M-Audio BX8a vs. KRK RP8

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Pinero

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I'm bout to get a pair of monitors, dont want to spend more than $600 dollars....I singled out these two but would like to know which is the better monitor overall...HELP!!!
 
KRK RP8.. I've heard the BX8a are not as accurate... let me see if I can find you the article on this one guys reviews of both of it.

Read this and you will see why KRK is a better choice...http://studio-central.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=32148

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"Well, I've spent quite some time throwing all kinds of sonic material for these two monitors to reproduce and I've observed some significant differences.

The BX8a's gave me the impression of a hi-fi speaker more than a studio monitor. If I were to picture an equalizer setting to match the response the BX8a's give out, it would look like a smile with a dip in the mids. The most noticeable differences between the BX8a's and the RP8's are the highs, and the lows. The highs are overbearing. As much as M-Audio likes to advertise their silk tweeters, the sound they put out is rather unsmooth. My impression of the highs were that they were exaggerated; and on high volumes, can be painful on the ears. On low volumes, the highs were listen-able, but I really felt that it did not accurately represent what the monitors were being fed. The RP8's tweeters had a much smoother sound to them, not harsh, fatiguing, and abrasive like the BX8a's. I felt the RP8's had a better representation of sound with highs than the BX8a's. With the BX8a's, audio such as vocals and acoustic guitar sounded dry and unnatural to me. Light acoustic guitar sounded "tinny" at times because of the sharp highs in the BX8a's. When a vocalist would hit "F's" or "S's" they would sound piercing on the BX8a's, while the RP8's would round them off nicely, and balanced the highs right where they should be for an accurate monitor of this level.

The RP8's really got to shine when it came to the mids. Throwing some naked vocals at these two monitors showed some major differences. The BX8a's lacked in this category. Visualizing a stage with a vocalist, switching from the RP8's to the BX8a's was like hearing that vocalist move back further away on the stage. The mids were present on the BX8a's, but there was no substance in them. The RP8'S had more "breath" in them, and this really showed when running some Jack Johnson through them, as well as songs featuring acoustic wind instruments such as flutes, orchestral stuff etc.

Bass was also an interesting difference. The BX8a's put out much more bass than the RP8's. Kick drums with the BX8a's hit way harder than the RP8's. The BX8a's can really make the floor shake. Unfortunately, the bass is greatly exaggerated and doesn't accurately represent the audio. Sometimes the upper-lows and lower mids would collide with each other and sound muddy, where the RP8's were much better adept at handling it. BX8a's had a more looser, boomier sound, while the RP8's had a tighter, punchier sound to them.

The two are comparable in features. The RP8's have an unbalanced RCA input and HF balance over the BX8a's lack of them. I also felt that the RP8's had a more solid build to them. The rubber surround was an important difference. The surround on the BX8a's was much thinner/looser, while the RP8's had a thicker/tighter surround. I believe that the looser surround is what allows the BX8a's to hit as low as they do, but compensates on accuracy, while the tighter feel of the RP8's give a more accurate response of the sound. "

I plan on getting these monitors as soon as I get the money.
 
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Go with the KRKs I'm pretty sure at least 8 out of 10 producers would say they are the better choice.
 
The V4s, RP6s or RP8s should all be below a $600 price range, If you can get to a music store I'd suggest checking them out for yourself before buying. Depending on what genre of music you do and what setup you have, you may also want to consider a good pair of DJ Speakers, $600 will get you alot more bang for your buck, when you're talking 200-500w speakers. If you make music you see being played in clubs and cars with systems, they can be more accurate(because in the club you're listening to 500w DJ speakers, not monitors). I hate answering these questions because I always end up giving people more to think about, but if you can, it's worth listening to a few pair for yourself and determining by what you hear.
 
Just picked up a pair of KRK RP8's but had to go out of town on some business before I could hook them up. They cost $249 each at guitarcenter, they at the tax. Hoping there as good as I've heard!
 
i agree 100% w/ that article and i've had extensive experience with both.

krk!
 
i have a pair of krk rp8 but it has this hissing noise when i turn it on so i need to buy a inter face for it. because i have the monitors hooked up directly to my computer using a rca cord.
 
^^^You should definetly run those thru a mixer. You can even run it thru one of those Behringer Euro mixers, they're like $29. Depending on what type of soundcard you have, you may be damaging your monitors.
 
KRK is better than M-Audio, but i prefer Alesis M1A's in this pricerange. they are cheaper but get a better respnse and more detail.
 
Yeah, I have noticed that only a few places are carrying the M1 active mkII, which is what I planned on getting...but having a problem finding them anywhere but on a website order form may make me lean towards the KRK rp-8.....always nice to get them from a local shop...just in case there are any issues with the units. So much nicer to take faulty gear back to a store than deal with returns or repairs with companies based online.

Thanks for the great info and topic guys!
 
Haven't tried the BX8's, but I've been using my KRK RP8's for a couple years now, and absolutely love em! They get my vote for sure.
 
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