[Coop]

Around the time my son was born I had decided that a 120 watt tube amp wasn't really ideal and I have been exclusively using headphones and plugins since. In the end this was probably an unnecessary move because we have been pretty lucky in that he could sleep through anything.

I am getting tired of headphones and I am wondering your thoughts on getting a set of decent studio monitors for pure playing/listening enjoyment I am not doing any real mixing. I am just a dude jamming in his basement that might send the odd recording to JJ. I know it isn't going to feel anything like standing in front of a 4X12 cab but I assume it can be just as enjoyable if not more than headphones paired with an axe-fx and/or plugins?
My room is fairly small and untreated atm.

Available local options I am looking at possibly picking up this weekend.

PreSonus Eris E7 XT
Yamaha HS5i - I worry that these might not pack enough punch.
YamahaHS7
YamahaHS8 -A little more than I would like to spend

 

[1]

I have the HS8s and I like them. I'd sell them and replace them with the wall mountable HS7i if they didn't weigh a ton and it wouldn't cost me a stack of money to downgrade. If you have the space for then they're great.

 

[105]

The compact JBLs are really nice too.

 

[Coop]

I see the JBLs mentioned a lot but the ones I mentioned are the ones I can get locally from a small shop I like to support here in town when I can.
I had no idea There was a wall mountable version of the HS7...This changes everything. I am fairly limited on space and wall mounting would be perfect.

Any experience with the HS5? I have a feeling they are going to sound as small as they look.

Presonus are on the list because they do have a good deal on them atm and they are front ported which I assume means I could get away with having them pushed closer to the wall? I am just making assumptions here and could be very wrong.

 

[1]

Be careful, because if you mention wall mounting studio monitors on the internet you will get attacked by legions of golden-eared heroes.
Here's the WM HS7:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JUDNJP0/?coliid=I1OGX5RKS9H1JU

The brackets aren't cheap either.

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-BWS50-190-Mount-Bracket-MSR100/dp/B0002GLA6U

My summer studio project is to find a clever/clean way to mount my HS8s. 99.9% of what I use my monitors for is jamming or just listen to tunes, so in the odd scenario where I'll be actually mastering on them I can just pull them down and use isolation pads.

 

[Coop]

Ooof. That is a lot of moose bucks for the i's Why not just go all in and In-wall mount them!?

Anybody have experience with the 5's? Apparently the 7's are now on backorder. The price is great and I like that they don't take up too much real estate. I have the same use case scenario. 99.9% Jamming and listening to music.

 

[1]

Really good review of them here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/yamaha-hs5-powered-monitor-review.10967/

 

[Toe-Knee]

I see the JBLs mentioned a lot but the ones I mentioned are the ones I can get locally from a small shop I like to support here in town when I can.
I had no idea There was a wall mountable version of the HS7...This changes everything. I am fairly limited on space and wall mounting would be perfect.

Any experience with the HS5? I have a feeling they are going to sound as small as they look.

Presonus are on the list because they do have a good deal on them atm and they are front ported which I assume means I could get away with having them pushed closer to the wall? I am just making assumptions here and could be very wrong.

I have hs5's and they've been fantastic. I'm limited on space so they were perfect and sound far better than the krk I was borrowing from a friend before

 

[Coop]

Thanks for the info folks. I think I might snag a pair of 5's this weekend and give them a go. Ultimately I want the 7i's with wall mounts thanks to Chris but at that price point I might as well JBA5150 and be done with it. They are $450 moose bucks a pop + mounts.

Easy enough return if I don't get on with the 5's.

 

[Mike]

The compact JBLs are really nice too.

+1 on those. They sound really good.

I have the HS-50Ms, which is the older version of the HS5s. They're great tracking speakers. They are NOT enjoyable listening speakers.

 

[Mike]

I have hs5's and they've been fantastic. I'm limited on space so they were perfect and sound far better than the krk I was borrowing from a friend before

I find them incredibly useful, but not enjoyable. I get fatigued after a couple of hours, but that's the book on them.

 

[Coop]

Well shit. I just found a pair of JBL308p mkii's used for about the price of a set of HS5s...

 

[79]

The Kali LP-6's are pretty tight like a tiger.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LP6pr--kali-audio-lp-6-6.5-inch-powered-studio-monitor-pair

Might want to use an alias and/or Google number ordering though.

 

[Toe-Knee]

I find them incredibly useful, but not enjoyable. I get fatigued after a couple of hours, but that's the book on them.

They can get fatiguing but I find that a benefit. It makes me go take a half hour or so break so I can come back to whatever I was working on with fresher ears!

 

[Mike]

The Kali LP-6's are pretty tight like a tiger.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LP6pr--kali-audio-lp-6-6.5-inch-powered-studio-monitor-pair

Might want to use an alias and/or Google number ordering though.

Those do get really good reviews.

 

[79]

I actually just ordered the JBL 305PMkII's. I was going to go for the Kali's, but they're a little bigger than I have space for.

 

[Leon]

JBL 306P MkII user here.

I don't know much about studio monitors, I bought them on markdown, and they sound great!

 

[budda]

I have lowly Mackie CR4's (discontinued) but they were a huge step up from my insignia 2" speakers (if that?) and they definitely fit my small space well.

I don't even think HS7's would fit on my desk :lol:.

 

[Drew]

I am getting tired of headphones and I am wondering your thoughts on getting a set of decent studio monitors for pure playing/listening enjoyment I am not doing any real mixing. I am just a dude jamming in his basement that might send the odd recording to JJ. I know it isn't going to feel anything like standing in front of a 4X12 cab but I assume it can be just as enjoyable if not more than headphones paired with an axe-fx and/or plugins?
My room is fairly small and untreated atm.

I own a set of HS80Ms, the older version of the HS8s. To my ears they outperformed everything in their price range when I sat down in a GC to do some listening.

That said... speakers to listen to music on and jam on aren't really the same as speakers to mix on, and I was listening for different things... This was a long time ago, but I remember the KRK Rockit 8s having quite a bit more low end punch to them even if they were overall a lot less detailed, and honestly I suspect they might have made for a more enjoyable "plugging into my computer" experience, if that was something I did with any degree of frequency. Do they still make those?

 

[jacksonplayer]

I listen to cds a lot on my monitors, but that's mostly because my studio is also my office at the moment. They're not the best listening experience, but it does help familiarize yourself with the monitors for when you are mixing and mastering.