Hi-Fi Speakers and Amp vs. Active Nearfield Monitors
Hi-Fi Speakers and Amp vs. Active Nearfield Monitors Posted on: 14.05.2013 by Brunilda Kora I'm in the market for some new speakers for DJ'ing at home with.What do you guys believe? Active nearfields, or Hi-Fi speakers plus a hi-fi amp? I don't need anything too loud, I'm just playing at home for fun. I've been looking at these at Thomann: http://www.thomann.de/gb/fostex_pm03_black.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/samson_media_one_4a.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/esi_aktiv_05.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_m...utsprecher.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_m...utsprecher.htm I'm edging towards the Esi Aktive 05's or Behringer MS40's. | |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | Both of those amps look like they'd squeeze into cube in my expedit... What are they, and how much can they be had for? |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | ^What I'm using at the moment, the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s (linked on 1st page). I've got a SW150 sub under the table too, but that stays off most of the time as the 9.1s have plenty of bass for normal listening. |
| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 | Patch, this is what I'm using at the moment. Took me a while to settle on the perfect combination, but this configuration, plus a set of MS5.30s under the desk powered by a separate amp when I want a LOT of bass do the job perfectly. Whenever anyone comes over I sit them down and play David Guetta - Titanium and they literally sit there with an open mouth haha. |
| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by Polygon
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| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by makar1
Like other people have said, active monitors are useful for production, but not particularly good for listening. |
| Dannie Dimora 14.05.2013 | I , on the other hand, hate passive speakers if they're not biamplifiable. Sure, higher priced boxes will aoid very good, but buying a pair of floorstanders for 10$ usually gets you a pair of great-looking, sgit-sounding white van speakers, or some used-to-be-great boxes with rotten surrounds and corroded interconnects. |
| Genoveva Bopp 14.05.2013 | I have a pair of Alesis Monitor One mk2. They are sound pretty good and have good bass. They are placed at head height at each end of my desk. Got mine for around |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | I completely agree on using passive speakers, which is why I recommended them as my 1st reply to the thread. But then he said he didn't want to have a separate amp which of course is very limiting at this pricerange. |
| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by makar1
For audio, decent quality hifi speakers and a stereo amplifier are the best option; and usually the cheapest, if you're smart about it. |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | I don't see any powered speakers there. |
| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 | Please, whatever you do, do not take Makar's advice and buy more computer speakers. Like I said, if you go second hand, you can get a REALLY nice audiophile setup for peanuts. A few years back, I had an Arcam Alpha 7 which I picked up for |
| Sonja Roybal 14.05.2013 | Why are you producing with headphones? |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | The AV40s look good if you can fit them in, otherwise the T40s are a good option for a smaller desk. You could probably keep using your Inspire 5300 sub too for a little extra bass? |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | Really? I would assume that any of the ones I linked to would sound better than the 5.1's I'm using now. I've had them for bloody years! I believe I got them on ebay with a 5.1 soundcard for a desktop PC for about |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | You're not going to get much improvement for |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | These are what I'm using right now - 2 speakers and a sub: Creative Inspire 5.1 5300 vis.jpg I want something that sounds better than these... |
| Dannie Dimora 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by makar1
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| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | The speakers I linked earlier are within your pricerange; I have the smaller+older version which sound great at medium-high volumes. My friend actually asked if I had a sub when he was mixing using my T20s. I'm guessing that since you don't want to find room for a big amp, you also don't want find room for a big sub either. Hifi speakers are designed to sound "nice" and should be less fatiguing than monitors. |
| Dannie Dimora 14.05.2013 | M-audio av40 or fostex pm-0.3 as active monitors. But at this price point, why not get one of those mini component sets by philips or sony? They should deliver quite a kick. Or get some used passive hifi speakers and pair them with a cheap but impressive-sounding t-class amp |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | Thanks for the responses, guys. Much appreciated. These are going to be specifically for DJ'ing, and they'll be placed on my expedit at the far left and right of my TT set-up. I know I'd be perfectly happy with a hi-fi speaker and amp set-up. That is really the kind of sound that I'm after. But I really like the idea of a no amp set-up! Volume is not a huge issue. I do not play too loud. But I do play a little louder than your usual listening volume. I suppose my question is - will active monitors sound anywhere near as "nice" as hi-fi speakers? Will I be making a significant sacrifice in sound quality in order to get the convenience of a no amp set-up? EDIT: I also like the ballpark price of the monitors I posted in my OP! |
| Dannie Dimora 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by makar1
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| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by supraman1120
Any decent speaker you buy will be flatter+better quality than a typical club environment, and studio monitors really aren't necessary for mixing at home for fun. You can get a pair of much louder and nicer sounding Hifi speakers for a fraction of the price of an equivalent studio monitor. |
| Syreeta Piela 14.05.2013 | Personally I'd just go with active monitors if I was in your position.. No need for an amp (Which can cost more than a set of decent monitors if you want a nice one) And don't get too caught up with audio distribution, Hi-Fi EQ, nearfield, farfield etc. Most quality monitors will give you a really good sound if you just want to jump on your set-up and have a mix. And like I said before, gives you flexibility if you want to use them in the studio too. I use my KRK's in the studio and to record my mixes.. Sound. And with most monitors being pretty flat you'll be getting a pretty true representation of the tracks you're spinnin'! |
| Dannie Dimora 14.05.2013 | Patch, how much are you wiling to spend for good sound? If you want to know what exactly is going on in your mix, pick up monitors. Their amps are usually matched to the driver config and i much prefer an active xover before the amp than a passive one after it. If you want your music to sound... well... musical, then go for passives+amp, since hifi speakers are meant to color the sound to make it more pleasant. Now, another important thing is placement. Will you be using them very near your listening position, or will they be placed in the corners of the room, far from you? In the first case get monitors. They are more analytical than hofi speakers, but have a narrower sweet spot. On the other hand hifi speakers are meant to sound good in any location. Usually this means that in nearfield position they lack coheaion and imaging, abd probably won't satisfy you. |
| Mikki Retana 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by mdcdesign
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| Marshall Aby 14.05.2013 | A nearfield monitor should project a flat response audio image to the producer in the centre of the stereo field. Hi-fi speakers typically project the maker's idea of what sounds good to all corners or the room. You decide! |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | I do dabble in production, but I use headphones. I just want some speakers to run out of my mixer that sound nice - and I like the idea of not having a separate amp to find a home for... |
| Syreeta Piela 14.05.2013 | LOL @ Monitors have no bass |
| Syreeta Piela 14.05.2013 | I'd suggest active, you never know, you may want to try your hand at production in the future. You'll still get a nice sound out of a set of studio monitors. |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by Patch
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Gig.../dp/B001IZZ2PO I have the smaller T20 Mk1s and get a decent amount of bass through the top port. |
| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Personally, I'd choose better audio over convenience. I mean hell, it's the only time while DJing that music is actually going to sound GOOD rather than just LOUD, so make the most of the experience and get some high quality speakers |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with an amp. It's another hunk of gear rthat I'd need to find a home for... |
| Alphonso Deitchman 14.05.2013 | There's no real reason or need to go with studio monitors for DJing. I'm using some Wharfedale speakers here and they have decent bass, but any Hifi speakers at this size or larger should have good bass response. |
| Lashay Walchak 14.05.2013 | There is almost a necessity for a seperate sub if you go with the common 5" class monitors. The 8" class is much more capable on the bottom end. Maintaining a balanced connection is always nice. I use active 12" PA monitors w/ an active 12" sub in my studio set-up. |
| Gaynell Rydberg 14.05.2013 | They have bass but nothing compared to listening speakers that will amplify the bass. |
| Brunilda Kora 14.05.2013 | They all have bass. |
| Doreen Schurle 14.05.2013 | Hifi speakers + amp. Look for speakers on eBay/Gumtree/Car Boots. I managed to get a pair of Mordaunt Short MS5.30s for a fiver from a charity shop; probably my best bargain ever. |
| Lannie Kutay 14.05.2013 | since most of those are monitors, they really have no bass, and you wont like the way they sound.Think about incorporating a small sub. |
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