 10 November 2005 01:21 (7 years ago) Permalink
The goal with both is ideally "accuracy" but since that is always an impossible ideal there are all sorts of compromises, mainly related to price. Some people (particularly mastering types) do use expensive audiophile type speakers for monitoring. In recording studios AFAIK they typically use big "mains" monitors which are supposed to sound big and loud to impress the clients. Then for mixing they use nearfields that might lean toward accuracy in a way that's actually unpleasant. In other words, depending on taste, some people might like to hear what's going on in the midrange to a degree of accuracy that might not be enjoyable in a home listening scenario. There is also the issue of "translation" and some speakers are thought to have special qualities in this area (ie "if you can make it sound good on these speakers it will sound good anywhere"). So no speakers at any reasonable budget are going to be truly "accurate" and in a professional mixing situation, euphonic qualities that we might favor at home can often take a back seat to more practical considerations.
― walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 10 November 2005 01:38 (7 years ago) Permalink
― walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 10 November 2005 01:39 (7 years ago) Permalink
anyone got the krk rokit rp5s (or any krk rokits?).
― laxalt, Tuesday, 13 November 2007 19:27 (5 years ago) Permalink
ha, I know own a pair of both the MSP5s and the Alesis. a hobbyist twit is me.
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 13 November 2007 19:31 (5 years ago) Permalink
the MPS5s are much more honest, btw the alesis have been relegated to the living room
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 13 November 2007 19:33 (5 years ago) Permalink
dumb question from know-nothing noob - can you decently monitor with speakers that plug straight into the computer (assuming they're of good quality) or do you need to hook up proper monitors through an amp/receiver dealy?
― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 00:18 (5 years ago) Permalink
For doing anything sound related through the computer, I would get some sort of external USB box, unless your internal sound card is great (and shielded etc). I highly recommend this one: http://www.roland.com/products/en/UA-25/
― S-, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 01:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
the problem isn't the "amp". plenty of decent monitors are powered and thus have built in amps, it's a question of where is the audio coming from, and the outs on your computer generally are no good. High-end soundcards or usb/firewire breakout box type interfaces are recommended. If you're going to do studio stuff, you can get one with multiple channels. I have a MOTU 828 mk 2, so I can do stuff like take the 6 outs of my old Sequential drum machine and record them to 6 different tracks of software at the same time. If you don't need that, there's plenty of stereo options.
http://www.sweetwater.com/c683--FireWire_Audio_Interfaces http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 02:58 (5 years ago) Permalink
Couldn't find a better thread so:
I got new turntables and a mixer today, the mixer goes directly to my speakers through your run of the mill RCA cables, works fine, etc.
However, When I hook up my laptop to the same speakers, with your run of the mill headphone-jack-sized cable, there's a terrible buzzing whenever both things are plugged into the speakers (which never happened at all with my old set up).
What's up with that?
― Edward Saroyan, Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:35 (4 years ago) Permalink
is your laptop plugged in?
if so, unplug it - does the buzz continue?
― jump in the looool (electricsound), Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
No, it stops if I unplug either one.
― Edward Saroyan, Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:40 (4 years ago) Permalink
I should mention the mixers are substantially different, one is an Allen and Heath Xone 32, the other is a really basic Numark (this: http://www.moogaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=159)
― Edward Saroyan, Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
some laptops have interference through the headphone/line out jacks while plugged in - if this is what is happening the only solution is to run it off the battery.
― jump in the looool (electricsound), Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
Hmmmn, strange, since tihs never did happen with my previous set up. What do you mean by run it off the battery, exactly?
Thanks.
Another thing to note, I have the RCA cables of the mixer hooked up to the RECORD port not the AUX OUT one, which might solve the problem, except I don't want to drop $30+ on the proper cables if it's not going to do anything.
― Edward Saroyan, Thursday, 21 May 2009 04:50 (4 years ago) Permalink
sounds like a grounding issue with your laptop, does it continue when you unplug your laptop from its power supply?
― Crackle Box, Thursday, 21 May 2009 09:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
oh doh, misread the thread
― Crackle Box, Thursday, 21 May 2009 09:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
anyway, without any more details its hard to say, you need to specify what happens and when and tell us exactly how its all plugged together
laptop output + cheap cables can be pretty noisy, it could be that the volume on your laptop is set really low and the gains on your mixer are set really high to compensate?
― Crackle Box, Thursday, 21 May 2009 09:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
Where words fail:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/AbXy6001/vubz.jpg?t=1242914927
My old mixer only took RCA cables, I'm thinking there might be some sort of interference going on because I'm using the wrong output ports on my new mixer? I think I'm going to need to get bigger cables anyways, but like hell I'm going to radioshack or best buy.
― Edward Saroyan, Thursday, 21 May 2009 14:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Edward Saroyan, Thursday, 21 May 2009 14:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
why not run the laptop into your mixer as well?
Is the monitor aux in stereo?
― dan selzer, Thursday, 21 May 2009 14:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
I need a recommendation on in-home speakers. I finally got some turntables and a mixer (but no amp) so I'm thinking I want powered speakers but other than that have very little clue in which direction to look. I basically want something that sounds nice for in-home listening/"djing." Like those M-Audio AV 40s above...are they good for home listening or are they mainly recommended for studio monitor sort of situations (this "flat" or "uncolored" sound you read about from studio monitors)? Ideas? Places to do more research?
― matt2, Tuesday, 1 September 2009 17:22 (3 years ago) Permalink
I do most of my listening through my computer set-up: firewire in/out unit to M-Audio monitors. Thought it would be tiring to listen to monitors that much, but it hasn't been.
Budget?
― Michael Train, Tuesday, 1 September 2009 22:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
i haven't heard those m-audio monitors but from what i have heard of their other monitors they're pretty cheap and plastic sounding. but y'know compared a lot of stuff out there they sound amazing. it all depends on what you're used to. they'll also be nice and compact, and clean and blah blah
but...
in your situation i'd def get some big old hi-fi system. big speakers, big amp. something "fun" sounding. for home listening i'd take a big fat warm sound over something that's fairly accurate and flat. don't bother with internet research. reviews are pointless when choosing speakers imo. get out there and listen for yourself.
― Crackle Box, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 01:18 (3 years ago) Permalink
Thanks for responding you two. Yeah, I forgot to say my budget is ideally under $300 but if I found something "perfect" I would probably go up to $400. I'm definitely thinking along the lines of the big fat warm sound you describe Crackle Box but I'm still a little directionless. I suppose maybe I should find some shops around that would allow me to listen for myself although those are not in noticeable supple here in central NC either. As for an amp supposing I decide to go that way, any suggestions along those lines?
― matt2, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 02:21 (3 years ago) Permalink
Hmm, horses for course really. Never been a massive fan of speaker cabinet "warmth" myself. Accuracy sounds much nicer to my ears.
― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 08:26 (3 years ago) Permalink
The Alesis MK2s are phenomenal and in your price range. You can get powered ones.
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 14:19 (3 years ago) Permalink
Chewshabadoo, I could see what your saying. I'll be honest and say my opinion is only based on descriptions (which I realize could be pretty worthless in terms of what my ears would actually like), not sure I could even point out warm versus accurate. Perhaps use of the word "flat" and descriptions like the on upthread saying studio monitors "might lean toward accuracy in a way that's actually unpleasant" have unfairly steered me pretty blindly away.
Tracer, I'll most definitely look into those as I've seen them mentioned positively elsewhere.
― matt2, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 14:32 (3 years ago) Permalink
They're very different things, monitors and hi-fi speakers. I have Mackie 824s for studio use and some big old 70s hifi thing in the living room.
Aside from studio use I love the Mackies for listening to things properly, y'know, not doing anything else apart from sitting there and absorbing the massive sound. I've noticed if I have stuff playing through them and I'm doing something else, I end up having to turn the music down/off or mentally block out what I'm listening to- they're too invasive. Even when I have friends over and we're listening to stuff through them everyone just ends up listening to the music rather than chatting or having a good time.
The hi-fi is just way more chilled. The "warmth" is distortion in the bass and highs because it's old and shitty, it has transistors rather than chips (think 70s hifi vs those horrible 80s all in one hifi things) so it distorts quite nicely. It makes badly produced records sound fine, whereas the Mackies make badly produced things sound crap. I can't crank them in the same way I can my hifi. Old 80s house records sound fine next to all these amazingly produced new house records. With the Mackies I always feel disappointed listening to old records that I love because they aren't as huge sounding as I want them to be.
Just depends on what you want. If you go for monitors I'd imagine the Alesis are far superior to those M-Audio things. This almost feels like some bullshit analogue vs digital debate, they're just different and have different strengths and weaknesses. Like I said, get out there and listen for yourself.
― Crackle Box, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 19:54 (3 years ago) Permalink
If your budget can stretch to them, check out the Adam A7s. I love mine.
― Vast Halo, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 20:21 (3 years ago) Permalink
Oh, yeah, I mentioned the M-Audio because it always seems to me that the average ILM budget is around $300 for equipment and you can get the (decent) BX5s for that. But for serious listening you'd want to get up to some ADAM or Dynaudio monitors that'd run you about $1000 for a pair.
But you'd also want a good firewire/USB converter, and some cables, so your budget would be down for the count at that point.
― Michael Train, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 21:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
Exactly. Try before buy. Some hi-fi speakers are also extremely accurate - but this was more of an 80s trend, Celestion in particular made some indredibly accurate hi-fi speakers like the 600 or 700 series.
― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 3 September 2009 11:36 (3 years ago) Permalink
The other downside with monitor speakers is that they are usually styled with a gear-geek in my mind. Hi-Fi speakers are often styled more like items of furniture.
― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 3 September 2009 11:38 (3 years ago) Permalink
Thanks again for all the feedback folks. So assuming I decide to go for some older hi-fis, what do you all recommend regarding amps? Basically all I've ever had is an all-in-one sorta deal. For the past twelve years I've just had an Aiwa cd/dual cassette/5-cd which came with a detached turntable with an internal amp. It also came with detached speakers (which I'm not altogether unhappy with) but they just have copper speaker wires (no RCA plugs at the end) that clip into the all-in-one unit.
― matt2, Thursday, 3 September 2009 14:36 (3 years ago) Permalink
i like NAD
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 3 September 2009 14:42 (3 years ago) Permalink
The information collection continues. Anybody have anything to say about KEF iQ3s?
― matt2, Friday, 4 September 2009 17:16 (3 years ago) Permalink
Got a set of used KRK Rokit 5s and LOVE them.
― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Monday, 30 November 2009 03:32 (3 years ago) Permalink
For whatever it's worth, I've got a pair of Rokit 6's (the older model that's more rectangular, not the extremely beveled current edition) at my mom's place in Portland and I've been really happy with them -- great sound for the money. (Doesn't hurt that my mom's basement is wooden walled and carpeted, and has a wonderfully warm, dry sound anyway.) Here in Berlin, I've got Genelec 8040s, and I couldn't love them more. Listen to them all damn day and never really get fatigued.
― pshrbrn, Monday, 30 November 2009 20:00 (3 years ago) Permalink
just quickly, why do people who aren't involved in studio work listen to music through monitors?
― ianmaxwell, Monday, 30 November 2009 20:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
They're convenient because they usually have amps built in, and they're accurate, which some people find appealing.
― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 30 November 2009 21:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
I got them for a combination of 1) wanting good-sounding powered speakers (don't have room for a full stereo setup), and 2) I actually do fuck around with recording/mixing/electronic music-making so it made sense to have something to serve both purposes given my limited budget.
While the "accuracy" of the speakers seems to occasionally bring out flaws in some mixes, and while things occasionally sound almost too clear, on the whole the sound is a MASSIVE improvement from any regular powered computer speakers I've ever used.
There's no official distinction between monitor speakers and audiophile speakers anyway, and there was a time when they weren't even separate product lines.
― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 00:12 (3 years ago) Permalink
Right now I'm just running them out of the headphone jack with a splitter to two mini-to-RCA cables, which is probably not ideal. I definitely pick up the noise, and eventually I intend to get some kind of firepod-type interface that I'll also be using for recording. Nonetheless, the sound improvement is dramatic over anything I've previously had out of my computer.
― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 00:13 (3 years ago) Permalink
I have been thinking about this for the reasons Hurting describes. This seems to be a great deal:
http://www.amazon.com/Monitors-Whirlwind-Unique-Squared-Stickers/dp/B001PCWTO2
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 00:19 (3 years ago) Permalink
Another thing I wonder -- could it possibly help your mixing skills to listen to stuff you like on ultra-accurate monitors?
― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 03:28 (3 years ago) Permalink
― Bay-L.A. Bar Talk (Hurting 2), Sunday, November 29, 2009 10:32 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
I saw a pair of these on craigslist for $275 CAD and am considering...
I'm getting tired of my bottom of the line M-Audio monitors, and would like some of that low end sub-bass funky stuff, and speakers that won't exhaust my ears. My current speakers are making due, so this isn't totally warranted spending of money, but nevertheless I can't resist that yellow speaker shield.
How much do these usually go for new? Or better yet, I don't know what sort of offer I should make off the bat.
― EDB, Friday, 25 December 2009 18:37 (3 years ago) Permalink
Anyone have an opinion on these Alesis M1 Active 320 USB Monitors?(link)They're dirt cheap, which is a big plus for me. But they seem a little small..
― one time gaffled 'em up (one time), Friday, 25 December 2009 20:08 (3 years ago) Permalink
EDB - they seem to run around $300USD a pair, or, according to xe.com, around $315 CAD. Not really huge savings. I regularly see the RP6s going for around $300 on craigslist here. It may be worth saving up this amount and holding out. KRKs will be a step up in terms of accuracy but a 5" driver is a 5" driver - it's only going to go to a certain depth bass-wise because of physics, not because of who makes it.
One Time - above applies in your situation - save up for at least a 5" driver - that Alesis stops at 80hz, which is fine with a sub, but pretty unsatisfying without. A lot of bass guitar and kick drum lives below 80hz. 6" Alesis is $100 more. May take some more time to save up, but it will be worth it.
In general - 5" mid - reasonable and the absolute minimum for decent reproduction6-6.5" - the sweet spot for a two-way speaker8" - more bass yes, but a badly-designed crossover, or bad room placement, or badly-matched drivers, etc., can sometimes create issues in the midrange. 50hz is a good target for the bottom of frequency response +/- 3db.
― Shh! It's NOT Me!, Saturday, 26 December 2009 16:44 (3 years ago) Permalink
Bought a pair of new rockit 5's. Just for turntables and laptop, not really producing stuff with it.
― EDB, Saturday, 26 December 2009 23:20 (3 years ago) Permalink
They're set up, and I'm playing my first full record with them on, and damned if I didn't just make an orgasm-face when the kick drum came in. So rich! So clean!
― EDB, Sunday, 27 December 2009 02:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
I know right?
― pithfork (Hurting 2), Sunday, 27 December 2009 02:13 (3 years ago) Permalink
Need some small decent sounding speakers for my laptop. The Audioengine A2's have been around for a while and are reasonably well regarded. Anyone on here have any experience with these? Due to space restrictions I'd rather not use an amp which is why I'm focusing on active speakers.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/pc-peripheral/2043/audioengine-a2-review/
― millmeister, Tuesday, 28 August 2012 22:20 (9 months ago) Permalink
don't like the look of those
save for a pair of krk rokits. studiospares budget active monitors are really quite good and a bit cheaper than the rokits but they have the ugly ass comic sans logo on most of them. i'd wager the little m-audio studio monitors will sound better than those audioengine things.
― Crackle Box, Wednesday, 29 August 2012 11:26 (9 months ago) Permalink
I do have a decent Arcam amp so I could just rig that up with a decent pair of passive speakers like the Dali Zensor or Q Acoustics bookshelf speakers.
Heard some KRK's last week at a friends place. Look good but are quite large and perhaps a little bass heavy for my tastes.
― millmeister, Wednesday, 29 August 2012 16:48 (9 months ago) Permalink
Similar question: are there good small passive monitors that could be used with a computer in an apartment bedroom? I really love my Alesis Monitor1 MKIIs, but they're too large.
― with hidden noise, Wednesday, 29 August 2012 18:46 (9 months ago) Permalink
Do you guys all use your monitors basically as home speakers? I need new speakers for my DJ setup and probably will go with Alesis M1MK2s again, as I feel they're such good value for a really nice system. But I am sort of interested in something more portable or a bookshelf speaker as well - like something you'd use with your iPhone in the kitchen or that type of thing. It's incredibly hard to research this online and find something suitable.
Any thoughts?
― Ballboy to Afghanistan (LocalGarda), Sunday, 27 January 2013 11:27 (4 months ago) Permalink
audioengine's a2s or a5s are a really nice, all in one package (we have the a2s and they'd be perfect for a kitchen)
― 乒乓, Sunday, 27 January 2013 13:54 (4 months ago) Permalink
I use KRK Rokit monitor speakers as bookshelf speakers. I just have RCA to eighth inch cables and then a splitter so I can go straight into my phone/ipad if I want, but obviously the ideal would be to run them out of a proper stereo system. Anyway they sound good to me, and the power is more than adequate for my apartment. Obviously you'd get better range/response with full-size speakers, but they're 1000x better than computer speakers.
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Sunday, 27 January 2013 14:04 (4 months ago) Permalink
Co-sign for the Audioengine A5+. Got a pair recently and am really digging how they sound.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 27 January 2013 23:26 (4 months ago) Permalink