Bookshelf speakers vs studio monitors for just entertainment?

[Thunder]

I'll be using them with my PC to listen to music, watch movies, play games always at nearfield position and I'd like a very good sound quality, I won't be doing any music production, mixing, recording... I have no specific budget. I'm giving 2 examples.

Speakers: ELAC Debut 2.0 B5.2

https://www.amazon.com/ELAC-Debut-Bookshelf-Speakers-Black/dp/B07B4Q5588?th=1

Studio monitors: KRK Rokit RP5 G4 + Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen

KRK Rokit RP5 G4

Active Nearfield Studio Monitor Equipped with: 5" glass aramid woofer and 1" glass aramid tweeter, Power: 55 W - 20 W tweeter, 35 W bass driver, Bi-amped Class-D amplifier, Maximum sound pressure level: 104 dB, Frequency range: 43 - 40,000 Hz,...

www.thomann.de

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen

2-Channel USB2.0 Audio Interface with USB-C Connection 24 bit / 192 kHz, 2 Scarlett microphone preamps, +48 V phantom power, Switchable Air function, 2 Mic/instrument/line inputs: XLR/6.3 mm jack combo balanced, 2 Line outputs: 6.3 mm jack...

www.thomann.de

 

[mmi]

Go with smaller studio monitors, they are designed ground up for the desktop usecase.

If you want the best sound quality Neumann KH80 DSP. It doesn’t have much bass but if you have the budget you can add a KH750 sub later on for basically TOTL full range sound.

The smaller Genelec’s in the 80X0 range sound a bit fuller in the bass IME, I have the 8010s and have no desire for a sub since I only listen at low volumes. If anything they are bass heavy for me and I roll them off with the switches on the back.

 

[mmi]

Go with smaller studio monitors, they are designed ground up for the desktop usecase.

If you want the best sound quality Neumann KH80 DSP. It doesn’t have much bass but if you have the budget you can add a KH750 sub later on for basically TOTL full range sound.

The smaller Genelec’s in the 80X0 range sound a bit fuller in the bass IME, I have the 8010s and have no desire for a sub since I only listen at low volumes. If anything they are bass heavy for me and I roll them off with the switches on the back.

See very good breakdown of monitors by price here. Also links to a list of passives so you can compare.

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-recommendations-for-usa-by-sweetchaos.28269/

 

[Thunder]

Go with smaller studio monitors, they are designed ground up for the desktop usecase.

If you want the best sound quality Neumann KH80 DSP. It doesn’t have much bass but if you have the budget you can add a KH750 sub later on for basically TOTL full range sound.

The smaller Genelec’s in the 80X0 range sound a bit fuller in the bass IME, I have the 8010s and have no desire for a sub since I only listen at low volumes. If anything they are bass heavy for me and I roll them off with the switches on the back.

Is there anything I'll be missing if I get studio monitors instead of good bookshelf speakers for my needs?

 

[polmuaddib]

Is there anything I'll be missing if I get studio monitors instead of good bookshelf speakers for my needs?

Esthetic element. And beware of studio monitor’s hiss.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Is there anything I'll be missing if I get studio monitors instead of good bookshelf speakers for my needs?

Hiss can sometimes be a problem with powered monitors. Otherwise yes, you'll be missing the need to somewhere stash external power amps between your source and your bookshelf speakers. For your use case powered monitors are definitely the way to go for most bang for buck quality.

 

[mmi]

Is there anything I'll be missing if I get studio monitors instead of good bookshelf speakers for my needs?

Aside from the other posts, the Neumann KH 80 I mentioned have onboard dsp which introduces a tiny amount of latency: 2ms. Most of the active monitors in the list linked above don’t do this however.

Best thing to do is go listen to some, you’ll find passives in hifi stores and monitors in music gear shops.

The only other thing to look out for is coaxial speakers like those from Kef (passive), Genelec (active), and others. These are especially good for nearfield due to their point source sound, but that is a something you may or may not even notice.

 

[Thunder]

Thank you for your answers friends. I asked because I read in some places that bookshelf speakers provide, compared to studio monitors of a better listening experience because they are made for that purpose, as opposed to studio monitors which are designed for music production and flat response, but I'm more inclined to get studio monitors as I want a pure, clean experience. Am I right?

 

[mmi]

Thank you for your answers friends. I asked because I read in some places that bookshelf speakers provide, compared to studio monitors of a better listening experience because they are made for that purpose, as opposed to studio monitors which are designed for music production and flat response, but I'm more inclined to get studio monitors as I want a pure, clean experience. Am I right?

Yes indeed! IME a properly neutral sound (can be achieved with passive and actives btw) doesn’t mean dark, clinical or harsh - it means rich, balanced and clear.

Another benefit with actives, most have dipswitches built in to attenuate the bass. This is because in a desktop setting the reflections off the table can make the sound too boomy and bass heavy.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Aside from the other posts, the Neumann KH 80 I mentioned have onboard dsp which introduces a tiny amount of latency: 2ms. Most of the active monitors in the list linked above don’t do this however.

Best thing to do is go listen to some, you’ll find passives in hifi stores and monitors in music gear shops.

The only other thing to look out for is coaxial speakers like those from Kef (passive), Genelec (active), and others. These are especially good for nearfield due to their point source sound, but that is a something you may or may not even notice.

Hi.

Hiss. The KH80 don’t hiss audibly, when idle and sitting about 50cm away on your desk that’s why I bought them for my office ;-) (others like the very small Genelecs do, others might as well)

Latency. Unless you play first person shooters the 2 ms are negligible. The audio interface 2i2 as well as any other audio interfaces will add in the order of 10 to 30ms depending on buffer size, sampling rate and CPU power. And that is still good to play and record live instruments (even if you don’t want that).

After all the 2ms latency comes from the KH80 built in DSP, which will allow you to adjust the speaker to your room and which will have to most positive influence on sound quality next to the speakers itself.

If your budget allows, the KH80 is excellent. See also the reviews here (make sure you get the 3rd edition of the review).

 

[mmi]

Hiss. The KH80 don’t hiss audibly, when idle and sitting about 50cm away on your desk that’s why I bought them ;-) (others like the very small Genelecs do, others might as well)

I know there have been other reports but my 8010s don’t have audible hiss unless I hold my ear directly up to the drivers. Just for others reading

Man those KH 80s tho, if I’d known they came in white and was spending a bit more at the time I would have got them for sure. Auditioned them again just this past weekend, the music store also had D8D 8c Studios set up nearfield lol. The D&Ds were obviously amazing (putting my head behind them was surreal), but the clarity and imaging from the 80s was phenomenal. I put on Caverna Magica by Andreas Vollenweider and blissed out.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

James Larson's audioholics.com review of the Kali LP-8 is worth reading as it addresses the general subject of how active studio monitors can outperform similarly priced home audio speakers for home audio and home theater:

Kali Audio LP-8 Powered Monitor Loudspeaker Review

We reviewed the Kali Audio LP-8 powered studio monitor loudspeakers to determine if pro-audio equipment can be used with excellence in home audio applications.

www.audioholics.com

 

[NiagaraPete]

James Larson's audioholics.com review of the Kali LP-8 is worth reading as it addresses the general subject of how active studio monitors can outperform similarly priced home audio speakers for home audio and home theater:

Kali Audio LP-8 Powered Monitor Loudspeaker Review

We reviewed the Kali Audio LP-8 powered studio monitor loudspeakers to determine if pro-audio equipment can be used with excellence in home audio applications.

www.audioholics.com

Sadly though the LP8 has a a lot of hiss. The v2 apparently has corrected this.

 

[BALKAN_RAKIA]

for several years I had JBL 305 as my PC/gaming speakers and they were excellent, levels above anything logitech. But I had to use passive DI box to filter out noise from the GPU.

 

[Digby]

How much do you like bass? Sans subwoofer, with smaller speakers (4", 5", even 6" bass driver) a lack of very low frequencies might be apparent (you might be missing notes in your basslines).

 

[Thunder]

How much do you like bass? Sans subwoofer, with smaller speakers (4", 5", even 6" bass driver) a lack of very low frequencies might be apparent (you might be missing notes in your basslines).

I like bass but I'm not a basshead, it's ok.

 

[polmuaddib]

I like bass but I'm not a basshead, it's ok.

Many people, myself included, found that when you add more low end extension, either by adding sub/s or a speaker with deeper bass, that bass affects our perception of the whole frequency range.
Or simply, having more bass (deeper bass, not a bump in a midbass) makes everything sound better.

 

[Vacceo]

Many people, myself included, found that when you add more low end extension, either by adding sub/s or a speaker with deeper bass, that bass affects our perception of the whole frequency range.
Or simply, having more bass (deeper bass, not a bump in a midbass) makes everything sound better.

Yes, absolutely. The largest change I realized was going from listening to TV sound on the TV itself to use a set of LS50 Wireless II and a KC62 (not even a big subwoofer). The room is not too large and it drastically changes everything. The sound from series is a looooot more cohesive.

 

[Recluse-Animator]

For nearfield listening coaxial speakers should always be on top of the list.

Probably the cheapest one you want to consider is the Fluid Audio FX50.
157€ at Thomann.

https://www.thomann.de/intl/fluid_audio_fx50.htm

ASR review:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...fluid-audio-fx50-review-active-speaker.19881/

If you go passive then get KEF.

Other budget coax monitors;

Fluid Audio HX80
Fluid Audio FX7
Kali Audio IN-5
Kali Audio IN-8
Presonus Sceptre S6
Presonus Sceptre S8
DMAX Audio Super Cube 5
APS Coax
KS Digital C5
KS Digital C8

 

[Koeitje]

If you are using them on a PC just get the ADAM T5V and equalize the treble with a single shelf filter.