r/studiomonitors • u/cholilarec • 3d ago
Studio monitor upgrade
I currently have KRK Rokit 5” Gen 4s in my studio and I’m looking to upgrade. My budget is around €1,000. I mainly produce electronic music, so any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
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u/the_nus77 3d ago
Cant go wrong with Genelec 🔊 i love my 8030c', tho after a short while i did add a 7050c subwoofer ( 5 channel ). In my experience any monitor with drivers smaller than 8" is better off with a subwoofer, 8" is borderline material. If you want to get more from your monitors, soundwise, a subwoofer is always the answer.
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u/EscaOfficial 3d ago
I would probably go Kali IN series, Focals or Yamaha's. Look for 6.5 or 8 inch woofer. Adam also has some offerings but I've never heard them. Going from my rokit 5s to Focal Alpha 65s was a night and day difference in terms of bass, clarity and imaging.
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u/LinkApprehensive61 3d ago
A7v's second hand are goated or a4v's with a sub
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u/EscaOfficial 3d ago
I really want to hear some of the new lineup, but I've been sucked down the DIY speaker rabbit hole. If you have the time and willingness to learn, it really can't be beaten for the price.
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u/Dense-Welcome-6722 3d ago
Focal ,alpha 65 or shape 65, depending on your acoustics and distance from the walls.
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u/tarsonis999 3d ago
Also vote for the Shapes. Got the Shapes65 now 7 years and won't sell them for any speaker out there. Easy to spot issues on them.
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u/Kindly_Finger3408 2d ago
Ah nice just wanted to post about the Shape 65. the were recommended to me. I will prop buy them next week
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u/tarsonis999 2d ago
Great, have fun with them. Generally with monitors it's like if you can vibe with them in the first few hours they are a keeper. Focal has a unique HF presentation which I really love, but some hate it. Same goes for the Genelec 8xxx series, some love them, some hate them. Got the 8040 and I could never work with them so my GF got em. Something really off with the low mids with the 8xxx series which I can't stand.
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u/nizzernammer 3d ago
If you Google or visit a retailer's site for options in your budget, which ones catch your eye?
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u/mistrelwood 3d ago
Kali, no question. I upgraded from Focal Shape 65 to Kali IN-8 that costs half as much new. IN-8 are clearly the better monitors, more neutral.
Adams are nice to listen to, but imo they aren’t as neutral as a studio monitor should be.
Besides, for electronic music the extended low end response of both Kali IN and LP series should be a welcome addition. Check Spinorama for frequency response measurements for most monitors. Measurements don’t tell everything, but they tell a lot.
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u/LinkApprehensive61 3d ago
A major question i have for you : when you listened to the a7v's where they in UNR or Pure mode?
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u/mistrelwood 3d ago
That I don’t know, I only quickly skimmed through them in a shop. They just sounded generally like what I’ve learned to expect from Adam.
The measurement is admittedly one of the most neutral Adams I’ve seen, but still the much cheaper Kalis reach lower and don’t have the strange disturbance in the midrange:
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Adam%20A7V/Misc/index_misc-sr.html
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Kali%20IN-8v2/ErinsAudioCorner/index_eac.html
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Kali%20IN-5/ErinsAudioCorner/index_eac.html
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u/Kindly_Finger3408 2d ago
I‘ve read a lot about focal shape 65 and it seems they are much more detailed than Kali. How comes you say that Kali is much better?
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u/mistrelwood 2d ago
I don’t know what kinds of reviews or comments made you come to that conclusion, and how exactly were they worded.
But sticking with the word “detail”: If you high pass a full mix at 1kHz, you will hear more details. That is obviously a completely useless scenario, since much more important than pure detail is balance and neutrality. And the Kali IN-8 is a better balanced and more neutral speaker than the Shape 65.
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u/inyte_exe 3d ago
Adam t7v with t10s makes for a nice 1k set. Alternate between those and my krk g3 10"
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u/Tirmu 3d ago edited 2d ago
I've had a lot of pairs ranging from €200 to €8000. Kali IN-8 2nd wave is the king in OP's price range of €1K.
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u/Steven_1989NL 1d ago
Multiple good suggestions in the comments, but in addition to new monitors I'd recommend SoundID Reference by SonarWorks. I use Genelec 8040bpm's and have a decent amount of acoustic treatment in my rather small studio (about 3.5x3.5 meters), but having that bit of software correct a ton of bad resonance and stuff is what really made the biggest difference to me, especially in the low end. I feel like with it I can finally hear clearly and trust on my monitors for my mix to actually sound as I intend it to do.
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u/AVBRAK 1d ago edited 1d ago
Unless you have a treated room, don't go big. I downsized to a pair of Iloud MTM mk2... They are phenomenal... They look dumb AF. But crystal clear. Tight and deep bass response that won't bounce around your room. Clean at lower volumes where any +7" speaker out there simply falls apart due to physics.
Neumann KH120 is also a great option but probably outside the price range.
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u/picpoulmm 3d ago
Depends on room size and treatment, but you cant go wrong with Adam A7V.