what kind of speakers are good for nearfield listening?

Monitors are designed for just this purpose.

http://www.bagend.com/

Bag End makes great studio monitors.

I used the Axiom Millenia M3Ti for nearfield listening last year, utilizing both my computer and my (now dead) CD player as sources. They worked very well both like this and in a standard set-up.

drivers placed close together helps since the dispersion pattern fits nearfield listening, but the big thing is the crossover. in nearfield you'll hear anomalies laid bare, worth it to invest well for this application.

Ahh, the crossover! Tom M, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by nearfield, but the LS3/5a was designed specifically for nearfield listening. Be careful! The LS3/5a has qualities that may make it extremely difficult to let go. It has a certain magic that I gather is quite rare.

P.s. It has a very elaborate crossover (thanks carlo)

http://www.ls35a.com/

Nearfield listening

I have a pair of Alesis Monitor One MKII and a pair of Alesis Point Seven monitors, both offer a pretty good sound for the buck, and unless you want to spend a fortune on them, I don't think that you can get a better sound around this price. Do yourself a favor, please, try any of those and let me know later, I'm almost sure that you won't be disapointed....

Heh-heh -- the K1000's.

I've used powered monitors of the Mackie HR824 and KRK V6 variety -- both need a sub, but I can otherwise recommend both. If you're going to do surround or get a sub anyway, you can probably settle for a Mackie HR624 or KRK V4 and save a few bucks.

I don't know too much about the unpowered variety.

Funny you should ask -- I was just pricing studio reference monitors and can tell you a little about those, if you're interested. Keep in mind that you and I might be looking for different things, but I'll tell you what I've been thinking just in case.

Tannoy Reveals were what I settled on before checking out an Aussie engineer-friend's setup. He's done a lot of work in London and while he does seem to have, em, issues with the populace, they (the issues) didn't stop him from fetishizing British gear. Listening to his B&W D-6-somethings nearly sold me on them. The lows are there, but they're not overpowering, which is what you need to mix, since your major attention goes toward getting the mids in correct proportion. (This is what people don't get about studio headphones -- they shouldn't have too much bass.)

Really expensive B&Ws look space-age but don't justify their higher cost. $500 will get you a little more mid, $1000, a few more highs. The difference is slight and, frankly, not worth the cost. The unexciting black-boxed mid-priced B&Ws ($265 apiece, if I remember) are the least sexy monitors I've ever seen -- but they do sound sweet.

I tend not to like active monitors because they seem to have an overly compressed? (overly eq'd? some unpleasantly unnatural) sound -- a cheap effect seems to be operating under the hood. Time was, every studio in New York had $2000 Genelecs for overheads and they all sounded fake. I don't like that -- I want flat response, open design, natural sound. Which is why I'm ditching my ancient trebly vintage-80s Yamaha NS-10Ms, if anyone's interested (here's a tip for you -- trust me -- don't be).

Oh, and just to add to the consensus: A Brooklyn-based producer/studio owner who used to hire me a lot (before I blew up at an incompetent client -- oops!) loved his Alesis monitors as well. He also had a pair of Tannoys but preferred the Alesis overall.

i will third the Alesis. we have 2 pairs of M1's, i set up a little studio in my room (i'm now taking it to my apartment where i live at school) and my dad liked them so much he bought a pair just as computer speakers.

i've used alesis, yamaha, and m-audio in the $300-$500 range, the m-audio win for sound/size, little 4.5'' or so woofers pack such a bang for $300! but the M1's which are only $400 or so win BY FAR, and the yamaha's didn't impress, even though they got sold to us at a mismarked price of $250 instead of $500 where they are everywhere else. those were those bi-amped mp5's or something. gave them to my sister.

BY THE WAY: these are all recommendations (others too as far as i can tell) for POWERED (active) studio monitors. they are perfect for computer speakers, but if you want to power them out of an amp you already have, look up PASSIVE stuido monitors, which will also do the trick and run for a lot less money. i've never used these so i can't recommend any though =p probably just stick around the recommendations and look for passive versions if there are any.

Alesis M1 MKII passive

The one I talked for were the passive ones (Alesis), as I already have a whole set of amplifiers when I decided to change my speakers, and is a very nice detailed and warm sound for around this price i think it outperform all of these kinds....

ATC makes great nearfield monitor although the price is prohibitive; check out this. Also Wilson Audio Tiny Tots (aka WATTS)- again if you have the dough. LS3/5A or its successor LS5/12A (the former more euphonic, the latter more precise) are great nearfield monitors. If you're into DIY- I say run to Madisound Speakers and look under onsale page and buy a pair of Dynaudio 15W75 and build yourself one (Dynaudio no longer sells its raw driver to consumers)- mate in with SEAS, Vifa or Scanspeak tweeters, do some reserch on how to build the x-over, and you'll have the ultimate nearfield monitor