Monitors - Genelec Or Mackie ? Options

[jimmynitcher]

In the £500 price range they would appear to be the choice, but is it the 8030a by Genelec or the HR623 by Mackie.

Informed opinions most welcome

ta

J

[mykuhl]

Some tips when looking for monitor speakers...

Make sure when you go to listen to the speakers that you take some tracks that have some very specific things. You need on that isn't heavily compressed, so that you can hear the detailing, and dynamic accuracy (orchestral music is often very good for this). You need some that have low bass, so that you can hear the depth that the speakers are accurate to. (A real plus is if you can find a track that has two layers of bass, perhaps a bass guitar and synth playing similar bass lines - this allows you to hear if they are clear at the bottom end - William Orbit and P!nk's track Feel Good Time is a good example of this). It is very good to get tracks with accoustic guitar and piano playing in a similar range, as this often helps you see the accuracy of the crossover (often the cheaper speakers get muddy near the crossover point). If you can find a track that is poorly mixed, and doesn't really sound that 'produced' (like Dinosaur Jr. or some of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers tracks) this shows how uesful the speakers would be for mixing - these tracks are normally deliberately un-'produced' but you want to be able to avoid this.

Remember that you are not looking for the speakers that sound the best, but rather the ones that are the most accurate. These are tools, not toys. If you want a cd to sound really nice, then buy hi-fi, if you want the music you are working on to sound good, then go accurate.

A good option in your price range, mentioned above is the Phonic P8A - very accurate crossover, reasonably deep accurate bass (according to the specs accurate to 45 hz, but they sound reasonable down to about 25hz)

Another pair worth considering (and I'll probably get laughed at for suggesting these, but have a listen) is the Yamaha MSP5A's. I was astounded that speakers this small could have such strong accurate bass. If desk space is an issue for you, have a listen to these, they certainly surprised me.

I would personally avoid going for a seperate sub. Unless you are very good at setting up a crossover, then there is the potential that your mixes will either have too much bass, or not enough.

Hope this helps...

mykuhl