[hackeron]

Hey there,

Title says it all really, I have a relatively small room of around 4x3 meters and I would like to get some pretty good stereo speakers to use with my PC (mAudio Rev 7.1 sound card). I've looked around and it seems active is better for near field than passive? - and in which case the Behringer TRUTH B2031A are a bit of a bargain from what all the reviews say. Anyone heard them or can shed some light on other great active speakers in the $200-$500 range?

My question is, if I get active studio speakers, will I lose a lot of soundstage? - One of my reasons for getting speakers is I want more soundstage than I get with my Shure E5 headphones and to have something that just sounds a little different.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[GreatDane]

I've listened to many active monitors at my local Guitar Center, never serious about buying but imo that is the best way to go.

Behringer would be great sounding for monitoring at your PC...or any other top brand.

 

[dano1122]

proceed with caution and only shop if the seller has a full refund return policy. active monitors can have an absolutely fantastic sound but can become quickly fatiguing, they are very revealing, which can be great for well recorded music, but can become tiring as you may imagine with not as well recorded music. other words to describe them would be analytical and some would dare say unmusical, i disagree with the latter. they are also more expensive and less flexible, meaning the amp and speaker is combined. also, pay attention to the tweeter and make sure it will not be overly-fatiguing to your ears on longer sessions. many monitors are made more-so with mixing in mind before music listening.

with all that said, i am however enjoying a dynaudio bm5a in my bedroom, after 20-30 hrs breakin its sounding much less harsh. i've also tried the event asp8 in my room but it had to strong of a sound, didn't go well with my ears, plus they are massive and hard to place well.

 

[lini]

hackeron: In the range between US$ 200 and 500, active monitors can indeed be the smarter choice compared to an integrated amp/bookshelf speaker combo, 'cause decent integrated umps under US$ 300 are hard to find. Personally, I prefer the integrated amp/bookshelf speaker route, though, because of added functionality and greater flexibility.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Btw, I wouldn't claim active monitors to be generally better for nearfield situations compared to standard (passive) bookshelf speakers. Depends on the model, I'd say...

 

[kuma]

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