[pss395]

Hi all fellow head-fier.
 
I'm looking for a pair of studio monitor for my desktop purely for all-arounder music listening, maybe for recording and mixing in the future. Hence where I am now (Hanoi), I can only find a reseller where they have the Monkey Banana Gibbon 5 in stock. The other option, KRK Rokit Rp5 G2, is not available there, unless I try to look elsewhere, which is not possible since monitor here is quite difficult to find. The price different is not much, btw
 
Anyway, the seller told me that the Gibbon 5 sound even better than the Rokit 5, so I should buy it. So anyone of you guys have any experience with the brand/product? Please share with me, I'm now craving for a pair of monitor but don't really want to take the risk of trying anything under the water. 
 
The pair itself

 

 
 
Price here: $450 for a pair
 
The Gibbon 5's manufacturer page: http://www.monkey-banana.de/products/gibbon5/
 
Edit:
Spec (Taking off from their Product page)
 
Product details
Woofer:    5 1/4-inch magnetically shielded polypropylene membrane
Tweeter:     1-inch silk dome tweeter
Frequency response:    48Hz - 22kHz
HF - Level:    -6dB ~ +6 dB variable at 10Khz
LF - Level:    -6dB ~ +6 dB variable at 100hz
Crossover frequency:    3kHz
LF - Amplifier Power:    45W
HF - Amplifier Power:    35W
Signal HF / LF:    90dB / 95dB
THD + N @ Rated Power HF / LF:     0.05% / 0.02%
Inputs:    XLR Connector, TRS Connector, RCA input
Input Impedance:    20 kOhm balanced, 10 kOhm unbalanced
Input Sensitivity:    +4 dBu (Balanced), -10dBV (unbalanced)
Available colors:    Red, Black
Net weight:    5.9 kg / 13.1lb
Net Dimensions:     L215 x W190 x H277 mm
L8.44 x W7.48 x H10.91 in

 

[pss395]

Friendly bump

 

[pss395]

Bump

 

[badbadbad]

OH, I am in Hanoi too. If you're finding a pair of KRK now, I think there are many guys sell them
I do not prefer Gibbon 5

 

[Lenni]

Monkey Banana?!?
 

 
 
I wouldn't completely rely on what the seller say. their job is to sell first.
 
nevertheless, they seem to be made in Germany, so das ist gut.
 
personally, I've never heard of them before.
 
there are other monitors you might want to consider, such as from Emotiva's, Adam's... (to name two).

 

[pss395]

OH, I am in Hanoi too. If you're finding a pair of KRK now, I think there are many guys sell them
I do not prefer Gibbon 5

So you mean you "had" tried out a pair of Gibbon? And can you name the guy who sell krk? I'm about to buy either the Gibbon or the Krk, so having them in stock is quite an option.

Also, I'll go out and try the Gibbon. I have't heard any other studio monitor rig, so I may not expect what I find out.

 

[pss395]

Monkey Banana?!?





I wouldn't completely rely on what the seller say. their job is to sell first.

nevertheless, they seem to be made in Germany, so das ist gut.

personally, I've never heard of them before.

there are other monitors you might want to consider, such as from Emotiva's, Adam's... (to name two).

It's made in china, in case you wanna know. Just like KRK, developed in somewhere else and manufactured in china

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

Haven't come across Monkey Banana products in the flesh yet. The Specs look decent for the price but they have a problem with the branding. The colours, the artwork and the shape all conspire to make them look like toys but then they cost around the bottom end of real pro gear.
 
They do have one unusual feature which might appeal to some. Direct S/PDIF input and passthrough.So they have a primitive DAC function built in.

 

[pss395]

Seems like no body have ever encountered with any of Monkey Banana product. For more information, they also have another lineup called Turbo, including the Turbo 5, 6, 8... whatever, which has some review pops up here and there on the internet. Every review I see about the Turbo line is good review, so I'm hoping that the Gibbon is another good product.

 

[csawan]

I would avoid it just because it seems to be riding on the name of DeVore Fidelity.

 

[pss395]

I would avoid it just because it seems to be riding on the name of DeVore Fidelity.

Eh, what do you means by that?
Also, a quick google shows that it's not the same speaker. The one I mentioned was made by monkey banana, note devore fidelity

 

[pss395]

Thread resurrection / Quick update
I briefly auditioned both the RP5G2 and the Monkey Banana today.
 
To me, the Monkey Banana is a big SUBWOOFER that's being used as a speaker. Many bass I must say. I really amazed at how loud and bassy this 5inch speaker can go. The bass is tight and hard-hitting it makes me fuzzy and headache. To compensate with it, the high is boosted so at first I thought it was crisp, but after 2 piano track it's clearly feel very artificial. Everything in the mix was pushed so hard on my face that I'm starting to doubt if I like speaker or not. I imaged this speaker is perfect for party and stuff, with quite decent clarity compared to other bigger loudspeaker, as well as the my-god-so-much-bass-and-it-so-loud thing. Man, this speaker's loudness and bass is on a whole new level for this size. But for me, it's a nope. 
 
Then moved up to the Rokit 5. After hearing too much bass and treble, I can't help but feel the Rokit lack bass and a little bit muddy compared to the Gibbon 5. But then the track feel so natural and relaxed compare to the Gibbon to-the-face attitude. Great soundstage, piano sound really lifelike and euphoric. Vocal is perfect. Not too loud for my room. At this point, I'm surely really tired of hearing the Gibbon, so I can't seems to notice anything more than this. Do you guys think the bass of the Rokit is actually lacking? Is it enough for bass-heavy stuff like trance and dubstep? 
 
Anyway, I'll return the following week to audition exclusively the Rokit. Think that I've found the one speaker for me.

 

[godwin0420]

Hi there, 
 
I know the thread's kinda outdated but been going aroung town just to find one, google says that they only have KRK Speakers in HCM.. so may i know where you auditioned KRK?
 
badly needing them.
thanks.

 

[pss395]

  Hi there, 
 
I know the thread's kinda outdated but been going aroung town just to find one, google says that they only have KRK Speakers in HCM.. so may i know where you auditioned KRK?
 
badly needing them.
thanks.

So you live in HCM city? Do you means you wants to try out the Monkey Banana or the KRK?
There's an authentic dealer at HCM that sell the Monkey Banana exclusively. They used to carry KRK in the past, but not anymore
 
I bought a Rokit 6 used from them a year back. Didn't have any warranty though.

 

[Tablix]

If you can afford to move up the KRK range you will find the rp6 driver is a step up in more than just size.  I auditioned both with and without a sub when the 3rd gen was launched and ended up walking away with the rp6's and no sub.  I like you found the 5's driver was struggling with the real low end and sounded a bit flabby/distorted.  The RP8 is just HUGE in size and the bass makes the mids get swamped, so of the whole range I found the rp6 perfect for nearfield work and are plenty loud enough to fill my room which is about 12"x10".
 
AFAIK the monkey banana monitor are a relatively new company and I know nobody that has them in stock of my normal suppliers for gear, they can get them to order but I never buy without demo.  I very much agree with the looks comment made by RD,  pretty ugly. 
 
One more thing to note, the MBanana monitors are rear ported, so you will want to leave a minimum of 6" between the port and any wall or you will get some distortion and air buffeting.  The KRK has the port on the front allowing you to place it much closer to a wall, but this can also have a slight negative impact on bass clarity as the air flow can interfere with the air being pushed by the bass driver.  I have no complaints with the front port on the RP6 g3, but I doubt most people would notice such low level interference.