How to reasonably choose the best possible studio monitors ?

    Dear all,


    I'd like to hear from experienced users some tips on the choice of studio monitors for my Kemper.


    This would be for playing at home primarily, but I wonder if the loudest ones (say 8 inch) could be used for rehearsal also.


    My basic questions are :

    Is there a precise speaker size I should choose depending on some criteria? for instance, in the past I really LOVED the sound on a pair of KRK Rockit 8inch I had the occasion to test, but it was in a quite big room, say 50m². What if I use it more in the corner of the same room, where my desk is, and with a big bookcase (which is in fact a wall) behind me at 2.5 m? should I use smaller ones ? why?


    Would you use it for rehearsals (the 8inch ones were really loud, but would it be enough?)


    Is there a sort of rule with the performance/cost ratio? the KRK I tested were something like $400-500. What do we earn concretely with higher quality lines of products? is it worth given that I won't play in an acoustically optimized room like a real studio anyway?


    Best

    Guillaume

    I'm using a pair of JBL306's. In a small studio of ~12'x11". They are 112watts each and get stupidly loud. Clarity and stereo separation is very good. And these things sound just as good at whisper volumes. I could have easily gone with the 305's for my room size but I may be moving to a larger studio. I also added the JBL310 subwoofer for more bottom end punch when I just practice without tracks, and to get some "boom" for regular music playback. JBL has lowered their prices for Xmas. I hear the Adams are great monitors too.


    You need a cab like the Kabinet for live rehearsal, or a good active PA/monitor, IMO. If you are going to rehearse for a live show then why would you want to lug studio monitors around. They are not made for travel, or to be moved for that matter. Plus, I think you want to know the sound your audience will hear before they actually hear it. So, you would want to dial in your cab/PA sound for travel.


    The pair of 306's plus the 310 sub would just about equal the tone and feel of one good cab for rehearsal. But a single cab is way more cost effective, and would sound best.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Hi, I used to have the JBL305's even without the subwoofer (not needed) they sounded Great . I Compared them with Adams and other more expensive ones in the store- went with the JBL's because the difference in sound didn't justify the price difference. I tried the Headrush and the Laney IRT-x (which I have owned also) They were ok. The biggest difference soundwise was when I got the Kemper cab Wow! I got rid of everything else - real amp in the room sound different cabs to choose from. I almost sold my Kemper since I am a tube guy but now that I have the Kemper Cab I am keeping it. ( The styles I play are mostly classic rock and low/medium gain)

    Hope this helps, cheers!

    Hi guys, Thank you very much for sharing your experience, sure it helps !


    I will definitely give a try to these JBL305, and probably do a A/B comparison with 8" ones before I make a decision. I think that the bass behaviour is important, more than the loudness, and if good 5" monitors are actually enough, why spending more?


    just to share also , I play classic blues and rock tones, I also have the Kabinet, which I kept because it's by far the best 12" speaker I've ever tried, and it has this Amp in the room feel. Even if I didn't have yet the occasion to try it loud in a rehearsal (because of lockdown), I'm sure it will make the job nicely. But in home situation (lower volumes, practicing over backing tracks), the mic'ed sound (by opposition to the Real AITR sound) is definitely the one I prefer, and the kabinet, even in full range mode, is unfortunately not as good as monitors for this task, I find. So the will to have both.

    Using some older but nice Mackie HR-824's mixed with a pair of Event Project Studio 6's. Using sub outs on the mixer I can mix these as I need to. ;)

    If you use FRFR the benefit of a merged profile is that the cabinet is totally separated in the profile.


    For my edification only... ;) Kemper/Axe-FX III/ Quad Cortex user

    I went to a big music shop with dozens of monitors , asked to play my tracks on their systems and discriminated most of the ones out of my price range.


    I finally chose HS series vs KRK after some extensive tests , as the KRK were too agressive for me.


    Love my HS ( got the 7 and the old ones HS80)

    Yes, HS and KRK were the two I had in mind at the beginning, with the Eris series too.

    In fact I'm surprised than in most of the answers (okay it's not large statistics...) you seem to all have <7 inch speakers. I thought people would like more the bigger ones because guitarists are used to 12" guitar speakers that moves more air etc... It's maybe because I'm more minded like someone wanting to play guitar through the monitor than like a home studio producer wanting to mix?

    get a pair of monitors + a Kone , mount it on whatever Cab you like and you'll pack all the punch and clarity you could get .


    Kone is by far the best addition to the KPA when it comes to amp in the room and amp like monitoring. I use it daily for monitoring while recording on everything here and it's a bliss : guitars, basses ,fender rhodes ...