New monitors: help me choose

[John_C]

I just parted ways with my current monitors (Tannoy reveal 5, very pleased with them overall but time for a change), so I need to get new ones fast!

I've narrowed my selection down to these:

KRK VXT4:
Well respected big brand, consistently well reviewed. I've heard the VXT6s in person and was reasonably impressed

Adam A3X:
Everyone gets excited about the 7s, but some reviews of these criticise the 3s saying they are a little forward in the upper mids. I tend to suffer from listening fatigue pretty badly and I'll be using these for casual listening as well as mixing, so that could be a problem

Genelec 8020:
No one seems to talk about genelecs these days.... But they're in the price range and I haven't heard anything bad about them.

Focal CMS40:
Very good reviews, they seem perfect for the job as far as I can see

Focal CMS50:
Too expensive, but DO WANT!


I have a E-MU PS12 sub which I'm holding on to, so bass extension won't be an issue. Anyone have any relevant ideas/experience?

 

[Empathy]

See if you can find a pair of the new Mackie MR8 MK2's for listening. Really impressed by them for the price; same general budget range as the ones you've listed so far.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I'll only give my opinion on the Genelecs as that's the only exact model I have experience with. They sound pretty much what they look like: tiny. Might be a decent choice if you plan on getting a matching sub in the future, though.

 

[John_C]

I'll only give my opinion on the Genelecs as that's the only exact model I have experience with. They sound pretty much what they look like: tiny. Might be a decent choice if you plan on getting a matching sub in the future, though.

What's the deal with the idea of a matching sub? Surely any decent sub would do?

Tbh what i'm looking for here is accuracy from 80-100Hz through to 20kHz, I'm not really fussed about what's happening below as the sub handles that very nicely. Would you say the Genelecs fit the bill?

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

What's the deal with the idea of a matching sub? Surely any decent sub would do?

Tbh what i'm looking for here is accuracy from 80-100Hz through to 20kHz, I'm not really fussed about what's happening below as the sub handles that very nicely. Would you say the Genelecs fit the bill?

They're designed to work together. Of course you might get good results with any sub, but considering how much of a pain it is to tune a near field system with sub in a less-than-ideal room in the first place, the results might be anything from "yeah, this is good" to "what the fuck is happening."

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Argh, sorry, only now noticed you already have the E-Mu sub.

 

[John_C]

They're designed to work together. Of course you might get good results with any sub, but considering how much of a pain it is to tune a near field system with sub in a less-than-ideal room in the first place, the results might be anything from "yeah, this is good" to "what the fuck is happening."

Yeah i guess if there's something specific to the pairing.... It took ages for me to get my 2.1 system working with the Tannoys and PS12 but that's always been much more a room acoustic issue than any thing else, i think.

Does anyone have any experience with the KRKs? Soundonsound reviewed them very highly but i'd be interested to hear other opinions

 

[JYNX2]

i hate krk's, whenever i have my cell phone anywhere near my desk it starts to hum and distort, apparently this is a known problem and it annoys the shit out of me. I listened to adams 7's (the old versions) at longmcquade and wasnt overly impressed by them. I would check maybe into the focals or genelecs instead but if your looking for a higher jump from your reveals you might have to spend alot more money.

 

[John_C]

i hate krk's, whenever i have my cell phone anywhere near my desk it starts to hum and distort, apparently this is a known problem and it annoys the shit out of me. I listened to adams 7's (the old versions) at longmcquade and wasnt overly impressed by them. I would check maybe into the focals or genelecs instead but if your looking for a higher jump from your reveals you might have to spend alot more money.

Do you not think the Focal CMS40s would be much of a step up?