Behringer TRUTH B2030A vs. Adam A7 vs. KRK Rokit 5

[CosmicEquilibrium]

Please help, i wanna buy my first monitors and i wanna to waste my money better possible, to make psytrance, techno, electro with reason 4 and ableton live, there is one friend saying the adam 7 are ugly but are the best ones saying adam is always better, i'm confuse that adam has better frequency response but the woofer texture is realy wierd, what should i buy around 350 euros ? my audio interface is m-audio 24/96.

[Veracohr]

I just got ADAM A7s a short while ago, and I love them. I have not heard the other two, but from what I have heard by people more knowledgeable and experienced than me, they should kill the other two. Thing about the ADAM's is that they are quality studio monitors, which means they are meant to be accurate, not necessarily good-sounding, so some people may not like them because they don't have a response.

 

I upgraded from Alesis Monitor One MkII. The ADAM's have better high end, better stereo field, smoother low end but I feel they don't go as low as I'd like.

 

The woofer is a different material than most monitors, which was described to me (by an ADAM rep on another forum), as producing less low end distortion than paper woofers.

 

Can you really get a pair of A7's for 350 euros? I can see how they might be less expensive in Europe than in the US (less distance to travel), but still the lowest price here is more than twice that ($1000 US).

 

Get the ADAM's. No discussion needed.

 

And next, upgrade your converter (I also need to do this, as I also have an M-Audio interface).

[Lemmiwinks]

Please help, i wanna buy my first monitors and i wanna to waste my money better possible, to make psytrance, techno, electro with reason 4 and ableton live, there is one friend saying the adam 7 are ugly but are the best ones saying adam is always better, i'm confuse that adam has better frequency response but the woofer texture is realy wierd, what should i buy around 350 euros ? my audio interface is m-audio 24/96.

(short answer): if you can get a pair of Adams for 350 euros then go for it!! But keep in mind that the price you've read is probably for ONE montior, not the pair... But who knows, maybe the store you went to is doing some massive discount or something, if that is really the price for a PAIR then I wouldn't hesitate if I were you. And even if you don't like them, you could sell them for a profit on eBay

 

I can also tell you that the Truths may be good montiros but they are CRAP in build-quality. I'd stay away from those...

 

Not heard of many reviews of the KRKs but from what I hear they are so-so.

 

(long answer, a summary of years of my personal research ): generally speaking, there is no ideal monitor... what matters most is being "intimate" with your monitor, knowing EXACTLY how it will respond at a certain frequency and how it would "translate" to other systems. Bare in mind that the main objective of using monitors is not so that YOU can enjoy the music you produce but rather to make it enjoyable to the people who are susceptible of buying your music.

 

That's why as a general rule if a music store seller or someone on a music forum tells you to buy a certain brand of monitors because they "sound great" you should probably ignore their advice cause that means that they don't really understand what music producing is all about... Most of the time these people are just gearwhores with rooms full of expensive equipment they never really use (or if they do use it, they don't use it properly, like for example buying a pair of 5000€ monitors to listen to MP3s on their computer). Their main objective in life is to brag about all the stuff they have and how much they paid for it (aka "my dick is bigger than yours" alpha-male talk...) rather then actually produce music... Of course, I'm drawing a caricature here, the truth isn't as one-sided as I'm presenting it but it would be a good idea to keep what I just said in mind when listening to advice from self-proclaimed "experts".

 

Now you should also think about the possibility of upgrading: electronic dance music is by definition pretty focused on the low frequencies and even with the most expensive and accurate near-field (small) monitors you'll never be able to hear those low frequencies properly simply because they are too small. Most professional producers also have a pair of large monitors (which are considerably more expensive...) to "test" their music and see how it would sound on a big sound system on the dancefloor, where most of this music is usually played. If you rely ONLY on nearfields you might be mixing in too much bass. The best way around this for people starting to make music and on a budget (after all, why invest in a pair of 3000 euro monitors if you're just going to fool around in your bedroom and never actually release anything?) is a subwoofer to attach to the nearfields. It won't be as acurate as a set of large monitors, but still a good compromise. That's why if I were you I'd also look for the possibility of adding a matched sub to the nearfields in the future.

 

Personally I bought a pair of Yamaha HS 50M which are around your price range because of the translating thing I told you earlier and because I can add a matched subwoofer (the HS 10W) when/if I decide to upgrade.

 

PS proper montiors is just one part the computer music production chain... but for the circle to be complete you'll also need a good soundcard (but rest assured, you can easily find a decent soundcard second-hand on eBay in the 50-100€ price range). Otherwise, the great pair of monitors you just bought will sound like crap, not because they are crap, but because they accuratley reproduce the crappy signal coming out of your soundcard...

[CosmicEquilibrium]

Noooooooo, it's adam 7 are that price because is just one unity. damn...

[frozen dream]

I wouldn't buy adam or m-audio, they're all too messy. Especially adam in the bass department like you said, get genelec or dynaudio, it doesn't hurt to save some more and get a better monitor pair. alesis might be good but i wouldn't recommend them, there's mackie as well. a friend of mine recently bought mackie's and have yet to check 'em out!

 

if you would go for the rokits i can recommend you the 8's but for this you need a large enough studio.

 

make sure you buy monitors who fit the room you'll be working in.

 

o yeah and behringer is a def NO-GO!!

[Veracohr]

I wouldn't buy adam or m-audio, they're all too messy. Especially adam in the bass department like you said, get genelec or dynaudio, it doesn't hurt to save some more and get a better monitor pair. alesis might be good but i wouldn't recommend them, there's mackie as well. a friend of mine recently bought mackie's and have yet to check 'em out!

What do you find "messy" about ADAM's?

[frozen dream]

the bass department

[Lemmiwinks]

the bass department

[Spiritual Carnage]

the bass department

If the bass department sounds messy with Adam A7 speakers then it is your material that sounds messy and not the speakers

[frozen dream]

i tested different cds and it did sound very good on other monitors, yes.

[natural_organism]

I´ve got the Adam A7´s and they definentlly does the job!

[dharma lab]

Lemmiwinks covered a lot of important info, and I'd like to just add a few things.

 

First off, from personal experience, of the 3 monitors you mentioned I can tell you that the Adam's A7 are easily the best built, & for me, the most accurate sounding. I would go on to say that they are probably the most accurate in their price range, alongside the DynaAudio BM 5A's. There are other reasons why i like them, but I wanted to cover a few other things:

 

There are many other factors which make a difference which are subjective. First & foremost is that everyone's ears are different, just like a fingerprint. Secondly, the acoustics of your room play a huge role in your hearing-- just as important as the quality of your monitor speakers, soundcard, etc, really!!! If you plan on upgrading to the Adam A7's level of quality, you should definitely be spending money on acoustically treating the room, especially if you plan on adding a subwoofer. Buy the treatment before you buy the subwoofer. (fyi- there are many DIY approaches to acoustically treating the room, so look into it). A perfect example is mention of trouble in the bass department. Do you know that phase peaks & nulls can easily offer a range of +6dB to -30 dB in bass frequencies based solely on where you are in the room? You can't possible evaluate a monitor's "bass department" until at the very least you gain an intimate knowledge of how your room is affecting your sound. If you're sitting in a -25dB bass null, you're going to think the bass on the monitors sucks, cause you can't hear it. Starting to get the idea?

 

So, everytime someone steps up & tells you that brand X is the best monitor, that doesn't necessarily mean they are the best monitor for everyone, only that they work for them, which means they may not be right for you. There is a high degree of personal preference here, and no one is right or wrong when it comes to that. The best you can ask is get detailed information why a monitor works from someone, what type of room treatment they have, what type of experience level they have (i.e. novice vs. a trained ear, cause this relates to how everyone hears differently). There is no point in taking someone else's opinion into regard about studio monitors unless they can quantify their answer to you.

 

With these things in mind, it becomes glaringly clear that you will never make a great decision without being able to hear the monitors yourself, in your room. Trust me, you will learn so much from the experience, because many people won't pick up the differences until you are able to switch back & forth between them. As it was mentioned before, there is no perfect solution. You really need to think about what your priorities are for these monitors, and weigh those heavier when making your decision. But when it comes down to it, by comparing monitors side by side you'll know you made the right decision. If you aren't getting your monitors local, I highly recommend getting one of each. The extra money you pay in shipping is really worth it for making an informed decision.