Hi,
I've been reading a lot on ASR, learning, not understanding everything (my experience is in lighting) but I have some technical background and have had a lot of conversations with (live) sound guys. I (try to) make music with Logic and really like having good stereo sound at my desk.
Started out with KRK RP G4 2-3 years ago, which I'm in the proces of upgrading. They sound quite ok, but I think I could get better... They measured quite well here on ASR though.
So, first I bought a sub - TS107 from Eve. It's very good with the KRK's. Lots of adjustable settings for filtering. Whole set sounds pretty good with Sonarworks applied. But maybe not the best way to do it - better to first get the speakers and then search for a sub that fits the system I guess... The TS107 is really nice, but I had already 2 or 3 times I didn't get any sound from them. Had to power cycle which solved it. So now I lost confidence in the brand, having also read some disturbing posts about failing Eve units on gear space. The SC205's where on my shortlist so that's a shame..
Anyway, this (one of the better) measurements I got from the KRK's with the 107 at 120Hz in my small (3.5x3.6m) room:
It has been treated a bit and there's some furniture in there, and has a sloping roof on one side, so it's not symmetrical. Between 120-180 there's a room mode I think, ceiling- desk I guess?
I got the Kali IN-5 as a replacement. Been eying the 8030's, but the price and raving reviews of the Kali made me try them first.
But there was bad news again: one of the Kali's had no midrange. Power cycling didn't help, but a good hit on the top revived the driver. Oops.
This was also not very confidence inspiring.
But, it worked although I had to give it a hit now and then. At least I could measure it now and see what all the fuss was about.
They did not blow me away at first. Had to break in my ears I guess, although I've heard here on ASR that good speakers should sound good from the beginning. Nice mids, good bass, treble was a bit lacking I think. Angled them more to my ears. Better, but bass didn't blow me away. It turns out the TS107 are not a good match for the Kali's, they sound much better without it. More spatial. So yesterday I had some good moments with them, reference tracks sounded good, but not the big upgrade I hoped for from the KRK's. Here's a measurement from the Kali's with the sub at 80Hz crossover:
As I said, they sounded better without the sub. Much more space in the music and better balanced.
But broken midrange on arrival and trouble with the 107 made me contact Thomann, and they offered to take back everything so I could choose another set..
Going to take that offer, but what now?
I'm leaning towards Genelec 8030's now, maybe even with the super expensive sub (7050). They are praised a lot, and I think I like their build quality. It get's expensive really quick though.. Been looking at the Dynaudio 9s for sub as well. Goes down to 22Hz (±3dB) which I like. Will the 7050 be better?
Or should I get bigger monitors without a sub? Like something with 7" or 8" woofers although space is very limited.
For monitors I looked at Focal shape 50's and Adam A7V as well. Having a listening test is not really an option as I will buy them online and don't want to 'cheat' a retailer.
Really unsure what to do now. Complete Genelec system will be around €1800 which is really at the top of my budget.
Seeking advice here, but don't want to spend more.
Help would be appreciated.
C.
I've been reading a lot on ASR, learning, not understanding everything (my experience is in lighting) but I have some technical background and have had a lot of conversations with (live) sound guys. I (try to) make music with Logic and really like having good stereo sound at my desk.
Started out with KRK RP G4 2-3 years ago, which I'm in the proces of upgrading. They sound quite ok, but I think I could get better... They measured quite well here on ASR though.
So, first I bought a sub - TS107 from Eve. It's very good with the KRK's. Lots of adjustable settings for filtering. Whole set sounds pretty good with Sonarworks applied. But maybe not the best way to do it - better to first get the speakers and then search for a sub that fits the system I guess... The TS107 is really nice, but I had already 2 or 3 times I didn't get any sound from them. Had to power cycle which solved it. So now I lost confidence in the brand, having also read some disturbing posts about failing Eve units on gear space. The SC205's where on my shortlist so that's a shame..
Anyway, this (one of the better) measurements I got from the KRK's with the 107 at 120Hz in my small (3.5x3.6m) room:
It has been treated a bit and there's some furniture in there, and has a sloping roof on one side, so it's not symmetrical. Between 120-180 there's a room mode I think, ceiling- desk I guess?
I got the Kali IN-5 as a replacement. Been eying the 8030's, but the price and raving reviews of the Kali made me try them first.
But there was bad news again: one of the Kali's had no midrange. Power cycling didn't help, but a good hit on the top revived the driver. Oops.
This was also not very confidence inspiring.
But, it worked although I had to give it a hit now and then. At least I could measure it now and see what all the fuss was about.
They did not blow me away at first. Had to break in my ears I guess, although I've heard here on ASR that good speakers should sound good from the beginning. Nice mids, good bass, treble was a bit lacking I think. Angled them more to my ears. Better, but bass didn't blow me away. It turns out the TS107 are not a good match for the Kali's, they sound much better without it. More spatial. So yesterday I had some good moments with them, reference tracks sounded good, but not the big upgrade I hoped for from the KRK's. Here's a measurement from the Kali's with the sub at 80Hz crossover:
As I said, they sounded better without the sub. Much more space in the music and better balanced.
But broken midrange on arrival and trouble with the 107 made me contact Thomann, and they offered to take back everything so I could choose another set..
Going to take that offer, but what now?
I'm leaning towards Genelec 8030's now, maybe even with the super expensive sub (7050). They are praised a lot, and I think I like their build quality. It get's expensive really quick though.. Been looking at the Dynaudio 9s for sub as well. Goes down to 22Hz (±3dB) which I like. Will the 7050 be better?
Or should I get bigger monitors without a sub? Like something with 7" or 8" woofers although space is very limited.
For monitors I looked at Focal shape 50's and Adam A7V as well. Having a listening test is not really an option as I will buy them online and don't want to 'cheat' a retailer.
Really unsure what to do now. Complete Genelec system will be around €1800 which is really at the top of my budget.
Seeking advice here, but don't want to spend more.
Help would be appreciated.
C.