8s are pretty big for (near fields) studio monitors. Considering that monitors should be set up in a triangle with your head being corner and the speakers the other two corners. They should be set up at a slight downward angle (if possible) on firm (usually heavy) and preferable aucoustically decoupled stands. The high end drivers should be pointing directly at your ears. And everything should be equidistant from each other. Effectively meaning maybe 3-4 from your ears and 3-4 feet in between speakers. Picture a 24″ screen in the middle and you can see how this becomes a rather big wall in front of you.
The other two are 5″ and a lot nicer in size. I use the Rokit 5’s and would, if I had to get something new, go for the 6’s next time. The bass on the 5’s is a tad thin and I don’t want to go subwoofer. Budgetwise I think the Rokit’s are the best among the low budget models. Haven’t heard the JBL’s yet, M-Audio is ok, but can’t quite compare to the Rokit’s I think.
I guess it depends on what you want to achieve exactly. If you are gonna produce bass-heavy stuff, make mashups and mixes or practice DJ-ing. They all have their own specific demands really.
In production the reproductive qualities matter most (because you shape the sound), if you make mixes and mashups, you are working with mastered material, so those qualities aren’t too important. For DJ-ing you’d want speakers ment to play at a higher sound level for longer times and that are not too tiring on the ears (I can tell you from experience that listening to studio monitors for a long time can wear you out :-)).
Trying to sum it up for you:
5″ speakers are a tad small if you want any serious bass. Solution could be adding one subwoofer.
6″ speakers for me give the right amount of umph without becoming too bulky. Again, your desire for stumping bass determines if you’ll want a sub.
8″ speakers I would really consider almost mid-field and not near-field. They are nice but I wouldn’t want them staring at me from less than three feet away.
Qualitywise I can’t comment on the JBL’s. But the M-Audio is lowest of the three. Value for money I think there isn’t much that beats the Rokit’s at the moment.
Hopefully some others will pitch in and give their opinions as well.
Good luck & greetinx,
C.
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