Studio Monitors - Which Ones do you like?

M

mingus51

New member
Hello Everyone,

I have been crusing through the web looking for some input to help direct me to some Studio monitors. I want to know what your thoughts are or experiences with the following monitors are:

Alesis M1 Actives
Tannoy Reveal Actives
Behringer Truth Actives
Event 20/20 Actives

How would you rank these? Best? Worst? Am I forgetting any good brands out there? Also, if any of you fine people know of websites/stores that sell any of these monitors cheap I would greatly appreciate it. So far, I can only find all of the following for under $400/pair (except the Tannoy's which are like $500) at Ebay, but I would prefer to buy from a dealer or trustworthy individual.

Thanks for the time
Mingus
:cheers: CHEERS
 
i LOVE my Event 20/20bas

. dont need any external amplifier
. super loud (when you need that extra punch)
. super clear, flat sound even when the volume is up
. sounds just as good as any very expensive monitors


enough said!
 
The Events are great, also, you might want to look into Genelec. The studio where i work uses the small kinds and the large 15" three ways (which sound un freaking real)


hey Mano1 know anything about email notification yet??
 
chet deeeeeeeez said:
hey Mano1 know anything about email notification yet??
Click to expand...

I am looking into it still. weird stuff happening on the Linux box lately I must say. I need a good 2 days session to recode a bunch of things, update stuff, and clean it all up
:)
 
This isn't on your monitor list but if you're at all into the Chemical Brothers, they use the Dynaudio M2 with subwoofer option. I'm thinking of getting my very 1st 'real' monitors but am having some trouble finding the Dynaudios to demo! Don't know if they're active tho.
 
I also have some Event 20/20 bas and I also really like them. But you should, by all means, try to listen to as many as you can. (And you might even try to dig up an article or two on how to evaluate monitors... it's an art in itself).

With regard to setup, the 20/20s are fairly tightly focused near fields so it's important to point them toward your sweetspot. If you're mostly working with one pair of ears I suspect a 36-40" equilateral triangle is probably appropriate (with you as one of the vertices, of course).

Some people like subwoofers -- and for electronic music getting an accurate reporting of bass and sub-bass is very important since a synth can generate literally "unreal" levels of ultra lo-freqs. (Of course, you can also use graphic spectral analysis to tip you off to problems that aren't audible on your system...) I, myself, however, am not a fan of subs.

To me, they slur the stereo field and cause phase problems -- often in the most important bass ranges. I think you can minimize those problems by using subwoofers and left-right monitors that are designed to be used together and by careful adjustment. But this whole BS about how you can't hear the dif between a mono subwoofer and similarly bassy stereo speakers is, indeed, BS, as is the oft-repeated notion that you can't perceive directionality 'down there.' While there's a certain amount of truth in the notion that low frequencies 'spread out' more than high, you are by no means exempt from directionality issues in the range of many of these speakers -- and phase cancellation problems can raise havoc with bass as most of us know. I approach subwoofer systems with some skepticism.
 
A ps on the Events... they're spec'd at "Frequency Response: 35Hz - 20kHz, ±3dB (-2dB @ 38Hz), Ref. 500Hz "

That's pretty solid bass for NFMs. (The bi-amp system is rated at 130 w (continuous) bass per side and 70 w treble per side... so there's a fair bit of power.
 
Event? where?

Anyone know a good reliable place to purchase Event stuff online?? Pref. a US site.
 
Fatlace

Of course, there are always the big vendors like MusiciansFriend.com (owned by the devil -- er, I mean GuitarCenter) and SamAsh.com (also at SamAshMusic.com -- the two sites look different but are cross linked... go figger). I imagine their prices are competitive (but probably not the very lowest -- watch out for shipping charges wherever you are. Some joints beat a price by 5$ and then nail you on S&H...

But, if you've got the option -- you really need to listen to a bunch of monitors yourself. It can get confusing and you need a good strategy (reference listening CDs are an important part of that). It doesn't hurt to get a bunch of opinions, of course, that can help getting sucked into one of those "showroom moments" when -- for some intangible reason -- you fall in love with 'the wrong' monitor. Maybe it's the sunshine coming through the window or the pretty girl who smiled at you as she walked by... or maybe you're just tired of shopping and listening. Or maybe you momentarily forget that it's more important for your new monitors to be accurate than that they 'sound good.'

But, as good as getting ideas about what other people like is (and that can get confusing, too, of course), it's going to be your ears listening to these things for the next few years.
 
i freakin' hate sam ash...i bought a Tascam US-428 at the hollywood location ($500) and hated it, when i went to take it back, they wouldn't give me a cash refund because they don't give refunds on recording gear, only store credit...i was SOOOOOO PISSED...i mean yeah, i've got the money but it's locked in that piece of crap store.

i just knocked them, but their prices are okay and they have a decent selection, but it's a pisser when you find that you can't get all your money back when you really don't like something. what a joke

i don't know if other stores do that but i've always been able to take stuff back at GC
 
theblue1,

Thanks for the great advice. I was just going to do some pricing on the Events. I know better then to jump right in and buy. We have a good store local (woodwind and brasswind) that has a pretty decent selection of studio monitors. I'm probably going to visit them soon. I'll still possibly need an amp too. Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll let you all know what I decided to go with.
 
fatlace

Cool. Get your price info together and then do the local store. It's probably worth a couple extra bucks to be able to take your time with friendly locals. Let 'em know what you can get them for by mail but that you realize they have overhead and have to make a profit and you don't necessarily expect them to match it -- and then let them tack something fair on that (after all, on a pair of monitors [and those EVENT BAS's are pretty heavy] you could spend a good chunk of change on shipping).

They'll be happy that you didn't crank 'em down too hard and you'll have built up some good will with your local shop which can be invaluable over time. If you end up spending 20 or 30 bucks more than you might have by mail -- just remember you wouldn't be able to hear them at all over the 'net... ;) A few bucks extra to know you've got the right monitors is well worth it. (And if their price is just insane... well, be very apologetic as you back out of the store. :D )
 
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Can anyone explain to me or point me to an article that explains the positive and negative about powered and not powered monitors?
 
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