Budget Studio Monitors (Around R2k)

wizardofid said:
Eris E4.5 is good, but like the others will likely struggle a bit with lowish frequencies, not terrible distortions, so you would need to tweak the overall volume a bit.Generally like to go full volume and tweak from there I use sonic foundry ACID Pro 8, which allows much better control overall. Got two JBL LSR305 Studio Monitors with a SE Electronics mic as I do Foley recording and some quick sound mix for games and 3d content I create, I found them best for voices and simple tracks.

So it depends entirely what you are going to do with them, lots of bass, synths ect it does a good job but not brilliant.I would much rather get a decent cheapy and save up for what you want, would much rather get a monitor with an additional front port, as it helps with certain things especially bass.
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With a R2-3k budget you don't have many options in in SA. you would be better off saving a few months more and getting something decent.

A slightly used pair sold on carb for R1.5k recently...
 
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ponder said:
With a R2-3k budget you don't have many options in in SA. you would be better off saving a few months more and getting something decent.
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This is the biggest problem with SA for me. Having a limited range of tech charged at a premium.
 
Ghost729 said:
This is the biggest problem with SA for me. Having a limited range of tech charged at a premium.
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I know this is a meh answer but, if you've just started production you can stick to what you have for a few months and just reference your material on as many sources as possible. Listen to it in the car, on your cans, a friends speakers etc. Figure out the mixing & mastering technicals on the production side and as you develop an ear for the kind of speaker you need, you'll be able to better spend your money in the future.

On the other hand - it is nice to get some new speakers and start get into it.
Keep an eye on used-markets for a few weeks?
Look out for auctions - sometimes home studios sell off all their gear for whatever reason.
 
ponder said:
With a R2-3k budget you don't have many options in in SA. you would be better off saving a few months more and getting something decent.

A slightly used pair sold on carb for R1.5k recently...
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Unfortunately :( took about two weeks before settling on the JBL....honestly not the least bit disappointed, all things considered they still cheap in the grand scheme of things, but worth the effort, one of my prerequisite is looking at materials it's made from, that already gives a fair indication of what to expect and life expectancy.....
 
saor said:
I know this is a meh answer but, if you've just started production you can stick to what you have for a few months and just reference your material on as many sources as possible. Listen to it in the car, on your cans, a friends speakers etc. Figure out the mixing & mastering technicals on the production side and as you develop an ear for the kind of speaker you need, you'll be able to better spend your money in the future.

On the other hand - it is nice to get some new speakers and start get into it.
Keep an eye on used-markets for a few weeks?
Look out for auctions - sometimes home studios sell off all their gear for whatever reason.
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It's good advice and I would have stuck with what I had if my current speaker set hadn't given in.
 
ponder said:
A slightly used pair sold on carb for R1.5k recently...
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I think used monitors rarely appear for sale on carb or even gumtree. They're a niche item to begin with.

I would wait for a good deal or a used pair, if I my speakers didn't give up. Right now I am a bit impatient, because my music listening is taking a knock.
 
Ghost729 said:
I think used monitors rarely appear for sale on carb or even gumtree. They're a niche item to begin with.

I would wait for a good deal or a used pair, if I my speakers didn't give up. Right now I am a bit impatient, because my music listening is taking a knock.
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Save for a few months and up your budget.
 
The budget is not likely to increase in the near future. I got other financial responsibilities that's going to be draining the pocket. It will be at least a year before I can double the budget:cry:
 
I do some bass tracking, and i'm getting the Presonus E5 5.25 soon. Hard to beat Presonus in the low range.
 
I bought the Presonus Eris 3.5 monitors for R2000 from Mars Music earlier this year to use with my PC. They seemed the best value for my limited budget, and didn't take up a huge amount of desk space. I'm happy with them.
 
Good to know, guys. It helps to know that the Eris 4.5's won't disappoint.
 
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I'm a sound engineer.
My daily drivers is a pair of KRK VXT8, I also have a pair of Adam A7x.
Stay away from Behringer and Hybrid,, personally I'm also not to fond of Samson.

In your budget range it is honestly much of a muchness, you won't easily get something which stands out above others, you also won't easily get something horrible as long as you stick to decent brands.

For casual listening and gaming your budget is fine, but if you are getting in to music production and need monitors which can tell you the truth, then try to up your budget to around the R5K mark, between R5 and R10K even will be a very nice place to be. Rather save up and get monitors which will last you for years, something you can grow in to. Buying something now to fill a gap till you have money for something better will just be a waste of money in the long run.
KRK, Adam, JBL, Yamaha, Tannoy, Genelec, I'm especially impressed with JBL's offerings at the lower end of the market these days, they offer something for everyone. My dream monitors if I have the space and money one day is the JBL M2,,, at around R250K for the pair.

Don't only look online, go to one or 2 of the big music shops, Music Connection, Music Mate, Marshall Music, Toms had a huge sale this past weekend, all those places are very helpful even for the budget buyer and for what it's worth, you can even have a listen to the different speakers in the shop.

Don't be forced to buy just because you want something now, use your headphones in the meanwhile and take your time in researching.
 
bigboy529 said:
I'm a sound engineer.
My daily drivers is a pair of KRK VXT8, I also have a pair of Adam A7x.
Stay away from Behringer and Hybrid,, personally I'm also not to fond of Samson.

In your budget range it is honestly much of a muchness, you won't easily get something which stands out above others, you also won't easily get something horrible as long as you stick to decent brands.

For casual listening and gaming your budget is fine, but if you are getting in to music production and need monitors which can tell you the truth, then try to up your budget to around the R5K mark, between R5 and R10K even will be a very nice place to be. Rather save up and get monitors which will last you for years, something you can grow in to. Buying something now to fill a gap till you have money for something better will just be a waste of money in the long run.
KRK, Adam, JBL, Yamaha, Tannoy, Genelec, I'm especially impressed with JBL's offerings at the lower end of the market these days, they offer something for everyone. My dream monitors if I have the space and money one day is the JBL M2,,, at around R250K for the pair.

Don't only look online, go to one or 2 of the big music shops, Music Connection, Music Mate, Marshall Music, Toms had a huge sale this past weekend, all those places are very helpful even for the budget buyer and for what it's worth, you can even have a listen to the different speakers in the shop.

Don't be forced to buy just because you want something now, use your headphones in the meanwhile and take your time in researching.
Click to expand...

Pretty darn happy with my JBL's LSR305, still struggles with some things.....
 
wizardofid said:
Pretty darn happy with my JBL's LSR305, still struggles with some things.....
Click to expand...



I had a listen to them the other day at a friend, really impressive at the price. Still want to get myself a pair of small 4 or 5 inch monitors at some point for my study and it will probably be the LSR's.
 
bigboy529 said:
I'm a sound engineer.
My daily drivers is a pair of KRK VXT8, I also have a pair of Adam A7x.
Stay away from Behringer and Hybrid,, personally I'm also not to fond of Samson.

In your budget range it is honestly much of a muchness, you won't easily get something which stands out above others, you also won't easily get something horrible as long as you stick to decent brands.

For casual listening and gaming your budget is fine, but if you are getting in to music production and need monitors which can tell you the truth, then try to up your budget to around the R5K mark, between R5 and R10K even will be a very nice place to be. Rather save up and get monitors which will last you for years, something you can grow in to. Buying something now to fill a gap till you have money for something better will just be a waste of money in the long run.
KRK, Adam, JBL, Yamaha, Tannoy, Genelec, I'm especially impressed with JBL's offerings at the lower end of the market these days, they offer something for everyone. My dream monitors if I have the space and money one day is the JBL M2,,, at around R250K for the pair.

Don't only look online, go to one or 2 of the big music shops, Music Connection, Music Mate, Marshall Music, Toms had a huge sale this past weekend, all those places are very helpful even for the budget buyer and for what it's worth, you can even have a listen to the different speakers in the shop.

Don't be forced to buy just because you want something now, use your headphones in the meanwhile and take your time in researching.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.

I'm just starting off with music production. I don't want to spend huge amounts of money and like I've said, I won't be able to increase the budget for at least another year. I stuck with that budget for now.

The idea is that if I do decide to get serious about production then I'll look at buying proper monitors in a few years time. In this case, what ever I buy now will get relegated to casual listening. Either way, I would have bought speakers in this price range.

I need speakers for now, because the headphones irritate me after about an hour and it's also a bother for casual listening.

I really appreciate the advice and will look at the big music shops.
 
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