Best passive studio monitors for under 1k

[anewmission]

Wondering if anyone can suggest a decent pair of studio monitors(passive) for under 1k

I already use a pair of ns10m with a yamaha p2200 amp.

Recently scored another p2200 and want to pair it with something a little different to some ns10m..

At one point i was going to use all ns10m for surrpund movie mastering but things have changed

[Guest Misterioso]

Difficult. The market for passive studio monitors is very small. Almost all studio monitors (in my definition: monitors, advertised to an audience of mixing and mastering professionals and typically sold in pro audio shops, which aim to deliver a flat frequency response in a treated room) are active these days. The only brand that seems to enjoy success with passive speakers in this market is Amphion. Their smallest model, the One12, sells for about twice your budget in Australia. There are also some passive monitors from ATC, ME Geithain and Quested but all are way beyond your budget.

 

Of course, there are many passive bookshelf speakers in this price range. These are typically not advertised for studio use but that does not rule them out for this purpose. Something like Dynaudio Emit M10 or M20 may be worth a try but I don't have personal experience with them.

 

[anewmission]

I have seen a few jbl and krk passive monitors on ebay. All really cheap which is part of the reason i want to go the passive route, so i can mix and match and see what i can get for a much lower price point. There is one guy i know that swears by using his ns1000m as his mixing and mastering monitors but this doesnt make much sense to me. I heard a pair of active focal monitors and was not very impressed. The amps were made in china and they couldnt really crank. Im open to all suggestions even if its slightly above my budget

[Powerglide]

These aren't too far out of your budget if you can find a pair. They like a lot of juice but your Yamaha could do it. However IMO, with my amp, they sounded their best loud. 

 

https://www.markhennessy.co.uk/atc/

 

Semi regret selling them 

[anewmission]

I can even mono bridge each amp if i can find the right speakers that need alot of power. I have a hafler somewhere that i could use for my ns10ms. I noticed alot of studios also have a pair of tannoys sitting up in the corners? Would that be just purely for playing back/enjoyment purposes?

[cyclingsteve]

I would second the Dynaudio m20. I have a set and they are great for the price especially if you likea bit more in the low frequency end. They are also very good for 2 channel listening.

[Grant Slack]

Hello there. Behringer used to make active and passive versions of their Truth studio monitors, although I think now they only do active. Would not surprise me if you could score a NOS pair of passive Truth monitors if you look around. They were well regarded for neutrality at the (affordable) price point.

 

Your other option is bookshelf hifi speakers, some of which are intended for neutrality, for example Krix Equinox, link. 

 

Regards

Grant

[anewmission]

Really? Krix equinox? I would not have thought of using krix. They are abit small for the room i am using with only 5" driver. There is a pair of krix on ebay at the moment. They arr a bookshelf but have a midrange driver also. I wonder if these would be any good

[Guest Misterioso]

Dynaudio BM6

Edited September 20, 2018 by Misterioso

[Wimbo]

@anewmission  https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/252852-fs-orpheus-bookshelf-speakers-oak-heavy-stands/?tab=comments#comment-3970219

Edited September 20, 2018 by Wimbo

[anewmission]

Those dynaudios look pretty cool if i can get them cheap. What does everyone else think of what has been suggested? The dynaudios seem to be the only ones actually marketed at near field studio monitors

[Mushroom01]

A good range here for you to check out. Very good sound to dollar value IMO. Aussie made too!

 

http://www.adelaidespeakers.com/monitors.html

 

[anewmission]

They do look nice. Does anyone know why 95% of all studio monitors (active and passive) are a 2way design rather than a 3way?

[henning]

Dynaudios can be good, but like lots of juice. Keep an eye out for tannoy passive studio series, dynaudio, event and a few others. If you can find a used pair of atc scm 10’s or 20’s, you’d have a great setup.

[anewmission]

Dynaudios can be good, but like lots of juice. Keep an eye out for tannoy passive studio series, dynaudio, event and a few others. If you can find a used pair of atc scm 10’s or 20’s, you’d have a great setup.

I am using yamaha p2200 which is 340watts per channel into 4ohms. Is that enough juice? The tannoys are all so expensive

[henning]

Should be for any sensible levels, yes. I have often found the tanooy system 600/800 etc sell for very little. I’d much prefer the atc’s though

[PKay]

You could have a look at some Lenehan ML1s some of them have a switch for near field listening. 

 

You may have to pay a little more for the base level. 

 

These are are sold at 1,250 

 

Edited September 20, 2018 by PKay

[anewmission]

Wow everyone has different opinions. I still dont understand why these are all 2 way speakers

[anewmission]

I really want to avoid usung a sub

[PKay]

12 minutes ago, anewmission said:

I really want to avoid usung a sub

You would be amazed at the amount of bass the little Lenehan put out. I never used a sub with my refs. 

[anewmission]

You would be amazed at the amount of bass the little Lenehan put out. I never used a sub with my refs. 

Yeh they are pricey for a passive. I have put a bid on the dynaudios. So thats got 2 days left so i will see what happens

[anewmission]

I have a pair of ns10m which are great for recording punk rock because thw mids are so good and i love punk rock. The jazz side of me really wants a more rounded monitor. Thatd why i thought a 3way speaker might work as i can concentrate on different frequencies, double bass on the low end. Guitats keyboards and drums on the mids and vocals, sax and otber horns on the higher end. Im suprised no one has suggested yamaha ns500 - ns2000 series. I guess that's more of a cult thing along with the ns10m. I musy admit i had my ns10m monitora connectwled to one of two identical power amps and a pair of focal mini utopias to thw otber. Fumnily enough the ns10m blew them out of the water. Tbe focals did sound more 3d with a wider soundstage. But they were so coloured it was hard to know how decent the quality of the recording was. I have the focals bsck to my friend and am not buying focal speakers for studio use. I might still get the 3way krix for mastering. But i kind of see why studios use the ns10m now. They dont lie, mixes on ns10m sound great anywehere from your car to 100k speakers. I know they get a bad wrap from audiophiles but they really kick but in an acoustically treated eoom i use the horizontal version feom the 80s. I have pair dor sale or trade. Or maybe ser up at home so i can write music when inspiesrion

[Grant Slack]

Hello, I found your post above quite intriguing.

 

May I clarify exactly what you are going to be using these new speakers for? Is it for a mixing desk? Or is it for some type of playback listening of completed recordings?

 

Because my understanding is that the NS10M is quite poor for playback purposes. Floyd Toole has written on its history, and describes it as "originally intended to be listened to at a distance in a normally reflective room". i.e. on the walls of the mixing studio, well back from the desk. It relies on bass boost from the adjacent wall, and a reverberant sound field, so the listener is listening to sound power, which was thought to be critical in those days, so the NS10M was designed for a flat sound power response. As a result, its on-axis frequency response displays a strong "mid-frequency emphasis", to quote Dr Toole again, which, he says, we now know is the wrong way to go about obtaining good sound. Today, we understand that flat on-axis frequency response is essential. That is why I recommended the Behringer studio and Krix home units: they get this right. (So will almost any JBL professional monitor, but I don't know of any passive units in your price range: their passive LSR6332 is over $6,000.) Dr Toole has also identified the NS10M as "adding some high-Q resonance around 600 Hz and 2.5 kHz, that add an annoying 'personality' to the playback... (the modern edition) seems to be trying to be flat but failing at both frequency extremes: "punchy" (instead of flat) bass at 80-100Hz due to the underdamped woofer hump, and rolled off high frequency response".

 

As a special tool for mixing duties, and insight into what is going on in the midrange, the Yamaha is acceptable, and, more importantly, it is a consistent reference for mixing professionals who have 'calibrated their ears' to it.

 

For playback duties, however, even for final mix mastering duties, a speaker with a flat on-axis response will be much superior, as long as it is also decent in other respects.

 

I hope you don't mind my putting a few thoughts out there.

 

Regards

Grant

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2018 by Grant Slack

[batou]

get a dyn, you cant go wrong with a dyn.

 

[anewmission]

Hello, I found your post above quite intriguing.
 
May I clarify exactly what you are going to be using these new speakers for? Is it for a mixing desk? Or is it for some type of playback listening of completed recordings?
 
Because my understanding is that the NS10M is quite poor for playback purposes. Floyd Toole has written on its history, and describes it as "originally intended to be listened to at a distance in a normally reflective room". i.e. on the walls of the mixing studio, well back from the desk. It relies on bass boost from the adjacent wall, and a reverberant sound field, so the listener is listening to sound power, which was thought to be critical in those days, so the NS10M was designed for a flat sound power response. As a result, its on-axis frequency response displays a strong "mid-frequency emphasis", to quote Dr Toole again, which, he says, we now know is the wrong way to go about obtaining good sound. Today, we understand that flat on-axis frequency response is essential. That is why I recommended the Behringer studio and Krix home units: they get this right. (So will almost any JBL professional monitor, but I don't know of any passive units in your price range: their passive LSR6332 is over $6,000.) Dr Toole has also identified the NS10M as "adding some high-Q resonance around 600 Hz and 2.5 kHz, that add an annoying 'personality' to the playback... (the modern edition) seems to be trying to be flat but failing at both frequency extremes: "punchy" (instead of flat) bass at 80-100Hz due to the underdamped woofer hump, and rolled off high frequency response".
 
As a special tool for mixing duties, and insight into what is going on in the midrange, the Yamaha is acceptable, and, more importantly, it is a consistent reference for mixing professionals who have 'calibrated their ears' to it.
 
For playback duties, however, even for final mix mastering duties, a speaker with a flat on-axis response will be much superior, as long as it is also decent in other respects.
 
I hope you don't mind my putting a few thoughts out there.
 
Regards
Grant
 
 
 

Yes i am using the ns10m as a mixing monitor is a studio room. Which edition of the ns10m is this doctor referring to? There was 3 models. The original which was horrible. The second which had an upgraded tweeter which i am using and the third with magnetically sheilded tweeter but identical to the second in all other ways. I find the quote about thw power coming from the wall behind strange as there is no port holes in any of the ns10m. I personally enjoy recording rock music on these speakers because of their amazing ability to have the mids of drums and guitars exactly how you want them. There seems to be almost no colouration and i also think these speakers perform extremely differently depending on what amp is running them.
I would never use them as a playback device and the whole reason i started this thread is to find a superior monitor to which i can go back and forth with my mixes