My opinion? Don't buy another set of budget monitors. It is doubtful that you find anything significantly better than the M-Audio monitors for under $600 Spend a bit more and get a whole lot more speaker. Dynaudio BM5A's are great, and they're $1000/pr. FWIW, many seem to like the Yamaha MSP5's.

Try Used? I picked up a pair of used Dynaudio BM-6p (Passive) in pristeen shape for $600 shipped!

Shop wisely, and as always: "Buyer Beware"...

:cool:

Those Yamahas do sound decent (I've listened to them in a store). However, I was hoping to get something with an 8" woofer. Maybe I need to rethink that and just get something that will do the job best regardless of size...since my budget is tight.

How about the Genelec 8020As?

You can look at monitors all day but until you listen to them you won't be able to make any real judgement.

I recommend you don't look at another set of monitors until you've listened to a few first. Just an observation.

the events are good in my opinion, i recently bought a pair krk v6's which are amazing they run for $700, if that's to much they have v4's but i haven't heard them

I'll say it one more time

Wharfedale Diamond Pro 8.2 Actives...a total steal

Go the Dynaudio's. I would get the BM6'as or 5a's. The only issues you may have are the bottom end...Even my 15a's don't allow me to hear everything that goes on 'down there'.. I have also a cheap sub and HI FI setup, and I switch to that to get a clearer picture of that bottom octave, then back to the Dynes to recheck it. Not ideal, but my mixes have had near perfect translation to ANY kind of system for years now. In a large part... I thank the Dynaudio's for that.

David French is quite right. Don't swap one budget pair for another. Aim higher.

re: the Diamond 8.2's (coupled with a quality amp which may cost twice the price of the Diamonds they are that cheap) , they are great, and are actually better IMO to mix on that quite a few of the cheaper monitors. I'm pretty sure they would improve on your current setup...but choosing a good amp (hafler?) could be a bit of guesswork.

Otherwise I stick to the Dynaudio recommendation. I'm always recommending them as they are the best mon I've owned/used out of mid field JBL's, Farfield & midfield Genelecs, KRK K-Roks/V8's, 6000b's, Tannoy Reveal, Yorkvilles, & Wharfedale Diamonds.

i would go with the yamaha msp5's. just because the bass isnt huge and booming in your face does not mean that is is not there. thease are verry accurate monitors. Every thing is well represented.

I have the M-Audio BX8 monitors. They have the 8" woofer you speak of. They have a decent bass response and are pretty accurate across the spectrum in my enviroment. I would say listening in a store won't really show you anything more than what that speaker sounds like in that particular room. It's all about knowing your speakers. Even if you get a really good pair you still have to get to know them and their characterisitics. I mixed on Dynaudios, Genelecs, the M-audio's, and master on Dunlavy's. Each are very different to mix on. I know if I'm mixing on the M-audios the bass guitar should only be slighty audible otherwise it is gonna translate to a bass heavy mix on consumer speakers. With the genelecs I know I can't compromise the high end simply because they are a much "brighter" sounding speaker. The key is knowing how things will translate. You can buy a 2000 dollar pair of speakers but if you put them in a bad room or don't know their characteristics you just learned a 2000 dollar lesson. Just my opinion.

I was thinking of going to the BX8s...since I don't mind the BX5s...but they lacks in bass. The 8" woofers should give me the bass I want while maintaining the sound I'm used to from the BX5s.

I'll add a third vote for the Dynaudio's. I've heard the old BX8's and yes they have more bass than the BM5a's, they 5a's sound incredibly better.

I also noticed that M-Audio has revamped the BX series, and reduced the power in the amps. With those Kevlar woofers, I bet they sound a bit more like KRK's, or at least that's what they're aiming for.

if all your looking for is improved low end responce, prehaps your best bet would be to keep what you know and ad a sub.

frob wrote: if all your looking for is improved low end responce, prehaps your best bet would be to keep what you know and ad a sub.

I'm scared of relying on a sub...I have a bad feeling if I use a sub, I will make everything way too thin in the bass area. I'm confused. I'm thinking of the BX8s, the new M_Audios, the KRK V4, and the Yamahas.

what style do you do?

Hip-Hop / Rap

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using a sub - as long as you use it correctly. If you tweak the hell out of it so it gives you solid "thud" all the time, then yes, your mixes will be lean.

However, a good, well-tuned subwoofer with proper placement will actually take a good set of semi-full-range monitors and allow you to hear the entire picture.

Personally, I use the BM15s from Dynaudio and given that they have a 10" woofer, they still don't provide anything useful below 35 Hz or so. (Which for most styles of music is more than enough, but considering I mix classical stuff, I need to go down to the super low stuff including infrasonic tones)

Personally, I use a REL subwoofer. I think they are some of the best subs on the market - musical and accurate, but they take some working with to get the correct sounds. (As does any sub.) However, the admission price on the ST range of REL subs starts in at just over $4,000, so I doubt you want to go that route.

Try SV Subwoofers (http://) or Paradigm subs. Velodynes are decent too.

Beware though, a bad sub is like a bad foundation for a house. It can *totally* destroy your mix.

J.

G'day all,

IMHO the Samson Rubicons are the best bang for buck in the range, by a long way. I A/B'd them with alot of more expensive monitors when I was choosing and they were better than the KRKs, Events etc in my opinion (better meaning more accurate.. less forgiving and more full). It was a tough choice between them and the Yamaha MSP5s, but I think that's mainly just because I've heard alot of good things about the Yammys but my ears were telling me go the Samsons.

The ribbons on those things are incredible. They are my "second monitors" but I often end up using them to mix on! I still want a pair of NS-10s, but until then, these things are fast becoming my go-to speakers.

My 2 sheckles.

Matt

Ok, I went to the store and liked the M-Audio BX8 (which are on sale at MF.com for $299 due to a new model) and the Yamaha MSP5s in the under $500 catagory. I can't decide if I want another pair of 5" woofer monitors, or if I should go for the BX8s with the 8" woofer.

I think $299 is a great price for those. They will definitely be a step up, and $300 wouldn't get you very far toward a set of Dynaudio's anyway.

But if you're wanting to hear the bass thump, then you need a subwoofer. Especially for hip hopping. An 8" woofer in a pair of monitors won't sound like an 8" woofer in a home stereo or a car sub. It doesn't really accentuate the lows, it just gives you an extended range of lower freqs that are represented.
I think you won't have problems with a subwoofer messing with you too much if you had one. Most hip hop seems to have a pretty big separation between highs and lows, so you shouldn't have too much stuff walking over eachother if you mix it right. A thing to think about is that some people say that the BX5's + that Maudio subwoofer > BX8's.

FOSTEX PM 1! PERIOD.