Best small monitors...

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Warminstrel
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Best small monitors...

Post by Warminstrel » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:47 am

I'm looking to up-grade to some decent active near field monitors (currently have a set of Behringer MS20's but I don't like to talk about it... :oops: )

My main problem is lack of physical space due to the shoe-box sized house I live in...

Can anyone recommend some pukka compact monitors that would fit in here? ->

Image

spkey
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by spkey » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:54 am

Can't tell from your pic how small you want them.
I have the Fostex PM-1 which I think are quite good and cost effective. There's a review here: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov03/a ... texpm1.htm

Yamaha made a quite small speaker recently (hsm-50) and I think it's ok for what it is. I found the sound a bit tinny.
http://www.djsupplies.co.uk/yamaha-hsm5 ... -729-p.asp

liveISlife
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by liveISlife » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:56 am

Image MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH http://www.genelec.com/products/2-way-monitors/8020a/

m:o
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by m:o » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:57 am

whats your budget ?

i heard good reviews of the Adam A5.
They win in the low ends compared to the genelec
8020APM. If you have a shop in your area where you
can listen to monitors, do it.

there are not "the best" monitors out there.
also check the new yamaha H series.

fingerprince
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by fingerprince » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:03 am

The monitors which sound best to your ears are the best for you
Thats the only answer there is really
Probably if you splashed out on the adams or genelecs
they would be an improvement
But its all about your ears.

Warminstrel
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by Warminstrel » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:21 am

I reckon budget of around £250-£300 for the pair if at all possible.

I notice that many of the high-end units are sold as single units...does this mean that each has its own power supply?

Idealy I'd like to keep the size about the same as the ms20's (239 mm x 154 mm x 187 mm).

UKRuss
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by UKRuss » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:07 am

Warminstrel wrote:I'm looking to up-grade to some decent active near field monitors (currently have a set of Behringer MS20's but I don't like to talk about it... :oops: )

My main problem is lack of physical space due to the shoe-box sized house I live in...

Can anyone recommend some pukka compact monitors that would fit in here? ->

Image
Tee Hee, you left your groove pool open. i just took a swim in it. :D

Yeah, those lil baby desktop Genelecs look the business, liveislife.

Warminstrel
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by Warminstrel » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:23 am

Tee Hee, you left your groove pool open. i just took a swim in it.
Oh realy? I hope you didn't leave a floater! 8O

Yeah, those Genelecs look sexy....will have to do some number crunching and up my budget a tad...

SubFunk
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by SubFunk » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:31 am

liveISlife wrote:Image MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH http://www.genelec.com/products/2-way-monitors/8020a/
+1 they are ace for the size.
*** Image GAFM ***

dazzer
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by dazzer » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:11 am

I think the 8020a have been replaced by 8020b.

OP, alternatively you could do what I did: decide the 8020s were perfect, go the shop and buy the more expensive 8030s instead. Made sense to me.

ciw
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by ciw » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:17 am

The 8020s are very very sweet, but don't go much below 60hz. I replaced mine with bluesky mediadesk 2.1 which for the same price include a subwoofer. If you have room for that.

edit: alternatively the genelec subwoofer is an extra 500 quids... :(

poshook
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by poshook » Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:17 pm

ciw wrote:The 8020s are very very sweet, but don't go much below 60hz. I replaced mine with bluesky mediadesk 2.1 which for the same price include a subwoofer. If you have room for that.

edit: alternatively the genelec subwoofer is an extra 500 quids... :(
mediadesk can go deeper in bass but it definitely lacks of details in the midrange and sounds like a crap against 8020A. 8020A is awesome in clarity and detail in the midrange

8O
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by 8O » Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:30 pm

dazzer wrote:OP, alternatively you could do what I did: decide the 8020s were perfect, go the shop and buy the more expensive 8030s instead. Made sense to me.
Hehe, I did exactly the same thing!

@Warminstrel: Another advantage of Genelecs - both the 8020 and 8030 is that they're much less deep in terms of physical size, both are shallower than the A5. That was a strong consideration for me in limited desk space.
Image

Warminstrel
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by Warminstrel » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:06 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I had considered auditioning some monitors in a store tho the venue wouldn't have anything like the shocking acoustics I have at home! Still worth a visit to play with the toys i spose...

Ever the tightwad i found these:

http://www.studiospares.com/Studio-Moni ... nvt/435000

The specs seem to suggest that they may colour the sound too much...

Any thoughts?

Hidden Driveways
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Re: Best small monitors...

Post by Hidden Driveways » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:08 pm

Warminstrel wrote:I notice that many of the high-end units are sold as single units...does this mean that each has its own power supply?
Most powered studio monitors have their own power supplies. The speakers you are used to are considered "desktop multi-media" speakers. Most of them have the amplifier on one side, and a regular speaker cable gets sent over to the 2nd speaker from the amplified one.

Another vote for the Gennie 8020. Perhaps you'll miss a little low end, but not dramatically. They were designed for accurate mixing in small control rooms, period.

Also, don't rule out the Genelec 6010 & 5040 option:
http://www.genelec.com/firststep/

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