I work off a pretty small desk with a laptop and currently only have studio headphones, but would really like to get some studio monitors so I don’t always have to wear headphones.
I’ve got the Arturia Minifuse 2 as my audio interface and I play guitar and bass. I’m also tinkering with finger drumming and will either add my own finger drumming to my music, or will program something in EZdrummer or Addictive Drums.
I mostly play metal and hard rock.
Most likely they will sit on my desk, but I may consider some stands if I can make them fit so I can keep the desk space. Regardlesss of where they sit, they will need to be very close to the wall (at the rear and on one side of the laptop)
I found this thread that had quite a bit of love for the
Presonus Eric E4.5 and the 3.5 were mentioned as well
It also mentions the JBL 305P as well, but not sure if they are too big.
Other monitors I’ve been looking at are:
Yamaha HS3 or HS4 (don’t think these were availabe when the above thread was active)
KRK Classic 5 (found a pack that comes with isolation pads).
I own a pair of JBL 305 PII’s and they are outstanding. I am in a pretty small space (very small by US standards) and I used to have a small desk; they were fine, but they do take up some space.
I’ve got a set of 305’s as well, and I end up using those more than my actual amp now. Highly recommend. I think you’d have a hard time beating them factoring in price / performance. The aren’t tiny but I’ve got mine wedged in to a window well with a 34” monitor
I have the presonos both. 3.5 and 4.5 BT they are great.
For about the same price consider Fiio SA1. Amazing sound with pretty much every connections you can ask for and packed in a tiny package. It’s an audiophile grade monitor.
I connected mine with BT to my M4 Mac mini and USB C in the case I need to plug in my iPhone or plug in to my headphones amp. I could also put the optical to this instead of the headphones amp. I’m using the SP3 for my practice, it’s driving my music track without bass track. Now, that one is much nicer build metal case an all. SA1 is a newer model and more consumer friendly.
The Eris series are great but they are not reference monitors they are powered speakers, they sound great. The SA1 is between the 3.5 and 4.5 when it comes to loudness and much, much cleaner tone.
The easy way to explain the difference is a fancy earbuds, earphones compares to IEMs sounds.
I guess never having travelled down this road before, it’s difficult to know what I need. I’d like to use them for general practice with backing tracks etc, but also when I go to create my own music, I’d like an ok mix to publish.
I guess I could continue to use headphones for the final product as I doubt my room has great sound quality.
Pretty sure they are the secret champ for price/performance. Listening to them in comparisons, like the 305P’s more than the 7" Yamaha HS7’s and they blow the HS5’s away IMO.
Based on the recommendations, I picked up a set of JBL 305 Mk2s as well. Very pleased! My Rumble 100 would always sound muddy and boomy - too much for a smallish room without acoustic treatments.
I bought the 305s and they sound SO good! It’s completely improved the Helix Stomp experience as well, as now I can actually hear the different patches and settings a lot better vs. being just a muddy boom. Two thumbs way up!
Thanks everyone, that gives me heaps to go on. I’ll keep my eyes open for a sale. Leaning towards the JBL 305. Pretty sure I’ve seen some decent prices on those before.
So, I’m kinda looking at some monitors for a small space too.
I haven’t plugged in my amp in months. I usually always play into a Behringer Bass BDI21 that goes to a 1K Multimedia AXE I/O ONE interface that goes to my PC. With headphones in the AXE, I can play music through my PC and play with that music on my bass, and they both come through the headphones.
I’m assuming that if I plug monitors into the outputs on my DAI that I can forgo the headphones and play through the monitors the same way… music from the PC, bass from my bass. Is that correct?
Is it necessary to get two? Or can I start off with just one and run it mono? The reason I ask that, right now my savings for this project would cover one of the JBL’s. Could I pick up one of those and be OK until I could get the second? Do I even need a second?
Finally, do the 5" woofers provide enough bass response to make it worth my while?
Most of the time, I play exclusively through the JBL’s anymore. I don’t think I’ve turned on my amp in a month. The bass response is better than fine with the 305’s.
