Active studio monitors for "audiophile" listening ?

[pyim]

Hello,

I'll buy soon a soundcard RME DIGI 9632 for "audiophile listening" on my PC (some have reported a quality equal or better to Muse or Delius DACs !), with a PPA + Etys ER4p

and maybe later Senns HD600 ... But I'd like also some speakers, when noise is not a problem (for my environment !). For nearfield audition, I have read some good things here on "studio monitors".

There is a few threads here on this subject (some love their Mackies) ... And, for example on Audioreview :
http://www.audioreview.com/Main%20Sp...3_1594crx.aspx
http://www.nzmusician.co.nz/06_back/..._monitors.html

Well, it seems it is a mixed bag : some likes the "accuracy" of studio monitors, and others hate the "dry sound" ... I do not understand this last statement : if pros studios mix the records on these equipments, how can they be bad for listening ?? Do an "audiophile" equipment need to add some "artefacts" to "polish" the sound ?

The problem is that I cannot hear myself all these equipments where I live ... So I have to trust to reviews, and ... you, head-fi members !

A lot of people on the forums like the Behringer "Truth" B2031 (for the price I can afford = not the Mackies or Event

) ... Have you heard them as "HiFi" speakers and enjoyed the music (not for mixes !) ?

Sorry for my poor english. Thanks ... and happy new year !

Pascal

 

[Orpheus]

Quote:

A lot of people on the forums like the Behringer "Truth" B2031 (for the price I can afford = not the Mackies or Event ) ... Have you heard them as "HiFi" speakers and enjoyed the music (not for mixes !) ?

what boards have you been visiting!??? those are the worst rated monitors in existance! read some more man... they suck. you get what you pay for man. behringer is a company that copies expensive models then redoes them for cheap... and in the end, you really do get what you pay for--crap. in this case, the behringer "truth" monitors are copies of Genelecs, which are of course $2000-3000 monitors. do they sound the same?--heck no!

i've owned 2 behringer pieces already (a 24x4 mixer, and an aural exciter)... both are CRAP. i really mean it. they look hella good from the outside. when you buy it, you're like, "how the heck can they do it for so cheap." but when you turn them on, you're like, "oh, that's how!"--they are crap.

the mixer crapped out on me... one channel was totally blown after 1 year. all the pots are not calibrated correctly. couldn't monitor anything confidently.

the aural exciter sounds incredibly bad. totally worthless. turns sound into noise. i got a BBE 862.... same type of unit, but from a reputable company. MUCH better. of course, 10x the price. but again, you get what you pay for.

orpheus

 

[pyim]

Some more links :

http://www.djforums.com/forums/showt...=&threadid=933
http://www.harmony-central.com/Effec...nitors-01.html
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may0...ingertruth.htm
http://www.zzounds.com/productreview--BEHB2031

It seems that, although most of Behringer products are of questionable quality (following the reviews), the active monitors B2031 are an exception, and a relatively good copy of Mackies (even if it is sometimes some reliability problems) ...

Have you heard them yourself ?

Thanks for the reply !

 

[eyeteeth]

ATC is a pinnacle company of active speakers, if you can afford them. Worth every penny! I love my passive 12's.

"dry"? HA, try liquid. Whatever you put in front of them is what comes out of them unaltered.

http://www.atc.gb.net/

 

[Decadent]

I use Tannoy Reveal Active monitors fed by an M-audio Delta 2496 to an ART DI/O through a Samson Pl 2404. The Reveals are very accurate and quite enjoyable. The mixing console is probably the weakest link in the chain, and has a horrible headphone output (VERY loud though).

For monitoring purposes I switch between the Reveals, My Grado SR125, Beyerdynamic DT770 and a set of "hifi" speakers (Yamaha YST S25E).

The Tannoys are very accurate and detailed - almost a headphone kind of sound since they are near-field.

 

[Orpheus]

Quote:

It seems that, although most of Behringer products are of questionable quality (following the reviews), the active monitors B2031 are an exception, and a relatively good copy of Mackies (even if it is sometimes some reliability problems) ...

they aren't the exception. believe me. and they won't sound anywhere near the mackies. do you realize the mackies have a 8" passive radiator in back?--and this huge amp sticking out there too? it all costs money. behringer can't touch them. anyway, i've read reviews too that said they're crap. anyway... it's your money.
Quote:

Have you heard them yourself ?

nope. i haven't. but i really don't need to. if everything i've seen from a company is crap, no reason to doubt these monitors are crap too.
Quote:

ATC is a pinnacle company of active speakers, if you can afford them. Worth every penny! I love my passive 12's.

heh he... dude... i'm arguing with the guy about monitors worth a couple hundred dollars, and you're suggesting monitors costing 10x that much? maybe he might be able to afford to take pictures of them and frame it on his wall.... but that's as close to them as i think he's willing to spend.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by Orpheus worth a couple hundred dollars

Oops, I didn't realize the price range. Lazy Sunday morning reading.

 

[Orpheus]

heh he... but i'm sure those ATC's rock. i would love to hear a pair someday.

 

[pyim]

Thanks for the replies.

Orpheus,

Do you know good active monitors in this price range ? Do you agree with Decadent on the quality of Tannoys ?

The first question was : do a "good" pair of active studio monitors can replace "good" speakers (say B&W 602) ?

 

[Orpheus]

if i were you... i'd save up for the Event 20/20bas system. i heard those things are badass. never used them myself... but everyone that has told me they are very good. and they've been compared to Genelecs and stuff like that. i think you can get a pair for less than $500 used on ebay if you're patient. in fact, i may buy a pair myself someday.

yup, tannoys are cool too. i've never heard one, but i know many people like them too. and they are good for near-field monitoring, cause the concentric drivers point all the sound right into your head.

as for how pro active speakers compare to good consumer types... i personally think pro stuff on average is a better deal than consumer audiophile types. there's less bullcrap in the marketing, and it's all serious stuff. made for business.... not just speakers in fancy cabinets made with rare whatever woods that really don't make any difference for sound. you know what i mean? the event 20/20bas ins't a looker.... it's all business. and that's how i like things.

as for replacing audiophile speakers.... think about it: you get the 20/20bas... and what you get?:

1. TWO amplifiers per each speaker!--they're bi-amp'd. we're not talking bi-wired crap like audiophile stuff... we're talking a separate amp for each driver! the real way it should be done.
2. nice no-nonsense cabinets and woofers.
3. BALANCED wiring, if you need it.

all for $500 used!!!... you find me a 8" audiophile speaker AND TWO amp system for under $500 that sounds better.

right.

i think you understand me now.

 

[needgoodphones]

There are certainly plenty of bad reviews on the Beringers. An example:

Review

Note that this reviewer gave the Berringers a D+ and gave the Event 20/20 Bas a B+. I personally look at the bad reviews for a product more than the good ones. The bad reviews tend to tell me more of what I really want to know about a product rather than fluff.

 

[Watchdog]

Quote:

Originally posted by eyeteeth ATC is a pinnacle company of active speakers, if you can afford them. Worth every penny! I love my passive 12's. "dry"? HA, try liquid. Whatever you put in front of them is what comes out of them unaltered. http://www.atc.gb.net/

I know that ATC makes some nice active speakers, but better than the Meridian 8000 Series? I haven't heard either, but from what I've read, I'll have to disagree.

Of course I'd love to be able to afford either!

 

[Kirium]

ATC active monitors only run from analogue pre-outs from your pre-amp... as is my understanding...

The Meridian DSP speaker line takes a digital signal input thus keeping the signal within the digital domain right up until it gets to the driver... It likely also has analogue pre-out inputs, but anyone who can afford DSP8000 or even DSP5000 can afford the rest of the gear to make a full digital signal path...

In my ears, this would give the Meridian speakers a massive edge over anything ATC can provide....

 

[pyim]

I have seen that Event has a new model, the TR5, which seems to be affordable and well rated. I do not need a very great power, because I listen most of the time at a weak level.

Any advices ?

 

[episiarch]

Swan M200's have been well-reviewed, and my wife gave me a pair for Christmas. Don't have them installed yet (holidays were too busy), but should be able to post a mini-review in a week or so.

EnjoytheMusic.com review: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...1/swanm200.htm