Budget monitors

...I know this gets asked in here every 20 minutes, but has anyone got any recommendations for low-cost monitor speakers? At the moment I'm just using crap car boot sale hi-fi speakers - they're decent enough for mixing & pretty loud but shite for production.

Also - how much effect is the amp going to have on the sound if I get some half-decent speakers? I'm on a very tight budget but if my (again old and car boot sale-y) amp is going to make getting new speakers pointless I'm going to have to do something about that too.

Cheers helpful BOA people :cool:

how much is the budget? your probably gonna need about £200-£400 for ok speakers, closer to a grand for decent ones - if your serious about producing that is.

If you get yourself active monitors then they already have amps built in em, which means you can still use your amp you have at the moment for your dj speakers. IT's gonna be cheaper this way and without the hastle of matching speakers and amps..

for budget monitors...i'd go for Fortex PM1's or Alesis M1's...can probabaly pick these up for about £170 - £220 a pair.

Alesis M1 Actives get my vote too

Just over £200/pair. no amp required either

http://www.kitmondo.com/images/listi...1%20Active.jpg

i would have a look at tapco s8 monitors. got very nice reviews and i am very happy with them.

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Originally Posted by theledge

Alesis M1 Actives get my vote too

Just over £200/pair. no amp required either

http://www.kitmondo.com/images/listi...1%20Active.jpg

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these are the passive ones.

I`d look on ebay for some fostex pm-1`s
the Tannoy speakers performed very well in recent music publications.
Also you can get Absolute 2`s on ebay occasionally for around 150.

If you are using passives I`d thoroughly recommend The Alesis RA series of amps.

The sound on these babies is simply stunning.
Better than the amps found on some active monitors in my opinion, and also very nice to look at.

Ta everyone, very helpful - the active Alesis ones sound like they're just what I'm looking for really... my kind of price, no need for a new amp and positive reviews from you lot - job done!

I'll check out the tapco s8 as well - looks like it might be slightly out of reach price-wise for me at the moment though... :whoops:

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Originally Posted by dirty_bass

I`d look on ebay for some fostex pm-1`s
the Tannoy speakers performed very well in recent music publications.
Also you can get Absolute 2`s on ebay occasionally for around 150.

If you are using passives I`d thoroughly recommend The Alesis RA series of amps.

The sound on these babies is simply stunning.
Better than the amps found on some active monitors in my opinion, and also very nice to look at.

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Thanks for advice, much appreciated... I'm going to shop around and see what I like - you've given me some good starting points.

I think I'm going to have to go for active speakers though as like I said my current amp is basically a piece of crap, and my budget is too limited to buy a decent one as well as the speakers... just like everyone else I've got a long long list of things I wanna spend my limited cash on (new turntables, fix my mixer, laptop, second PC monitor, umpteen bits of hardware, trip to peru etc etc etc).

fostex pm-1's all the way, got some at work and they're really good for the money, much better than alesis imo.

I got alesis mk2 actives because they sounded nice and bassy.

They hurt your ears, the bass obscures your mix and I ended up hating them.

Nice speakers, good dj monitors perhaps but not the best for production IMO, sure there are better bets out there that are more accurate and less fatiguing on your poor ole lugs.

being 'bassy' isn't exactly what you want in a monitor, eh?

more like an accurate representation of what is going on, with curve as flat as possible.

but i know you know that, jay. just meant to point that out again.

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Originally Posted by BloodStar

these are the passive ones.

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Didn't notice that

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Originally Posted by loopdon

being 'bassy' isn't exactly what you want in a monitor, eh?

more like an accurate representation of what is going on, with curve as flat as possible.

but i know you know that, jay. just meant to point that out again.

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Exactly.

Its an easy (and costly) mistake to make - buying monitors that sound "good" to your ear.

Best but monitors that are flat and accurate.
I got mackie 824s now and they are the absolute shizzle.

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Originally Posted by Jay Pace

Best but monitors that are flat and accurate.
I got mackie 824s now and they are the absolute shizzle.

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They look sweet... bit out of my budget for now though :rucrybaby:

Dan - I've just had a nose of those fostex ones, they look promising... probably looking at about £250 the pair as well which is definitely do-able. Cheers for the tip :rockin:

Yeh those alesis ones are ok for the money, bit too bassy though. My mates keep breaking as well, but you know that robin.

All I can say is spend whatever you can't afford ;)

don't buy the alesis ones please!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by dan the acid man

don't buy the alesis ones please!!!!!!!!!!!!

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byt them theyre great :briggin:

mine are sweet

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Originally Posted by dan the acid man

don't buy the alesis ones please!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Seconded.

Don't do it kids

Seriously...

I dont mind the alesis actually. I have a pair of the Actives tho, they dont have the double front port dont have the boom problem that the actives have. The fostex are pretty cool tho, id also check out the Krk range as ive heard good things about them.

go for teh Fostex PM1's, solid monitors and a great sound too, if you look around you can get them for £200 a pair.

...definitely leaning towards the fostex after browsing round a bit, the bass response is truer than the alesis by all accounts and I'd much rather it was honest down there - that's the main problem with the ones I'm using at the moment, the bottom end is boosted all over the place, total mudbath :whoops:

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Originally Posted by stjohn

byt them theyre great :briggin:

mine are sweet

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I have found the M1's very sensitive to acoustics in the room

In certain rooms I have had them they have sounded great with not a hint of too much bass

Slightly at the wrong angle/wrong room however and I suppose I have had problems with too much bottom end. Perhaps this is what some of you are referring to

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Originally Posted by robin m

...definitely leaning towards the fostex after browsing round a bit, the bass response is truer than the alesis by all accounts and I'd much rather it was honest down there - that's the main problem with the ones I'm using at the moment, the bottom end is boosted all over the place, total mudbath :whoops:

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pm1s all the way robin. my production partner has them and they are gorgeous both in sound and looks imo

also worth considering are the samson Rubicon 5A. expert recommended in future music and they have ribbon drivers. rrp is about £299. they have a vert retro look about them

I've got the M1 MkII's, and so have a few friends. I agree with what an earlier poster said, they CAN sound far too basy, but if they are set up right, far enough away from a wall and angled properly, I think they give a good response. A mate I used to live with had Genelecs and another housemate had Tannoy's, set up right they were all much of a muchness.

You can get the M1's on ebay for a ton now too.

I've got M1MKII's,too. What I don't like on this speakers is that they can sound too bassy. Hand in hand with it you have to monitor more loudly to hear all the freq spectrum,properly,. and then your ears feels the fatigue much earlier. or at least mine do so.

I am thinking of sell them and buy some new,. I will probably choose between Adam A7, Dynaudio BM5A,, or Mackie HR624. will see..

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Originally Posted by BloodStar

I am thinking of sell them and buy some new,. I will probably choose between Adam A7, Dynaudio BM5A,, or Mackie HR624. will see..

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I bought the Mackie's, wisest choice i've ever made.

Save up and buy mackies

You are unlikely to ever need another speaker, plus you can't put a value on not going deaf.

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Originally Posted by Jay Pace

Save up and buy mackies

You are unlikely to ever need another speaker, plus you can't put a value on not going deaf.

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2nd that!

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Originally Posted by Jay Pace

Save up and buy mackies

You are unlikely to ever need another speaker, plus you can't put a value on not going deaf.

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Yep, Mackies are quite highly rated by people in techno, but tbh I didnt hear too good words on them from other musicians. As I read many articles and compares of Adam, Dynaudio and Mackie,. Mackie was not going out as winner. :confused..

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Originally Posted by BloodStar

Yep, Mackies are quite highly rated by people in techno, but tbh I didnt hear too good words on them from other musicians. As I read many articles and compares of Adam, Dynaudio and Mackie,. Mackie was not going out as winner. :confused..

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Adams out of the choice of all 3 for me, their accoustic research and high end stuff is the bizz, and I think it translates down to their lower priced stuff.

I`ve never been a huge fan of the mackies, they are good, but I think a lot of people use them because they are just told to, and don`t really know what to listen for. I don`t find them versatile enough, and in my opinion they are a little too tight in some areas.

It`s all down to personal taste though.
Get your speakers on demo loan or go and use some at other peoples places.

All our opinions here are based on personal preference, so really you should ignore us all and try yourself.

Just to throw a spanner in the works I¬ve heard some very good reports from some studio engineer mates of mine, of the Yamaha HS80M actives.
They are guys used to the old Ns10, but they swear by these new babies as being really accurate reference monitors.

they're not as harsh as the ns10's are they?

Cheers, Steve. I am mainly thinking about the Adam A7. As you said, their hiend stuff is the biz, and from what I've heard, these "low-end" monitors should be also great. At the moment there is a very good offer on these A7 in one shop in Prague, I think they are 450quid/pair. Problem is that I cant go to Prague just to listen to them.
I have a chance to listen to the Mackies, Dynaudios, and probly also to these new Yamaha HS80M here in Brno. but it can be always very tricky to listen to the speakers in the shop with toally different acoustics than you have in the studio.

It`s definitely worth listening to the adams mate.
Their midfield and main monitors are total sex for the ears, very accurate even at stupid volumes.
I`ve heard great reports of the smaller adams, but most of it comes out of real studio talk, rather than project and home studio reports, which is why you don`t hear so much about them.
Really great speakers.
Those tweaters are great.

I feel like I am decided and will ge the Adam A7 babies. I will demo them in my place first and then I will buy them if I will like the sound. They are currently out of stock in Prague, so I have another 1 or 2 weeks to fall even more deeper into the articles, reviews and such things,hehe.. .
On Friday I will finally go to get new soundcard, E-mu 1212M. They have probably one of best ADDA converters on the market so I am really looking forward to this new combination.. cant wait..
thanks for the comments, mate. It helped me a lot..

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Originally Posted by Jay Pace

I got alesis mk2 actives because they sounded nice and bassy.

They hurt your ears, the bass obscures your mix and I ended up hating them.

Nice speakers, good dj monitors perhaps but not the best for production IMO, sure there are better bets out there that are more accurate and less fatiguing on your poor ole lugs.

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I did a simerlar thing actually, I heard these in a good environment and rushed out to buy some, then stuck em in my room and fired them up and getting ridiculous ammounts of bass from them.

Spent ages playing about with set up and trying to get used to them but its near impossible, so in a moment of frustration I swapped them with some fuct up old mission speakers I had in my kitchen...

Ive now got sh!t loads of bass in the kitchen

And my mix downs are a lot better

And Im not getting daily headaches

I just wish Id have listened to the advice I got on here and saved up a bit more cash for something better from the outset...

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Originally Posted by neilried

I did a simerlar thing actually, I heard these in a good environment and rushed out to buy some, then stuck em in my room and fired them up and getting ridiculous ammounts of bass from them.

Spent ages playing about with set up and trying to get used to them but its near impossible, so in a moment of frustration I swapped them with some fuct up old mission speakers I had in my kitchen...

Ive now got sh!t loads of bass in the kitchen

And my mix downs are a lot better

And Im not getting daily headaches

I just wish Id have listened to the advice I got on here and saved up a bit more cash for something better from the outset...

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Sometimes you can cure some of this problem with a well placed sock in one of the front ports. It does seam a major problem with the Mk2 Active's tho. Has anyone had any experience with the new Alesis??

a word on Mackies


the 824`s are far superior to the 624`s

i have the 624`s which are great but a little fatigueing on my ears after a while.

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Originally Posted by IQ

Sometimes you can cure some of this problem with a well placed sock in one of the front ports. It does seam a major problem with the Mk2 Active's tho. Has anyone had any experience with the new Alesis??

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I'm all socked up... but maybe in the wrong port as it didnt make much difference, does it matter which port? Are there seperate chambers inside the box?

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Originally Posted by neilried

I'm all socked up... but maybe in the wrong port as it didnt make much difference, does it matter which port? Are there seperate chambers inside the box?

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I dont think it matters which to plug. Would personally recommend plugging both ports in each box to get a tighter bass.

these adams look nice. i reckon they are, too.

Well I went with the tapco S8s in the end, am very very pleased with them so far.

It came down to a toss-up between them and the fostex, I didn't find anything seriously bad said about either of them... there are definitely a lot of people out there who aren't keen on the alesis M1s though on the other hand :whoops:

Anything was going to be better than what I had beforehand anyway, get in :cheese:

coo, what's the frequency responce on them ?

it's ok, ignore that, just found some info

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Originally Posted by BloodStar

these are the passive ones.

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alesis m1 get my vote too, i got mine new for £98 at turnkey!