I had an interesting experience... I don't really expect any replies to this since so much has been said about monitors here already, but I posted this on another forum and thought I would share:

I was hunting for monitors... I heard the Yamaha MSP5's and was quite impressed... they didn't get *extremely* low frequencies, but they sound clear and crisp... what I would think studio monitors should sound like... however, I only heard these things on keyboards (Tritons and a few roland models)...

anyway, I went to hear some TR8-N's with some CDs that I knew well... they only had TR5's set up, so I listened and was somewhat surprised at how bad they sounded.. to my ear, the mids and highs sounded more like a budget PA system than what I would think studio monitors should sound like... the sound was blended and muffled... I switched over to some KRK V8's and wasn't impressed there either - they sounded clear but "hollow" for lack of a better word... like all the sound wasn't there or something... the KRK V4's sounded okay, but not great...

my question: ...is this a typical experience? If not, do you know what could be wrong with the other models I tried? ...perhaps since they were demo units, they had been worn badly? ... or perhaps the TR8-N will sound a lot better than it's smaller brother? ... or maybe I was listening at too quiet a volume? ...or perhaps the CD's I had would sound equally bad on the MSP5's (though they sound great on my home and car systems)...

at any rate, thanks for your time

Go listen to some great monitors so you have a reference of what music is supposed to sound like and then go listen to the cheapies. I believe that you need at least an 8-inch speaker in a monitor to get full sound reproduction unless you also get a sub to along with anything smaller. If after listening to both types of monitors you really think you can now ever be satisfied and live with any of of the cheapies, then get the best pair you can. If not, do the right thing and save up for a pair of the great monitors and let them bring a smile to your face every time you hear them.

Give a listen to the Event 20 20's they have a good bass sound

Hello,

Well, I recently found out that my school has genelec 1029A's in it's lab... so I got a CD I knew well, and went over to have a listen...

I was expecting to be blown away... but interestingly, I did not find them much better than the MSP5's... They weren't as crisp, but did seem to have a bit more depth... not "depth" meaning bass, but sound field depth, while the MSP5's seem to be more in your face(?)... neither sounded all that much better than my home system, either (though they, of course, probably transfer way better)... sorry for my lack of correct terms...

Any ideas of why this is my experience? ... the room plays a role, of course, but is the role really this big? ... as it stands right now, I see absolutely no reason to buy genelecs at twice the cost of the MSP5's - but, I am probably missing something here, right? ....

I have no doubt that the rooms you were hearing the speakers in had a great deal to do with your experiences. Tell us about this room in which you heard the 1029s. I have not heard the 1029s but I have access to a pair of 1030As and they sound wonderful to me. I use a pair of TR8-Ns at home and I think they're totally useable. They are a little off near the crossover, which makes vocal EQ a little tricky, and they have a few resonances which can be audible at the upper limit of their output, but for the money, I think they're a decent deal. Kurt really likes the MSP5s, but I haven't heard them yet. Have you seen his [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.recordin…"]review[/]="http://www.recordin…"]review[/] ?

Thanks for the reply! ... actually, I did see Kurt's review.. I wouldn't have checked them out if it wasn't for his review (I dislike yamaha as a company, heh)...

The room was a converted smaller classroom (we just got this lab this year)... there are a few desk in there, each equiped with the monitors... the particular one I heard was in the middle towards the back of the room (sitting at the desk, my back was about 2 feet away from the wall)... the audio monitors were on either side of the visual monitor, as if they were PC speakers... really, if you think "classroom" you have a pretty good idea of what the setup is like... no chalkboard or dry-erase board, though...

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actually, a small correction.. the desks were more like "tables", with room for about 4 people each...
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The Genelec 1029's are an after thought product meant to cater to the smaller project and DAW users as well as users in real small post/edit rooms. Da Dog seems to like them but I think they lack quite a bit and are not in the same league as the real wood cabinets like in the 1030, 1031 or 1032.

On a table top is a very bad placement for speakers. Te reflections from the table's surface reach you just a millisecond or two after the direct sound, producing a hollow, phasey sound. Perhaps moving them to the front edge of the table so that there is no room for reflections will give you a better picture.

I'd love to get my handsa pair of TR-8Ns.

My "gold standard" for monitoring is a pair of ESS-made towers from the late '70's that I had reconditioned. I've been listening to them for 25 years, so I know their sound. They use the same driver technology that Adam Audio uses, a Heil AMT.

I bought a pair of Tannoy Reveals for near field monitoring, and I didn't like the sound of them at all. They sounded like AM radio next to the ESS. No, I didn't demo them first. Lesson learned.

I spotted a pair of Event 20/20s at my buddy's house, and I talked him into bringing them over for a listen. While they're not as nice as the ESS, they are much more representative and I can easily translate the differences between the two. Given that the Events and Tannoys sell for the same $$, I was surprised by how much better the Events sounded--especially for "budget minded" speakers. I'm inclined to believe the TR-8ns sound that much better.

Tim

Pardon the dyslexia. I meant TR8-Ns. I started with TRN-8s and still didn't get it right.

Tim

David: You know what, that might explain a lot.. the MSP5's were the only set of speakers that were suspended, all of the others were on tables or shelves...

AudioGaff: That might also explain a lot... some of the reviews I've seen have said that the sound of the 1029A's are better than the 1030A's (better crossover)... I had assumed they sounded about the same, except at lower frequencies... however, if it's more like a Squire vs. Fender issue, this would make sense...

thanks eveyrone!