Active Monitors

    Hey guys,


    I'm researching active powered monitors for a buddy of mine. Although he's not a Kemper user (yet - I'm in the process of converting him :P ) - nevertheless, I figured I'd ask the knowledgeable crowd around here!


    The actives are for a relatively big (45m²) but untreated room. Basically, he just wants a big sound for a broad palette of musical styles.
    Given his budget, he's considering these:


    -Yamaha HS 8
    -Adam A7X
    -Adam A8X
    -Neumann KH 120 (these get stellar reviews, but given the small size with the 5.25" woofer, I reckon they'd be too small for his room)
    -KRK VXT 8
    -Genelec M040


    Anyone using any of the above and could post a word or two about likes and dislikes.
    I'll be happy to refer him to this forum and thread.


    Thanks for your help :)

    Hi,


    I have the Neumanns. I am 100% blown away by them. Tiny little things but pack a serious punch! Great for mixing, great for general music listening and they work great with the Kemper.


    Two things that I can't help with though:-


    1. My room is very small and treated with lots of home-made acoustic panels.


    2. I have not tried any of the others you've listed so I can't categorically say that my monitor is better than any other :)


    Having said that, if he's sitting as close to them as you're supposed to with nearfields then size shouldn't really matter too much should it? After all, the large room will give the advantage of less standing waves / reflections / other crap that spoils your day :)

    Quote from Gary_W

    I have the Neumanns. I am 100% blown away by them. Tiny little things but pack a serious punch! Great for mixing, great for general music listening and they work great with the Kemper.


    Thanks a lot, that's great info! Question: I forgot to mention that his monitors must be 100% quiet and hiss-free. E.g. my monitors have a faint but audible hiss when turned on and nothing is playing. He wants them to be completely quiet. OCD syndrome I guess :P
    Any infos on if the Neumann are hiss-free when no music is playing?


    Quote

    Having said that, if he's sitting as close to them as you're supposed to with nearfields then size shouldn't really matter too much should it? After all, the large room will give the advantage of less standing waves / reflections / other crap that spoils your day :)

    I think he also moves around the room, while listening to music - so maybe size does matter? (I dunno, really!)

    As for the quietness of the monitors. I am also very fussy when it comes to hiss and noise.


    These DO have a tiny amount of hiss when no music is playing; most of this is pre-amp noise from having my interface cranked up. If I turn my interface to zero output, there is still a very small amount of hiss. If I put my head within 15cm of the speaker, I can hear it. If I don't do this I cannot :) So in my listening position (I'm close, around 80cm away from both cones) they are silent according to my ears. But someone OCD who puts there head right next to a monitor would comment on the hiss and they would be right. It's just that, real world, it's not loud enough to be heard from your listening position when there is no music on. You 100% cannot hear it if anything (even at low volumes) is actually playing.


    As for their performance in this regard vs the other monitors.... I've seen on-line comments praising the quietness of the Neumanns but again I haven't a/b tested against the others on your list so I cannot say for sure if they are better or worse in that regard.


    As to his moving around the room..... If he's moving around the room when he's playing then no near-field monitors are going to make him happy :) They will (by design) have a fairly narrow sweet spot and that is not very far away! In my (treated) room, they sound amazing 'where I sit'. If I move back 30cm they start to go off in terms of the stereo image.


    But frankly if he's used to listening to music whilst moving around then stereo image might be forgiven in that case? If not, he really needs to just look at stereo speakers and an amp for a hifi which will be a bit more forgiving of his movement habits but of course won't be so good for mixing.

    Quote from Raoul23

    I have the HS 8 which I think are fantastic for the money very good at translating. Before these I had KRK XT 8's I found these enhanced the bass to much. I've heard good things about the Adam AX7 but never tried them :)

    Thanks a lot for the infos.
    Can you let me know if the KRK's or the HS8's have/had any hiss when they were turned on but no music is playing?

    Thanks a lot bro, these are excellent infos! :)
    I'll forward it to him...

    There certainly are noisy units around. But often a hiss rig depends on a bad gain staging. Fed signals have to be robust, impedances have to be compatible in in/out, and the more noisy components have to be kept low in level.