KRK Rokit Powered 5 Generation 2 or M-Audio Studiophile BX8a Deluxe or Audioengine A5

[dragonball]

If I have to choose among the above then which one should i go for? All are costing similar.

 

[Waqar]

What about the Yamaha hs 50m, they are a nice alternative too if you can get them at the same price at those above?

 

[El_Doug]

Listening, or Tracking/Mixing/Mastering? 
 
the RP5s are excellent for the latter, but sound the tiniest bit metallic which makes for not completely perfect listening.  on the flip side, they are far more full sounding than the A5s, which I would only suggest for "fun." 
 
ive never heard the M-Audios outside of the demo room at guitar center, however what I heard did not impress me - their midrange is lacking in presence

 

[matthewh133]

Spend a tiny bit more and get the RP6's as they have a bit more bass and really sound great. Even spend a little bit more and get the RP8s which sound awesome! They're worth it! That being said the RP5 are still a great speaker if you decide to go down that road.

 

 

[Romulus1]

I've had my RP6's for a year or two now and I have been very pleased with them. It never hurts to listen to a few different things before you buy but the KRK's are certainly a great option to look into.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Be aware that the BX8a is a big speaker.  If you intend to use them on your desk make sure you have a large desk and plenty of space.  They're also rear ported and need to be at least 8" from the wall (more distance from the wall is better).
 
The BX8a is 15" x 10" x 12" (height x width x depth).  Make a cardboard box the same size and place it on your desk to see how much room they'll take.  And make sure you have enough room behind the speaker for the port.
 
The KRK speakers are front ported which make them much easier to manage on a desk that is next to a wall.
 
The AudiEngine A5 is also rear ported, but since it is a smaller speaker it is easier to deal with than the rather large BX8a.
 
An active monitor I'd like to hear is the Wharfedale DP8.2A Diamond Pro.  Price is good.  Front ported.  Wharfedale has a reputation for being a musical style of speaker.  Could be good.  I use my speakers for music listening and not studio type stuff.  So I'm generally looking for speakers that are musical and good for listening rather than a more studio sound that is more for being good for mixing.  I'm happy enough with the BX8a (non-deluxe), but they're big and rear ported.  I keep wondering what about if I'd have gotten the Wharfedale instead?  Unfortunately the Wharfedale weren't very available in the US back when I bought my BX8a so weren't much of a practical option at the time.

 

[publicholiday]

wat dac is the best for monitor speakers?

 

[matthewh133]

I just purchased the Audio-GD FUN which apparently is incredible with the KRK Rokit series. Cannot wait for it to arrive. Worth looking into as it is only just under $400 and is a great quality DAC, Amp and Pre-Amp in one.

 

[SoulSyde]

You don't list your location in your profile so I'm going to hope that you live in the US.  Go to your local Guitar Center and demo them.  I really like the sound profile of the KRK monitors the best, but let your ears do the talking.
 
All you are going to get here is an opinion on what somebody likes, but they are all Very Good monitors.  You'll need to be the judge on this one.

 

[matthewh133]

Exactly. Audition them. I went in and tried out the HS50M, BX5A, MR-5 and the Rokits. I liked the Rokits the best, hence why I purchased them. People will have different opinions. One option I think let me down the most though were the MR-5. They sounded terrible. Soo muddy.

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

wat dac is the best for monitor speakers?

 
Quote:

I just purchased the Audio-GD FUN which apparently is incredible with the KRK Rokit series. Cannot wait for it to arrive. Worth looking into as it is only just under $400 and is a great quality DAC, Amp and Pre-Amp in one.

Honestly, the DAC and preamp wouldn't matter much in a speaker setup. Any decent DAC and preamp are usually within +/-1 in terms of frequency response from 20hz - 20khz. However, any typical room response without serious room treatment have dips and nulls that are easily as deep as 30db in addition to peaks. That's why for a speaker setup, you would want to get your room to be relatively flat (hopefully within +/-4 db) before you spend your mega bucks on DAC and preamp that changes very little in contrast to what your room acoustics is doing.

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

 


Honestly, the DAC and preamp wouldn't matter much in a speaker setup. Any decent DAC and preamp are usually within +/-1 in terms of frequency response from 20hz - 20khz. However, any typical room response without serious room treatment have dips and nulls that are easily as deep as 30db in addition to peaks. That's why for a speaker setup, you would want to get your room to be relatively flat (hopefully within +/-4 db) before you spend your mega bucks on DAC and preamp that changes very little in contrast to what your room acoustics is doing.

I bought the FUN to be used in my headphone rig predominately. Having the KRKs running through them is a convenience thing.

 

[germanium]

 
Quote:

 


Honestly, the DAC and preamp wouldn't matter much in a speaker setup. Any decent DAC and preamp are usually within +/-1 in terms of frequency response from 20hz - 20khz. However, any typical room response without serious room treatment have dips and nulls that are easily as deep as 30db in addition to peaks. That's why for a speaker setup, you would want to get your room to be relatively flat (hopefully within +/-4 db) before you spend your mega bucks on DAC and preamp that changes very little in contrast to what your room acoustics is doing.

While measured performace can be at or near identical actuall listening can be quite different. I have modded CD players analog sections which freqency response measured identical befor & after but the sound coming from them were completely different. Modded ones sounded more robust in body & were vastly superior in detail & soundstage compared to stock.
 
You will always be limited in sound qualty by your source. The better the source the better off you will be in the end.
 
Next in quality is you must have an amp that is transperant in order for the source to really shine through.
 
Lastly come your speakers, it is amazing what even mediocre speakers can do with excellent source & amp. Yes the room & everything affects the sound of the speakers & even the best speakers can sound bad if put in the wrong environment but when everything else is right the speakers aberations from true become less of a factor than most people can imagine because many of the good qualities still shine through in spite of the aberations in the right setting 
 
The human ear is capable in its prime to detect electronic distortions just as easily as mechanical (acoustical) distortions created by speakers & in fact can detect really small distortions created in the electronic domain in spite of the significantly greater mechanical distortion of the speaker. This in part is due to the nature of the distortions in question. Even though the speakers distortion is great it tends to be low order in other words easily masked & the electronic distortions even though small tend to be higher order & less musical as a result. Low order distortion of several percent can be easily masked but high order distortions of less than .1% can in some cases easily be heard

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

 

While measured performace can be at or near identical actuall listening can be quite different. I have modded CD players analog sections which freqency response measured identical befor & after but the sound coming from them were completely different. Modded ones sounded more robust in body & were vastly superior in detail & soundstage compared to stock.
 
You will always be limited in sound qualty by your source. The better the source the better off you will be in the end.
 
Next in quality is you must have an amp that is transperant in order for the source to really shine through.
 
Lastly come your speakers, it is amazing what even mediocre speakers can do with excellent source & amp. Yes the room & everything affects the sound of the speakers & even the best speakers can sound bad if put in the wrong environment but when everything else is right the speakers aberations from true become less of a factor than most people can imagine because many of the good qualities still shine through in spite of the aberations in the right setting 
 
The human ear is capable in its prime to detect electronic distortions just as easily as mechanical (acoustical) distortions created by speakers & in fact can detect really small distortions created in the electronic domain in spite of the significantly greater mechanical distortion of the speaker. This in part is due to the nature of the distortions in question. Even though the speakers distortion is great it tends to be low order in other words easily masked & the electronic distortions even though small tend to be higher order & less musical as a result. Low order distortion of several percent can be easily masked but high order distortions of less than .1% can in some cases easily be heard

I totally agree that a DAC can make an impact. But when a typical room response guarantee you a 30db null somewhere in the bass region (my room for example has a 30db null at 80hz, so that particular note completely disappeared at my listening position), I think room treatment is the single biggest improvement you can bring to your system after your speakers as you flatten your in room frequency response as well as reducing ringing which no amount of EQ can improve. 

 

[Bblitz]

you should audition them. Based on reviews here i was more interested in the mackies but after hearing both I chose  the krk rokits.