Active monitors as hifi speakers

[goldenears]

I heard the JBL 4367s. Mind blown. Revel F228Be and the rest of the Performa3 line (along with the Concerta2’s which I found to be lovely...) Mind blown.

Since then, I have found even more really good studio monitors below a $1000 (BNIB/B-Stock/Refurbished or Used — Kali Audio, Neumann, Focal, Dynaudio, Adam Audio, Genelec, etc.) as mentioned above and it’ll all become a matter of personal taste.

Thanks for the interesting story of your speaker journey!

Do you have any ideas on speakers narrower than about 20cm? I've been looking into active speakers but they all seem to have that lsr305 "boxy" look that doesn't really appeal for my living room.

I have a good 12" sub so I probably don't need the bass extension of an 8" woofer.

Currently interested in Kef R3's as my other speakers are Kef, but slightly reluctant to upgrade to them because I do feel that active with DSP is the future, but unfortunately D&D/Kii are too rich for my blood, I'm hoping more mainstream brands will take the cue and produce something a bit cheaper, at 1/2 the price of those at most.

Kali Audio supposedly has a Coaxial with 8" woofer coming out, the IN-8, but it's too wide at 28.5cm for my living room setup. I guess? a coaxial would maybe match better with my coaxial Kefs?

One problem for myself with using studio monitors in a living room setup is getting a center to match, and also hiss which I would find completely unacceptable.

Also a quick question, is it ok to connect the RCA preouts from an AVR to the XLR inputs of an active monitor, eg the Genelec 8340?

 

[BillG]

Revel F228Be and the rest of the Performa3 line (along with the Concerta2’s which I found to be lovely...) Mind blown.

With their engineering expertise and extensive R&D budget, I'd venture a guess that any speaker from the Harmon Kardon group (JBL, Revel, and Infinity) would be quite satisfying to most people.

Last year I bought the Infinity Reference 152, and then 162 shortly afterwards, without hearing them first based solely on independent performance measurements, and am very happy with them...

 

[KozmoNaut]

Do you have any ideas on speakers narrower than about 20cm? I've been looking into active speakers but they all seem to have that lsr305 "boxy" look that doesn't really appeal for my living room.

Most modern bookshelf/monitor speakers are going narrower and deeper for their designs.

The Adam A5Xs are only 17cm wide, the A7Xs are 20cm. And no hiss

 

[LDKTA]

Thanks for the interesting story of your speaker journey!

Do you have any ideas on speakers narrower than about 20cm? I've been looking into active speakers but they all seem to have that lsr305 "boxy" look that doesn't really appeal for my living room.

I have a good 12" sub so I probably don't need the bass extension of an 8" woofer.

Currently interested in Kef R3's as my other speakers are Kef, but slightly reluctant to upgrade to them because I do feel that active with DSP is the future, but unfortunately D&D/Kii are too rich for my blood, I'm hoping more mainstream brands will take the cue and produce something a bit cheaper, at 1/2 the price of those at most.

Kali Audio supposedly has a Coaxial with 8" woofer coming out, the IN-8, but it's too wide at 28.5cm for my living room setup. I guess? a coaxial would maybe match better with my coaxial Kefs?

One problem for myself with using studio monitors in a living room setup is getting a center to match, and also hiss which I would find completely unacceptable.

Also a quick question, is it ok to connect the RCA preouts from an AVR to the XLR inputs of an active monitor, eg the Genelec 8340?

I’d be looking at the Revel M105 or M106. Another really nice pair of passive bookshelves: Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 & Sierra-2EX. If not, the KEF R3s are solid and you do already have KEF loudspeakers in your room so.. As for a matching center, personally I wouldn’t compromise with a horizontal one but use an identical bookshelf loudspeaker instead. To each their own, I understand space constraints, WAF, etc.

If you do want active studio monitors (without hiss), there are plenty of great options. I am quite fond of the Adam A7X (as mentioned above). Genelec, Focal, Neumann, etc.

Yes, you can connect Active Monitors to the preouts on an AVR.

 

[Jaysz]

The krk sub has the option to run sub on with no hpf to monitors at the same time
Looks like h7's bass is only flat till about 80hz so may not make much difference
Just have to try it

 

[Pablo11]

I have a pair of Yamaha MSP5's and a sub for music production mix down. They are very revealing and highlight mistakes in the production. However, if you have a well mixed track, they sound amazing.
I chose them over the HS5/HS7's in a side by side audition. I felt that the MSP5'S just had the edge in terms of how revealing they were. Also badly mixed tracks sound bad... So not really a daily listening speaker in my opinion.

I might be remembering the experience with some exaggeration but the difference between the two was like something was in the way and then was removed when switching to the MSP5's.
Just my 2 pence worth, but I'm still very happy 6 years later.

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/proaudio/speakers/msp_studio_series/index.html

 

[watchnerd]

I have a pair of Yamaha MSP5's and a sub for music production mix down. They are very revealing and highlight mistakes in the production. However, if you have a well mixed track, they sound amazing.
I chose them over the HS5/HS7's in a side by side audition. I felt that the MSP5'S just had the edge in terms of how revealing they were. Also badly mixed tracks sound bad... So not really a daily listening speaker in my opinion.

I might be remembering the experience with some exaggeration but the difference between the two was like something was in the way and then was removed when switching to the MSP5's.
Just my 2 pence worth, but I'm still very happy 6 years later.

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/proaudio/speakers/msp_studio_series/index.html

Do you find mixes made with the Yamahas translate well?

 

[Pablo11]

Yes, very much so. They were my first foray into professional monitors and greatly improved my mixes. I still use headphones in conjunction with the monitors and earbuds to be sure but generally it's there or there abouts. I do find that my ears get tired with them, as with my DT880's. But it may be me being sensitive to higher frequencies.

 

[watchnerd]

Yes, very much so. They were my first foray into professional monitors and greatly improved my mixes. I still use headphones in conjunction with the monitors and earbuds to be sure but generally it's there or there abouts. I do find that my ears get tired with them, as with my DT880's. But it may be me being sensitive to higher frequencies.

How about in the car? Or over mono smart speakers?

 

[majingotan]

I have a pair of Yamaha MSP5's and a sub for music production mix down. They are very revealing and highlight mistakes in the production. However, if you have a well mixed track, they sound amazing.
I chose them over the HS5/HS7's in a side by side audition. I felt that the MSP5'S just had the edge in terms of how revealing they were. Also badly mixed tracks sound bad... So not really a daily listening speaker in my opinion.

I might be remembering the experience with some exaggeration but the difference between the two was like something was in the way and then was removed when switching to the MSP5's.
Just my 2 pence worth, but I'm still very happy 6 years later.

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/proaudio/speakers/msp_studio_series/index.html

IMO, I can tell that the HS7s are more tuned for music listening rather than mixing since the HS7 does really sound very pleasing to me even when playing terrible mastering. At the same time, it does not sound colored or have weird peaks especially when compared to common home speakers, car audio and my IEMs

 

[Mawclaw]

Not to derail this thread but a hopefully related note, how do people control active monitors in a home environment?

I just pulled the trigger on some Neumann KH310s and now trying to figure out a decent way to tie everything together. I have owned 1 XLR preamp- the Emotiva XDA-1 but the thing was honestly garbage (other than the 6 pound billet remote).

Anyone have any recommendations? Trying to integrate a Minidsp + subwoofers eventually as well.

 

[watchnerd]

IMO, I can tell that the HS7s are more tuned for music listening rather than mixing since the HS7 does really sound very pleasing to me even when playing terrible mastering. At the same time, it does not sound colored or have weird peaks especially when compared to common home speakers, car audio and my IEMs

Why would the HS7s be intentionally tuned for a home market that is not their core target mixing market?

Or are you meaning they're tuned for mastering instead of mixing?

 

[watchnerd]

Not to derail this thread but a hopefully related note, how do people control active monitors in a home environment?

I just pulled the trigger on some Neumann KH310s and now trying to figure out a decent way to tie everything together. I have owned 1 XLR preamp- the Emotiva XDA-1 but the thing was honestly garbage (other than the 6 pound billet remote).

Anyone have any recommendations? Trying to integrate a Minidsp + subwoofers eventually as well.

Do you need analog inputs? Or networking?

If not, the RME ADI-2 (non pro) comes with a remote. I have the non-remote Pro version and it's excellent.

If you need analog, perhaps the Mytek Brooklyn.

 

[Dj7675]

Not to derail this thread but a hopefully related note, how do people control active monitors in a home environment?

I just pulled the trigger on some Neumann KH310s and now trying to figure out a decent way to tie everything together. I have owned 1 XLR preamp- the Emotiva XDA-1 but the thing was honestly garbage (other than the 6 pound billet remote).

Anyone have any recommendations? Trying to integrate a Minidsp + subwoofers eventually as well.

With JBL 708P's in our living room, temporarily using Emotiva XMC1, but will most likely go with the Minidsp SHD or SHD Studio.

 

[digicidal]

Not to derail this thread but a hopefully related note, how do people control active monitors in a home environment?

I just pulled the trigger on some Neumann KH310s and now trying to figure out a decent way to tie everything together. I have owned 1 XLR preamp- the Emotiva XDA-1 but the thing was honestly garbage (other than the 6 pound billet remote).

Anyone have any recommendations? Trying to integrate a Minidsp + subwoofers eventually as well.

Do you already have the miniDSP? If you get the SHD (full) you've already got 4 XLR outputs so you can do two subs - and any remote will work. For me, I have a Marantz pre/pro that does decoding, DSP, and preamp duties for my subs and Adam T7V's. If it weren't purchased on closeout and had the SHD been available at the time (6 years ago) then I'd likely have gone that route. Now waiting to see what the newer pre/pro releases review like (monoprice/emotiva/JBL/etc.). I'd love to see something like the Bryston BDA-3 with Dirac and quad XLR outputs... or more simply, a miniDSP SHD with HDMI inputs/outputs for video switching built in. Of course, I've been waiting for that for years now... so not holding my breath.

 

[majingotan]

Why would the HS7s be intentionally tuned for a home market that is not their core target mixing market?

Or are you meaning they're tuned for mastering instead of mixing?

Their core target is definitely mixing but I just find that they sound much more relaxed than other studio speakers around their price range. Whether that is sounds accurate or not can only be determined by competent measuring 2 ft away from the tweeters (that's how close I listen to it BTW). Though I have never tried mixing on the HS7s but some tracks that are infamous for bad mastering, bad mix, etc. sounded good on it in a way that is closer to what a consumer hi-fi tuned speakers would reproduce those tracks than a studio speaker.

 

[watchnerd]

Their core target is definitely mixing but I just find that they sound much more relaxed than other studio speakers around their price range. Whether that is sounds accurate or not can only be determined by competent measuring 2 ft away from the tweeters (that's how close I listen to it BTW). Though I have never tried mixing on the HS7s but some tracks that are infamous for bad mastering, bad mix, etc. sounded good on it in a way that is closer to what a consumer hi-fi tuned speakers would reproduce those tracks than a studio speaker.

I know it's a fuzzy concept, but I tend to think of monitor speakers voiced that way as more typical of "mastering" monitors.....mid-field oriented, more even dispersion and better driver integration away from the nearfield, a bit more max spl, etc.

 

[BDWoody]

Not to derail this thread but a hopefully related note, how do people control active monitors in a home environment?

I just pulled the trigger on some Neumann KH310s and now trying to figure out a decent way to tie everything together. I have owned 1 XLR preamp- the Emotiva XDA-1 but the thing was honestly garbage (other than the 6 pound billet remote).

Anyone have any recommendations? Trying to integrate a Minidsp + subwoofers eventually as well.

Mini dsp ddrc 88d into the 708p's and 705p's. There is an analog and a digital version.

 

[Pablo11]

in

In the car the mixes sounded much better than with my previous Hifi speakers.
I drive a BMW and the speakers are very accentuated in the mid region so any issues are very obvious when playing back in the car.
As for mono, I did have some issues with panning too far to either side or using the Haas effect to get a wider sound (which really made the mix sound muddled when in mono). But I think that was just my mixing choice being a bit off...
I don't think there's anything wrong with the HS7's, they did sound nice if I remember correctly. They do seem to be more easy to listen to... But I wanted monitors that don't hide anything so I can make an informed decision on the mix down.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

Pablo is right......yamaha msp line is more accurate than hs.....composite enclosure is like stone vs mdf in hs....they are superior in mixing.....however...in everyday listening they can get litle bit rough on the ear where something like hs8 is spot on (at the price range).....litle bit more relaxed.......they also have/had bigger msp speakers wich where praised in pro audio circles in the day......but for some reason they didn’t succeeded very well commercially if I understood right.....maybe because of the competition from genelec etc...