Small / inexpensive studio monitors

  • Hi,


    I happily use my Kemper in the rehearsal room through a DXR10.


    ’m thinking of using it indoors for practice but it’s a v small room.


    What are the smallest recommended studio monitors that will do the Kemper justice?


    Both clean and high gain sounds....not loud most of the time.


    Happy with second hand and not looking to spend too much.


    Thanks,

    Andy

  • What counts as “not too much” in terms of spending?


    Really small and good shouts Genelec but not cheap.


    However, there are plenty of still good more affordable options. I teally love my Adam A7x (again not cheap but they do cheaper options too). Although I haven’t personally tried them it might be worth trying the new Adam T5V or T7V (depending on how small you need) as they seem to be getting great reviews or if you can stretch to it A3x or A5x.


    Another very popular option frm foum members is the Yamaha HS range

  • My local store has a bunch of monitors out in pairs to listen to. Maybe yours does too.

    Take your Kemper there and run through them.

    I don't have them, but some like the Rockit monitors. They're a bit cheaper than the Yamaha.

    I have Yammy HS 80m and love them.

  • I think the questions about quality versus price are very difficult to answer.

    What is the BEST beer brand? The BEST car?

    Everybody here knows that if you want It good you have to spend more money.

    For the Kemper I Will not go below the Yamaha HsX.

    If you can afford It yo to Adam, Genelec, Dynaudio.

    I think is best to wait more time and buy better ones.

    You are going to live with them some glorious years:)

  • Initially I got one Behringer Truth B2030 for the Kemper for a similar reason. If I don't want to turn on the whole system, just use that. It worked great.


    In fact I like the speaker so much, I got another one and now use both in a different setup all the time. Inexpensive ($130 each), pretty substantial in weight and even in size compared to the little desk monitors. They sound great though. I recommend you check them out.

  • The Truth monitors are way above their class (they sound better than they should).


    I picked up a set of Event TR8 monitors a while back, well kept for $200. If I recall they were $700ish new (making finding them pre-owned a great deal). They sound pretty damn amazing.

    Just a guy who plays a little bit of guitar.

  • I saw this recommended a while back: Mackie SRM150 5.25-Inch Compact Active PA System

    It's about $250. As I was searching regarding the Mackie, I noted that there were several similar units that were cheaper, Behringer, et al.


    I have a set of Bose speakers, that I think I initially bought to be used with a computer (several years ago so I don't really remember). I now use them for my television and they sound great with the TV. So, I thought, with a TRS to RCA cord, I could use them as a small practice set up. It worked but the sound was not great. Just FYI.

    Be Thankful.

  • I have owned Event monitors since they first came out. As VoodooJef states, they are great. I use a pair of 20/20P as my 2nd monitors; ADAM T7V are my main monitors now. I still use a pair of SP8's in my studio for my Kemper.


    The tweeters in used 20/20 monitors are often sold with the dome pushed in. Don't believe the sellers that this doesn't affect the sound. You might not hear distortion, but dispersion and tone are affected. It is also really expensive to replace a woofer. Spares are hard to find too, so you can figure on buying a 'for parts' monitor to get one. If you buy a pair, either make sure that they are in excellent functional condition, or pay a 'for parts, not working' price that is low enough that you can afford to get a working driver to replace a bad one on top of the original price. Note that the same drivers are used in all 20/20, TR and SP models.


    I also keep two spare tweeters that I won't sell as just in case replacements.

  • Andy, where are you located?

    Hi, firstly sorry for the late response, for some reason I can’t get notifications to work for me. I’m based in Stroud in the uk. I have JBL LSR305s in my studio also but find those a bit harsh for high gain Kemper sounds...hence when recording I monitor through the DXR10...the JBLs would be a bit big for the single bedroom I’d use in the house - it serves as my office in the week and my son’s bedroom alternating weekends. The Genelec 8010 or 8020s look great and small...pricey though even secondhand.


    A pro guitarist friend of mine recommends Fostex PM03s for mixing...and thought they might work for the Kemper.


    You never know till you try though.


    Cheers

    Andy

  • just throwing another data point into the thread for you. I did once run my Kemper through a pair of KRK V6 monitors from my DAW, side by side versus my proper 2x12 cab, there was so much bottom end missing in cleans and gain profiles that I concluded it would need a low range reinforcement speaker if i ever had to use these monitors to amplify my Kemper. YMMV.