Speakers are very personal. You may or may not like the way they sound. You may or may not like what your mixes sound like on them. If I were shopping for speakers I would take a CD to the store listen to it on three or four systems that you have pre selected by doing your homework on the net, ask the store if they have a pair you can audition in your own studio (many place will not let you return speakers after they are out of the sealed box) and listen to them in your own room for an extended period of time. I would not go with a pair of speakers just because someone else likes them. There tastes maybe very different from yours and you may not have the same preference for the tonal balance of the speakers. Most times I would not suggest used speakers but if you can find a pair that are not beat up you maybe able to get a pair of $1000.00 speaker for less than $500.00. Again if you buy used make sure you can audition them in your own studio and have them checked over by someone who is familiar with their sound and can advise you if these seem ok.

MTCW

-TOM-

Re: Question for Mr. Foster

BennisHahn wrote: do you really believe they beat out any other monitors in the sub $500 range? .

In that price range? I think they do. And being self powered that includes the cost of an amp..something even more expensive used speakers may will not, and more expensive speakers will require an equally expensive amp sound anywhere near their best. Kurt originally did the review based upon a post along time ago by me recommending these monitors. If you have the change up grade t the MSP10's. The nest step up to each of those would be to get the sub that comes with them. Any of the three options are very good. I disagree in part with the concept of checking out a bunch of monitors at a store IF you have to ask. If you asking it quite frankly means you don't know about this issue...I'm not being harsh...just frank. That being the case you will probably pick the "best sounding" pair which doesn't always equate to the best monitors to use. If monitor B has more bottom and top then Monitor B you may conclude that it is a better sounding monitor. Then when you work on them you will mix till they sound good (i.e. wit a hair less bottom and top than may be needed). That said, yes monitors are personal...but they're are not really a lot of choices at that range that I think beat the MSP series. Others will disagree.

Bennis,
Sorry it took so long for me to answer this, I didn't see it until today. Yes I do think the MSP5's are most likely a best value in their price range. Yamaha is a very well established company that has been manufacturing musical products for over 100 years... I have never heard a pair of Events that impressed me and I can honestly tell you that every time I have walked into a studio that had them the first thing the studio owner would do is apologize for them. IMO they do not fall into the category of a professional monitor... they are more of a "Boys Toys" type of thing. Of course if your set up is based around other "budget conscious" type of gear like inexpensive mics, pres and compressors I am sure the Event line would suit you fine. But if you are really serious about getting the best audio quality possible, then really good monitors are in order.. This stuff ain't cheap ...

BTW, I have evaluated the MSP 10 Studio monitors and I don't care for them at all ... it seems Yamaha got lucky with the combination of components and design with the MSP 5's ... I really like them a lot and they compared to my $2400 each Tannoys very well ... hard to beat that!

Kurt Foster

MSP5's

Question regarding the MSP5's for those who have them...

Did you experience or hear of any people having build quality problems? I've got a pair and the lower notes on bass guitar cause some parts inside the speaker to resonate and make a noisy buzz. Quite unbareable. Both speakers have this problem and they are brand new. This is at moderate volume. A google search showed a couple people complaining about the build quality (sub woofer magnets weren't glued properly, causing the vibration)...

Other than the low-low frequency problem I think they're great. I'll probably get the additional sub later.

I did not expierence this problem with the units sent to me for review. I would return them to where I purchased them and exchange them for new units..

I own a pair myself...and, yes, there are some lacks on the bass range and maybe other issues, but, to be honest, what can i expect for a 500$ pair of active monitor. Regading the "buzz" problem, i never had it...but recently, i`ve been working with a pair of Tannoys Reveals that have "buzz" and i agree could be the build quality... for the price range i think thay are unbeatables...just an opinion... :wink:

Yes, I have noticed this buzz on the reveals. Watch out for the bit of plastic directly above where the AC lead goes on the back. This can come lose or vibrate with lower end stuff. I gaffered over the section on mine and it seemed to fix the problem. Except at higher volumes that is...

The msp5s are very strong.
I would use them over any Event speaker Ive ever heard.

best

i own a pair. yes a bit shy on bass side, but hey the trick is to get them sounding good with your music being played thru them :wink: . And if your mixes sound good thru them, they're likely to do so on any other system, Just what ppl say about ns1os
I would say they are good value for money.

ive picked up a pair and i cant see how i did anything with out them (them being my pair of good monitors) i heard my friends event 10 and thies blow them away no contest, ive not seen any problem with build quality. i was worried about this untell i went to my local guitar center and sew all of thier key board hooked up to abused msp5s i went over turned a organ up and switch the octave down and it took it varry well, it didnt even fart. it didnt sound that well but i was trying to breack them see how they could hand, and they did just fine.

how do you guys think the Yorkville YSM1P's would stack up to these Yamahas?

thanks for any input.

Would you guys say that the accuracy (how well my mixes will translate) of the MSP5 is better enough (or at all) than my Event TR8 monitors for me to sell them and buy the Yamaha's?

Will they also be better than the YSM1P Yorkies?

I'm ONLY interested in the most effective translation. I don't care how nice they sound. I just want to spend the least time mixing as possible.

Let me know what you guys think.

iCit,

I'm ONLY interested in the most effective translation. I don't care how nice they sound. I just want to spend the least time mixing as possible.

That is my #1 priority as well.

I bought a pair of MSP5's recently and sent my Mackie HR824's packing with no regrets and a great sigh of relief.

The MSP5's translate very well without adding any confusing hype. This includes the bass frequencies where I was worried that the Yamahas would be lacking and therefore cause me to overcompensate, but this is no problem at all.

Right now I'm at a road block, because these little Yamaha speakers are showing me so clearly where my recordings sound bad, and I just don't know what steps to take to fix things.

I'm much happier, however, to be in this situation compared to the last couple of years where my Mackies led me so far astray by letting me think I had sounds that just plain didn't exist without their added coloration. I know they are advertised as being very linear, with AP Graphs that try and prove it, but the school of hard knocks has shown me otherwise.

It feels like I'm having to start all over again and undo lots of Mackie HR824 - induced recording/mixing habits.

Good luck. I don't think you can go wrong with the MSP5's.

Dean

Yeah, I'm hearing not so great things about the accuracy of the Mackies. It seems like half of the reviews talk about how great the monitors sound - who cares. I'll use a set of auratones or ns10's if when I'm done if it translates well.

any other comments re: specifically the difference in accuracy of the msp5 vs event tr8 vs those yorkies i mentioned above?

thanks guys.

-nate

ps. my events are now on ebay for sale. 1st choice right now is the msp5's, but the Yorkies are possible too.

Build Quality

For the record there was nothing wrong with my MSP5's. Turns out there was a grounding problem in my power outlet that was causing the buzz I mentioned earlier in this thread.

I own Yorkville YSM1P's, and a good friend of mine has MSP5's. I have to say that the Yorkvilles outshine the Yamahas by a mile and a half. I didn't care for the Yamahas at all - they sounded very lacking in detail and slightly midrangy, with practically no bass and harsh high-end with very little air. This is even after tweaking the MSP5's extensively.
I've also heard Events and Tannoys, and both the MSP5's and the Yorkvilles are better than these by quite a bit - but the Yorkvilles by much much more.

Speakers ARE personal, and I'm sure some here will disagree with me.

When buying monitors, just make sure you listen to every available option in your pricerange, for at least 15 minutes on each set. And MAKE SURE you include the YSM1P's in your listening tests; I can't recommend them enough. If you end up not buying them, that's great, but just listen before you make a decision.

alright! back to the matter at hand. :D

i just sold the events on ebay for $400, so i'm in the market. actually, i need something right away too. i can usually get zzounds.com to lower prices on items, but they won't budge on the msp5's. something about yamaha not letting them.

does anyone have any input or suggestions for me before i pick up a set of msp5's? you know my one requirement: i want to spend the least time possible mixing by having something that translates well.

any final comments? anyone else think i should get the yorkies instead? anyone who's heard both sets in the same place with the same recorded material?

thanks guys.

sincerely, nate

I just picked up a pair of msp5s on eBay for $300. Had to wait around for a month to get the price I wanted, but I got em.

i use the msp5's at home, at work i use genelecs, mid to large size, and the mixes practically sound the same....not literally, but a good mix on the yamahas sounds like a good mix on the genelecs, and the same with a bad mix..
ther'll propably be people who hate genelecs, you know, they sound too nice and stuff, but they are an industry standard..so it can't be bad that the yamahas sortof soundalike??

i got my friend at guitarcenter to to drop the price of the msp5s to substanualy. so my sujestion get a friend at guitar center.

As I mentioned before, I compared the MSP5 to my very expensive Tannoy System 12 II DMT's and I thought the MSP5's sounded very close to them. Other people found this to be true also. With the addition of a subwoofer, they would be a good full range system. Add 3 more MSP 5's and you have a very good 5.1 surround system ...

I bought a pair of MSP5's about the time of Kurt's review of them last year. Regardless of side-by-side comparisons, my test is whether people like the mixes I get with them. By that standard, I really like MSP5's. Even without the subwoofer. At this point, if I added the sub, I'd have to rewire my head to get rid of all my internal compensations! :shock: :?

frob, how much did you end up getting them from guitar center for? that number would help me in pricematching/shopping.

thanks!

just picked them up from Guitar Center for $405 including shipping. i get the feeling i could have got them cheaper. he was really happy with that price and said that they were moving the monitors out. i made sure he sent me boxed ones though because i know they use those as keyboard speakers. anyway, thought i'd let you guys know. thanks for all of the input.

-nathan

that sounds about right

Just got a call from Guitar Center saying they were out of stock and didn't realize it and couldn't find any other monitors in the area. That stinks.

Any idea of other places that would sell them for $400??

if you can get a quote out f them then sam ash (who still carries them) will price match.

thanks frob. musiciansfriend.com ended up matching the price. i'll have them in a couple of weeks. long, but at least it's taken care of.

thanks. i'll let you guys know how i like them.

i'm planning to use tiki-tak balls as spikes. ever heard of that before?