# Your suggestions for pair of studio monitors for up to $4000.



## fustrun (Jun 21, 2018)

Hey guys! looking to buy a pair of monitors (in an acoustically controlled environment), kindly note that i would love to buy something cheaper but $4000 is the max i can go for but would rather spend around $2500 if possible.

Shoot ...

Thanks!


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## fiestared (Jun 21, 2018)

fustrun said:


> Hey guys! looking to buy a pair of monitors (in an acoustically controlled environment), kindly note that i would love to buy something cheaper but $4000 is the max i can go for but would rather spend around $2500 if possible.
> 
> Shoot ...
> 
> Thanks!


PSI Audio


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## fustrun (Jun 21, 2018)

I should also add that the room will be pretty small


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## muk (Jun 21, 2018)

Some suggestions that are well worth investigating: PSI Audio, Geithain RL906 (my personal favourites), Neumann KH 120, Focal Twins, Amphion One18.


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## tav.one (Jun 22, 2018)

Dynaudio LYD 48 3 way monitors


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## jmauz (Jun 22, 2018)

I've been using Focal CMS65's with the matched sub for a few years now. My home studio is smallish and this system is perfect. I think I paid around $3K total for the 2.1 system, I'm sure it's cheaper now. I write all sorts of genres - orchestral, EDM, rock, folk, R&B, latin, you name it. Highly recommended!


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## sinkd (Jun 22, 2018)

Can't weigh in with any comparisons, but the Dynaudio 3-ways are surprising. We use the Focal Twins for mid field and they are stellar.


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## JohnG (Jun 22, 2018)

do they need to be powered speakers or will you use an amp?


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## OleJoergensen (Jun 22, 2018)

You can aslo try Eve audio


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## Studio E (Jun 22, 2018)

I love my Focal Twins and my cousin has the CMS65's which sound amazing as well. I did add the matching sub and I love having it for adding sub bass.


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## N.Caffrey (Jun 22, 2018)

fiestared said:


> PSI Audio



I used them for months.. Loved them, they're so good! Had to leave that studio and got the Neumann KH120.. the difference is noticeable.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Jun 24, 2018)

Is this more for mixing or composing? I'm a big fan of Dynaudios because I find them very neutral but they're probably not the most detailed. I don't like the older Dynaudios like the BM6a but am always happy to work on the newer ones. Would be a fantastic choice if you're mostly composing.

A year ago I went around to the various shops in LA to hear as many monitors as I could. The larger Amphions sounded very nice and somewhat similar to the Dynaudios but once again not the most detailed. I really didn't like the smaller Amphions. Out of everything I heard (Genelec, Focal, Unity...) the only 2 that I would consider getting were ATC or Barefoots. To me, they give you all the information you need but I don't find either of them to sound very neutral. I wouldn't want to just listen to music on them. I'd consider getting the Footprints. They're very nice, compact, and with great low end extension. Same Barefoot sound but much cheaper.

The other speaker I'd consider is the JBL 705p and 708p. The 705p has some port resonance which apparently the 708p doesn't but I've never heard the 708p. I've been using a pair of 705p for the past 2 months as my main speakers are down for repair and they get the job done. I definitely wouldn't master on them though. Having the built in DSP is great if you're not using any other DSP unit. I wouldn't use any speaker without DSP. The 705p are tiny but they have a pretty good low end extension that they can go ridiculously loud. They're at the same level as my main speakers (which have a 10" mid and a 10" sub) and I've never clipped them. Other speakers like the little Neumanns couldn't handle this level. Once my main speakers are back up the 705p will be used as my surrounds replacing the LSR 305 I have there now.


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## Ethos (Jun 24, 2018)

I'll be getting the Ascend Acoustics Sierra Horizon passive monitors with RAAL ribbons in the next few weeks. It's not marketed as a pro audio speaker, but it's more detailed and transparent than any other I've heard in the price range.


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## colony nofi (Jun 24, 2018)

@Ethos please report back . Colour me intrigued.


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## tabulius (Jun 25, 2018)

Amphions, you won't regret it.


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## Vik (Jun 25, 2018)

I'm a big fan of my Genelec 1031A pair, I can certainly recommend them but I haven't compared them directly with other and newer monitors. The only possible downside with them is that you don't get full value /optimum sound quality if you need to work at low levels.


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## fiestared (Jun 25, 2018)

N.Caffrey said:


> I used them for months.. Loved them, they're so good! Had to leave that studio and got the Neumann KH120.. the difference is noticeable.


PSI Audio http://www.psiaudio.swiss/a21-m-perfectly-accurate-mid-field-monitor/


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## fiestared (Jun 25, 2018)

fiestared said:


> PSI Audio http://www.psiaudio.swiss/a21-m-perfectly-accurate-mid-field-monitor/


You know what ? I'm now thinking(only dreaming, $$$$$) about this one http://www.psiaudio.swiss/a25-m-mastering-grade-3-way-accurate-loudspeaker/


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## Ryan (Jun 25, 2018)

Thought I'll chime in here. I bought a pair of PSI A17-M two weeks ago. Just WOW.. They are perfect. Again.. Wow! Love them. I also used 3 years of research / hearing monitors before deciding.


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## N.Caffrey (Jun 25, 2018)

Ryan said:


> Thought I'll chime in here. I bought a pair of PSI A17-M two weeks ago. Just WOW.. They are perfect. Again.. Wow! Love them.


They're the best


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## fustrun (Jun 25, 2018)

A-17's do look very nice .. how are they compared to the footprints 01 ?
And i mostly compose but in a variety of genres .. but i do all my own mixing so having a clear picture is a must ..


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## JaikumarS (Jun 25, 2018)

Ryan said:


> Thought I'll chime in here. I bought a pair of PSI A17-M two weeks ago. Just WOW.. They are perfect. Again.. Wow! Love them. I also used 3 years of research / hearing monitors before deciding.



Hi Ryan,

Just watched your Piano improv video on youtube... I'm planning to buy Dyanudio BM5 MKiii only for writing music and to get a balanced premix before sending the music to my mix engineer. May I know your feedback on it?

Thank you.

-J


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## CoffeeLover (Jun 25, 2018)

Event opal are good
does anybody here have experience with Adam s3h?
im looking into buying them at some point but there are not many reviews i find
just few talks on gearslutz and few commercials on you tube.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Jun 25, 2018)

JaikumarS said:


> Hi Ryan,
> 
> Just watched your Piano improv video on youtube... I'm planning to buy Dyanudio BM5 MKiii only for writing music and to get a balanced premix before sending the music to my mix engineer. May I know your feedback on it?
> 
> ...


They're great. I worked on them for years. I chose to keep them (unlike many other speakers which I've sold) stored away in case I ever want a second pair or if I need to set up a room somewhere else. I don't think I could ever sell them. Because of how I had them set up in my room, I had them going down to 28Hz which is pretty unheard of for speakers so small.

The new LYD are similar. I wouldn't go for the 8" or 5" versions. The 7" is the best one IMO.


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## JaikumarS (Jun 26, 2018)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> They're great. I worked on them for years. I chose to keep them (unlike many other speakers which I've sold) stored away in case I ever want a second pair or if I need to set up a room somewhere else. I don't think I could ever sell them. Because of how I had them set up in my room, I had them going down to 28Hz which is pretty unheard of for speakers so small.
> 
> The new LYD are similar. I wouldn't go for the 8" or 5" versions. The 7" is the best one IMO.



Thank you Gerhard


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## Paul Grymaud (Jun 26, 2018)

My favourite


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## nik (Jun 26, 2018)

hi,
i want to throw in the Neumann KH 310. I got them recently and love them. In my oppinion u cant go wrong with them.


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## whinecellar (Jun 26, 2018)

CoffeeLover said:


> ...does anybody here have experience with Adam s3h?...



Yes, I’ve owned a pair for a year now, and it is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I did a lengthy shootout with several other high-end contenders and the S3H took the prize for me. They’re significantly out of the budget ballpark on this thread, but since you asked, here’s my review:

http://jimdaneker.com/reviews/


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## JeffvR (Jun 26, 2018)

Everyone probably mentions their own brand. I'll do the same :D. Check out PSI. I've listened to them alongside Focal, Dynaudio and Eve and they where the best by far.


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## jamwerks (Jun 26, 2018)

@Gerhard Westphalen, can you say anything more about the Amphion One18's? Those or the Footprints are on my short list. Currently using Adam S2's (1st generation).


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## Ryan (Jun 27, 2018)

JaikumarS said:


> Hi Ryan,
> 
> Just watched your Piano improv video on youtube... I'm planning to buy Dyanudio BM5 MKiii only for writing music and to get a balanced premix before sending the music to my mix engineer. May I know your feedback on it?
> 
> ...



The Dynaudios is at my works studio. I don`t like them so much. Especially after they sold their shares and stuff to a Chinese company. Dynaudio LYD was a huge disappointment. I think I`m a bit tired of the Dynaudio sound... I decided to go for the more "expensive" solution, so I looked into Focals, ATC, PSI, Barefoots, Amphion etc. For my work and studio, the PSI was the right choice. But it`s all about taste. 
PSI - Very honest. 
Dynaudio - Not that honest, and lacks a bit of mids, and is a bit "boom" in the LF.


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## Ryan (Jun 27, 2018)

fustrun said:


> A-17's do look very nice .. how are they compared to the footprints 01 ?
> And i mostly compose but in a variety of genres .. but i do all my own mixing so having a clear picture is a must ..



The footprints are the gems LF reproduction. Thereby they are very hard to place in a room, and they tend to get a bit boomy in the mid, LF. Again, it's all about taste. Some like the punch of the low frq.. For me it was all about getting a good & nice perspective of the reproduced sound. Stereo-field, imaging, phase, mids etc is just very good on the PSI. 

I create music from dance, electronica, scores, trailers, acoustics etc.


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## jamwerks (Jun 27, 2018)

Room correction software is probably a good idea, no matter how expensive our monitors are. Unless we work in a mastering-grade designed room.


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## fiestared (Jun 27, 2018)

Ryan said:


> The Dynaudios is at my works studio. I don`t like them so much. Especially after they sold their shares and stuff to a Chinese company. Dynaudio LYD was a huge disappointment. I think I`m a bit tired of the Dynaudio sound... I decided to go for the more "expensive" solution, so I looked into Focals, ATC, PSI, Barefoots, Amphion etc. For my work and studio, the PSI was the right choice. But it`s all about taste.
> PSI - Very honest.
> Dynaudio - Not that honest, and lacks a bit of mids, and is a bit "boom" in the LF.


Agree, I bought a few monitors, not PSI (seemed too expensive for me) and finally... I bought PSI A21, should have did it before !


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## Ryan (Jun 27, 2018)

fiestared said:


> Agree, I bought a few monitors, not PSI (seemed too expensive for me) and finally... I bought PSI A21, should have did it before !


Yeah, Me too had a lot of other monitors, but not really satisfied until the PSI arrived. 



jamwerks said:


> Room correction software is probably a good idea, no matter how expensive our monitors are. Unless we work in a mastering-grade designed room.



Room correction is good, but will never fix your "real" problems or get you better speakers.. It's what calibrates your monitors to your room, not the other way around. So, good speakers and a good room = better choice IMHO. Maybe it's better to invest some of the money spent on a Room correction software on traps, placements etc instead. I would never run Room correction software with my PSI`s..


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## JeffvR (Jun 27, 2018)

Ryan said:


> Yeah, Me too had a lot of other monitors, but not really satisfied until the PSI arrived.
> 
> 
> 
> Room correction is good, but will never fix your "real" problems or get you better speakers.. It's what calibrates your monitors to your room, not the other way around. So, good speakers and a good room = better choice IMHO. Maybe it's better to invest some of the money spent on a Room correction software on traps, placements etc instead. I would never run Room correction software with my PSI`s..



Ha, I thought the same as you with my PSI A17's. "I already have good speakers, I did some room treatment, it can't get any better". Well I was wrong... Sonarworks still made a huge difference. The thing is, most of us are in small rooms. You can't change room dimensions and that's where the problems begin. You'll always have trouble in the super low to mid low end. Even with all the room treatment in the world, you can't solve the problems for 100%. With some measurements and software you CAN solve the problem.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Jun 27, 2018)

jamwerks said:


> @Gerhard Westphalen, can you say anything more about the Amphion One18's? Those or the Footprints are on my short list. Currently using Adam S2's (1st generation).


If I remember correctly, I listened to the One18 and the Two15. They both had their pair of subs which I could turn on/off and switch to have with either speakers. I really didn't like the 15. The 18 was nice. I wouldn't want them without subs. Nice neutral sound. Not all that detailed. Would be great if you're a composer. The Footprints were on my very short list (although this was before the new 3-way Dynaudio was released which I definitely would've wanted to listen to considering how cheap it is). Amazing low end extension and super compact. Have you heard them? They have the sort of characteristic grainy top end from Barefoots so I don't find them very neutral but I think the would be great for mixing on.


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## Ryan (Jun 27, 2018)

JeffvR said:


> Ha, I thought the same as you with my PSI A17's. "I already have good speakers, I did some room treatment, it can't get any better". Well I was wrong... Sonarworks still made a huge difference. The thing is, most of us are in small rooms. You can't change room dimensions and that's where the problems begin. You'll always have trouble in the super low to mid low end. Even with all the room treatment in the world, you can't solve the problems for 100%. With some measurements and software you CAN solve the problem.



Interesting. You would essentially get some latency using software correction. right?
And, FWIW, you could build a perfect room without using software to correct frequency problems.


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## jamwerks (Jun 27, 2018)

Has anyone heard the new 3-way Genelec 8351?


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