Ok, I know... same old story... Need new monitors as my old Alesis M1 Actives died a few months ago - sounded good to me, but use to them after 12 years - yes, original, not MkII - burned out diode.

The reviews of the D5s make it seem incredible, but concerned about the low end and the noise I've heard about. The reviews of the LSR305s are pretty good too and $100 less for a pair. Looking for about $300-$400 - thought about the D8s if I could find more reviews and have the patience to save.

Studio is in the basement - fairly large, open space - maybe 25x25. Desk is a foot or so out from the one wall. No treatment yet.

Don't need super loud, just not sure if my space will be an issue on the 5" woofers. Willing to add sub later.

Thanks,
Pat

I've owned both and much prefer the JBL's. The d5's front ports were a real problem. They made them sound modulated like a wow and flutter effect with any kind of decent volume in my experience at least.

Thanks - I'll see if Guitar Center or Sam Ash has the JBL's out to listen too.

From the posts, it seems that the JBL's sound better and are more accurate than the KRK Rokit 5's G2 and G3.

You could also check out the Yamaha HS5 in that same price range.

Yup, thought about the HS5s too...

People who have the D5s (and the president of the company) seem very passionate about them. Just not sure about the lows and the fragile-ness it seems of pushing them too hard in the room I'm in.

And there's the other side that say anything in the $300 -$400 price range are about the same - just pick one, start mixing and learn the sound of your room with those monitors.

The cheapskate part of my brain is saying just get the KRK Rockit RP5 G2 - the pair with cables is $265 on Amazon right now.

I'd say steer clear of the rokits. JBL or Yams are your best best in that price range. I saw front end audio had a great deal on hs7 pair a week or so ago. Those would be better then the hs5s which are really lacking lows

Yeah - sounds like the Rokits color the true sound too much.

Thanks for the tip on Front End Audio - they have a great deal on the HS7s with cables and MoPads - hits a little over $500, but like the 6.5" woofer which is what my M1 Actives had and the low was decent for me. Decisions... decisions....

Adam F5?

If I'm spending $500+, I think I'd lean toward the Yamaha's since it's 6.5" woofer for deeper bass response.

HOLY S**T!!!

I just got back from guitar center after reading this thread and a few others about the jbl lsr305's. Bought a pair, and I'm breaking them in as we speak...


WOW


Initial impressions:

I seriously cannot believe that they sound this good for the price I paid for them! Easily the best monitors I've ever worked on.

For those that are concerned about low end, don't be! The LSR's have PLENTY of lows for me, and I make "Bass Music"-- i.e., electronic music focused on low frequencies. They truly do go down deep, probably all the way to 43 Hz as advertised. I have no desire for a subwoofer with these. Certainly plenty enough lows to kick some sub bass and know how balanced it is with the rest of your music. The mids are fairly open. No boxiness, which was a concern. Really clean, detailed sound. The upper mids are a tad aggressive, a slight woolliness somewhere in the mids and upper mids, and the highs are a little sharper than my Adam A3x's were, but thats at high volume. Perhaps the best way to say it is that the mids are really upfront. No doubt if your mix has a midrange issue, you'll know! At normal mix volume, they sound pleasingly balanced but very revealing. And this is an untreated room! I'm sure they'll sound better as they break in too. Transient response is crisp and quick, and imaging is lovely and dimensional. Overall, a massive, unbelievable bargain, and probably the single best value for the money I've ever gotten out of a purchase for audio.

Thanks for the feedback, :Metaphor: Would like to know how they sound after the break in. At $300, that would give me a little bit more for other needed gear.

Seriously, you'll be way better off with the D5's compared to the Rokit, even though they're arguably a bit too small for your room. Just don't drive them too hard and they'll perform much better than those KRK speakers.

The port-noise is an issue at high SPL. So you won't fill the room with them. But the midrange is miles ahead of that of the KRK speakers. Can't even compare. And the bass is clearer too, despite possibly being less "loud".

I know nothing about the LSR305, but obviously it's a bit of a different beast since it's a "traditional" two-way as opposed to a coaxial speaker.

Thanks for the feedback on the D5's. Still on the fence about them. When not pushed, how's the sound? The low end? Does it take getting use to the sound of a coaxial speaker? The explanation of why they should sound better makes sense.

For $130 more, the HS7 deal is appealing for my room.

The midrange is very clear. Sounds like it to me at least. Part of their sound is that they're a bit "forward" in that range, and in addition they're clear, so some people will probably interpret that as being very bright. It didn't take long to hear the improvement over a cheap two-way, but it took some getting used to for me personally. Not long, like a week or whatever.

I personally like the low end on them. It's way better than a cheap 8 inch like a Rokit 8 for example. It's "tighter" and clearer. But of course it won't fill a room that's too big and they don't go all that deep. For me they work though. For you? 25x25 might be pushing it a bit. What type of work are you looking to do?

I can't remember how they sounded when I listened to them, but I remember I wasn't all that impressed. It was probably an older version though, and I've heard the specs are actually pretty decent.

One thing to check with Equator is what their return policy is. If I remember correctly I had time to check them out and return them for a refund if I was unhappy. That's pretty much a win in my opinion.

I'm doing mostly my own electronic music, some vocals, some guitar, but would like to be able to accurately mix other types of music as well.

I'm thinking of making some acoustic panels to put up to box in my area a bit - might help with the room size.

Yeah - the 60 day return policy on the D5's makes trying them out appealing.

I traded in my NS-10s for the D5s and could not be happier. That said, I spent more on my room treatment than the monitors, and my room is a little smaller than yours. They are great monitors doe the right space. The other commenter is right, they are not suited for volume. They are best for critical listening. To my ears they are more stable across the freq spectrum than the NS-10s were.

Also, Equator is releasing a DSP gadget soon that will allow you to tune the monitors to your room.

If you can afford them for your room I would look at the D8s instead.

I did not experience this in the slightest.

I really love my D5's...hrmn.

If you're doing "electronica" or something with a lot of bass in a room that size then I'm guessing you'll run into issues. When you push them over a certain limit you'll hear the front ports "chuff". It's not that the cones are distorting (they will eventually of course) it's that the air has a "sound" to it at low frequencies and high SPL. I think the D8 would be a better bet in that case.

Unless you can monitor either at a decent level or move the speakers in pretty close. Mine are about 4.5 feet away from me in a room that's approximately 10x13 or so.

If you have no wall treatment now then I highly recommend it. In my experience real acoustic panels in the right places make a huge difference.

Thanks for the additional feedback on the D5's. Wish the D8's were a little more in my price range, but $777 is a bit too much right now - don't think I have the patience to wait and save up more. Guess I could add a sub down the road - saw some posts that people were doing that - too bad Equator isn't going to release their own.

Marty said at AES that they've done two prototypes (if I remember correctly) and that it's pretty much good to go. They're just figuring out the financial situation to make it profitable. So it may happen and it may not.

Put the D5 in the 3rd position. (There's a 3 position switch)

If you're at least six inches away from the wall the bass will multiply in a good and controlled way. You won't need that sub for a long time.

As do I. I've had them about six weeks and I like them more all the time. FWIW, I downsized from a pair of Quested VS-2108s – serious midfields. They were too big for my smaller room. You cannot go wrong with the Equators. If you don't like 'em, send 'em back.

My next speakers will be Q10's. I'm really impressed for the same reason. They're just balanced and musical.

And Musician's Friend's stupid deal of the day didn't help - JBL LSR 2328P for $150 each.

I'd have the D5's about 3 feet away or so. How narrow is the sweet spot? I sometimes have a friend over to work on tracks, so a little wider sweet spot is nice. Planning on at least some treatment on the wall behind my desk.

Looks like (and makes sense) that they can be placed on the side - maybe those D8's would fit in my current desk as is... hmmm....

I have an Onkyo receiver and Infinity speakers (with sub) set up too if I need volume and "home" reference.

Here's a link on the JBL LSR 2328P
JBL LSR 2300

Anybody have any frequency response specs on these?

I think it's nice and wide. The woofer sort of acts like a waveguide.

Kicking myself a bit for not pulling the trigger on the JBL LSR 2328P deal... I'm sure I'd have been happy with them. And could add the D5's later if I thought I needed them. Sometimes I wish I didn't over think things too much!

I jumped on that deal, and I'm sure I will be pleased Haha, just giving you a hard time! I'm going to pair them with a set of HS5's, and I think the two will work nicely together, as I hear the JBL's are a little mid-shy, while my HS50's are little "mid-forward".