Any recommendations for an entry level studio monitors??

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by maxedfx, Oct 18, 2015.

  1. maxedfx

    maxedfx New

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    Looking for an entry level studio monitor in a budget for an friend!!

    I recommended the jbl lsr305, but its a little expensive for his budget and availability is also a concern here in the UAE!

    Any recommendations below the price of the jbl will be great...

    Thanks.
     
  2. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    M-Audio has some good active ones.

    Audition a few, pick a track and mind the sweet spot. For the money you can find good pro gear for musical enjoyment.
     
  3. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    People mean different things when they say entry level! I would think that a pair of the mentioned JBLs would be an upgrade for me... in fact I'd love to go for that, but they are not available in this country at the low prices that are part of their charm in USA.

    My entry level is, indeed, M-Audio. I have a set of AV-40 on my desk. They are not really active, as only one speaker contains the one amplifier, so I suppose they could be called powered rather than active.

    I have had problems with one channel cutting out, but it is an intermittent problem that goes away again. With that proviso, my verdict would be: very good value for money. They don't sound as good as my HD600s, though --- but they are perfectly listenable.

    On the other hand, if the requirement really is for studio monitoring, I suspect that the friend should maybe start a little further up the ladder.
     
  4. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    Even the pro-sumer monitors M-Audio makes are pretty affordable and easy to set up. In the pro-audio market there is so much value-for-money on offer that for less than 500 Euros/Dollars you can build a pretty future proof speaker system on a budget.

    Finding a place where you can audition properly is the hard part sometimes.
     
  5. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I used to have the AV40 and quite liked it. I wouldn't go to the smaller one which felt wimpy (the AV30? can't remember the name), and I felt the AV40 bested the Audioengine although the AE's were smaller which can be important in a small desk setup.
     
  6. Xen

    Xen Friend

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  7. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    What is import duty for you? I can talk to our logistics people to make sure we declare them properly and probably ship you a pair with the correct Incoterms. I mean, hell, even if it's 50% it's got to be a decent price for you.
     
  8. Darsus

    Darsus Insatiable bowels - Member

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    Hmm, this is a tough one! Everything <300$ is not neeearly close to JBL LSR305. These are the only monitors in that price range that impressed me (and not just me, many people, including some that work on the market for a long time). If he can be a bit patient, and collect a bit more, he would benefit A LOT long term. When it comes to low budget M-Audio monitors, I've heard some mixes done on BX series (my friends have them) and low end is quite problematic, doesn't translate well, so he should be avare of it, but with help of some headphones and analyzers (like SPAN, IXL and PAZ) he could work it out. I had some expirience with Alessis Monitor One MK2, and I found them problematic in low end too, kinda slow. KRK Rokits still aren't good as JBL LSR305 and the price is similar. Remember, it's something I expirienced many times in my audio journey, sometimes cheaper is the most expensive, because you throw that money on something that at the end of the day wont serve its purpose decently. There are cheap Presonus Eris 4.5 that some people praise, but I haven't heard them and doubt they come close to LSR305. Heck, these JBLs are compared (even tho people say they are slightly worse) to 2x more expencive Adams.

    Since I can't use monitors in this flat, I focused on headphones and bought a pair of Microlab Solo2 (unfortunately discounted now) for about 70 bucks. They were designed by Peter Larsen (JBL, Dynaudio) and they sound amazing for that money, some people told me they are better than many <200$ monitors. But, as I said, I use them just for checking. When it comes to mixing on headphones, he should know that it's whole another beast, it's a bit harder, and it's a skill to be developed, sometimes with a lot of frustration, but with a pair of good headphones, decent knowledge, analyzers, and any speakers just to test and reference on them (it doesn't have to be anything fancy, just to hear how mixes sound on speakers) he would be able to do it.

    So, if I was him, my priorities would be:

    1. I know, I'm boring and annoying with them, LSR305 (even if he needs 6 months or more to collect that extra money, it would be worth on a long run!).

    2. Cheap monitors, and be aware of the disadvantages, learn analyzers etc.

    3. Decent headphones / budget speakers combo, same with awarenes of disadvantages and analyzers usage (tho I'm not sure should this be 2. or 3., it depends on what kind of mixing he already prefers)

    Hope this helps a bit, cheers!
     
  9. Animaniac

    Animaniac New

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  10. Darsus

    Darsus Insatiable bowels - Member

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    Stumbled on this looking for a freq. response of my speakers. As far as I see, they are still made. Edifier R1900TII have unrealisticly good response for the money, even better than my Solo 2, as you can see. They don't go deep, but you can't expect more for that price. I'd buy these, and wait untill I collect more for something better (If he's still looking, of course).

    http://www.edifier.uz/news/show/presscenter/sravnitelnoe_testirovanie_microlab_solo_/

    P.S. There is Edifier R1900TIII as far as I can see. Damn these boys look to good to be true, got to check some. https://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/627474-best-studio-monitors-150-a.html
     

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