Recommend good quality, under 40lb powered monitor?

S

speedyone

Member
Hello,

I just discovered the Axe FX, and will soon be ordering one!

I am looking for a wedge type powered monitor with (as good as possible) sound quality, weighing UNDER 40 POUNDS. And preferably, more like 20-30.

I have a screwed up back, and that is the weight limit of what I want to move around.

I've searched through 282 posts thus far, and have read all about QSC, JBL, FBT, etc, but many are just too heavy and cost prohibitive for me.

I will be playing strictly at home--with maybe the occasional Church gig-- so I don't need a ton of power.

My style of playing runs from lots of clean Eric Johnson/Jeff Buckley stuff, to high(er) gain lead playing along the lines of Holdsworth, Paul Gilbert, and Shawn Lane.

Frankly, the whole FRFR thing is new to me, so I don't know if I MUST have a 12" speaker for good bass response, or if a 10" would do... Occasionally I do tune to drop D, so maybe a 12" would be preferred.

As mentioned, I read a TON of posts, and I have digested a good bit of info. The sage wisdom of "go try a few speakers out and see what works for you" won't work for me though, as there are no speaker/PA/audiophile stores anywhere to be found where I live!

I'll have to order one to try it out.

I've read Scott Peterson say many times, "There are many audio solutions for the Axe FX." The solution I'm looking for (with any help you guys can give me!) is for a lightweight powered monitor that sounds great, and hopefully costs less than $1000.

Thanks so much for reading my post, and for any advice you can give me!
 
After giving it some more thought, I would also be OK with trying out some nearfield monitors--although I don't have a mixer or power amp.

My main concerns again are weight, and sound quality. Since I won't be gigging out, I don't need mega volume, and I would love to have as hi-fi a sound as possible (within the $1000 or less budget).

Some studio monitors also would be MUCH lighter.

I have not researched those, so I will do so while I await responses to my thread...
 
If you go the studio monitor route check out the self amplified Dynaudio BM5A's. They sound great for jamming, recording and mixing. MAP (Minimum Advertised Pricing) appears to be $999 a pair but you can probably talk a dealer down below $900 shipped.
 
The Yorkville E10P, while not co-axial, does sound good and meets your budget and weight requirements. It's also readily obtained in NA, which is nice.
 
The FBT Verve 8ma is 24lbs and around $500 - it sounds great! Plenty of bass.
Click to expand...

+1 I was worried about the bass too, but I am very happy with it. I play in a 6 piece band and I use it on stage. You won't believe the sound coming out of such a small speaker. It's very solid built too.

Jim :D
 
Well, after reading various reviews and stats about all the options mentioned, I think I have narrowed it down to 2 choices:

1. Dynaudio BM5a
2. Verve 8ma


I think what will be the deciding factor will be which of these solutions is more "3d" and high fidelity; I really enjoy ambient/reverb and delay-filled/ clean playing, and want my music to sound as multi-dimensional as possible.

The Dynaudio speakers will be in stereo (and are apparently near audiophile grade,) so I assume I'll get fantastic sound quality....but maybe SO detailed as to be "artificial sounding" for guitar?

AND,

The Verve 8ma may produce a sort of guitar cabinet "response" that I am more used to, for lack of better terminology, but could lack the 3-d depth and be not quite as hi-fi?

Before I make a final decision, is there anyone who could address my questions in regard to these 2 options, and how they would reproduce the Axe FX's sound?

Thank you all again!
 
speedyone said:
Well, after reading various reviews and stats about all the options mentioned, I think I have narrowed it down to 2 choices:

1. Dynaudio BM5a
2. Verve 8ma


I think what will be the deciding factor will be which of these solutions is more "3d" and high fidelity; I really enjoy ambient/reverb and delay-filled/ clean playing, and want my music to sound as multi-dimensional as possible.

The Dynaudio speakers will be in stereo (and are apparently near audiophile grade,) so I assume I'll get fantastic sound quality....but maybe SO detailed as to be "artificial sounding" for guitar?

AND,

The Verve 8ma may produce a sort of guitar cabinet "response" that I am more used to, for lack of better terminology, but could lack the 3-d depth and be not quite as hi-fi?

Before I make a final decision, is there anyone who could address my questions in regard to these 2 options, and how they would reproduce the Axe FX's sound?

Thank you all again!
Click to expand...

Cateagorically speaking (and I haven't heard either the Verve or the Dynaudio's), my educated guess is that a good monitor like the Dynaudio's will be much more detailed and possibly smoother in response than even the good PA monitors. I did some comparisons recently which led me to feel that, for home use, a fine pair of monitors would be an improvement over the PA-type offerings. I have a pair of Adam A7's coming, but they're probably a couple of weeks out.

I have a QSC HPR-122i and just recently had a Yorkville E10P on rental, which I thought was very decent, only 34 pounds, and lots of volume and ooomph, at least in moderately-sized rooms.

Your problem might be that nearfield monitors will be poorly suited to use other than at home, IMO.
 
Your problem might be that nearfield monitors will be poorly suited to use other than at home, IMO.

Well, if I play at church, they already have a good sound system I can plug into; I only really need something to play through at home.

Plus, after giving it some more thought, the nearfield monitors may be the best choice, as they could do double duty for mixing/recording purposes when I complete a recording set-up.
 
I use these, Wharfedale Titan Actives:

http://www.wharfedalepro.com/Home/Produ ... fault.aspx

They are very light at around 30lbs ( I have a dodgy hip and can carry two at a time!) and sound great to me. They promote this product on the basis that they are so light, I couldn't believe it when I picked one up.

Whether they sound good or bad is as always a matter of opinion. I've worked with PA and audio for 25 years and Like what I hear when I use them. I trust my ears and a bunch of reference CD tracks I keep handy.
 
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