I an up for some new studio monitors for the home..active ones with build in amplification

Two questions...

- how much power for a small living room?
- would a subwoofer add more realisme to the sound?

How much are you willing to spend??

I dont know yet.. Thats why i asked those 2 generic questions

I used to have the KRK 10 rokit (3 way) no subwoofer, but i never felt i needed that much power, sound was perfect tough..

Also never missed something in the low, the sound was really clean and clost to the sound on my headsets

Basically it all depends what you want them to do. Do you want them to compliment your keyborads and sound good or do you want to know what your keyboards really sound like and you want accuracy. I also depends on jow much you want to spend. KRK are good for the money. I have Yamaha HS8 and I like them. They are pretty accurate and don't color the sound if that is what you are after. If it's just home use you probably don't need too much power anyway. Better go for quality. My hs8 can go really loud.

Why don't you try maybe real pa speakers like Yamaha dxr8 or 10. They are great little speakers and you can use them as a PA speakers too. You never know.

A good quality Sub-Bass Unit is always a benefit, but not easy to purchase a good one.
Most so called Sub-Bass Units produce too much upper bass boom greatly coloring the sound.
A good one can be felt rather than heard.
Listen to a few with just the Sub-Bass playing to check how very low & tight the bass is produced.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Jun02/articles/monitors.asp

Logitech still produces some great gear.

Gary

For the home i prefer monitors, as they make the sound as i have set it up on the keyboard... In the end, i just prefer setting up the sound inside the keyboard as i want it, instead of adapting the sound of the keyboard to how a PA changes it...

I just prefer the naturall sound of monitors above the charasteristics most PAs add by default, and i can just eddit the output of the key to reach the same effect as the PA if i like a certain characteristic in my sound..

Both the KRK and the HS8 are topknotch monitors, but i never got my KRKs above 20% of their power, where in general speakers function best soundwise at about 30% of their max power, so i guess havibg about 2/3th of my 10 rokit should do the job...

What about Focal CMS 40?
http://www.testberichte.de/p/focal-tests/cms-40-testbericht.html
Personally, I'm going to buy the tiny, but powerful Genelec 8010 some time, but more for portability aspects.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/genelec_8010_apm.htm

Focal is a good company, mostly for home audio.
And Genelec you can't really go wrong. If you can try Adam a7x. Those are great monitors. They are more money. But, maybe you don't really need studio monitors.

Studio monitors are tough, some people use regular speakers like computer monitors, but unfortunately they color the sound way too much, and you end up with a mix that works great for that particular type of speaker, but not for all speakers in general. Yamaha was very famous for their white coned studio monitors because they sounded awful, so if you were able to get a good mix on those you would have an amazing mix on almost everything else. That being said, I've always been a big Dynaudio, and believe it or not, Presonus makes some outstanding gear too. Genelec is the most used I believe.

BTW, Focal also has excellent 2.0 computer speakers in their product range, called "Focal XS Book Wireless". As Focal is also famous for their studio monitors, I assume the XS Book is rather neutral and doesn't color the sound. So if you think of a small, reasonably priced solution, they are only 250 EUR a pair.

Just go to Wallyworld and pick up a Logitech 2.1 system.

Believe me, these are great sounding speakers, excellent price and company support, and you will absolutely LOVE what you hear.

Gary

I guess they are perfect for people that only play with their headsets on...

I am sorry, but those pale compared to the clearness of Yamaha HS8 or KVR pro speakers.

And they are not intended to be used that way.

Bachus, did you buy any yet?

Do try out the Adam speakers mentioned (Even though they are a bit more expensive) as the Ribbon Tweeter really gives the sound clarity.

Hope this helps

Bill

Actually, when I used the Z2200 and Z5500 systems, the clarity was absolutely superb. And, Sythzone member Scott Yee uses a modified Z5500 system that was modified by another Synthzone member, Pose, who unfortunately, is now deceased.

Kinda like the old saying goes, "Don't knock it till ya try it!" There were lots of skeptics about the Logitech systems when they first became available, mainly because they were primarily designed for PC gamers. Well, gamers, as it turns out, are very particular about the quality and clarity of their sound systems, probably more so than most musicians.

The only drawback with the Logitech systems was that there were just too many wires to hook up for using on the gigging circuit. And, those connections were somewhat fragile. But for home use, the system is superb. Mirza, there are lots of things in this world that were not intended for a specific use, but most of the time, that's irrelevant. If it works, IT WORKS! Who gives a damned what it was originally intended for.

Having owned more than a dozen, top named sound systems, I can assure you that they all sounded great the first day I owned them. Looking back, and comparing them to what I now have, I guess they were not as great as I first thought. Hey, the neat thing about buying from Wallyworld is if you don't like it, you can take it back and get a full refund - no questions asked.

Good luck on whatever you decide upon,

Gary

No, i did not... I am currently however considering Yamaha HS8..
And KrK rokit (with the subwoofer)



dont know yet if i should get the 6"or 8" choosing Yamaha would be easier as there is only one size..

If you are getting the sub than go for the smaller speakers.

Thats what i tought...

Gary, I think what Bachus wants are NEARFIELD speakers (for mixing and mastering). If that's the case (and with all due respect), he should ignore any and all recommendations for general purpose home (or computer) speakers to be used for this purpose....no matter how good they may sound. They're inexpensive enough to pick up a pair as reference speakers to TEST your mix....and you SHOULD test your mix; on everything from car speakers to boom boxes to your home stereo system. Trust me, you'll get the best FINAL results with even the cheapest of TRUE studio monitors.

The link put up by Donny is a very good start. I have 4 different monitors in my 'studio' but my personal favorites are the Adam's. They may be overkill for your needs though. JMO.

chas

You may be right, Chas. I just use the keyboard speaker for monitors when I'm recording, though I have the Yamaha MS50 system connected to the PC and a line that runs from the sound card to the keyboard.

Sure wish the docs would let me start drinkin again,

Gary