Monitor recommendations for Black Friday

C

chano_305

New Member
First time poster, and shameless copy paste from a post I started on Reddit, but this community seems much more engaged.

Evening everybody!

I'm the proud owner of a new FM9! Got it just a few days ago and man it's just crazy how good it is. My only regret is I should have gotten it a year ago.

Anyway I'm currently playing through some small Mackie speakers I had laying around that just aren't cutting it, and I'm looking to get a good set of quality monitors. I'm not an audiophile so there's no point in dropping thousands, but I'm willing to spend in the $600-700 if it's worth it.

After lurking in this and other forums I seem to be leaning towards Yamaha, Adam, and Kali.

Sweetwater is having some deals (all below are for two monitors, includes stands and cables):

Yamaha HS8 and Adam Audio T8V both at $689

Yamaha HS7 for $625

Adam Audio T7V for $599

Kali LP-8 V2 for $589

Kali Audio LP-6 V2 $499

Thoughts? The Yamahas are (almost) universally loved, though I've seen complaints of hissing. Adams also seems really solid, and a lot of people swear by the Kalis.

I'm a basement player and it's a fairly large open room, furniture and carpet and not a studio at all with wall treating. Worth getting 8 inchers? Overkill and would sound bad or boomy, should stick to 6.5? This is a whole new world for me, assume I'm an idiot and we're off to a good start. Other suggestions also welcome. Thanks!
 
I have the HS7s and like them. I bought them as studio monitors for general mixing before I got my Fractal.

It is hard to say if you would be better off with HS8s. I find the HS7s have good bass response and are plenty for my space which is 17x17 ft. but I play at a fairly low volume these days and tend to dial out some bass in my Presets.

I hear a bit of hum in mine when right up against them but it is pretty much inaudible at a distance of 3 ft.

I use mine in a wet/dry setup with my Fractal. I was surprised when I tried how much I prefer it. I have wondered about adding a third monitor to have my wet signal in stereo. At those prices I would be tempted to try that, but I would probably prefer to run the dry through a FR12 or something that I can also use on its own when playing with others.
 
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Thomann's Cyberweek https://www.thomannmusic.com/adam_t7v.htm

I have Adam A5X, I bought them about over 13 years ago and they still sound great and no problems at all and there is nice adjustements behind those, that price is for one so 139 $ x 2 = 278 $ (I don't know how much custom payments etc. comes when they selling abroad to USA etc.
(The shipping costs are calculated on the checkout page.)
 
5-7” driver is plenty for the vast majority of residential applications. Going larger will just increase the bass modal issues in the room.

Yamahas are fine but it’s 2024 and there are much better options in this price range. Kali IN-5 should be on your list as well. Good way to get into an entry level 3-way monitor.

Either way, make sure you do some research about how to properly place them (ear level, equilateral triangle, centered on the short wall of the room, in most residential rooms up against the wall is best, etc).

Isolating the vibrations from the desk ensures that 100% of the energy from the drivers is projected outwards and not into your desk. I noticed a big improvement with isoacoustic stands.

Acoustic treatment can really improve any monitors’ performance in proportion to the reduction in the size of reflections and decay times, so that should be your next project if your goal is improving accuracy.
 
I've tried just about everything and here's my recommendation:

If you do a lot of recording, then you want to put money into studio monitors. I would recommend the Focal Alpha Evo 65 followed by the Yamaha HS7 or HS8. The Focal puts out a bigger sound in a smaller cabinet than the Yamahas, is front ported so you hear more bass in a small untreated room, and has low hiss. The Yamaha sounds more neutral and mid focused. I don't recommend the JBL or Adam because of the much louder hiss. Never tried the Kalis.

One thing to keep in mind is the low end from monitors depends on your room. Sometimes it may sound too boomy and sometimes it may sound too quiet. You may have to move them around or sit further away to get the best bass out of them. You also need speaker stands because you can't set them on a desk as that completely screws up the low end. Be sure to check the specifications as you may be surprised how big and heavy they can be.

If you are just playing for fun, then I would recommend a larger FRFR like the Fender FR-12. I just got one of those and am seriously impressed. It sounds more like a big amp in the room than anything I've tried including an actual power amp and cab. It's more forgiving of the source tone so you spend less time messing with dialing in a sound. I think if I tried a good floor monitor earlier on rather than studio monitors and headphones I'd probably have spent less time fussing with tone and more time playing.
 
pop out GIF by NETFLIX


Genelec 8010A's
 
i got the kali in8v2 and very happy.
The detail and soundstage are really nice.
I went with 8 since i like to hear all the lows including with
guitar synth and 8string.
 
GLiDE BPM said:
Laney LFR-212 and LFR-214!!! That and Fender FR-12 (for light weight gigs...)
Click to expand...
I have just purchased a Laney LFR-212 and I am going to use it with a Red Sound 10 on stage for both volume, kick and stereo effects.
Initial impressions are that the 2x12 is worth the money but a gig this Sat will really test it out
 
Dave Dayman said:
I have just purchased a Laney LFR-212 and I am going to use it with a Red Sound 10 on stage for both volume, kick and stereo effects.
Initial impressions are that the 2x12 is worth the money but a gig this Sat will really test it out
Click to expand...
I hope you really like it. You should hear the LFR-212 sitting on top of a LFR-412...

That's what's in my studio right now. If I need ultra light weight, I take the Fender FR-12 with me...
 
Jarick said:
I've tried just about everything and here's my recommendation:

If you do a lot of recording, then you want to put money into studio monitors. I would recommend the Focal Alpha Evo 65 followed by the Yamaha HS7 or HS8. The Focal puts out a bigger sound in a smaller cabinet than the Yamahas, is front ported so you hear more bass in a small untreated room, and has low hiss. The Yamaha sounds more neutral and mid focused. I don't recommend the JBL or Adam because of the much louder hiss. Never tried the Kalis.

One thing to keep in mind is the low end from monitors depends on your room. Sometimes it may sound too boomy and sometimes it may sound too quiet. You may have to move them around or sit further away to get the best bass out of them. You also need speaker stands because you can't set them on a desk as that completely screws up the low end. Be sure to check the specifications as you may be surprised how big and heavy they can be.

If you are just playing for fun, then I would recommend a larger FRFR like the Fender FR-12. I just got one of those and am seriously impressed. It sounds more like a big amp in the room than anything I've tried including an actual power amp and cab. It's more forgiving of the source tone so you spend less time messing with dialing in a sound. I think if I tried a good floor monitor earlier on rather than studio monitors and headphones I'd probably have spent less time fussing with tone and more time playing.
Click to expand...
I just read your suggestions: if I wanted to use a Fender FR12, how should I connect it when using an amp with a loadbox?

Guitar --> Amp --> Captor --> Soundcard --> FR12 (mono)

Studio monitors would be easier, but I have a bad experience with Adam T7V, being too trebly for my taste
Thanks
 
Matteodem said:
I just read your suggestions: if I wanted to use a Fender FR12, how should I connect it when using an amp with a loadbox?

Guitar --> Amp --> Captor --> Soundcard --> FR12 (mono)

Studio monitors would be easier, but I have a bad experience with Adam T7V, being too trebly for my taste
Thanks
Click to expand...

I suppose in that situation you either want a load box that has IR's built into it or to run out from the load box into a pedal that has cab simulation.

So one option would be:
Guitar -> Amp -> Captor X / Suhr RL IR / Ox Box -> FR12

Or another could be something like:
Guitar -> Amp -> Load Box -> HX Stomp / Opus / TC Impulse / etc -> FR12

That's where something like the HX Stomp is pretty handy, because it can not only do IR loading, but you can add post-amp effects like delay, reverb, chorus, etc. And you can still run analog pedals out front too.
 
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