In the market for a pair of powered monitors ... suggestions???

[~KissTheStar]

I am in the market for some powered monitors. Plan on making the purchase very soon. Any suggestions? Any one's you recommend to avoid?


Thanks.

~Craig

[~ZuN]

I'd say The Masses will say Mackie.

Here are some you should check out
Genelecs
Alesis
Tannoy

just see what the best bang for your buck is

[~Scar Chemik]

If you want to do it on the cheap I highly recommend the M-Audio series. They are sold as a pair. I just bought a pair of the close- out SP-5Bs for $200 for my home studio. If you don't believe they are good, type it into google and look at the reviews.

My group Black Chamber use to use Mackies and, this is not a joke, they sounded so good we had to get rid of them. We would mix down and take the songs elsewhere and they sounded like crap. We use Event monitors now and just bought a decent subwoofer.

Decide what you want, outstanding or budget, then do your research.

Ron

[~andrew [iris]]

event 20/20's (the bi-amplified ones), they are the bomb

http://www.eventelectronics.com/Products/20_20/20_20bas.html

- andrew

[~pop]

If you want proven mid range price quality studio,
I second Event's 20/20bas and Mackie HR824.
I heard SP-5B. The mid range sounds irritating in my ears, but it does sound better than more expensive Alesis.

[~intro]

I've got Alesis M1 Active MKIIs, love them. I hear lots of good things about the Event 20/20s as well.

-Mark
www.djintrovert.com

[~instantpictures]

Genelec.

[~ZuN]

I would love to get my hands on a set of Yamaha ns-10's for use as a second refrence.

[~fractured]

Good bang for the buck is in the M-Audio 8" or 5" models. You can also look at Samson Resolv65a's as they also sound good for the money. All of these come in at under $500. If you are willing to spend a little more, look at the Event PS8 or the 20/20bas. Both are 8" models and run under $700. The 20/20's have twice the power, but I don't think they open up until you push them. I monitor low, so the PS8's were my choice.
If you can spend more, the Mackie, Genelec, Dynaudio and Blue Sky monitors are all very nice. You can also look at the Tannoy 600 and 800 series. A number of the mid-priced monitors are reviewed in this month's Electronic Musician.
Most importantly to remember... you'll get used to mixing on anything. As long as they have decent response, you'll need time to learn your room, but you'll get good mixes with experience.

-fractured
http://www.black-chamber.com

[~ogreadmore]

IMO, Event 20/20bas are the way to go.

Very smooth sound.

[~VIOLENTVICKY]

i got a pair of powered speakers from carvin.i think 300 watts each for about 700.(carvin makes and distributes their own ¤¤¤¤, so its cheaper) they are for live shows. if i had $$ i mighta got mackies. but maybe thats too nice...go for the gold!!!-jc


http://home.earthlink.net/~shutyrsnatch/

[~LARS]

I would go with Behringer Truth monitors they sound great and they sound as good as monitors almost twice as much!! I think you can get a pair now for $400 The best way to decide is to go and listen to them in the store and you'll hear the difference.

[~emma_stormhatt]

If we are talking about near field studio monitors the best buy is Tannoy Active Reveal. Got'em, Love'em. Which only that I also had the sub in the same series.

This is a newer generation than for example Alesi M1 and common Mackie monitors and therefore not so expensive (At least not in Europe). Tannoy is really well known by Professional Masters so they have released good quality for a low price.

Cheers Martin

[~NullDevice]

I'm also gunna second the events. I've got the 20/20p's (single amp, not bi-amped, discontinued long ago) and they're great workhorse speakers.

I've heard a pari of Genelecs, and they're absoltuely brilliant. Flawless sound. Very flat response. But god-awfully expensive.

I was not all that impressed with the Alesis M-ones, but then again if you've got a crappy amp hooked up to them (which the band I listened to did) it's not going to reflect well on the speakers.

[~KissTheStar]

Originally posted by Scar Chemik
If you want to do it on the cheap I highly recommend the M-Audio series. They are sold as a pair. I just bought a pair of the close- out SP-5Bs for $200 for my home studio. If you don't believe they are good, type it into google and look at the reviews.



Well we went with this recommendation and the Guitar Center guy also recommended them. He seemed to think they were a better option than the Alesis M1's and were a tad cheaper. Actually we got what the guy said was something new they had in, M-Audio BX-5 Studiophile's, sold as a pair for $299. Seemed like a great deal, have them blaring Peter Murphy right now and they sound really sweet too. Better than I expected.

Thanks for all the recommendations. Once I am in the market for some higher end monitors I will be grabbing the Mackies but they were $500 each. A tad out of my range right now.


~Craig

[~Quixote Chapter]

To add a recommendation to this thread: I just bought Event TR5 biamped monitors and they sound awesome. The sound stage and stereo separation is wicked. The pro audio guy at GC gave me an awesome deal @ $129 each on these. So if your in the market check these small Events out as well. De/Vision's Devolution is sounding very sweet right now!

-Kevin

[~pop]

I forgot all about TR5. I never heard it myself, but it has great reviews. I heard they took Event PS5 ($500 pair) and slash the price with the new name, so previous Event customers will not get pissed off.

[~Quixote Chapter]

Originally posted by pop
I heard they took Event PS5 ($500 pair) and slash the price with the new name, so previous Event customers will not get pissed off.

I don't doubt it. I don't think there's a better deal out there. I listened to mone, maudio, kroks, and the events sounded the sweetest. Wonderfully flat frequency response!

-Kevin

[~David Vesel]

Is there anyone here who would distinctly NOT recommend Alesis M1's?

What's the difference between M1's and M1 Mk. II's? I also note that there are passive (requires amp) and active (built-in amps) versions.

[~Quixote Chapter]

The M1's will do the job. I chose the events for their size, sound,and price. The biamped events are about the same price as passive M1s, and the events sound less colored to me. I think amplified monitors are the only way to go because you get components that are engineered to sound great together.

If your looking for new monitors, it's best to listen to all your options. Your opinion and ears may be different from mine.

-Kevin

[~David Vesel]

If the active Events are around the same price as the passive M1's....that's pretty darn good.

If I hadn't mentioned before, I'm probably looking to buy used units. That puts active M1's around $225-275 a pair judging by the going rate on eBay.