So I’m looking to upgrade my shitty KRK Rokits with something new. I went down to the local store and listened to Dynaudio Lyd 5/7/8, Neumann KH 80, and a pair of genelecs, can’t remember which ones…
I really liked the Neumanns, but I’m a bit worried that the 4” inch woofer won’t suffice for bass heavy electronic music where I need to pay attention to detail in <60 hz.
The Lyds I feel were not as revealing in the mids as the neumanns, the genelecs were really nice as well though. Any thoughts, experience with any of these monitors? Do I need to pair them with a sub, if that’s case which sub would you recommend? Thanks
EDIT: I just moved to new space so I haven’t got the time to put up the treatment for the acoustics, I figure I want to wait until I have decided which monitors I choose!
I wouldn’t call 4" a woofer … but that’s exactly, what you would need additionally … a sub-woofer, if you work with speakers smaller then 8" and want to get good response in the low end. Depending on your musical style, 8" might be sufficiant, but I would check this out before buying. There is an often given advice, which I would like to pass on. Take a CD with music as a reference to the shop and listen carefully …
Beside room treatment … not every speaker, even the pro-speakers … will sound perfectly in your studio. There is quite a risk that you love the speakers in the accoustic environment of the shop and after listening in your room there is something missing or wrong. If you can, try to get a test installation in your studio.
Its a small room and I’m guessing the monitors will go either side of that desk, which will no doubt mean you’ll hear a lot of bass. You’ll need some bass traps so I think a 5-6 inch driver will suffice. I’m a fan of Adam so I would suggest maybe A7x’s or F5’s depending on your budget.
If you like the Neumann I’d recommend the Neumann KH 120 if your budget fits . They are really great monitors and I’m always impressed the amount of bass they can render while doing it with precision. Perfect for small rooms as well imo.
I heard many good things about Neumann KH120s and had sort of narrowed it down to those or Adam A7Xs, but heard more and more mixed reviews of the build quality of the Adams. I ended up getting Focal Shape 50s and am quite happy. I’m in a smaller room and they’re doing me right. Bass response isn’t quite as deep as I’d like, but I’d have to go into the next bracket to really afford that. I’m not a fan of subs.
Ultimately, it’s such a tricky call in small rooms how each room will respond to the bass with the giant waves and speaker placement can make a huge difference too. I think if I weren’t happy I’d have returned them, and many friends suggested ordering 2 or 3 pairs and just keeping only 1 pair. But until you hear them in your room, it’s tough.
I didn’t get the chance to listen to the KH 120’s (the store had lend it out to another customer at the time) but I’ve read many good things about them, and they’re on every “10 best monitors” list I can find. Not that you can really go by such lists, though it is interesting to see which are the popular ones with good reputation on there.
I listened to some tracks in the store that I’m familiar with, and while I could clearly hear the bass frequencies there was a clear lack in the low end - to be expected from 4 inch “woofers” i guess! If Neumann would have a middle-step between their 4-5 inch monitors and their 3-way 310’s it would be a whole lot easier. But the KH 80’s sounded so good!
I guess I’m pretty torn in the choice of going with them and saving up for a sub-woofer, or just going with an 8-inch from another brand. The white Dynaudio LYD-8’s are style-wise my favourites, but it was like they had that mythical “veil” in the mid-frequencies compared to the neumanns. I don’t know if they were burned-in proper though!? The difference was night and day really!
So to cut it short, should I go with a couple Neumanns and a sub (and in that case, how the hell do I tell a good sub from a mediocre one!? Something I never dabbled with…) OR should I test a couple 8 inch Genelec/Dynaudio!?
PS. To add to the confusion and complexity, I’m aware that my ears are sensitive to high frequencies (compared to other producers I know) so with that in mind, is it a good thing to go with monitors that are a bit more veiled, or should I start to get accustomed to “clearer, more neutral” sound? Remember, I’m upgrading from a pair of 7 year old Rokits!
If your ears are sensitive, gratulations, and no, get speakers, which are true, meaning linear in frequency response. If You want to get best mixes, stay away from monitors with too much coloring.
Neumanns are supposed to be quite linear, Adam, Focal, Genelec etc. too.
If you can afford it, you might even consider getting one pair of analytical speakers for mixing/mastering and one for enjoying music and impressing your clients or friends
I was in your situation a couple months ago, I went and tested a wide range of brands and models. Listening to a wide variety of source material from various genres (Sinatra to Booka Shade).
One test that I found particularly helpful in my final decision was moving my head away from the idea listening position to see how wide the sweet spot of each pair was.
After a couple hours of testing I finally decided on a pair of Genelec 8040b’s. They had the widest soundstage and sweet spot for listening position. And the bass response is just out of this world for such a compact design! For my room, there is no need for an additional subwoofer, i’ve actually got the bass rolled off a bit until I get some bass traps in the corners.
Thanks for all the input guys! I’m heading to another store today to have a listen again. I’ll update later with the decision I probably will make today. Cheers!
I got the KH 80’s! They are EXCELLENT! Just so revealing and accurate. I have no idea about the Shape, but you just can not go wrong with these puppies
You have to be aware that anything under 50 hz need to be monitored through something else, like sub or geadphones. But ordinary bass frequencies up to 500 hz is heard really wel
Holy Hell, the app is out!? I just looked at it now, and it sure looks underwhelming though? I thought it was a complete recalibration system, but it just seems more like an EQ on ipad…? And how do I even connect the iPad to the speakers? So many questions!!
Feel the same. I had the expectation that it would be like Sonarworks or Genelec GLM. Perhaps development didn’t quite go as planned, then again the requirements were never very clear…
The settings page on the app looks useful (distance to listening position, near wall etc.), but nowhere near the correction i expected. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if there’s more potential
But if i bought these and didn’t have an iPad i would be furious
Yeah the kh310a sounds really good! A pair of those are about €3k above my budget for some time now. The adam a5x are okay in my ears, but nowhere near the clarity of the kh80’s
Yeah, same. And I also need to connect through two ethernet cables. My Router is too far away for this to work, so i probably need to get a switch or something if a desktop app wont be released. Silly, silly!
iPad only
