Best monitors for £600-£700

[tyronehowe]

Hi Everyone

Ok – it’s time for me to finally buy some active monitors. I know almost nothing about this aspect of music making and so would appreciate some advice.

I’m just selling my UAD stuff (monitors are more important than plug-ins that I rarely use). I have a small project studio producing soundtrack/score music (and occasional pop songs).

So I’m looking in the £600s range. The Adam A7 has been mentioned in another thread and so were the Genelec 8030s. The 8030s were originally out of my price range, but there is an offer on at the moment that I’m assuming DV would match, bringing them within a tenner of the Adams.

A while ago I had a chance to demo the Genelec 8020s – and I was less than impressed. I could hear virtually no bass response. I’m worried that the 8030s might not be much better.

So what’s you advice please? Is there another make I should consider?

Thanks

[terminal3]

The Adams are good. I got to use some a couple weeks ago in a post session. Very nice - everything that's written about them is true. Just as they are!

I'm a Genelec fan but not everyone is - I actually like the 8020s, I think they have a surprising amount of a bass for their size and tend to be good as "hi-fi" translation monitors. However, moving up, I'd much rather have 8040s than 8030s and that goes out of your price range methinks.

The Genelec "sound" is fairly forward, which for some is fatiguing. The Adams seem to me to be quite a bit more comfortable for long sessions...

[sureno]

+1 to what T3 says and in the same order

ADAM's
then
Gene's

[tyronehowe]

Thanks T3

Fast reply and very helpful. Maybe I was a bit harsh about the 8020s, it’s just that I’d heard such a lot about how good Genelecs are but when I heard them they seemed a bit … thin. Mind you, I’m probably expecting too much from the their bottom of the range.

The long session info is extremely useful to me. I tend to need a long time listening to something over and over to get it just right. Sounds like the Adams are the right beasts for me, at least I can afford 8040s

Is there anything else I should be considering?

Also thanks sureno. Do you have Adams?

[sureno]

Originally Posted by tyronehowe

Thanks T3

Fast reply and very helpful. Maybe I was a bit harsh about the 8020s, it’s just that I’d heard such a lot about how good Genelecs are but when I heard them they seemed a bit … thin. Mind you, I’m probably expecting too much from the their bottom of the range.

The long session info is extremely useful to me. I tend to need a long time listening to something over and over to get it just right. Sounds like the Adams are the right beasts for me, at least I can afford 8040s

Is there anything else I should be considering?

Also thanks sureno. Do you have Adams?

no i have Digidesign's RM2's and some KRK's
i demo'd the ADAM's when deciding for a 2nd pair of monitors but decided against them as they where very true and flat, i wanted sweetness from my 2nd pair so ended up with the KRK's. Genelecs tend to have a brilliance imo around the top end which might explain your thinking the sound was thin, ADAMS are the way to go imo, you will hear what you need

[TrevCircleStudios]

Adams are very good. I'd go with Dynaudios before Genelecs. Not a fan of the Gens at all.

[tyronehowe]

Originally Posted by sureno

no i have Digidesign's RM2's and some KRK's
i demo'd the ADAM's when deciding for a 2nd pair of monitors but decided against them as they where very true and flat, i wanted sweetness from my 2nd pair so ended up with the KRK's. Genelecs tend to have a brilliance imo around the top end which might explain your thinking the sound was thin, ADAMS are the way to go imo, you will hear what you need

Thanks Paul. Yes I think that flat is exactly what I need. I had previously read very good things about KRKs as well. I assume that the Adams would still be a preference over the VXT6s?

Originally Posted by TrevCircleStudios

Adams are very good. I'd go with Dynaudios before Genelecs. Not a fan of the Gens at all.

Thanks Trev. The Dynaudios are just that bit extra again (the “buyers” rollercoaster of “just a bit more!”). Looks like the Adams for me.

Oddly enough, I'd thought that most people would advise going for the Genelecs. Just goes to show, eh?!

[sureno]

shizzle how could i forget about the dyn's, the b5a's are lovely i was using them for a month and loved them, yeah for true response ADAMs beat KRK's but oddly enough i found my VXT8's my favourite to mix on, really odd.lol

[EdRyan]

The more expensive KRK's are nicer then the Rockit's, mainly due to better build location and standards. That said even more expensive monitors (like Sureno's Digi's) can have issues.

I'm a massive fan of Tannoy monitors myself. For that sort of cash, you could have these:

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipmen...rs-pair--42022

Although you may find them a tad overly honest sounding. They do exactly what they say on the tin. If you are someone that monitors at above average levels they will get quite tiring to listen to.

[terminal3]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

The more expensive KRK's are nicer then the Rockit's, mainly due to better build location and standards. That said even more expensive monitors (like Sureno's Digi's) can have issues.

I'm a massive fan of Tannoy monitors myself. For that sort of cash, you could have these:

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipmen...rs-pair--42022

Although you may find them a tad overly honest sounding. They do exactly what they say on the tin. If you are someone that monitors at above average levels they will get quite tiring to listen to.

The dual-concentric design is, erm, how do you kids say it ... "sick." The sweet-spot is HUGE. They are definitely worth a listen. My main monitors are British-made Tannoy System 600As, and paired with an excellent DAC are making me happy enough to not want to upgrade anytime soon.

[EdRyan]

They are £50 above his limit, but if he asks I'm sure DV would help a regular forum member in need.

Which DAC have you got paired to your 600's ?

Regardless of cost, I rate them as being some monitors going...and Tannoy having one of the strongest and consistent product portfolios. The fact they don't seem to have to spend a lot on PR/mags/artist endorsement...suggests that they have have a long standing and faithful customer base. I gather that most of their work comes from live sound and custom/bespoke work for hi-end audio, but they do make awesome products in every department..

[tyronehowe]

Hmmm thanks guys.

So the Tannoys are obviously highly regarded as well; not sure what to do now

I have checked with DV Bristol, and they have both the Genelec and Adams available for demo. I didn’t ask about the Tanoys. So I think I’ll pop down and try them out.

[tyronehowe]

Hi everyone

Interesting update.

I went to DV Bristol yesterday to demo some monitors. Must just say a quick thanks to Chris – he was incredibly helpful and patient.

The results? Well, I know I’m about to be bashed, but I guess I must have bad ears.

The first pair I tried were the Adam A7s. I was really expecting to be impressed. But … to be honest … I thought something was wrong with them. The highs and mids were crystal clear (as I was expecting) but there was simply no bottom end at all. The music I tried through them (varied types from pop to orchestral to electronic) all sounded completely bassless. Chris and I even tried tweaking the EQ control on the back of the monitors but it made very little difference. I was very surprised.

I tried the Yamaha HS80M next. Chris warned me that the mids were brittle and he was right, but the bass response sounded much more natural to me.

Next I tried the KRK VXT8s. These sounded good to my ears, but they are big and ugly and I was hoping that I wouldn’t need to go as big as 8”.

Finally tried the KRK Rokit RP8s. These also sounded good. Not as clear as VXT8s and more bassy (so perhaps not so natural). But less than half the price.

Chris didn’t have any Genelec 8030s to try (I’m not too worried about that) or the Tannoy 8Ds (which I would like to listen to).

So I don’t know what to do now. I know that I should have been impressed with the A7s but I wasn’t.

Any advice welcome (apart form growing new ears, too painful )

I don't really want to have to go to London to listen to the Tannoys, but I'm guessing that's my next move.

[TrevCircleStudios]

An enormous range of factors could be at play here. At one end of the spectrum the listening room and speaker positioning could play a huge part. Even if the room was treated just having speakers placed in different positions has a huge effect. At the other end of the spectrum complex interactions of issues like psychoacoustics and fletcher-munson curves can conspire to make it impossible to judge. Let me give you an example: if one set of monitors was slightly louder than the other this will affect your frequency perception of the other. Similarly if one was bass hyped it would make the other sound bass shy even if in fact it was ruler flat. That makes testing these things really tough. The only way around this is to find out if your friendly neighbourhood pp will allow you to take the front runners home and compare them carefully (after volume matching etc) in your own room. Alternatively, try and find a studio with a good room who has a pair and go listen.

[sureno]

Ha Ha, VXT8's sound great dont they, iv got them, but that is your first hurdle, they can make a shabby mix sound good

ADAM's are just how i expected, a very unflattering sound, BUT i am starting to think with all this modern day music the need for flat bass response is not needed, not sure how to explain my thinking but with modern technology it is very easy now a days to get a deep bass so its almost at a point i have to ease off the bass where as in the past you may of had a hard time getting the bass up to a good mix and level... any way im rambling lol

BTW dont all my monitors big and ugly, they show more affection il have you know