Cheap vs expensive monitors - big difference, or over-hyped?

With monitors you get what you pay for (hopefully). They're the most important link in the chain. Don't skimp.
As with anything in this world (in most cases) - the more you spend, the more you get.

So - set a budget and get the best you can within that amount. You'll be good =)
Up to a certain point, as with everything, past a certain price point you’re just blowing $$$ on BS - colors, features that are really gimmicky bells and whistles that jack up the price for no good reason. Set a cap and then look at the best of the midrange of the best brands. That’s usually where the value and quality curves meet.
 
I dont agree with cliff because before the monitor (house speakers) obviously should be of good quality but most important is the studio around.. You could buy super high price monitrs but if the studio is small unthreated also the best bigger monitor could not fit the room acoustic characteristics.
I’m thinking my braincell and your braincell should fight unitl death.
 
Hey guys,

waiting on my fm3 to arrive, and now thinking about my monitors. I do hear a lot of people say quality monitors make a big difference, but you also hear that people get on just fine with cheapy's too.

so what's the real deal when it comes to guitar sounds? worth spending the money?

As it stands right now I have some 7-10 year old low end 8" Behringer monitors. there good and loud sure, but dont really know speaker / tweeter condition etc.

I want to make sure I get the full fractal sound / feel experience and would love your guys opinions.

Seems many like the JBL 308P as a budget option, and then the HS8 is you want to step your game up - big difference, or not really?


the JBL 308P would probably be pretty similar in terms of quality to what I already have.

thanks for any advice.
If those are Behringer Truth 8" monitors, they break the price/quality curve. They compare favorably to monitors that cost 3x as much, they have huge biamp power reserve and plenty of headroom. And get LOUD.
 
I dont agree with cliff because before the monitor (house speakers) obviously should be of good quality but most important is the studio around.. You could buy super high price monitrs but if the studio is small unthreated also the best bigger monitor could not fit the room acoustic characteristics.
Yes but you can make a room sound better. You can’t make crappy monitors sound good.
 
As with anything in this world (in most cases) - the more you spend, the more you get.

So - set a budget and get the best you can within that amount. You'll be good =)
Just thinking to myself that my budget for active monitors is probably whatever the next stimulus check is.
Yes but you can make a room sound better. You can’t make crappy monitors sound good.
I need to make an effort to do some better room preparation. It's just my work office with bare walls and hard floor (I work from home, even pre-pandemic).

My problem is generalized difficulty making decisions, probably quasi-ADHD indecision. I work too much and I have a toddler and there's a pandemic so practically speaking I probably won't be gigging anytime soon, but I regularly go look on craigslist for local musicians and fantasize about putting together a band. If I'm in that mindset I think I need something that will work live and in the studio and I don't picture myself packing up studio monitors for a gig. So maybe the CLR type solution is what I need. On the other hand I might have to buy a PA & Mixer if I actually gig at some point to hear vocals anyway, so the CLRs might be redundant then. And I haven't heard anyone comment on whether a CLR is a great option for mixing, which is another thing I need to be able to do.

Then I get practical and realize I'm probably mostly a home player for the next couple years so probably studio monitors are most appropriate, but then I realize my kid is just gonna come knocking every time I play a note and I'm back to "ok I guess quality headphones is my only option for now," and maybe it's just consumerist fantasy that's making me think I need to buy anything at all. My son's almost 3, if he starts pre-school or some other activities after it's safe, maybe he'll be out of the house now and then and things will change.

On the other hand, if I see some lightly used Adam A7X for 30% off retail I probably just cave to the pressure.
 
Its amazing what people can tolerate. Its also amazing what people will not tolerate. Your mileage will vary from what others say as your situation and needs vary.

There is a category of loudspeakers that I would label "Junk at any price" or "Free is too much to pay". I remember a $50 Kustom floor monitor that was being blown out at Musicians Friend some years ago. People talked about how good they were... for the price. I bought one and thought it sounded like a clock radio. It was unbelievably bad. There were not good... at any price, even free. This is a category that you do not want to buy from under any circumstance that you can avoid because it is like burning money except you don't get the heat.

There is the next category that I would label "Usable at the right price." These are things where you could get by with them for a while and be OK but you'd want to replace them right away so they are essentially temporary. It can work for a while, especially if you're using them to make and save money for something good.

You have a few things that are "Inexpensive and Punch beyond their weight class" that are better than maybe they should be for the price. I haven't heard them but if the Headrush cabinets are like their Alto/Alesis predecessors, I'd put them in this category. They're workable, affordable and available. They might even make you think they are pretty good but they obviously aren't as good as some of the more expensive things. If you think they'll get hurt from gigging and will need to be replaced, this might be a great place to spend the money since you're going to have to replace 'em in a few months anyway.

There is a category above that is your "Pseudo/Semi-Pro" category of things that cost real money and are probably better and more reliable than the lower category. They'd better be better, because they cost a lot more than the Headrush type stuff.

Then you've got the "Real money, but really good and better than they should be" category of stuff like the CLR, Xitone, and the non-USA ones that I can't remember.

Then you've got the "Professional" category of stuff that is several times more expensive than the other stuff, probably sounds way better than anything but the "real money but really good" category, etc... This would presumably be the Meyer type stuff.

You've got to figure out which category you should buy from based on your situation. If you're independently wealthy but playing at home for yourself, you may still not want to buy from the professional category depending on your other priorities.

As a final commentary: I remember when I got my CLR after having had a variety of other full range cabinets before it. The CLR sounded great but I was impressed with how well behaved the loudspeaker was. It didn't make any funny noises, no buzzing or rattling, etc... I don't particularly love playing guitar through the CLR (or any FRFR) but I love it for playback. Lots of people love playing guitar through them. See what I mean about the situation and tastes being different?
 
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My problem is generalized difficulty making decisions, probably quasi-ADHD indecision.

I'd encourage you not to put labels like that on yourself and/or accept some kind of self-inflicted quasi-diagnosis. You can make decisions if you want to. You're even free to decide how you will make them.
 
I'd encourage you not to put labels like that on yourself and/or accept some kind of self-inflicted quasi-diagnosis. You can make decisions if you want to. You're even free to decide how you will make them.
I didn't diagnose myself. A doctor did. Don't worry, I've been using drugs and CBT to help myself make the important decisions and functions of my daily life work correctly for years. Spending money on frivolous luxuries is different, I allow myself to waffle in that arena, particularly because I don't have the money to be decisive anyway. Thanks for the life advice though.
 
Its amazing what people can tolerate. Its also amazing what people will not tolerate. Your mileage will vary from what others say as your situation and needs vary.


There is the next category that I would label "Usable at the right price." These are things where you could get by with them for a while and be OK but you'd want to replace them right away so they are essentially temporary. Maybe the Behringer stuff falls into this category? It can work for a while, especially if you're using them to make and save money for something good.
This is misinformation. The OP has Behringer 8" monitors, I am assuming the 265Watt biamped B2031. The behringers reverse engineered the best monitors of the time (20 years ago) and sold them for $200/ea. The price hasn't gone up so they are even a better value.

Behringer makes some junk, most of the stuff is in the middle, some of the stuff transcends the price/performance ratio. Truth monitors fall in the last category. Almost all of their stuff is reverse engineered high quality gear sold at volume with a low profit margin.

The reason I am bringing this up AGAIN is that the OP will have a hard time improving upon the 8" B2031 for purposes of playing back guitar modelers that he can also use for mixing. Anything with a smaller cone or lower wattage will lack the same bass and punch. Sure he can spend 5x as much for something with arguably more accuracy for mixing, but if he hasn't treated the room he's throwing money away. A more accurate monitor is not going to translate into more enjoyment for guitar playback, unless it has the same or more headroom.

The B2031s may actually be loud enough to gig with, but they aren't built for that. If he need something road worthy maybe the Headrush 8s.

I am not saying your advice is always wrong, but in this case it could cause the OP to waste money.

 
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The OP has Behringer 8" monitors, I am assuming the 265Watt biamped B2031. The behringers reverse engineered the best monitors of the time (20 years ago) and sold them for $200/ea. The price hasn't gone up so they are even a better value.
I was referring to Behringer generically but I removed the reference to avoid confusion.
 
This is misinformation. The OP has Behringer 8" monitors, I am assuming the 265Watt biamped B2031. The behringers reverse engineered the best monitors of the time (20 years ago) and sold them for $200/ea. The price hasn't gone up so they are even a better value.

Behringer makes some junk, most of the stuff is in the middle, some of the stuff transcends the price/performance ratio. Truth monitors fall in the last category. Almost all of their stuff is reverse engineered high quality gear sold at volume with a low profit margin.

The reason I am bringing this up AGAIN is that the OP will have a hard time improving upon the 8" B2031 for purposes of playing back guitar modelers that he can also use for mixing. Anything with a smaller cone or lower wattage will lack the same bass and punch. Sure he can spend 5x as much for something with arguably more accuracy for mixing, but if he hasn't treated the room he's throwing money away. A more accurate monitor is not going to translate into more enjoyment for guitar playback, unless it has the same or more headroom.

The B2031s may actually be loud enough to gig with, but they aren't built for that. If he need something road worthy maybe the Headrush 8s.

I am not saying your advice is always wrong, but in this case it could cause the OP to waste money.




Your right. these truth monitors are the B1031 not the later b2031.....probably close to identical.

anyway I bought some adam a5x...yep not a lot of difference, maybe a touch more clarity but not worth spending that money. that's ok though, because I can run both together for a huge sound, or for running backing tracks on one set and guitar on another etc. the a5x are very nice ( small / heavy) . I like them a lot.
 
Your right. these truth monitors are the B1031 not the later b2031.....probably close to identical.

anyway I bought some adam a5x...yep not a lot of difference, maybe a touch more clarity but not worth spending that money. that's ok though, because I can run both together for a huge sound, or for running backing tracks on one set and guitar on another etc. the a5x are very nice ( small / heavy) . I like them a lot.
If you want a better experience, you could send back the Adams and get a powered subwoofer.
 
Yamaha HS8's. Cant go wrong for the price.
Any step higher is very marginal, and practically unnoticeable
Found a pair of these used for $500 so I just went with it. Might add a subwoofer down the road but for now I think I'll be pretty happy. Once these monitors arrive, the rig is done for now. Just have to rearrange and go down this bass trap rabbit hole.
 
For $300 US you can get a pair of Kali LP6 monitors. They were designed by ex JBL guys and to me sound better than JBL 305s. They have great stereo separation. For some reason they are often overlooked. Check them out
I have the newer IN-8s and they are fantastic! Incredibly clear, but with a good tight bass and a tweeter that sounds very clear and not shrill. I had KRKs previously (albeit LPG2) and what a sonic difference.
 
Found a pair of these used for $500 so I just went with it. Might add a subwoofer down the road but for now I think I'll be pretty happy. Once these monitors arrive, the rig is done for now. Just have to rearrange and go down this bass trap rabbit hole.
You'll love them!
 
Up to a certain point, as with everything, past a certain price point you’re just blowing $$$ on BS - colors, features that are really gimmicky bells and whistles that jack up the price for no good reason. Set a cap and then look at the best of the midrange of the best brands. That’s usually where the value and quality curves meet.
Where do you think that point is? I'm up to $18k / pair and quality is still improving. Just wondering how much more my wallet has to stretch ;)
 
I heard somewhere that in speaker land (and especially in hi-fi) that you have to apply the Pareto principle.
It states that if you take the price of the best as 100% then:
  • a speaker that's 90% as good will cost 1/10th of the price
  • a speaker that's 80% as good will cost 1/20th of the price.
This gives this kind of curve:
Curve.JPG

So the trick is to look where the curve bends up - around 90-95% if you're looking for the best value for your money.
I did this with my hi-fi speakers.
I chose the B&W 600 series.
They were around 2000€ for a pair vs 30,000€ for the most expensive ones.
Where do you think that point is?
According to this principle, it would be around 2000$-3000$ per pair.
 
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