Hi all,

I am planning to buy new studio monitors. My budget is 500 Euros (690$) for the pair.
After reading lots of reviews and forum threads i narrowed my choice to this two

JBL LSR305 (300 euros pair)
EQUATOR D5 (500 euros pair)

The room is 4 to 4 meters (13ft to 13ft) with 3 meters high ceiling,
i have some room treatment so it's ok in that department,

I mostly do electronic music (tech house, progressive trance, chill out) so having a good tight and punchy bass is important to me,
i guess because of the size of the room best is to go with 5-6 inch drivers than 8" and i'm planning purchasing the Jbl Lsr310S subwoofer in the near future as well so i will have an option to check mixes with the sub on in the low area, and let the monitors to shine in the mid/high area

I know that probably would be best to test them on my own ears but in place where i live is not easy to listen to them,
shops don't have them in stock and i need to order my choice,

also buying second hand is not an option for me,

so i need an advice regarding your experiences with some of them? which would be best for my needs? and which one translates better?

i'm opened for suggestions as well about other speakers , but as i've read so far these are the best for the buck at the moment,
looking forward for your responses and recommendations!

Thanks

hi all,
any input and advice would be great
thanks

They are are both very good in mid and high frequencies but you'll get
much more bass from the JBLs.

Hi Mirka,
thanks for the input ,
yes you are right jbl goes lower
jbl is 43 Hz-24 kHz
equator 53Hz - 20kHz

that is a plus when working only on the monitors without the sub,
with the jbl lsr310s sub on that i plan to add i will have a crossover set at 80hz so that will not be so important,

i'm leaning towards the jbl because of perfect match (i assume cause it's the same line) with their lsr310s sub that i want to add as well, they are easier for me to get, and ok they are cheaper but that is not most important,

i would get the equator if they are better monitor than the jbl in terms of flat, accuracy and translation, and i like that they are front ported as i will have them close to the wall,

do you have experience with this two monitors first hand in terms of translation and accuracy?

basically i need the most accurate and flat monitor out of these two (or another one)

thanks

They are both flat and accurate, to me the D5 in a colder, more "clinical" way.
for that and the match with the sub (2310sp is also often mentionned) i would go JBL and your room is big enough for leaving a little distance with the walls. if necessary you could use some bass traps
or home made solutions (foam, thick curtain ...)

hi mirka,
thank you for the input
i cannot make more distance from the wall for the speakers because of the room size,
so generally their space in the room will be on mounts/shelves mounted directly on the wall and they are a size for suiting an 8inch speaker size, so they can go more in front to the edge (like 5 cm= 2 inches) of the shelves but will be still close to a wall,

i don't have anything for treatment directly behind them on the wall,
i have floor to wall fiber glass panels on the four corners in the room,and also they don't hit the walls directly on the reflection points (they hit in points where there are other 12''speakers, paintings, books)

so as i understood from your post
the jbl is flat and accurate with a bit warmer sound than the equator d5 and will be a better match with the jbl lsr310s sub
right?

would be cool to have more opinions from owners of the JBL LSR305 and the EQUATOR D5 or the people who heard them both,

how they compare each other in terms of flat, accuracy and translation.

i don't want a hyped colored monitor that will give me wrong info when mixing.

thanks

From your room/shelves description JBLs are not for you,
despite their accuracy i am not an Equator fan (a lot of people are though)

It came to my mind that Presonus Eris could be the ones for you, with two good
points:
- the bass reflex port on the front
- frequency switches to adapt to the configuration of a room.
Presonus Eris E5 & E8
and
Presonus Eris E8 Review : Eris Ramazzotto - Audiofanzine

In terms of accuracy the Eris 5 match the Lsr 305 but with not so much bass.

The Eris 8 carry good bass, they are my favourite 8 in speakers in this price range, and i have read that some electro musicians are quite happy with them.

A presonus sub is just coming out now (with the Eris 5 ?)
https://gearspace.com/board/new-prod...subwoofer.html

hi mirka
thank you for the help,
the shelves are mounted to the wall and put the monitors in the air standing but still as i said monitors will be close top the back wall,
i can put new panels (fiberglass or rock wool) on the wall behind the monitors as well but i cannot change the distance between the monitors and the back wall or the new panels if i put them,

thanks for the tip for the Presonus Eris 5,
i did saw these as well but didn't quite put them on my shortlist,
i did some more research on them,
i like the room modes on them,
i'm just a bit confused about the reviews,
some say they are flat and accurate (at least for this price and comparing with similar in this price tag)
some say they sound like the krk rp5 and i know that krk are hyped and not accurate,
i heard the sonicsense group monitor test and i guess the recording went wrong there as there was no bass on eris 5 at all,

do you use presonus eris 5 or know them? how accurate are they?

the thing with the back port on the jbl is the only thing about them that keeps me back from them, i prefer front ported because on my placement close to a wall,

the presonus temblor-t10-subwoofer looks really good with the foot switch and the Auto crossover so i will definitely look into that one for a new sub (that or jbl lsr310s)

so at the moment i'm thinking equator d5 and presonus temblor-t10-subwoofer combo,

what do you think?

at the moment i can do this 500 euros (690$) budget for pair of monitors,
and in few months another 500 euros (690$) budget for a sub

also some other forum fellas please join in with your opinions and maybe first hand experience with these monitors mentioned here

i really wish i could just go in a shop and put these three pairs in direct comparison with some reference material and just decide but as i wrote before thats not possible for me as they don't stock any gear here (or they have some in stock but not the ones i'm after) and i need to order my choise,

thanks in advance for the responses

I wouldn't bother buying a sub given your room dimensions.

The Eris monitors are pretty good and I thought they were better than the KRK's I tried out last time I went monitor listening.

That's the problem with forums sometimes, anybody can say anything !
they are the most opposite sounding that you can find.

I know the Eris and they are absolutely accurate.
the 5 do need a sub but like i said the bass is there on the E8, i havent heard them
with electro tracks but from i have read it is pretty efficient in that genre too.


About the Sonicsense shoutout, which i find faithfull to reality, it could be that your headphones are not neutral enough to hear comprehensively differencies between the monitors.
if it is the case, you coud use these inexpensive but very good ones as a tool.
http://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD668...owViewpoints=1
available at thomann in europe.

hi Heartfeltdawn,
thanks for the input,

about the sub,
for regular mixing i intend to use only the monitors,
thats why i search a monitor with a good tight and accurate bass,
doesn't have to be super low but present to have a good representation whats going on that area and definitely not boomy and muddy
i intend of buying the sub so i can go lower than 40-50 hz for music listening and checking how the mixes sound with the sub on,
i already have a velodyne impact 12" sub in the room with the 2.1 hi-fi setup and it sounds nice and tight

about the Eris monitors,

are they pretty good in terms of accuracy and translation?

the thing is i don't like something better than krk,
had the krk - liked it for listening not for mixing found it hyped,
so now replacing for a hopefully better and accurate monitor,
i know the price tag is a bit low but i think it's not the lowest and that i can buy good accurate monitors for that price tag,
i could go more for budget but a bit more,
the 1300 euros (1800$) price tag where are the next step is not in my reach at the moment,
that's why i need the advices,experiences and opinions here so i can find a right monitor for me


thanks and looking forward for the opinions between equator d5, jbl lsr305 and presonus eris 5

hi mirka,
thanks for the headphone tip,
they are super cheap so i will check them in,
i have an sennheiser hd 25-1 and i love their sound for djing,
i heard the Sonicsense shoutout between the Eris 5 and Krk RP5 G2 and yes the bass is there on the Eris (however there is no bass on the recording of the Eris 5 in the main menu where are all the monitors)

so you wrote,
Eris are absolutely accurate
they are opposite than Krk so that can be good for mixing and translation,
you can learn the Krks but i want something more revealing and more accurate to have more time on music than guessing the mix,

i need a good sub bass and also tight punchy bass from a monitor for tech house and trance sound i make,

so by your opinion the Eris 5 and the Temblor T10 will suit better than just Eris 8 without sub?

are the Eris 5 and Eris 8 comparable in the mid and high area?

thank you for your opinions

From what i remember yes but I am helping a friend choosing monitors on saturday, i 'll listen to both the eris and i'll tell you.

On the contrary, i think that the E8 without sub will give you all the bass you need, and the option of adding a sub to them will be still available.

hi Mirka,
did you went for the monitor hunt with your friend?
how about the Eris 5 vs eris 8 comparison in the mid and high areas?

also what do you think about the equator d8?

cheers

Adam F7 would be the better option and are in your price range, more honest, more depth, more detail and have a tighter low end then the other monitors mentioned here. The LSR305 are decent and sound nice, but they not as accurate in terms of being able to pin point the fine details and seperate sections of each mix compared to the F7. Best to arrange a demo though if you can of some mentioned.

The E8 are much more "breathing" with a fuller sound, no noticeable difference in the highs department but the mids are much positively affected by the bass extension.

it is not certain at all that the E5 + sub connection will produce such harmony and cohesion.

my friend had some bassy soul/funk tracks and the E8' s low end is really there, tight and punchy.

for the D8, I heard them very briefly in a noisy
environement some time ago,

but the D5 didn't impress me, considering the big difference of price with the E5, so
i can only assume that the difference of price/quality ratio would stay more or less the same between the two 8 inch versions.

I have listened to Equator D5, Adam F7, Adam A7X and JBL LSR305 - though not all in the same room.

- The Equators are very nice, great imaging and phase coherence, but they had a distinctive peak in 7 kHz range. I found that colors the sound especially in electronic music, where you have much things like synthetic hi-hats happening in that area. Also they don't go very loud without introducing port noise or rattle.

- Both Adams are solid, though I think even they are not very neutral but have a specific voicing in them. Their sound is well suited to electronic music in my opinion. They have the best build and amplifier quality of those mentioned. They have lots of power for testing out your mixes a bit louder too. We have currently F7 in our shared studio, had A7X previously.

- JBL LSR305 - I have had these in my small home studio for a few months, and I've been very happy with them. Their sound is very neutral, only a bit hyped in the very high end over 10 kHz. At first that can be a bit fatiguing, but your ears will "break in" to their sound. In my opinion the stereo imaging is as good as Equators thanks to the waveguide. The amps or crossovers are not the best quality, as their self-noise level is a bit higher than any other monitor I have heard.

Hope this helps- for you I would recommend the LSR305, or the F7 if you can afford them.

hi ECM
thank you for joining in,

what are your opinions in terms of translation of the adam f7,

i heard them for a short time,
i found them sounding nice but a bit hyped and not really flat,
it was in a noisy room and short time and with people around distracting me so maybe havent heard them right,


about the jbl lsr 305 i think i ruled them out because of the port on the back and i have to place them close to a wall,

i know the best is to arrange a demo, but where i live it is not easy as shops dont have this monitors in stock (ihave to order them and they will bring me the ones i choose),

hi Mirka,
so as i understood the e5 and e8 are the same in the high, but e8 has bigger sound, richer low mid, bigger bass
that's sound good to me,

i think i'm gonna skip the sub for now and leaning towards 7-8 inch
but i wonder if 7-8 inch would be overkill for my small/medium room
maybe not cause i have 12'' PA active speakers and they sound great in my room,

now i see the prices for this three candidates
Eris8 € 958
equator d8 €777
adam f7 700€

Eris 8 seems out of my price range
hmmmmmm

hi jontfu
thank you for joining in,

about the equator,
well maybe that 7 kHz range can be problematic for the hi-hats like you mentioned,
i'm not worrying about them not being to go very loud,
i will mix on moderate levels,
i can crank up my 12" PA active speakers to check how it sounds there on the loud m
also i can crank up my HI-FI 2.1 setup to check the sound there as well,

the jbl lsr 305 worries me with their port at the back due to placement close to a back wall,


the Adam f7
also can you share what are your opinions in terms of translation of the adam f7,
as i wrote before heard them to a short time in a noisy room but i also noticed like your opinion that they are not neutral,
yes i know you can learn the flaws of a monitor,
but coming out of using krk which i found nice sounding but totally hyped i rather buy now as flat as possible monitor,
i can stretch to that price as i was also considering adding a sub with the 5ich monitor,
but i'm also thinking maybe better is to get a 7-8 inch speaker because i will use it for mixing so it's better to have a fuller sound and range,
and maybe maybe in the future get a sub that i will use occasionally for referencing and just music listening

Since you guys seem to know the F7 and the D5 pretty well, here is an odd question: which one is better at low levels? Yes, low levels! I'm in a situation right now where I can't constantly push things loud, and my HS80 are not really good at low levels...

I bought the Adam F7 some 8 months ago without having personally heard them and purely based on good reviews. I can't speak for the other monitors you mentioned but I can say these Adams are exceptionally good for their price. They also translate very well. I highly recommend them!

i know its all rooms and ports and stuff thats probably right

but the jbls just sound good and are cheap

Jovanja, the price is for the pair !
Presonus Eris 8 - Thomann UK

hi mirka
yes totally slipped my view that it was listed as pair on thomann,
i was shocked when i saw the price but i'm more shocked that i didnt double checked about price per pair or piece

so now i correct the prices for this three candidates
Eris8 €477 pair
equator d8 €777 pair
adam f7 600€ pair

is the Eris8 good working on low levels? generally i work on medium level but maybe in the night i put down the volume down,

do you have any opinions on the adam f7? vs eris8?
cheers

They're both rated yet low end(on the big scale) monitors and thus have their flaws so I wouldn't split hairs too much over their issues(referring to the frequency response comments).. I'm sure you can't go wrong with any either of them.

I got the Equators as an upgrade from the KRK RP5(1st gen) after doing alot of research on the best current monitors and then went and had a listen at the shop, they're great, my mixes are transforming rapidly, I've kept the RP5s as I like the low end with them, I can hear how I need it to be with them and as a second reference, so they compliment each other.

Only issue with the Equators is it seems the low end can be a bit flabby(when I'm working with 808s for example) but this might not be so much of an issue for you.


GL.

hi balou ,
thank you for joining in
glad to hear you are enjoying your adam f7 ,
can you share some thoughts about their sound, do you find it close to flat or is it hyped in some areas,
also does it need more cross checking to other systems or it's translating fast,

maybe you'll find this questions funny,
i know that personal mixing and producing skills has a big part to the ''my mixes translate well'',
but general- majority opinion of a certain speaker in terms of neutral,flat, accurate, sound that translates well it's what is helping me here choose my next monitors in a situation that i don't have a proper shop where i can just go and listen,

hi guys,
also worth mentioning is that my sitting place from the speakers will be axis triangle of 1 meter ( 3ft) from both,

do you think that thats too close for an 8-7 inch? or its the same as with 5inch and it doesn't matter ?

i checked the dimensions specifications of the speakers
(WDH)
Eris8 : 250 x 299 x 384 mm
equator d8 254 x 305 x 355 mm
adam f7 225 x 266 321 mm

the space i have planned for them will suit this dimmensions just that i have a feeling that 5-6 inch will suit more to have a bit small space of the back wall and make perfect placement for the triangle axis towards the listening position
(WDH)
Eris 5 178 x 198 x 260 mm
equator d5 177 x 216 x 247 mm,

Ho jovanja,

It's never easy to describe a sound in words but I'll try:

I love the clarity of the Adam X-ART tweeters. They really give me a clear picture of what's going on the high frequencies. I don't consider them "hyped" at all.

As far as being neutral: It isn't easy finding the holy grail of "neutral" speakers, given your budget. Every speaker has a bit of a learning curve and getting used to, imo, regardless of price.

I've read some comments here and there about the F7's lacking in the midrange. I have to disagree with that. If you really want the F7's the be a bit more pronounced in the midrange, all you have to do is turn down the high and low shelf EQ (5 kHz and 300 Hz) a little on the back of the speakers.

Mine are set flat for the lows and about +1 dB for the highs in my room. Of course this may be set different in someone else's room depending on size, acoustic treatment, etc.

I think the most important thing is to check your recordings on a variety of systems. I am using a, believe it or not, Logitech Z-2300 speaker set (THX certified 2.1 set) besides the Adams to check my mixes from a different perspective. I also use Audio Technica ATH M-50 and AKG K270 Playback headphones for the same reason.

I am in the fortunate position to check my stuff in state of the art recording studio's to get an idea of where I am at. Funny enough, before I got the Adams, I did a mix and mastering for a project on the Logitech set and Sony headphones at home and checked it in the Wisseloord Studio's : Wisseloord Studios | Studio 1 and it was spot on :-)

I did consider getting the Adam F5's with the sub but went for the F7's without the sub. I really don't feel right now I need the extra sub. The Logitech sub gives me a enough of a picture to check the real low frequencies. And of course I also check what's going on with spectrum analyzers, as well. Voxengo's SPAN is pretty good, imo.

As far as size, placement of the F7's goes: They are 102 cm apart (I have a 27" Dell U2713HM in between plus the Logitech satellites) and that works well for me. They are also sitting on Auralex MoPADS, which helps decoupling from the desk they're on, btw. I highly recommend using these things.

Hope the above was informative and good luck with your speaker choice!