Which studio monitors to choose?

Adam A7X here
my room is also 3x2 meters, and they sound just fab!!!

[quote=“” mezz303""]
And the sound field was very narrow. You really couldn’t stray much from the "triangle"sweet spot vertically or horizontally before you lost half the sound.

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I do find this (wasnt aware Its a common A7/X thing tho) and as I spend most of my time out of the triangle working to the side (not mixing) i have been looking at coaxial design monitors as there supposed to have a much wider sweet spot… (Edit) my room is the attic and is wider than deep, only really having 1 option for monitor position.

It’s definately not just an Adam thing it’s quite common accross lots of nearfield monitors including the Focals. Mostly because monitors are designed to be directional and not wide.
Like you, I am often outside the triangle and side on to the speakers too

I have the neumann kh120 and absolutely love them, never hearD a better monitor and I’ve tested a huge range.

[quote=“” josteintopland""]
What about the KRK Rokits?
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Do not buy the Rokits.
I’ve been using them for a few years, and they are deceiving. Too bass heavy. They sound great when you demo them, but they are not flat enough for mixing. The only way I can use them is to listen in the car, listen on headphones, etc (which you should probably do regardless, but it’s a pain if you’re trying to get a good representation). I’ll be selling mine next year to get something flatter. I’ve learned to work with them, but it’s almost painful to check your mix.

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…if you’re serious with all this music thing and it goes beyond hobby…

you can spent the money and never look back the next twenty years with the neumann kh120…
i work with them since the day they came out, which is three years back now and i can definitly say, these are the final solution…
never had bad surprises on any location again, no matter what, since mixing on these…

worth every penny and built to last…specially if we’re talking raw elektron signals here…
you simply can’t kill this speaker…and it’s broadcast quality full on…

…here in europe, they slowly become something like the new standard in nearfield…

adam is a berlin based company and they’re dead since last week…they gonna shut down, which is a pity…so if you’re into those, last chance to get them, i’m afraid…
if you’re into brutal clarity and tight loudness…there you go…

the dynaudio are a bit focused on “modern styles” and hype low mid end a bit…

and that’s all “good” and “pro” monitors you mentioned…

forget about mackie…these speakers try to shine in low end that much, that they seem to hum constantly, what they don’t really do of course, but it feels like it…horrible fluff here…

yamaha is always doing a good job in cheaper monitoring but you can’t compare them with neumann…not at all…

I am loving my Adam A7s since the inception. Before buying those, I attended a serious listening test at local pro-audio gear vendor’s HQ, comparing A7s to Adam P11A, various Rokits, Yamaha HS50m and several more models. I have never liked the A7s look but those won hands down, thanks to X-Art tweeters. Now there are A7Xs, probably even impoved.

I second the HS8, awesome. With some treatment at the first reflection points if you can do it yourself, cheap and it will enhance your stereo imaging :+1:

I made some absorbers and bass traps, very effective. If you are from france i can give you the material list and where to find them. I treated a full room, 10 panels total, for less than 300 euro:




I am currently doing new ones as i sold those on the picture to a pro studio :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

the dynaudio are a bit focused on “modern styles” and hype low mid end a bit…

Can you please explain this?

Last week I went to a music store, and the difference between Genelec, Adam and Dynaudio was amazingly big.
The genelec 8040 ( I wanted them because of the protection) lost within one minute. The sound was flat and not nice at all.
The Adam X8A was very nice, I use them in the studio I make music, but are also a little poor in mid. The sound is (a little too) fat, the high is very bright.
The Dynaudio sound very nice. Especially the mid showed sounds I almost didn’t hear in other monitor speakers. And because they will not be sold in a few months (expect something new for winter fairs), they are much cheaper. no 995 euro each, but 600 euch.

So now I read, you say 'hype low-mid…
Does this mean the low mid is ‘too much’?
For me it sounded very accurate… but I am not an expert. just loved the sound.

My friend makes these also. I gave him a JP8000 and he fitted out my studio. :wink:
As others have said, there is no point to good monitors without some room treatment.
Bass traps would be essential for the HS8’s.

…no, don’t get me wrong…if my choice would’nt have been leaning to neumann, the dynaudio would be my choice…
i was switching quite a while back and for between the kh120 and bm5 during that listen up check out…

the new mk2 version of the bm5 is only a bit pushed to the limits for all these edm guys out there…

but they’re damned good speakers, no doubt…

missing some mids on 8" two way speakers is no surprise…
8"er spakers are no real nearfield choice anyway…

whatever you buy…don’t hunt for some little more low end all these 8" are promising…
go for real near fields first…the adam with the almost 7" speaker is the limit here…
best you can do is, getting used to some serious 5" two way tools…

As far as what speakers are ‘best,’ it really depends on what you’re going for. Do you just want something that suffices for jamming, or do you want a serious home recording/mixing/mastering solution?

Personally, I think that as long as you learn the monitors you’ve got, you can make excellent mixes with damn near anything. No need to spend tons of money unless you can…

I’ve owned a few pairs of monitors over the years and honestly KRK Rockit 8’s are fantastic if you just want something to jam the hell out with. They’re also great for simply listening to tunes. However, for something a bit more accurate around the same price range one can get a pair of JBL LSR 308’s. The JBL’s have an insanely wide sweet spot and sound damn good for the money. Better than the Yamahas IMHO…

I have the 308’s and the 310s matching sub. For the price I really can’t think of a better setup, especially since I got refurbed speakers straight from JBL.

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i can recommend the dynaudio’s for their punch and clarity without boosting the high frequencies.
the mkII version do have analog amps which are cool because they translate transients in a good way.
if you search for an upgrade to them, check out the mk3 version of dynaudio bm range.
they are more detailed but sill remain the same sound of dynaudio.
AND, now they come with a good isolation stand by isoacoustic, and they are 120euros in worth.

the other speaker i recommend is the KRK VXT6.
i know some people say that they are bassheavy, but they have one advantage wich you have to count in; the unique shape of their housing affects how the VXTs translate music the same way in almost every room, no matter if your room is treated with acoustic material or not.
I like the quickness of the VXT speakers, the kevlar material used for the woofer is a good choice, it’s sturdy but lightweight which plays music fast and without distortion

the third speaker i recommend is not out yet…
Gibson Les Paul Reference Speaker.
They will come to stores in early 2015, i just can say, you have to listen to them…

the fourth speaker is the Event Opal, still one of my favorite speakers, it’s fast, loud, accurate but with almost no distortion at any volume.
no matter if you produce, mix or master, the results are good!

the rest is hearing…hearing…hearing…hearing…
choose with your ears, not your budget of written reviews in magazines

HS8 here the white ones … only heard good things about them … i wanted to get the cheapest good monitors … i dont regret it … if I didnt have neighbours I would buy the subwoofer too …sigh … buying monitor speakers is an endless game … after I eventually purchased my pair. I was happy to not have to look anymore…

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I don’t know much at all about monitors (frequency response etc.) for amplifying signals in a room, and for recording. I’ve been using a Peavey solid state bass head w/a four x 10" speaker cabinet. It sounds excellent - with analog synthesizers such as the Korg Monologue and a Make Noise 0-coast, as well as a Roland TR-09 drum machine - BIG, fantastic low end, crystalline clarity for the middle and high frequencies, and a very physical / immediate visceral quality. But I’ve recently started using the Digitone, and it’s a bit muddled, ‘weak’-sounding, and less immediate / visceral. I’m wondering, what would be an ideal monitor / speaker (set) -amplifier for the Digitone FM synthesizer?

The JBL 3 series are unbelievably good for the money. I have a pair of LSR 305’s and I’m shocked how well they compare to more expensive monitors. They’re clear, detailed and revealing without sounding harsh. And they don’t have hyped bass like KRK Rokits and some other low priced monitors.

I haven’t heard the new MKII’s, but if they’re as good as or better than the originals, I can’t recommend them highly enough if you’re on a budget.

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IMO JBL LSR305’s are the best bang for the buck studio monitors. Add a sub, IsoAcoustic stands, and proper room treatment and you’re good.

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Before JBLs I had some KRKs and they were very unbalanced and boomy compared to the JBLs. More people definitely need to check them out.

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Good call on the IsoAcoustics stands. They really tighten up low end response compared to foam wedges.

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I ABed the Equator D5 against the Yamaha HS5 and the Yamahas were better by a large margin. Much clearer in the mids.

Now I’m using Yamaha HS7 with an Adam Sub7 and am happy enough to keep using this setup, even though I know there are way better speakers out there. No harm in sticking with what you know!

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