Okay I moved and my synths are getting their own room!
Please recommend me some nice affordable monitors so I can listen freely and not be tethered by headphones all the time!

The room itself is about 10ftx12ft with carpet and the one side basically all glass. No need to get extremely loud but some of my bass frequencies can get a little thicc during my wall-of-noise jams. Not really interested in reconfiguring or treating the room too much or trying to make a studio out of it. It’s just for easy listening while I look out upon the gardens of my estate.

I don’t think I need to go too high end so my idea was to stay within the Yamaha/JBL/Pioneer level, but again I’m not sure if there’s a wild difference in quality/design or if things are all pretty much standardized, or if there is a cheaper brand that’s actually comparable. I’m also not sure about the size. 8” is what I was thinking in terms of frequency response but not sure if that’s too much for the space. Also they seem to cost a lot more. Would 5” carry enough bass? Do I need a subwoofer? Should I change strategies and just get a nice keyboard amp instead? Would it be dumb to put them at the corners of the long desk(s) up in that window?

JBL 306P Mk II. They're what I'm using, and sound like 80% as good as the much more expensive JBL 708P (I had both at one point and A/B'ed them).

I think the 308Ps would be physically too large for that space. The 6" drivers hit the sweet spot between low-frequency extension and size.

Full disclosure, I work for Harman, JBL's parent company.

^ Probably a good idea.

A fair amount cheaper would be the KRK Rokit 5. Those are powered, and said to have good low end extension for a 5 inch monitor. You could probably try out the KRKs if you live around a Banjo Mart -er- guitar center.

Nate Dort wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:00 pm JBL 306P Mk II. They're what I'm using, and sound like 80% as good as the much more expensive JBL 708P (I had both at one point and A/B'ed them).

I think the 308Ps would be physically too large for that space. The 6" drivers hit the sweet spot between low-frequency extension and size.

Full disclosure, I work for Harman, JBL's parent company.

I can second your recommendation. We spec a lot of these and the 5" version into a lot of small control/edit room environments where critical listening isn't a primary need or the critical listening is focused on audio-for-video.

The cheap Adam T7V I have sound really good for the price. The Fluid FX80's I have are REALLY good at putting out the sub lows of synths without being something a lot bigger. Getting a cheap powered sub at a thrift store can be a fun little add on too. I got a little JBL powered Sub at Goodwill for $20 and it's like 100 watts and has a 8" in it. Plenty for synth room. Synths make a lot of really low sounds that are like, half the fun. Sucks to not be able to hear it.

If you're not recording at all, I would get a coffee shop-grade PA, Samson or Behringer with 10 or 12" woofers. It'll cost about the same as entry level 8" monitors and be built more ruggedly. It'll also be useful if you play with a band.

I picked up some T5V's for mixing at home which I'm pretty happy with. I'd maybe go with the T7V's for your size room.

Audioengine 2 ?

being that these are for synths and not meticulous mixing or mastering, I would really consider looking at something with a larger speaker than a 5" driver. Even though a larger woofer can overwhelm a small room used for a mixing environment, I think being able to deliver some good low end at lower volumes is going to make you happier for bleeps, bloops, and blooblewobs. Again, if you get something smaller than 8" drivers, I suggest picking up a cheapo sub woofer too. That way your Wubwubwubs don't get left out.

Mickey242 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:08 pm Audioengine 2 ?

I love my Audioengine A2+ as computer speakers so much, I have a pair at home and a pair at the office.

However, they may be a bit anemic for synths. They tend to need quite a bit of EQ to keep the lows from rolling off too early, and if you're doing synth stuff with a lot of lows and LF modulation it may be hard to pick it out without accidentally driving it too hard.