[zowie]

I see a lot of powered studio monitors in the pro sound and music stores for like $150 to $500. That's for two speakers, one or usually two amps, and sometimes built-in D/A conversions and a little DSP.

I know these aren't what they're using at the Hit Factory, and I know they won't compare to a $10k+ home stereo. Nonetheless, studio monitors are supposed to be accurate and serve the purpose their designed for.

So are people mixing and mastering projects through colored, muddy or inaccurate speakers, or is the home audio market a big scam where we're paying five or ten times too much to get into the lower high end?

 

[Koui]

Ten Powered Nearfields Reviewed

Genelecs ($4200/pair) are used in more pro studios than any other. Mackies get you 95% there for $1400/pr and are my preferred choice for extended mixing and listening sessions. I haven't heard any monitors that beat them for price and performance. They are very similar to Senn HD580s (with Cardas cable) in accuracy and overall tonal balance. Most studios have better acoustic treatment than the average home listening environment and that helps considerably.

 

[Sovkiller]

Studio Monitors are sometimes designed for mid to near field listening, that means that in a big rooms their performance is not as speakers designed for that purpose, mine is an small livingroom, and I have a pair of Alesis Monitor One MKII, (passive) that sounded pretty good, smooth and very detailed, paired with a DIY sub, and a proper EQ, sound much better than a lot of ultramegabucks speakers I have heard in Harvey and other considered "Hi Fi" electronic stores, Dynaudio should be another option, but at a lot different price and usually nobody carries them in stock....Active ones a more expensive, and the good ones, usually are not in the 150-500 range

 

[Orpheus]

Quote:

So are people mixing and mastering projects through colored, muddy or inaccurate speakers, or is the home audio market a big scam where we're paying five or ten times too much to get into the lower high end?

yes, in general pro products are much better deals for your money. but there are very expensive pro powered monitors too... for instance the dynaudio line. genelecs are expensive too.... but you won't pay anywhere near that $4200 that was quoted for the previously mentioned 8" system. the 6" genelec can be had for less than $1000 a pair.

but anyway.... read this article that compares a NHTPro A-20 system to the B&W 805's:

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/nht_a20.htm

i own the A-20 + B-20 system myself, and i can honestly say that the A-20's are the best sub $2000 speakers i have ever heard (the b-20's add an additional $2000.)

 

[zowie]

Interesting stuff. I've found in the past that you had to pay more for the same sound quality with pro products because you were also paying for the superior build quality, but maybe things have changed.

I'm surpised there aren't more people building simple powered monitor + CDP systems.

 

[Orpheus]

well, i don't think so. it looks to me in general that audiophile stuff have fancier exteriors, and the pro stuff is more "business" looking. i mean... just take a look at pretty much any pro monitor. even the before-mentioned genelecs are quite plain. the dynaudios are pretty much a black box with some woofers too. nothing fancy. the dynaudio speakers for audiophiles are covered in fancy finishes, like nice woods and stuff. my alesis monitors are even covered in some bluish rubber stuff--hardly audiophile looking.