Anyone used Behringer Truth monitors?

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:15 pm

I'm looking at monitors at the mo - and the Behringer Truth B2031As seem to be pretty much right on my budget. Has anyone here used them? What are they like for producing? Mixing? General listening?

They have EQ switches on the back which is a nice touch - my room certainly has some bass-oddities in it that a touch of EQ help neutralise.

splonge · Post by **splonge** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:19 pm

I have a set of B2031's and a set a Yamaha MSP5's. I finally had a chance to compare the two and I found the difference between them is enormous. I don't have a lot a experience with different monitors, and I can't claim any particular expertise, but the Yamaha's seem much brighter and clearer to me and the stereo image is much better. Although the Behringers can handle lower frequencies, the Yamaha's roll of sharply below 50Hz.

I much prefer mixing on the Yamaha's as it just sounds like there is more detail than the Behringers. The big lesson for me there was that louder isn't always better.

There is KRK, M-Audio, Roland (and others) that are in a similar price bracket to the Behringers, and may be worth checking out as well.

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:30 pm

i think you are better of with something 'smaller' for the same money like yamaha msp5 or krk rokit series 5,6,or 8 [which i would recommend in the lower pricebracket]

i personally, except their controllers can't recommend anything behringer, the quality is just a 100% hit and miss, one in a thousand units might perform ok.

djmyke · Post by **djmyke** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:39 pm

not worth ur money.... id rather go to bx5 maudio

abletoff · Post by **abletoff** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:51 pm

consider the Esi near 05 experience

slicedbread · Post by **slicedbread** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:17 pm

musicians fiend has the emu pm5's on sale now for $200 (active pair). i just ordered some. everything i've read says they're shithot, although i'm a little nervous having never actually heard them personally. i was going to go with the behringers but these were much cheaper at 71% off and my tiny apartment can't handle too much bass anyways. i'm more interested in accurate full range sound over waking the neighbors.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=608894

Poster · Post by **Poster** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:07 pm

stay away from Behringer..
period..

cheap is what you get..

go to your local music store and listen/compare some brands in your price range..
you'll soon discover that the Behringer's are not what you want..

mission · Post by **mission** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:30 pm

the alesis mk1 actives are good monitors for that range... so are the studiophiles but they seem to cause ear fatigue quicker than others.

abletoff · Post by **abletoff** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:59 pm

I got the alesis m1 mk2 last year, mixed quite a few tracks, zero ear fatigue. But them, hearing some Dynaudio blow me away, so speakers it's really a matter of how much you can spend.
For the price range of the 2031A, I think the Esi near 05 experience can not be beaten.

darkenedsoul · Post by **darkenedsoul** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:09 pm

I went with a pair of M-Audio BX8a's and love the sound out of them (listening to my music, or some death/black/doom/dark ambient sounds great on them). Got them for $349.99 managers special awhile ago at a local Daddy's. But one caveat, they only have 2 inputs, 1/4" and Male XLR's where as the KRK's I think have 3 (RCA, 1/4" and XLR). I didn't realize this (my bad of course) till I got them home and opened them up and connected the 1/4" to my Omni Studio on one Desktop then went to connect the 1/8"->RCA stereo cable that I spread out to reach the speakers did I notice no RCA plugs. I didn't see a pair of them in the store on the shelves (lots of the new Yama's white model 5") so I ordered a special 1/8" to dual Male XLR's (took 2 freakin months to get it in....sheesh! a Hosa cable) and works great from both PC's. Not that I run both at the same time (sometimes I do though when the girlfriend is over and wanting to use the PC).

But I like the sound and overall range of the speakers. Price was right at the time too. Beated paying $500 for the pair at normal price. Almost bought the KRK RP8's when they were on sale for $499.99 for a pair vs 1 speaker!

rolfski · Post by **rolfski** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:56 pm

Do not listen to the usual "Stay away from cheap Behringer products" arguments becaus these are BS prejudices. Especially regarding the Truth monitors because they are actually very good monitors for the money.

I've listen for days in shops comparing them to every other monitor in the price range and in the end the Truths clearly came out on top for me. What makes them really stand out compared to the competition is that they can handle bass actuallly very well which is important of course when you are into dance music. They also have a clean, "in your face" sound and the build quality is very sturdy.

They also got good reviews too, check out the recent Future Music issue were lots of monitors were tested or check a review of his little brother: http://www.musictechmag.co.uk/mtm/reviews/truth-b2030a

Poster · Post by **Poster** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:03 pm

rolfski wrote:They also have a clean, "in your face" sound and the build quality is very sturdy.

I guess that's very personal cause I find the low and low-mids very muddy..

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:11 am

rolfski wrote:Do not listen to the usual "Stay away from cheap Behringer products" arguments becaus these are BS prejudices. Especially regarding the Truth monitors because they are actually very good monitors for the money.

I've listen for days in shops comparing them to every other monitor in the price range and in the end the Truths clearly came out on top for me. What makes them really stand out compared to the competition is that they can handle bass actuallly very well which is important of course when you are into dance music. They also have a clean, "in your face" sound and the build quality is very sturdy.

I'm not that into dance music - I certainly won't be MAKING dance music. I'm much more interested in treble/mid-range clarity and stereo imaging. I also want something that won't be fatiguing, since the speakers will sit on my desk where I do all my work, which includes a lot of non-music production, where I will be running iTunes through the monitors.

darkenedsoul · Post by **darkenedsoul** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:34 pm

forgie wrote:
rolfski wrote:Do not listen to the usual "Stay away from cheap Behringer products" arguments becaus these are BS prejudices. Especially regarding the Truth monitors because they are actually very good monitors for the money.

I've listen for days in shops comparing them to every other monitor in the price range and in the end the Truths clearly came out on top for me. What makes them really stand out compared to the competition is that they can handle bass actuallly very well which is important of course when you are into dance music. They also have a clean, "in your face" sound and the build quality is very sturdy.
I'm not that into dance music - I certainly won't be MAKING dance music. I'm much more interested in treble/mid-range clarity and stereo imaging. I also want something that won't be fatiguing, since the speakers will sit on my desk where I do all my work, which includes a lot of non-music production, where I will be running iTunes through the monitors.

Well, you'll probably want 5" monitors vs 8" which take up a lot more space. My BX8a's are rather big and cumbersome in a sense BUT they fit perfectly on top of my Studio Project Station I got at a local Guitar Center (on 5 casters for ease of rolling around, has top tier for monitor and CD holders act as a brace for items that go beyond the other bracket/parts under top tier) on either side of a Samsung 205BW widescreen LCD running through a KVM for my 2 desktops. And they are at ear level which is perfect for making music, listening to it or game playing. I was debating on the Yamaha (previous model, not the new white ones) but I noticed a BIG difference on the low end when going to the 8" models. Price was right at the time I had the cash to spend on them. I think the RP8's are like $500 apiece and 140w where mine are $500/pair and 130w. Not that I'm cranking them that loudly. I do like them. Was also considering the MkII powered monitors from M-Audio as alternatives.

Let your ears do the decision-making if you can afford to spend the $ on them. Bring samples of what you will be creating/listening to for best listening experience.

Mike

sqook · Post by **sqook** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:23 pm

rolfski wrote:Do not listen to the usual "Stay away from cheap Behringer products" arguments becaus these are BS prejudices. Especially regarding the Truth monitors because they are actually very good monitors for the money.

Sorry, but I must disagree. Beringer's stuff is produced in a small Chinese village that they more or less built themselves, and the quality of their products reflects that, I think.

I have a pair of the Truth B2031's at my office, and they aren't even fucking magnetically shielded.... meaning that, if my telephone (not even cell phone, mind you) is too close to the speaker, then it creates a noticable and annoying buzz. The speakers are also very sensitive to volume changes, regardless what source I am using for the input.

The sound quality overall is decent, but I think you could easily find another pair of monitors for the same price with comparable audio quality.