Best monitors for around 300 -400 quid? (KRK Vs Yamaha Vs Alesis )

ClutchIt · 09-07-2010 02:07PM #1

Hi Everyone,

I'm just wondering what sort of budget monitors you guys would recommend? I've heard of the above ones but I'm not sure which would be best...

Maybe some other type, but I just saw some fairly good deals on the above ones on ebay,

Thanks for your help

madtheory · 09-07-2010 04:50PM

Best thing is to go hear them. At that price there's no huge difference, they all have issues and it's far more of a personal thing compared to higher grade models. Personally I've had good results with Tannoys, did not get on with the Yamahas, used a few Alesis down through the years and did not get on with those either. My benchmark would be Yamaha NS10, which are a totally different beast, and far more useful than any of those.

This isn't really something you can get much useful info about through reading, you need to go listen. You should also consider making bass traps, no speaker will perform well in an untreated room.

A V A · 09-07-2010 11:50PM

i have a pait of m audio bx8a monitors !!! i love them and they sound great

The Fridge · 10-07-2010 08:15AM

Yamaha MSP5 in studio solutions reduced from €599 to €399

Savman · 10-07-2010 11:18AM

The Fridge wrote: »

Yamaha MSP5 in studio solutions reduced from €599 to €399

Reduced?!?!
http://www.thomann.de/ie/yamaha_msp_5_studio.htm

'tis no wonder nobody shops locally.

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 10-07-2010 03:10PM

maybe its per pair ?

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 10-07-2010 03:24PM

clutch, i dont think there is any point in getting new monitors until you get the best out of your present ones .

this means ( and this is very basic advice ffom experience )

1/ basstrapping the room properly at least in the corners

2/ after doing 1 /
finding the best position for the monitors in the room where they sound full and even , and not too far apart ( try 80 cm or so )

then play a bass or a bass synth thorugh it , or a sine wave sweep from 30 to about 400 hz .

if the volume goes up and down alot doing this - you still have bass problems in the room - as this means some bass frequncys are cancelling out and some are reinforcing - so you get bumps and dips in the bass response.

if the volume stays pretty even
( no huge honks or holes in the bass sweep )

then you can be fairly confident of a useable low end .

for the mids - this where the monitor quality comes in - listen for fast snappy response , and a detail , on guitars and vocals , they should sound present and real .

for the highs - make sure your side area is damped so you dont get reflections that smear the image.

my hard fought experinece is that the room is crucial for mixing , first - and its the most forgotten element.

ClutchIt · 13-07-2010 09:32AM

I decided to go with the Yamaha hs50 I'll let everyone know how I get on with them. They are my first monitors, I was using headphones before this.

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 13-07-2010 12:46PM

ok, just be aware , if they sound thin and nasal - its the room not the monitors .

if you put your phones back on and hear loads of bass, but not with the monitors - you need to fix the room .

( with in reason - all monitors need to be played in for month or so to loosen up and fill out the low end )

ClutchIt · 13-07-2010 03:37PM

Why? Does room treatment fill out the low end? Is that what room treatment does in general? Cheers

madtheory · 13-07-2010 06:05PM

Read this for starters:
http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

progsound · 13-07-2010 06:28PM

Im going to agree with firstly sorting your room treatment first. Its very important and does make a big difference and it need not be expensive if you go down the diy route.

But also dont underestimate the importance of a good set of monitors and how they interact with the room.

All the treatment in the world wont let you hear the 40htz your monitors are not reproducing because they have a 5" cone.

I recently upgraded from hs50m to adam a7x and their was a world of difference in the low end I could hear, also the midrange detail and highs were improved along with the clarity of stereo image.

The hs50m are really lacking in the low end department if you havent actually made the purchase yet id urge you to consider the hs80m as they have a much lower bass responce and are just a little above your 400 budget. You can acheive good results on the hs50m its just i found their was a lot of learning to do on the low end as you couldent actually hear it and a lot of my early mix's tended to be very bass heavy untill i learned the low end on them, its hard to mix what you cant hear.

Above all id urge you to try out a few pairs in your own home and see which one you prefer as everyones room and ears are different.

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 13-07-2010 11:28PM

you can check from 65 down to 30 or 40 on headphones if you are stuck

but above that you need monitors and really need an even room response so you dont go boosting the bass , or the kick etc way too much ( or cutting them way to much )

first time i got monitors i put them in the room,
( all carpet , on walls etc - no bass traps ) and thought that was what it should sound like ,
i thought - this is what an engineer does - my bass is missing so it must be the source , my kick is thin, must be the source. etc

so i boosted the ****e out of the kicks, bass, toms etc
( not realising the room was turning the low end into mayhem )

then listened on phones , and by god what a mess.

so by chance i discovered then i read all of ethan winers stuff, treated the room , ( i think its the lads here who pointed me in the right direction - thank god ,and they didnt give me a real hard time as an all singing all dancing noob )

played the orig mix back - and my jaw dropped at the massive step i had been missing all along.

when you treat your room , and play your tracks back
i can guarantee you will set your face to stunned ,

ClutchIt · 14-07-2010 09:04AM

progsound wrote: »

Im going to agree with firstly sorting your room treatment first. Its very important and does make a big difference and it need not be expensive if you go down the diy route.

But also dont underestimate the importance of a good set of monitors and how they interact with the room.

All the treatment in the world wont let you hear the 40htz your monitors are not reproducing because they have a 5" cone.

I recently upgraded from hs50m to adam a7x and their was a world of difference in the low end I could hear, also the midrange detail and highs were improved along with the clarity of stereo image.

The hs50m are really lacking in the low end department if you havent actually made the purchase yet id urge you to consider the hs80m as they have a much lower bass responce and are just a little above your 400 budget. You can acheive good results on the hs50m its just i found their was a lot of learning to do on the low end as you couldent actually hear it and a lot of my early mix's tended to be very bass heavy untill i learned the low end on them, its hard to mix what you cant hear.

Above all id urge you to try out a few pairs in your own home and see which one you prefer as everyones room and ears are different.

Uh Oh.... I already bought the hs50's. I know they aren't gonna be great at showing the bass, but the hs80's are just too big for the room I'll be using. I hope that between the hs50's and using my headphones I'll be able to work something out. Cheers for the advice though

progsound · 14-07-2010 06:00PM

ClutchIt wrote: »

Uh Oh.... I already bought the hs50's. I know they aren't gonna be great at showing the bass, but the hs80's are just too big for the room I'll be using. I hope that between the hs50's and using my headphones I'll be able to work something out. Cheers for the advice though

Once you learn the monitors well you should have no prob mixing on them, I still have mine for a second ref set and i like them. Just to be clear they are a good set of monitors for bedroom mixing (especially considering the price) so long as its not bass heavy music (dance ect). Just be sure to check the low end on your car stereo, headphones, bom box ect and dont rely to much on the hs50m and you should be fine.

Oh and sort out some room treatment for your next gas purchase

PMI · 15-07-2010 11:51AM

HEADPHONES....

then wait till you can drop 1k or above on monitors and then a few hundred on treatment

Best monitors for around 300 -400 quid? (KRK Vs Yamaha Vs Alesis )

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