Hey guys, I've begun the process of kitting out my study with the intention of recording stuff and wondered if anyone would be able to help. This is a complete newbie set up so really I'm after some "starter" studio monitors, I guess? Price range is maybe £200-£250 per monitor? I may be able to stretch a little further if it's worth it. Cheers.
I'm happy with my Rokits (two monitors and a sub). I'm sure they aren't good enough for many of the other cats on here, but I give them my recommendation. Solidly built, easy to use/control EQ/control volume, look decent...
Yamaha hs7s all day long at that price. I just got a SET second hand (still sealed in the boxes) for £200. There are other good deals out there on sets as well. Outstanding monitors depending on your room size you may be better with smaller or larger cones but the hs series is the way to go.
Not sure what your options are in the UK for your price range, but I'd strongly prioritize anything with an 8" driver. Lower extension or lack thereof) and ability to reproduce low end is going to be the biggest issue in this area, and I'd take almost anything with a full size driver vs a 6.5" that's ostentatiously more "high end." I have a pair of what are now the Yamaha HS8s, and they're great - very detailed high end. That said, I'm in an untreated room and proper bass trapping would do worlds for my monitor chain, so if you can swing it down the road and have a dedicated space, bass trapping would be the next thing I'd look at.
At that range I can think of 3 pairs that I've had which you may like for a newbie setup. Yamaha HS's are going to have the flattest EQ so they're great for mixing. I had a pair of HS5's a few years ago and found them unforgiving in terms of how clearly you notice small mistakes you may have made during recording, which can be a good thing in the long run of course depending on your own resilience. Since you're just starting out you might as well dive deep so I'd go for those. As the saying goes, if you're gonna walk on ice you might as well dance. At that price, i also had a pair of Tannoy Reveal 501A's for a couple of years and they were fairly decent too. My mixes took a few more tries before they sounded decent compared to the HS's but I'm not gonna blame the monitors before I blame my own ineptitude. Currently happy with my KRK Rokkit 5's, can't recommend them enough. They are a bit bass heavy, but that's alright it's just a matter of anticipating that extra bass ahead of time in your mix. Whichever way you decide to go, treat your room (i.e. bass traps) and you'll maximize the effectiveness of whichever monitors you choose.
Seems the Yamaha HS series is getting a lot of thumbs up, I'll definitely be checking those out. I'll also look into bass traps.
