Narrowing the near-field of choices...

[arothman]

I went to my local Sam Ash and Guitar Center stores this weekend to listen to nearfield monitors. I think I've narrowed down my choices to the Mackie 624, Tannoy Reveal, and the Event 20/20. It seems to me that the Events were a tad boomy by comparison, and sounded like they were distorting at times (although it's possible that the distortion was actually in the recording and the Events were the only pair sensitive enough to reproduce it audibly?)... the Tannoys seemed to be a little hefty in the midrange, but nothing outlandish.. and the Mackies seemed to be maybe a little too 'crisp' for realism. So they all have their flaws to me, but they're all really stunning.

Anyone able to share words of advice to help break my tie?

Drew

 

[sdevino]

Go to a real Pro Audio store that will let you take a pair or 2 home and spend a week doing real tracking and mixes. Short of that you have no idea how any of these monitors really sound or how well they will work for you.

My evaluation includes how well I worked with a given monitor and how I felt at the end of a long session listening to them. You don't know either of these things from a store demo.

You wouldn't buy home stereo speakers without trying them at home first, why would you buy studio monitors that way?

 

[arothman]

Hehe... actually, I probably would buy a pair of home stereo speakers without trying them at home first... but I'm a moron like that.

Thanks for the advice... I'll see what pro stores I can find around here...

Drew

 

[Davedog]

If the 'pro' store has a set of genelec 1029's you should listen to those too...