# Studio monitor upgrade recommendations



## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

I currently have a pair of JBL 305p MKII's in my setup at home that I mainly use for guitar practice with Amplitube, Neural DSP, and other plugins in Logic...

I've been thinking of upgrading to a better pair but not quite sure what would be worth upgrading to without breaking the bank. The Adam Audio A5x would probably be at the top end of my budget right now but are there any other decent options for less money? A store in my area carries the RCF Aryo Pro series and they seem interesting but I haven't heard much about them and can't really find too many reviews. Also, I do have limited desk space so going to a 7" or 8" speaker won't really work unfortunately...


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Xevyn said:


> I currently have a pair of JBL 305p MKII's in my setup at home that I mainly use for guitar practice with Amplitube, Neural DSP, and other plugins in Logic...
> 
> I've been thinking of upgrading to a better pair but not quite sure what would be worth upgrading to without breaking the bank. The Adam Audio A5x would probably be at the top end of my budget right now but are there any other decent options for less money? A store in my area carries the RCF Aryo Pro series and they seem interesting but I haven't heard much about them and can't really find too many reviews. Also, I do have limited desk space so going to a 7" or 8" speaker won't really work unfortunately...


I bought the Adams A7X with the sub. Amazing. I kept my old speakers and there's a huge difference in sound clarity and quality.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

player99 said:


> I bought the Adams A7X with the sub. Amazing. I kept my old speakers and there's a huge difference in sound clarity and quality.


Nice...yeah I'd love to get those speakers but I just wouldn't use them enough to justify the cost but maybe one day


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Genelec 8010’s are a nice budget priced monitor, or 8020’s if you want to splurge a bit.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Sneaky said:


> Genelec 8010’s are a nice budget priced monitor, or 8020’s if you want to splurge a bit.


I've heard the 8020's and they are indeed nice but also at the same price point as the A5X. The 8010's sound interesting but I have never had a chance to hear them so I might have to check them out - thanks!


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## PBGas (Jan 14, 2017)

Please take a listen to the Focal monitors if you get a chance.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

PBGas said:


> Please take a listen to the Focal monitors if you get a chance.


I have listened to them and I really liked the Alpha/Alpha EVO 65's but size wise I don't think it will work. The Focal Shape 40 is a perfect size but out of my budget at the moment. The Alpha EVO 50 might be an option though - thanks for the suggestion


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I was at a friend of mine's studio who works as a producer for TV and movies, recording etc. Very experienced. I was sitting behind him as he was mixing a song using his Adams A7X speakers. I went out and bought the speakers right after that. They sound really good. So for me it's not about volume or quantity of use/work, but the quality of the work that's produced.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

I bought my studio monitors as my first piece of gear. Still use the same ones. I’m waiting until the budget is no object, might be a good idea to do the same. I really like Yamaha HS’s and Focals.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

I think the Focal Alpha Evo 50/65 and Adam Audio A5X are on my shortlist for now but I'll probably wait for a deal used or a sale on them. I like the Yamaha's as well but when compared to the Focal and Adam Audio's I do notice a difference. To be fair they are also much more $$ than the Yamaha's.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I got the sub too. It has a remote and the knobs move on their own with a red led dot on each knob to tell they are moving.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Tyler Acoustics


Thank you for your interest in the fine quality products from Tyler Acoustics. We are a small factory direct company that has been in business since 1998. We pride ourselves on offering some of the finest audio products on the market today.



tyleracoustics.com


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## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

I like Kali Audio... recommended to me by Robert Jackson (Robert's Guitar Dungeon). I always get good sounding mixes with them.


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## NashvilleDeluxe (Feb 7, 2018)

I’ve had the Adams Audio T7V pair for over a year, and they’re truly astonishing. Reasonably priced, too.
Do you have room for a floor stand? Going to a 7 inch speaker makes a difference, and you’ll also get a better decoupling with a stand and acoustic foam base.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Is your room going to make an upgrade obvious, or throw frequencies around in an unpleasant way?


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## studio66 (Oct 16, 2009)

I've had my Mackie HR824s for over 10 years and cant imagine changing them...dont rule out the older monitors.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Kali LP6 are great monitors on a budget


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## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

Here is the review I did on the IN-8s (they have IN-6s, as tdotrob suggested).








Amazing IN-8 Monitor Speakers by Kali Audio (review with...


Not long ago I was in the market for new monitor speakers. At the time I was using KRK Rokit 8s (RPG 2 series), and although I had nothing to compare them to (the only monitor speakers I’ve used), I knew they were slightly muddy or dark, and after a few hours of playing, recording or mixing, I...




www.guitarscanada.com


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

NashvilleDeluxe said:


> I’ve had the Adams Audio T7V pair for over a year, and they’re truly astonishing. Reasonably priced, too.
> Do you have room for a floor stand? Going to a 7 inch speaker makes a difference, and you’ll also get a better decoupling with a stand and acoustic foam base.


Unfortunately I don't have the room...if I did things might get dangerous and I might start looking at more expensive monitors


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Budda said:


> Is your room going to make an upgrade obvious, or throw frequencies around in an unpleasant way?


That's a good and perfectly valid question...unfortunately my workstation area is in a small corner of the living room - not ideal I know and one reason why I don't really do not rely on mixing through monitors. It's just that I've been playing around with more amp sims and modeling lately but would like to get something better than the JBL's.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Brian Johnston said:


> Here is the review I did on the IN-8s (they have IN-6s, as tdotrob suggested).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I like the IN series speakers but when I A/B'd the LP6 they didn't seem much different than the JBL's I currently have which doesn't surprise me since they are in a similar price bracket. Both decent monitors but the IN series would probably make more sense for an upgrade. I did take a look at the IN-5 but size wise it doesn't look like they will work for the space I have to work with


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## Jim Soloway (Sep 27, 2013)

I'm going through this process right now and it's really difficult. In addition to budget, there's also space considerations. We're about to move from a 2000 sq ft house to a 1050 sq ft condo so whatever I get should probably fit on my desk. I was considering the Kali IN-5's or the Adam T5V's but I when I went to listen, I was really much more impressed with the more expensive Dynaudio LYD 5's ... impressed enough to think that I should up the ante and move up a class. (I also liked the Focal Alpha 65's but they were way too big for the space I'll be in). So now I'm thinking of raising my budget to $1200 plus tax for the pair. Given the size and budget restraints, that makes the Dynaudios or a pair of Genelec 8020's the leading contenders. Unfortunately there are no Genelecs in Halifax to listen to so I can only read and watch videos. It makes it a tough decision


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Hmmm...I forgot about the Dynaudio LYD 5. I just assumed they were way of my budget and didn't realize it was in the same price bracket as the Adam A5X and Focal Alpha EVO's until I just looked it up after reading your post. Size wize this might work for me ...I think I may have to raise my budget as well. 

The one thing that is appealing about the Adam Audio's though is that they would qualify for the L&M Rocktober 0% financing special


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## Jim Soloway (Sep 27, 2013)

Xevyn said:


> Hmmm...I forgot about the Dynaudio LYD 5. I just assumed they were way of my budget and didn't realize it was in the same price bracket as the Adam A5X and Focal Alpha EVO's until I just looked it up after reading your post. Size wize this might work for me ...I think I may have to raise my budget as well.
> 
> The one thing that is appealing about the Adam Audio's though is that they would qualify for the L&M Rocktober 0% financing special


Someone told me that the Dynaudios do as well.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Jim Soloway said:


> Someone told me that the Dynaudios do as well.


Ok then that changes things...might have to drop by L&M in the next day or two to give them a listen. Thanks for the tip!


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

When I was researching there was talk of 5" speakers being greatly inferior to 7" speakers. If you go with 5"ers, budget for a bass speaker as well.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

player99 said:


> When I was researching there was talk of 5" speakers being greatly inferior to 7" speakers. If you go with 5"ers, budget for a bass speaker as well.


I have 5" right now with the JBL and didn't really find a problem with the low end. I know with the A5X that a sub is recommended though and that may be something I would get down the road if I went with those.

But I just noticed that the Dynaudio BM5 MKIII's (7 inch) are the same price as the LYD 5's and I have always liked the BM5's. Size wize they are only slightly larger than my JBL's so I think these may be at the top of my list now


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## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

As we get older, and our ears are less responsive, it makes less difference among the companies. I very much like the Kali Audio IN-8s, but have not compared them to those recommended. I think a pair of 20 year old ears can tell the difference (subjective still?), whereas as you get older, a 'decent' pair from any quality company will serve the purpose.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions...I was able to pickup a pair of Dynaudio BM5 MKIII's yesterday. Now I just need to pickup some new cables for them since I need 1/4" TRS to XLR (M). 

I was thinking of grabbing these:








HXMS Performance Series - XLR F to 1/4" TRS


Performance Series male XLR to 1/4" TRS cable, made with top quality cable and REAN connectors. Go from balanced XLR outputs to 1/4" TRS inputs without any loss or noise. Cable Connector A Connector B Digiflex HiFlex REAN 1/4" TRS REAN Right Angle XLR M




digiflexcables.com





Or should I look at spending a bit more for better cables? I always hear differing opinions when it comes to cables


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## Jim Soloway (Sep 27, 2013)

Xevyn said:


> Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions...I was able to pickup a pair of Dynaudio BM5 MKIII's yesterday. Now I just need to pickup some new cables for them since I need 1/4" TRS to XLR (M).
> 
> I was thinking of grabbing these:
> 
> ...


Do yo mind if I ask where you got them?


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Xevyn said:


> Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions...I was able to pickup a pair of Dynaudio BM5 MKIII's yesterday. Now I just need to pickup some new cables for them since I need 1/4" TRS to XLR (M).
> 
> I was thinking of grabbing these:
> 
> ...


Digiflex are great- I have a bunch of them and have never had one fail. Nice and flexible and no handling noise with the instrument cables I have by them.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Jim Soloway said:


> Do yo mind if I ask where you got them?


I picked them up from the L&M Mississauga location yesterday. They still had 2 unopened ones in a box. They said they received them in Oct but haven't had a chance to put them out yet.

I originally went to Oshawa but the 2 units they had were on the floor and one had its tweeter pushed in .

In Ontario, the Brantford location was still showing a couple left. Not sure if they are on the floor or in a box but you might be able to have your local L&M give them a call and transfer them over if they are in decent shape.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

gtrguy said:


> Digiflex are great- I have a bunch of them and have never had one fail. Nice and flexible and no handling noise with the instrument cables I have by them.


Yep I have been using Digiflex and BRTB...mainly because there's a store nearby that has decent prices on them and both offer lifetime warranty. I'll probably just stick with the Digiflex HXMS cables as I was using the HSS ones (same cable but 1/4" TRS to TRS) and they have been great so far. If I was moving them around a lot and plugging/unplugging then I might be more inclined to go with the BRTB Xcalibur or Digiflex NXMS series ones that have the Neutrik instead of the REAN connectors.


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## superfly (Oct 14, 2021)

I use powered Mackie MR8mk2 8" for home audio, I really like them. The current ones come in 6.5" version. Price should be somewhere between your current ones and the Adam Audio A5x. I think the current model name is MR624.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

superfly said:


> I use powered Mackie MR8mk2 8" for home audio, I really like them. The current ones come in 6.5" version. Price should be somewhere between your current ones and the Adam Audio A5x. I think the current model name is MR624.


Unfortunately the MR8MK2 is now discontinued. I did try some other Mackie's but the only one I liked was the HR824MK2 but those were close to $1000 each 

So far I'm pretty happy with the Dynaudio's I picked up yesterday. I can see why they are used in many studios 

The Yamaha HS7 was a close second based on price but just found them slightly harsher in the high frequency range than the Dynaudio's, Focal Alpha EVO 65 and the A5X. The A5X was nice as well but like others have said - I would most likely need a sub to go with it at some point. I really liked the Focal too but size wise it wasn't going to work with my current space unfortunately.


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## tonewoody (Mar 29, 2017)

There is something to be said about taking your best mixes to a professional studio and referencing there. Sure, it costs a few bucks but you walk away knowing exactly where in the ballpark you stand with your home studio mixes. Seriously, the feedback will improve all your future recordings and mixes much faster than staying in your home studio bubble.

I am all for recording and mixing at home and delivering a final product. No question, recording at home is great, you only need "decent" monitors for that.
Mixing depends on having the ears and knowing your monitors / mix space and compensating for the deficiencies. That is where things get fluffy. You have to be completely confident in your abilities to do this. Without a true reference, mixing becomes hopeful guessing. You can waste quite a bit of time if you overlook this detail. Great monitors by themselves don't address this.

The question to ask yourself is: Is my mixing environment up to a pro reference monitor standards? 

Sure, better monitors sound better, but are you really any closer to mixing more accurately if your room isn't optimized?
Something to think about.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Good advice from @tonewoody 

@Jim Soloway. I have heard good things about The MTM's from IK Media. 





__





iLoud MTM


High-resolution compact studio monitor




www.ikmultimedia.com


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## Axe Dragon (Aug 21, 2013)

Xevyn said:


> I have listened to them and I really liked the Alpha/Alpha EVO 65's but size wise I don't think it will work. The Focal Shape 40 is a perfect size but out of my budget at the moment. The Alpha EVO 50 might be an option though - thanks for the suggestion


I have the Focal Shape 65s…

I think they’re great!

Axe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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