M-Audio Studiophile AV40 vs BX5 D2

I have AV40s and I can tell you that they are pretty decent ones for my mixing sessions, on the other side production wise they lack a bit of bass so you will need additional sub or decent monitor headphones to fix that. I think that you can produce well on any decent speaker if you know negative side of them and how to fix that. To prove that one I can just say that I was in contact with Arnej(one of the big names in trance scene) and can conform that he’s been using AV40s till 2012 (he is in top production since 2004). So in that long period he produced high quality tracks with these cheap monitors.

Know negative sides of your monitors and how to fix them!

Let’s face it guys, our coveted KRK Rokit series are really, really, really considered the rock bottom of monitor speakers … that are acceptable for any serious kind of sound production or mixing work. Any serious sound engineer will agree that, for the price, they sound good enough for home studio use.

You will NEVER find speakers of that quality (or price range for that matter) in any serious sound studio environment.

There you will find brands like Genelec, Adam, Focal, just to name a few. Where 6″ monitors will set you back 2k+ EACH!

So, let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that there is a large choice of actual monitor speakers in the KRK Rokit price range, because there isn’t. The AV40’s for example are made and marketed as high end PC speakers.

If you are used to listening to music through your 10 dollar logitech speakers, the upgrade is amazing. The AV40s really sound good … for LISTENING to music.

By no means are they suited as monitor speakers. There is enough stuff you have to compensate for, not only room acoustics but also your ears (no set of ears is the same and they deteriorate with age, trust me!). You do not need the extra aggrevation of having to constantly compensate in your head for the quirks of a monitor speaker. Flat response (or close) monitors are available, so no reason to save another 50-150 bucks and work with below par equipment.

And as far as mixing in headphones go, don’t! You can use a headphone to zoom in to a particular bit of track when you want to be sure there is no outside sounds. Maybe find a particularly nasty sound you want to EQ out, listen to the wet end of a reverb, stuff like that.

Headphones have no natural reverb (unless you have REALLY BIG ears) 8-)), standing waves and all that other stuff that makes up acoustics. Those acoustics are an integral part of sound though, you need them to make a good mix.

So, if you want something you can afford, stick with the KRKs. 6″ is you want the bare minimum bass (5″ just don’t cut it and the 8″ are already pretty big – almost mid field). An additional sub is useful if you do a lot of bass heavy production.

Or look for some Focals, Genelecs or Adams on the used market. Don’t be surprised if a single one used is still a lot more money than a pair of new KRK Rokit6s.

Greetinx,
C.

Xavi, post: 43720, member: 11971 wrote: You get what you pay for right?
Thanks a lot guys!

Indeed, that is it. And you are most welcome.

Chuck, you totally nailed it. I sure like the KRKs and use them lots on my “DJ desk” as they are hooked up to my controller for home training.
However if I compare them to my Adams production monitors (A7x I think 700 each) it is a huge difference and the A7x are still considered the “low end” of production monitors…