Studio monitors under $300?

[tpann]

I would like to buy some studio monitors and have no experience with them. Yeah, newb.

Any opinions out there about what's good for under $300?

Thanks!

[getz76]

If your mixing room sucks, you could put in very expensive monitors and they will give you sh*5ty results. Prepping your space doesn't need to be super expensive; check here http://forum.studiotips.com/ .

For under $300? M-Audio BX5s or Yamaha HS50M (can be had for that) or KRK Rokit 5s. The Yamahas can sound terrible like the old NS10s with a flip of the switch and can be useful to mix if you learn how to use them.

[albee1952]

The moderator should move this to the General Discussion section. Under $300 is tough as you really don't get the quality you need at that price point. Having said that, I would take a look at the Behringer 2030A's. Their 2031A(8" woofer) is over-hyped in the low end, while the smaller 6" woofer is a bit more forgiving in a smaller room(ALL monitors will exhibit low frequency imbalance in ANY small room, and worse with no bass trapping or acoustic treatments). My next choice would be the KRK Rokit6 G2(I find the smaller Rokit5 to be too weak in the bass end). This is all just opinion, and you need to hear what happens in YOUR room, so try to buy from somebody that will give a return policy or let you demo speakers in your own room. Personally, I would budget $800-1200 minimum, and add another $500 for acoustic treatment(if you want any degree of accuracy). Even the "best" speaker can sound like crap in a bad room, or if its placed poorly(but yes, I can understand budget limits too).

[YYR123]

Don't do the Behringers - been there and u will just end up putting more money back into another set of speakers in 2-3 years

It usually comes about the time u start asking ur self "why don't my mixes sound like this in the mix room ?? In the car or on the iPod they sound one way and in the mix room they sound totally different - that's when u sell the low end and try to get something more accurate - which usually means more money - I however have found NS10's on ebay for 300 - some love em others think they r dirt but they are some of the most renowned sets - unless u want focal or adams but that's $1200 for the pair

[WernerF]

Thousands of hit records have been mixed on NS10's. Albee's comments about room specific circumstance's make total sense. That said, if you get your room in proper sonic shape a set of NS10's might serve you well.

[TOM@METRO]

No matter what I mix with, I always listen to NS10s before it goes out the door.

[vocalvoodoo]

In that price range the Equator D5's are by far the best bet, IMO. I love them. Small, big sound for the size (not lacking in the low's especially compared to HS50m's) and very detailed. Plus they have a 60 day money back guarantee.

I've had HS50M's, HS80M's and Dynaudio BM5a's and the D5's are staying right where they are.

+1 on room treatment.

http://www.equatoraudio.com/Default.asp

[capt kirk]

yep, a set of good NS10's AND a mono old style Auratone....you should be able to get some excellent results out of those, once you learn how they work....still mad i lost my 'wood vinyl' auratone....

[travgei]

I got a pair of mackie mr8 used for about 300 dollars from guitar center. They sound really good and work well for mixing.

[Emcha_audio]

Well just for the kicks. Mixing monitors should not sound good. Mixing monitors should reveal all the nasty things in your mix, so you can work on them. They do how ever have to not be tiring to listen to as you may want to work long hours. So at a proper mixing level 80-85-90 db you shouldn't work more than 4 hours before taking an hour break.

Room treatment is paramount in any settings, home, project or professional studios. As said before, you could pay for the best mixing (reference) monitors but if your room is not treated then you're always going to be putting up things that can't translate well elsewhere.

Go to a reputable supplier (one that has a private and controlled listening booth) get a calibrated microphone, your laptop, and the software for the calibrating microphone and pass the monitors to the test. Pick up the one that has the flattest frequency response. Doesn't matter if it sounds dirt, but you need to be able to get all the details, all the flaws of what your working so you can fix them. Then when you have them, you can bring them to your room, use the same calibrating mike with the software and start working on your room treatment from there so you can get back a flat frequency response. When you have that in place, get two or three other pairs of monitors; old radio style, headset and home stereo. This way you can check your mixes on these system as well. I know this way may not be the least expensive way of doing it, but if you really want results you will have to spend the money on good gear anyways, so why not do it the right way the first time.