Speaker Monitor Advice

S

SimonT

Member
Hi!

I live in the U.K, and I'm looking for good active studio monitors for as cheap as possible. This will be my first set of pro studio monitors I will have purchased.

I gather a frequency response of 20hz-20khz is the ideal range. I will be making house music and trance, and eventually recording guitar, acoustic and electric, but for now, as far as dance music goes, is there a real need to go as low as 20hz (if I'm not making drum 'n' bass, jungle or dubstep, which I won't be), because I've seen some reasonable priced monitors which have between 40-50hz starting frequency.

Should there be other things I should be looking for, apart from frequency response? obviously active, but they all would be wouldn't they, professional ones?

This is the audio interface I have, which is ok, but obviously not the greatest, but as soon as I have the money, will be upgrading.

Behringer Xenyx Q502USB Mixer | DV247

Will having a cheap audio interface like this one make any difference? and where would they be connected on that, I'm presuming the L and R in/outs under the headphone input on the right?

Computer Music magazine recommended the M-Audio BX5 D2 as there cheapest recommended starting monitors. I've seen them here for £125.99.

M-Audio BX5 D2 Powered Monitor Speaker: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

They have a frequency response of 53hz-22khz. I thought the human ear couldn't hear above 20khz, so what would be the use of going up to 22khz? Computer Music magazine did say though, go up to the BX8 D2 if you want more bass, but would that be essential for me at the moment?

The BX8's are £199.99 on the same site:-

M-Audio BX8 D2 UK Studio Monitors Pair: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

And go down a bit lower from 40hz-22khz. That's probably why Computer Music Magazine said they're more bassy.

On this other site, I saw KRK Rockit RP5 G3 's on sale for £109.99.

KRK Rokit RP5 G3 Active Monitor, Single at Gear4Music.com

They have a frequency response of 45hz-35khz (again way over 20khz?)

So I'm really tempted by the Rockit 5's at the moment as they're the cheapest, and I know 8's are well recommended in the pro field. They only go as far down as 45hz though.

What's peoples opinions on this then?

Thanks!
 
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In your price range I would only consider Yamaha or JBL. You also need to consider your room acoustics. If those aren't up to par then it doesn't really matter which monitors you go with since in reality you'd be "hearing your room" and not so much the monitors. If you can't get your room treated then just get whatever fits within your price range and has good reviews. After you make your decision be sure to spend some time playing some of your favorite songs through them so you can get an idea of what you should be aiming for while trying to mix your own music.
 
Thanks mate. So what Yamaha or JBL monitors would you recommend?
Would I be best connecting these speakers to my audio interface via TRS or XLR cause noticed on the Krk's that those 2 input connections are balanced, the RCA is unbalanced. Not entirely sure what that means. Googled it but it was complicated. Would I be best using balanced or unbalanced inputs?
Also, just going off on a tangent slightly. I just noticed on some mini jack headphones I have for phone. On the connector end of them, there are 3 lines. I know 1 means mono, 2 means stereo, but what does 3 mean?
As for speakers though, my room isn't acoustically treated, but having a professional pair of monitors has to be better than what I have now, 2 little speakers that came with my Dell computer.
 
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SimonT said:
Thanks mate. So what Yamaha or JBL monitors would you recommend?
Would I be best connecting these speakers to my audio interface via TRS or XLR cause noticed on the Krk's that those 2 input connections are balanced, the RCA is unbalanced. Not entirely sure what that means. Googled it but it was complicated. Would I be best using balanced or unbalanced inputs?
Also, just going off on a tangent slightly. I just noticed on some mini jack headphones I have for phone. On the connector end of them, there are 3 lines. I know 1 means mono, 2 means stereo, but what does 3 mean?
As for speakers though, my room isn't acoustically treated, but having a professional pair of monitors has to be better than what I have now, 2 little speakers that came with my Dell computer.
Click to expand...

Whichever you could afford. Even the smaller JBL LSR305 should have enough low end to suit your needs. TRS (Tip, Ring, Sleeve) and XLR (X-series connector, Locking Tab, Rubber ring) are the same thing with the exception being that you can run longer lengths of XLR without picking up noise, which is why they're preferable for microphones. If your interface has RCA then get RCA to TRS, if it has TRS then TRS to TRS. As long as the cables you buy are good quality then you shouldn't have any problems.

I do agree that any monitors are better than no monitors. I just wanted to give you a heads up so when you buy your monitors and they don't sound quite like what you were expecting to keep in mind that it might be your room throwing the sound off.

Here's a link to give you an idea of what each monitor sounds like with the same source material being played through each:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oFwIyxSKjY

Personally I really like the JBLs and at their price they simply can't be beat. That's a company that only makes speakers and they've been doing it for a very, very long time.
 
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Those JBL LSR305 look amazing. They're about the same price as the KRK Rockit RP5 G3's.

What do you think of these Alesis ones:-

Alesis M1 Active 520 USB Active Studio Monitors (PAIR) at Gear4Music.com

They're cheap for me at the moment, £179.00 I've seen them, and have a built in audio interface. The audio interface mind wouldn't conflict with my audio interface would it, if I don't plug the Alesis USB in? The frequency range is 56hz-20khz. Would I need that low a bass frequency for what I'm doing (Trance and House) and why do some go up higher than 20khz anyway?

The JBL's are 43hz-24khz, and the KRK's are 45hz-35khz and the M-Audio ones are 40hz-22khz.
 
Pro low priced monitors does not exist.
There are roughly 3-4 segments of monitor pricing (and quality often follows) and the Rock-It Rp5 G3 is in the lowest pricing segment.
Not saying they are crap but this is considered really lowend monitors. Entry level priced and yeah - you get what you pay for - for the most.

If you are a newcomer to mixing the RockIt might work but there will come a day when you want to get something better.
And there is no need for getting better ones now if you are a newcomer. Training ears takes time and if you can´t hear the diff between the RockIt and say - Adam A7X, then no need to buy the most expensive ones at the moment.

And 20hz? No the Rock-It won't be true to you below 65hz when you make that trance-track. For any heavy club/kick based music I heavily recommend a sub unless u have huge near fields or better/bigger monitor systems.
 
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SimonT said:
Those JBL LSR305 look amazing. They're about the same price as the KRK Rockit RP5 G3's.

What do you think of these Alesis ones:-

Alesis M1 Active 520 USB Active Studio Monitors (PAIR) at Gear4Music.com

They're cheap for me at the moment, £179.00 I've seen them, and have a built in audio interface. The audio interface mind wouldn't conflict with my audio interface would it, if I don't plug the Alesis USB in? The frequency range is 56hz-20khz. Would I need that low a bass frequency for what I'm doing (Trance and House) and why do some go up higher than 20khz anyway?

The JBL's are 43hz-24khz, and the KRK's are 45hz-35khz and the M-Audio ones are 40hz-22khz.
Click to expand...

I would never buy those Rockits, ever. Everything KRK makes is just sub par. Rockits are like Beats by Dre headphones, pure marketing hype and crappy sound. Alesis is a good company that makes budget products and they've been around for a very long time but I would not take their monitors over the JBLs. So honestly, either the JBL LSR305 or Yahama HS7 (the HS5 is not as good as JBL's 5 inch monitors).

To be honest... at the end of the day just focus on writing great music. If your music touches people and it tells a story then to hell what you used to make it. Wu-Tang's first album sounds like it was recorded in someone's bedroom with one mic and an MPC but it's still one of my favorite albums of all time, because the performance and the talent was there.
 
I've had the KRK 8s since 2007, they've worked fairly well for me over the years. I'm by no means an AE or ME though! As omgwtf wrote above, it should be more about the music. From experience though, you should be able to get a decent mix out of the KRKs.
 
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Glad to find this thread as I actually came to this section to post my own...

I'm after some monitors for my bedroom setup... my price range is £150 to £250... as pointed out above, for this price range they're never going to be great... but again, as pointed out i'm in my bedroom not a studio...

I need something compact that I can put away easily and dont take up too much space when they are being used... something reasonably accurate that I can A/B with headphones (at the moment i have to burn to CD and take into my living room to hear out loud)...

just to point out that the above price for rokit G5's is actually for 1 unit not a pair... a pair is about £250...

i'm disappointed to hear they are not rated but glad that ive read that... I havent heard them but have seen them and the build looks good... have also seen the m audio and the build is terrible... really nasty... if i was you i would spend a bit more... i wouldnt touch them...

ive had alesis in the past (passive days when you needed an amp also) and the ones i had were good for the price... i forget what they were but they were entry level...

i was thinking either tannoy reveals (402 / 502) or the rokit g5... after reading above i think ill rule out the rokits and check out some alesis...

but i'm leaning towards tannoy reveal 402 - £210 for a pair, nice and compact...

back in the days of passive monitors, the tannoy reveals were well received...

anybody have any thoughts on tannoy reveal?
 
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Rokits work fine.
It's common for people to play "David vs. Goliath"
and overstate perceived flaws as a backlash against their popularity.

Tannoy has always seemed to be a reputable brand, too.
The only complaints I've seen about the 402s are the same complaints I've heard about others:
Buzzing.
However, the complaint is usually a result of a person
running his mouth and complaining before making an effort to solve the problem,
since many of these "buzzing" issues are caused by electrical problems, especially ground loops!

Now, with that said:
If you're making bass-heavy music, I'd recommend prioritizing monitor size
(something larger than 4"),
more than I'd recommend prioritizing brand and model.

Because of this emphasis on size over brand/model,
I'm going to go against the grain here and recommend the 5" Rokits.
Don't be one of those lame guys on here who blames his perfectly adequate Rokits for his poor mixing skills. It's too easy a trap to fall into.

-Ki
Salem Beats
 
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yeah thanks, it did occur to me that 4" might not be enough (but they are much easier to move around) the rokit's did look like they could bang... so maybe I should bring the rokits back in but compare them to the reveal 502's... both around the £250 mark...

noise can be a problem yes but i cant imagine that the monitor is to blame more to do with cable's and position etc

OP: take a look at Alesis in your price bracket
 
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