Need new pair of reference monitors, any recommendations?

[C-Martin]

Ok so i've decided it may be time to get some more decent type of reference monitors.. been looking at M-audio BM5a, Yamaha HS50m, Mackie MR5 and couple others but those are those that seem good for their low cost. Im looking for something rather affordable as if i had more money id get me some Dynaudio BM5a's or something but i don't think ill be able to afford something like that for a long while.. i tried some krk rokit ones and i didn't really like them they seemed kinda colored altho i cant really trust what i heard since it wasn't my own environment and it was tracks i had never heard before.. but still i didnt get a good first impression. Don't know if this is any useful info but i mostly work on metal or hard rock type of stuff, but im guessing any good set of monitors would work great for anything right? These will be my first "real" set of monitors as the ones i got now are cheap and annoying to work with lol. I got them a long time ago just because i needed something for less than 100$ and that was portable.

Budget would be like 500$ or so and its for recording and mixing both. Any recommendations, tips or experience you guys can share with me?

 

[everdrone]

Re: Need new pair of reference monitors, any recommendations?

Im pretty happy with my cheapies cause any more bass response than current would disturb the neighbors even more...if that was not an issue Id prolly look into the used market - Ive heard some people getting deals on monitors being the recession and all.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Need new pair of reference monitors, any recommendations?

The lower end Yamahas seem to be great bang for the buck. I've known quite a few people that have the KRK Rockits and really dig 'em, but they've probably used them enough to know what kind of color it adds and mix around it; I have no experience with them so I can't say either way. I have a higher end Yamaha model, the MSP-7s, but those are even cheap compared to so much of the monitor market. For me, it seems to be balanced enough and good enough to get me in the ballpark of higher end stuff. One day, I'll save up enough for some MM27s or S3As or something, but that is a long, long, long ways away.

If I had around a $500 budget, I would go for these: http://www.andysmusiconline.com/products/yamaha-msp5-studio.html They're supposed to be very similar to my 7s, just with a little less bottom and a little more midrange detail. If that's the case, these have to be the best bang for the buck monitor out there. They're light years ahead of the HS series from what I've read up on them.

 

[C-Martin]

Re: Need new pair of reference monitors, any recommendations?

thanks for the info on the msp's, definitely gonna check these out now if you say they're way better than the hs series

and as for disturbing the neighbors i have no issues with that, if i can crank my mark IV i don't think some 5 inchers could be any worse lol and thats a detail i forgot to mention i would like for em to be 5-6 inchers or somethign relatively small as i dont have much space to place em and the huge 8 inchers seem to be rather large for what space i have altho i guess i could always invest in some stands or something and reorganize ym space if having 8's would be that much better but im guessing for my budjet 5's will be best.

 

[nuntius]

Re: Need new pair of reference monitors, any recommendations?

I'm really happy with KRK rockits. I have personal experience with the 5s and currently own the 6s. I'm finding the 6s a little harder to use as I'm just not used to the bass response on them compared to the 5s, but that's just lack of experience on my part.

I A/B'd the KRKs with the comparable priced Yamahas (don't know the model number sorry) and the KRKs sounded flatter to my ear, and had a tighter bass response. The yamahas sounded a bit different in the midrange - more listenable I guess but my gut instinct told me there was a bit more coloration perhaps? The KRKs just seemed to fit me better really.

Your best bet is to take a CD you know inside out to a shop where they have the speakers and use your own ear. The shop I got mine from had basically a wall of monitors you could test, plugged into a PC via a soundcard... the guy was really helpful and let me test all the speakers in my price range - you'd be surprised at how different brands sound to each other despite them all claiming to be 'flat' and 'accurate'

What I will say is that the difference between 5 inch subs and 6 inch subs is way bigger than I expected - plus there is a huge size difference too that shouldn't be discounted... as long as you have a big enough desk it won't be a problem though.