The pair of monitors I had are now gone so I'm needing to buy some.

I listened to a few different near fields today, including KRK RP5's, KRK RP6's, Alesis M1's and some yamahas.
I wasn't impressed with the Alesis at all - they sound 'soft', a little muddy.
The RP5's sound nice if not a touch dirty in the high end? but what really impressed me were the KRK RP6's. Great low end response, clean highs and excellent stereo imaging.

Now, what I really wanted to hear was the M-Audio LX4 series as I eventually need to build a surround monitor setup and douglas spotted eagle has mentioned these are a great surround set for under $1000. However, I haven't found anyone how can demo them for me.
Does anyone know how these compare to the KRK's?

I guess the dilema is this:
I have about $1000. I can get a pair of RP5's for $650 but I think I'd need a sub as the bass response didn't seem deep enough. Then save and get 3 more down the track.

Or, I can get a pair of RP6's for $800 which sound fine without a sub, but getting a matching set of 5 will take a long time. Will I need a sub for surround mixing if the bass in these is enough for music?

Or I can chance it with the M-Audios LX4 surround system without hearing them and hope to hell they are great.

Can someone please offer me some words of wisdom?

oh, I need a pair right now for mixing music, but will also need a surround set eventually for film and video and they will also be used for watching the occasional movie in the secluded studio.

Before you commit, take a listen to Genelec and Dyn-Audio

[QUOTE=Matt Brabender]...Will I need a sub for surround mixing if the bass in these is enough for music?
...
Or I can chance it with the M-Audios LX4 surround system without hearing them and hope to hell they are great...
[QUOTE]

If you're mixing 5.1, yes, you do need a sub.

I've been looking at the LX4 surround as well, but I don't think they'd substitute for my Genelecs or for your KRKs. I really like the KRKs, very accurate and very musical. I'd really like a complete Genelec surround system... someday.

Even if you're not mixing 5.1, I recommend a sub with any of the smaller systems, the key is getting it calibrated/balanced. Most small rooms with small monitors make it hard to really hear and "feel" the mix without a sub. I have had a set of Gennie 1029's for years, and didn't add a sub until 2 years ago. I don't know what I was thinking, because once I added the sub, volumes came down, quality of mix experience and output went up.

Even if you're not mixing 5.1, I recommend a sub with any of the smaller systems, the key is getting it calibrated/balanced. Most small rooms with small monitors make it hard to really hear and "feel" the mix without a sub. I have had a set of Gennie 1029's for years, and didn't add a sub until 2 years ago. I don't know what I was thinking, because once I added the sub, volumes came down, quality of mix experience and output went up.

Have you heard the new Genelec 8000 series that are replacing the 10xx monitors? I'm curious your impressions of how the 8030APM compare to your 1029APM or the 8040APM compares to the 1030APM? Had just about decided on the 1030's but since they're now discontinued was looking at the 8040 instead. Or would they be overkill for a small editing setup and the 1029/8030s more appropriate?

genelecs are just way too expensive
I think they were around $2000 - $3000 for a pair.
I think the dyn-audio are similar.
I only have about $1000 at the moment.

Seth, I was thinking that same thing - that maybe the LX4 would be nice, but no match for these other monitors.

The sub is definitely something I've been thinking hard about, especially for mixing music. The 2 speaker setup vs the 2.1 setup.
I think I might follow your advice douglas, and go for a sub. That would probably mean going for the smaller krk rp5's.
Will the extra money on the 6's make a big difference or is it just, the bigger woofer, the bigger bottom end?

are there any other systems that people would suggest?
I heard the m-audio bx5's are the business - might be a tiny bit too much though

You might have a look at these:

http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?id=332&cat=20&type=33

Yorkville is a Canadian company. I assume the speakers are made offshore. I bought a pair for less than $300 Canadian and am very happy with them. However, I am only an enthusiastic amateur so someone who has spent time with a high end set of monitors may have a different view.

Curt

genelecs are just way too expensive
I think they were around $2000 - $3000 for a pair.
I think the dyn-audio are similar.
I only have about $1000 at the moment.

Seth, I was thinking that same thing - that maybe the LX4 would be nice, but no match for these other monitors.

The sub is definitely something I've been thinking hard about, especially for mixing music. The 2 speaker setup vs the 2.1 setup.
I think I might follow your advice douglas, and go for a sub. That would probably mean going for the smaller krk rp5's.
Will the extra money on the 6's make a big difference or is it just, the bigger woofer, the bigger bottom end?

are there any other systems that people would suggest?
I heard the m-audio bx5's are the business - might be a tiny bit too much though


Both Genelec and Dyn-Audio have monitors in their lines that are in the ballpark of $1000 for the pair

The cheapest genelecs I saw were the 8020A for $1500. That's in australian dollars.
Are there other ones?
Because I heard the genelec 8030A and liked them very much so I'd be keen to hear something from them that's less costly.
I didn't see any dyno-audio

The cheapest genelecs I saw were the 8020A for $1500. That's in australian dollars.
Are there other ones?
Because I heard the genelec 8030A and liked them very much so I'd be keen to hear something from them that's less costly.
I didn't see any dyno-audio

BH Photo lists Genelec 8030A's for about $625 each and the 8040A's for $1049 each. It's DynAudio, not Dyno-Audio. BH lists the BM5A for $999 a pair and the BM6A for $1700 a pair. All US dollars of course.

I haven't had the chance to listen to any of the Genelec 80xx's yet but I did get the chance to compare both of the Dynaudio's to Genelec 1030a's and I wouldn't turn down any of them.

Thanks steve, I'll have a look around for better prices

Ok, I looked and looked but cannot find affordable genelecs or dynaudio.
So, I've narrowed my choices to this:

KRK RP5's with a sub added in a couple of months.
or
KRK RP6's with a sub added in about 5 - months.

I liked the RP6's a little more the 5's because of the better bottom end coverage and the stereo imaging sounded better, but I suspect the RP5's I heard were not 100%.

So my question is, what's the major difference between a 5" and 6" if a sub is being added to the mix?
Does having the 6 fill a slight gap in between the 5 and the sub? Or does it not quite work that way?

(Sorry for the questions but I want to get this right)