[WrxSTI]

I have bought the Prodipe Pro Ribbon 8's today, so far I am only going to say: "Oh god.

" (in a good way).
 
More after I've had the chance to listen a few days, and at higher volume.

 

[Borgbox]

Were you able to demo them against the KRKs? 
 
Quote:

I have bought the Prodipe Pro Ribbon 8's today, so far I am only going to say: "Oh god.

" (in a good way).
 
More after I've had the chance to listen a few days, and at higher volume.

 

 

[WrxSTI]

Sadly, no, this wasn't in the same store. The studio in which I listened to the Prodipes only had a pair of old KRK RP8 (non-G2) about which the seller said that no one wanted to buy them, because they preferred the Ribbon 8's in an A/B test.
 
I have heard the RP6 G2 which didn't particularly impress me with anything...
 
Right now the Ribbon 8's are on something of a cabinet on the other end of the room as my computer desk is too small, have to get a bigger one...
 
I'm supposed to be doing work on the PC and I am sitting in front of the cabinet for a few hours now going through my entire music collection.
 
I could write a book of a review here but it would be pointless, all I can say is, if you're looking for speakers around this price range, listen to these first, and if they need to be 8", listen to these, and only these, because you won't find anything else.
 
All I can say is, I am very...very happy with my purchase. Once I set them up properly on a wide computer desk so they can form an equilateral triangle with my seating position, as well as some acoustic treatment of the immediate area, I believe I will uncover more of their potential.
 
Let's not forget this is being played back from an onboard Realtek 889a chip... what they could do with a high quality DAC I can't yet imagine.
 
Oh and yes, the build quality is excellent, it really is. That they are made in China... well, I can only welcome it as it lowered the price. I can't see any compromises on the speaker. They might as well have been assembled in Germany or the US, as they're built like a tank. Controls, looks and all, very professional.
 
Cheers

 

[Permagrin]

Thanks for the info STI, also looking for a nice 2.0 setup. I was highly considering the Audioengine A5s but doing more reading I think I'm gonna get the M-Audio CX8s. Sweetwater has the CX8s for $200 a piece right now which is really tempting.

If anyone thinks there's a better deal out there for that price area please speak up.

Ok, currently looking at the Prodipes. /drool

Question: this price is per speaker, not a pair, correct?

edit 2: Ok, just got off the phone with MFD and they told me that is the price for a pair. Wow...

(I have no affiliation with the above company)

 

[WrxSTI]

Regarding the M-Audio, I'm not sure about the CX series, but I do know that the BX series (both the 5 and the 8) have had a lot of user reports of breaking/malfunctioning, see these;
 
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?11926-Bx-5-monitor-problem
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?28012-Broken-BX8a-emailed-repairs-m-audio.com-no-response
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?27521-Broken-cross-over-circuit-on-BX8a-Support-difficult-to-reach
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?20795-Long-list-of-bad-BX8a-reviews..
 
And a whole host of others on the same forum. The problems may not translate over to the CX series, but I'd be wary...
 
I went through auditioning a few of the M-Audio speakers in my search as well, while I haven't heard the CX series, I thought the BX5A sounded like a tin can.
 
The KRK's are OK, unfortunately only the 6 is within that price range, which may or may not be enough bass depending on what you're listening to (auditioned it and found it to be somewhat inadequate), the KRK 8's cost substantially more than the Prodipes, and to be honest... I think the Prodipe's wipe the floor with the entire Rokit series, if for nothing else then the ribbon tweeters which are very accurate and pleasant sounding, it's a specific kind of sound, these are my first ribbons, and I definitely enjoy them (I'd love to build ribbon headphones

) along with the fact that there aren't many (any) alternatives in that price range if you want 8" woofers.
 
So, in my opinion, these really are the best bang-for-the-buck speakers for $400 if you can get them for that much. I paid substantially more in my country but all the prices are equally higher here, they are still about 20% cheaper than the KRK, etc. offerings.
 
All in all I'm very happy and they are a pleasure to listen to, the stereo imaging and crystal highs especially stand out for me, I can close my eyes and feel surrounded by the music, can't tell where the speakers are at all - just make sure to position them properly. I do not mix or record music but I do enjoy quality and accurate sound, I got a few weird looks from the people at the store when I said I was buying studio monitors just for music reproduction 

Good sound is good sound, regardless what you use it for, and they are simply perfect for desktop use (well, if you have a large enough desk, which I need to take care of...)
 
Unless you're a particular basshead, position them correctly and I doubt you will find the desire for a subwoofer... if so, there is always their Pro 10S to complement them later on

 
If you have any questions let me know.

 

[Permagrin]

The KRK's are OK, unfortunately only the 6 is within that price range, which may or may not be enough bass depending on what you're listening to (auditioned it and found it to be somewhat inadequate), the KRK 8's cost substantially more than the Prodipes, and to be honest... I think the Prodipe's wipe the floor with the entire Rokit series

Thanks for the reply STI.

Just read this on another forum googling the Prodipes:
"prodipe pro 8 (non-ribbon) = krk rp8 (first generation)

german magazine (sound&recording) testet both and said they are practical the same except of different woofer color and price tag (this was about 3 years ago and the krk rp8 cost about double the price than now!)

so everything you hear about krk rp8 is also true about the pro8."

Funny if true.

I'm just looking for some transparent speakers as well and from what I've read in the past about ribbons this sounds like the perfect start for me in speaker-fi.

I will be getting these speakers, at that price point it's not a gamble.

I am intrigued though about just how fast the tweeters really are?

 

[WrxSTI]

How fast? Hmm...it's a hard question, particularly because I have not owned any higher quality cones or domes and I haven't been into high quality audio long enough to know all the terminology, but let's say in comparison to my headphones, the songs I'm well familiar with, especially in parts with lots of high frequencies (cymbals, etc.) there seems to be more "attack", the sound seems to come very slightly faster than I'd expect it too on the basis of having heard the song multiple times, so in comparison - the headphones sound somewhat more...sluggish, I guess would be the proper term to use. Imagine someone who is a very fast sprinter off the line and gets going in an instant and another runner who takes a moment or two to get going...that would be the analogy. Agility.
 
Naturally they are also in a different aspect clarity-wise, I am slightly disappointed by the highs of my headphones now, but of course there is a massive price difference.
 
Some people have complained that ribbon tweeters bear an aggressive, sharp sound - I haven't experienced this so I do not know what they are talking about. There is the HF switch on the back but I have found no need to use it at all and keep it on the flat setting.

 

[JRG1990]

Ribbon tweeters are faster than domes, ribbon tweeters are more directional than domes so speaker placement is alot more important to get good sound from them.

 

[WrxSTI]

Quote:

Ribbon tweeters are faster than domes, ribbon tweeters are more directional than domes so speaker placement is alot more important to get good sound from them.

I would have to concur with this. They seem very sensitive to being on axis, especially vertically, ears in line with the tweeters...and the stereo center is quite small. 8 inches or so is about all the leeway in head movement before you start to localise each speaker individually. It is fascinating however how narrow the "beam" of sound is, when you move higher or lower than the tweeters, and out of place, the sound is very uninspiring. To the point where if you have a friend over standing next to you he would have every basis to tell you your speakers sound like junk... just have him sit in the seat and hear the magic

 

[Permagrin]

That's what I figured, thanks again for the replies.

edit: just read the last 2 posts

Although I'm not going to be using these as nearfield/desktop speakers, that might be a problem.

 

[JRG1990]

If you can't be with your head in-line with the tweeters prodipe do the same monitors with silk domes which would be more suitable.

 

[germanium]

 
Quote:

Regarding the M-Audio, I'm not sure about the CX series, but I do know that the BX series (both the 5 and the 8) have had a lot of user reports of breaking/malfunctioning, see these;
 
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?11926-Bx-5-monitor-problem
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?28012-Broken-BX8a-emailed-repairs-m-audio.com-no-response
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?27521-Broken-cross-over-circuit-on-BX8a-Support-difficult-to-reach
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?20795-Long-list-of-bad-BX8a-reviews..
 
And a whole host of others on the same forum. The problems may not translate over to the CX series, but I'd be wary...
 
I went through auditioning a few of the M-Audio speakers in my search as well, while I haven't heard the CX series, I thought the BX5A sounded like a tin can.
 
The KRK's are OK, unfortunately only the 6 is within that price range, which may or may not be enough bass depending on what you're listening to (auditioned it and found it to be somewhat inadequate), the KRK 8's cost substantially more than the Prodipes, and to be honest... I think the Prodipe's wipe the floor with the entire Rokit series, if for nothing else then the ribbon tweeters which are very accurate and pleasant sounding, it's a specific kind of sound, these are my first ribbons, and I definitely enjoy them (I'd love to build ribbon headphones

) along with the fact that there aren't many (any) alternatives in that price range if you want 8" woofers.
 
So, in my opinion, these really are the best bang-for-the-buck speakers for $400 if you can get them for that much. I paid substantially more in my country but all the prices are equally higher here, they are still about 20% cheaper than the KRK, etc. offerings.
 
All in all I'm very happy and they are a pleasure to listen to, the stereo imaging and crystal highs especially stand out for me, I can close my eyes and feel surrounded by the music, can't tell where the speakers are at all - just make sure to position them properly. I do not mix or record music but I do enjoy quality and accurate sound, I got a few weird looks from the people at the store when I said I was buying studio monitors just for music reproduction 

Good sound is good sound, regardless what you use it for, and they are simply perfect for desktop use (well, if you have a large enough desk, which I need to take care of...)
 
Unless you're a particular basshead, position them correctly and I doubt you will find the desire for a subwoofer... if so, there is always their Pro 10S to complement them later on

 
If you have any questions let me know.

I have the original BX5's & they had a problem with the power supply traces on the top side of the main board losing connection in normal use (not abused at all). When the trace lost connection the capacitor became reverse charged & blew a small 12 volt regulator. The traces on the bottom of the board connect the powersupply filter caps to the amps wheras the top traces carry the power from the bridge rectifier to the power supply caps. I the top connection becomes disconnected the amp is still in the circuit & power will flow through the amp to the cap with the disconnected rectifier trace & reverse charge it blowing the small signal regulator in the proccess. I bypassed the poor connection with wire on the bottom side of the board. I had 2 of them go out on me but I managed to repair them & they are working great now. I modified them & they sound substantially better than stock now. I have 2 sets, 1set hooked to my computer allong with a modded Tannoy TS10 sub & 1 set hooked to my girlfriends computer. She has the Xonar D2 & I have the Essense STX card. This is a very fine sounding combination
 
 

 

[Permagrin]

If you can't be with your head in-line with the tweeters prodipe do the same monitors with silk domes which would be more suitable.

That's what I'll have to do then, thank you.

 

[WrxSTI]

Quote:

That's what I figured, thanks again for the replies.

edit: just read the last 2 posts

Although I'm not going to be using these as nearfield/desktop speakers, that might be a problem.

With that in mind the maximum distance these should be away from you is 1-1.5m (3.2 - 5 ft), in my new setup they will be about 80 cm (2.62 ft) which is about as far as I can put them apart without going too far into the room if I want to maintain a triangle.
 
If you intend to move around a lot, or use them in a living-room, etc., , then yes, you would probably be better off looking at the domed ones or something...
I have them on the desk and in PC use I normally don't move my head around more than a few inches, no real need to, so for my purpose, they're perfect.

 

[Permagrin]

Did some more researching online, Genelec, Bower & Wilkins, Focal, etc. If I wanted to spend $1200 I would definitely go for the Focal CMS 50s but decided to get the Prodipe 8s (regular) instead. Can't wait till they arrive!