Budget Studio Monitors Worth It?

[soziblewuup]

Hi,

I'm a student so have very little funds available and i was looking at getting some monitoring speakers rather than using headphones for getting into production.
My budget is around £200 so have been looking at the, M-Audio av40's, Alesis M1 520's, etc.

I already own a pair of Sennheiser HD-25 II's as i'm a Dj, and i was wondering is there any point in paying £200 of saved up money for an average end product, rather than using my Sennheisers, as they have great sound quality.

I could be completely wrong and i may need monitoring speakers. Any advice is welcome.
Cheers!

[benjam]

I picked up some gen1 krk rp8s for £200 keep checking ebay, why buy new and gumtree you should find a bargain eventually

[lyons238]

i always like to buy new speakers. unless you really trust the person your buying them from. you dont know if the person was abusing them, or sending clipped signals through the monitors not realizing it etc...

so many people abuse their speakers and they dont even realize it.

so yeah id say spend the bit extra and buy new, that way you know they were not abused, and they will be under warrantee and be sure to last a long time. unless like i said you know the person who had them and know that they treated them well.

and id look into spending a tad more than the monitors you have listed. otherwise you will just want newer ones.

try the alesis m1 mk2's. they are actually pretty damn good and $300 a pair. they are a tad bass heavy but just keep that in mind when mixing with them. they do sound nice though. i have heard that some of the amps on these fail, but probably not with the newer ones, that was a long time ago.

other than those some krk's or maybe some behringer truths.

[Sparxy]

I'd agree with the first post and consider second hand. All you need is good sound quality, good representation of the frequency ranges. I've bought second hand before and found some bargains, just ask to hear them before you take them. KRK's and maybe low end Mackies could be in your budget.
To be perfectly honest though it doesn't matter what you produce on if you know how your setup translates to others. Monitors are just the easiest way of getting that correct. I do alot of midnight production on my Senheisser HD25s and always reference my mixdowns on them, they have great bass response and are very flat.

[gen_]

KRKs have had built inn limiters Fromm day one so you shouldn't worry about picking one up used.

[lyons238]

KRKs have had built inn limiters Fromm day one so you shouldn't worry about picking one up used.

idk my buddy used a pair of krk rp5's to dj some smallish house parties and had to crank them. guess what? now they're blown...

a clipped signal is a clipped signal regardless. so if someone was clipping their mixer or their daw or clipping in traktor etc...it can damage the speakers.

[ComfiStile]

KRKs have had built inn limiters Fromm day one so you shouldn't worry about picking one up used.

if someone was clipping their mixer or their daw or clipping in traktor etc...it can damage the speakers.

Even at low levels?

[lyons238]

KRKs have had built inn limiters Fromm day one so you shouldn't worry about picking one up used.

if someone was clipping their mixer or their daw or clipping in traktor etc...it can damage the speakers.

Even at low levels?

probly not too much at lower levels, but maybe over time. usually when someone is clipping something it's because they're listening at higher levels though.

a clipped signal basically squares off the top of the signal and changes the type of current. which basically puts a lot of power to the speakers but since the wave form is altered the speakers don't move properly, which makes them not be able to cool properly. that is my understanding of it anyway..

[ComfiStile]

KRKs have had built inn limiters Fromm day one so you shouldn't worry about picking one up used.

if someone was clipping their mixer or their daw or clipping in traktor etc...it can damage the speakers.

Even at low levels?

probly not too much at lower levels, but maybe over time. usually when someone is clipping something it's because they're listening at higher levels though.

a clipped signal basically squares off the top of the signal and changes the type of current. which basically puts a lot of power to the speakers but since the wave form is altered the speakers don't move properly, which makes them not be able to cool properly. that is my understanding of it anyway..

I see. I've always known to avoid it, but I never really got the 'science' behind it.

[lyons238]

KRKs have had built inn limiters Fromm day one so you shouldn't worry about picking one up used.

if someone was clipping their mixer or their daw or clipping in traktor etc...it can damage the speakers.

Even at low levels?

probly not too much at lower levels, but maybe over time. usually when someone is clipping something it's because they're listening at higher levels though.

a clipped signal basically squares off the top of the signal and changes the type of current. which basically puts a lot of power to the speakers but since the wave form is altered the speakers don't move properly, which makes them not be able to cool properly. that is my understanding of it anyway..

I see. I've always known to avoid it, but I never really got the 'science' behind it.

i know what it is from before i even began producing because i was into car audio a lot and always have had subwoofers.

basically imagine a waveform like on soundcloud and if you picture a sine wave, but if you turn it up too much the top and bottom parts of the sine wave will be cut off making them square at the top. basically this is still giving the speaker all of the power, but since the waveform is cut off at the top the woofer will not move as much, making the voice coils heat up more than normal.

[soziblewuup]

Cheers guys for the responses! I've always been skeptical of buying second hand but i'll look into it.

Lyons238, i just took a look at the Alesis and nothing but good reviews! Will investigate further but i'm seeing this as the best 'bang for your buck' option.

[fragments]

I'm very happy w/ my gen2 krk rokit 6's. I bought mine new for like $400.

[lyons238]

Cheers guys for the responses! I've always been skeptical of buying second hand but i'll look into it.

Lyons238, i just took a look at the Alesis and nothing but good reviews! Will investigate further but i'm seeing this as the best 'bang for your buck' option.

yeah they are pretty good for the money thats for sure. also to completely avoid the amp problems in the older models you could get the passive versions of these monitors. i actually heard the passives are better than the actives. but that would bring in the hassle of having to find an amp which may not be the best option for you idk..

[soziblewuup]

yeah they are pretty good for the money thats for sure. also to completely avoid the amp problems in the older models you could get the passive versions of these monitors. i actually heard the passives are better than the actives. but that would bring in the hassle of having to find an amp which may not be the best option for you idk..[/quote]

Ye i think the actives will work better for me tbh.
One thing i wanted to know is can you hook up a sub to the Alesis? I'd like to be able to use it without a sub for production and then for just casual listening hook up a sub.