[ack_0220]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a pair of active studio monitors for anything around $500. I am pretty keen on the Mackie MR5, anyone own one of these? or known of any other monitors?

 

[compuryan]

I don't know too much about monitors, but I know M-Audio makes some good stuff. I heard the BX8A and was impressed. Might be worth taking a look at.

 

[fjf]

I like mines a lot, but they are more expensive. Never heard the Mackies.

 

[ack_0220]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjf /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like mines a lot, but they are more expensive. Never heard the Mackies.

Whats yours?

 

[GreatDane]

I believe fjf has the Adam A7. These have been on my wish list beside the Mackie for a long time.

ADAM Audio A7 | Sweetwater.com

Mackie HR824mk2 | Sweetwater.com

 

[fjf]

Yep, Adam A7. Now they have the smaller A5 too. The A7 have a 6.5'' woofer and a ribbon tweeter; it sounds great, even the bass, with amazing highs. I like it a lot.

http://www.adam-audio.com/studio/

 

[ack_0220]

Greatdane,

The Adam A7 looks great. I really like to have the Mackie HR624 but it is way out of my budget. I was thinking of getting the MR5. have you auditioned the HRs before? How is it? You think the MR5 will be very far from it?

 

[paul_lindemann]

Hi...Mackie is a huge name in the musician world. Top notch stuff!

You will be happy with them...one of the best powered speakers.

 

[ack_0220]

Has anyone used active monitors with a pre-amp before? Will there be any difference? Also what is the difference between front or rear ported? Thanks

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_0220 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Greatdane, The Adam A7 looks great. I really like to have the Mackie HR624 but it is way out of my budget. I was thinking of getting the MR5. have you auditioned the HRs before? How is it? You think the MR5 will be very far from it?

I have listened to the HR series. They are very accurate. Amazing speakers. I believe the MR is new and I haven't listened to them yet. If I needed to buy affordable active monitors quickly I would take a gamble on buying them "blind". Of course it's best to visit your local pro audio shop to audition them if you have one available. You get what you pay for so I don't think that the MR can compete with the HR but I still think that they'd satisfy. My quick speculation is that the closer you get to the monitor , the less the difference will be heard. I base this only on driver size and amp power. I could be wrong.

 

[fjf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_0220 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone used active monitors with a pre-amp before? Will there be any difference? Also what is the difference between front or rear ported? Thanks

I use a corda HA2 SE as preamp. The main advantage is being able to control volume without going to both monitors to change it. Mostly convenience. Besides that, they will work from a line out.

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_0220 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone used active monitors with a pre-amp before? Will there be any difference? Also what is the difference between front or rear ported? Thanks

Active monitors require a pre-amp level input of some type, even if this is in the form of a portable player.Any receiver or dedicated pre-amp will work fine.

A rear ported enclosure will need more distance behind, away from room boundries (walls,etc). I use B&W passive speakers for my 6.1 surround system which are rear ported. They are spaced less than 6" from my rear wall. less than recommended. IMO being front or rear ported isn't a big deal. Even front ported or acoustic suspension(sealed) speakers should be placed well away from walls.

 

[GreatDane]

There's a thread from not long ago about active monitors that might be helpful...just in case you haven't run across it yet.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/an...nitors-280753/

 

[ack_0220]

Thanks for the information guys, I am planning to get head a headphone and pre-amp amplifier, that would save me much more money. I tried feeding my current speakers from a headphone amp as pre-amp, they sound different as well. My speakers are naturally bright and they sound warmer when hooked with a pre-amp. Another issue is, is it worth it to get a balanced pre-amp to feed the monitors? I have a balanced output DAC but i am finding it hard to justify the extra cost to go for a balanced amplifier.

 

[GreatDane]

I wouldn't spend extra money simply to feed your proposed new active monitors a balanced signal unless you currently have noise problems in your rig.Balanced connections are far less susceptible to interference.

The trick is that audio is balanced equally, flowing in a positive direction on one wire while in a negative direction on the other. Equipment looks at the voltage difference between those wires, and ignores everything else.

Balanced wires can even reject noise that isn't coming from a ground loop. The two conductors are twisted together, so any interference radiated into the cable is picked up equally by both but the equipment is looking for a voltage difference between those wires. Noise is the same on both wires so it's virtually nonexistent.