Speaker/Monitor reccomendations for listening not mixing!

[OkMud9119]

As a primary headphone mixer, I want to invest in some monitors purely for enjoyment of listening purposes.

Any recommendations?

[Edit for clarification]
Budget: £5000

Current set-up
- RME Babyface Pro-FS
- RME ADI 2 FS

Listening preference: Near field, not too loud [80ish db]

 

[staticV3]

D&D 8C

 

[JeremyFife]

If I was to guess what's behind @staticV3 's excellent suggestion ... do you have a budget in mind?

Actually, any other information you can give on your current equipment and where you expect to position the speakers (nearfield, further away etc) and how you like to listen (loud?) would be really useful.

 

[Mort]

Genelec 8331a

 

[OkMud9119]

D&D 8C

Maybe in a few years after seeing the cost!
Why the recommendation?

 

[staticV3]

Maybe in a few years after seeing the cost!
Why the recommendation?

Full-range, cardioid, built-in room correction+streaming, and lots of satisfied customers.

Dutch & Dutch 8c Speaker Review

Dutch & Dutch 8c Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[DVDdoug]

The JBL 308P gets good reviews and it's well-within your budget. But it's only got an 8-inch woofer so you may want to add a subwoofer if you want realistic bass you can feel in you body. (Or maybe not since you aren't listening loud.)

...I have NOT heard them.

 

[vsch]

Here are three options I'd consider. All of them should give you fantastic full-range sound.

Option 1: Genelec 8331 + 7360/50 sub + GLM kit

• Maybe somewhat over budget, but probably the best sound you can get in nearfield.
• Convenient automatic room calibration.
• I guess the main advantages of this option over the others are i) the larger sweetspot due to the coax and ii) maybe more clarity in the midrange due to the 3-way design of the speakers (which becomes a 4-way system with the sub).

Option 2: Genelec 8330 + 7350 sub + GLM kit or Neumann KH 120 ii + KH 750 sub + MA-1 mic

• Within budget
• Convenient automatic room calibration.
• Genelec vs Neumann: Some consider Genelec to be more enjoyable but less precise than Neumann. Their room calibration solutions also differ somewhat. No idea how big the difference really is. Both are probably great.

Option 3: Genelec 8030c + decent hifi sub (e.g. SVS SB-1000) + minidsp Flex with UMIK-1 + (maybe) Dirac license

• Within budget, probably the least expensive of the three.
• Flexibility to use manual room calibration or Dirac.

FWIW, I have Option 3 for pleasure listening and couldn't be happier. If I had to choose again, I’d go for Option 3 or 2, since Option 1 wouldn’t be worth the substantially higher price for me. However, as you are used to headphones and seem to be a trained listener/mixer, you may benefit from the somewhat better clarity Option 1 might offer.

 

[Somafunk]

I’ve never heard any setup apart from what I have but I’d love to hear the genelec setups mentioned above - good recommendations, fwiw I really enjoy my system which is within your budget, I listen for 8hrs+ each day due to being rather housebound courtesy of SPMS

Dynaudio LYD 48 3-way monitors which are impressive on their own but I also have two Dynaudio 18S Dual Opposed Subwoofers in a very well treated 42m2 room with peq applied through roon

Very happy with how it sounds.

 

[vsch]

I agree with Somafunk. There are probably many good options besides the ones I recommended, and the Dynaudio setup seems to be one of them. My recommendation is certainly biased towards the options I considered two years ago, and the one I ultimately bought.

One additional thought, FWIW: Maybe more important than which of the good options you ultimately choose is i) to have room correction (makes a huge difference, at least in my untreated room) and ii) to have good subwoofer integration (which at least I couldn't achieve without measurement).

 

[kemmler3D]

If I had a 5000 GBP budget for some speakers right now, with or without the intention to mix on them, I'd probably be waiting for the Ascilab Purifi cardioid stuff to ship to my country. They look really, really promising.

Failing that, I'd have a look at the Ascend Sierra line. The Genelec setups are good too, I have something like @vsch's option 3 in my office and do a lot more listening for fun than mixing.

 

[ZolaIII]

For the price and only if you are willing to hunt for them. JBL LSR2328P (discontinued) for around 400$/€ peace (new of course). 2x Dynaudio BM9S II about 950$ each. Mini DSP Flex balanced and UMIK-1 if you already don't have one. It's a studio setup blame me. You will have plenty money left to do something else.

 

[waofner]

Adam Audio S3V-

at least for my listening experience nothing compares to an AMT tweeter.

(actual frequency response at listening spot)

 

[waofner]

1/12 smothing

 

[waofner]

ADAM EQ Software

 

[Fontie]

If I had a 5000 GBP budget for some speakers right now, with or without the intention to mix on them, I'd probably be waiting for the Ascilab Purifi caridoid stuff to ship to my country. They look really, really promising.

Failing that, I'd have a look at the Ascend Sierra line. The Genelec setups are good too, I have something like @vsch's option 3 in my office and do a lot more listening for fun than mixing.

when are these out and where can you buy, they dont seem to have a website? thanks

 

[Purité Audio]

Both, very soon, there is a product road map,

AsciLab_Product_Lineup_2025_3.pdf

drive.google.com

Keith

 

[kemmler3D]

when are these out and where can you buy, they dont seem to have a website? thanks

As @Purité Audio mentions, they're on the way sooner or later... and as I gather from the various threads on it, with any luck he is also going to be your UK distributor for those beauties.

 

[LTig]

My desktop combo of Genelec 8020a (from 2006) and a Neumann KH750DSP (2024) sounds great without room EQ (I'm lucky), just using the crossover built into the sub.

 

[highender]

These might also be interesting, with Purifi tweeter. Looking forward to the measurements.

Purified 5

We are busy with the development of the Purified 5. This model will employ a 5.25 inch PURIFI PTT5.25X04 midwoofer and PURIFI PTT1.3T04-HAG-01 waveguide tweeter.

sunaudio.com