 Overview of active speaker manufacturers |
thechronic 
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I did some research on active professional monitors for you. As you will see active monitors in general have quite a high price tag compared to passive speakers, but they have one or two amplifiers built into each speaker which justifies the price. The cheapest ones are below 600 euro a pair and the most expensive ones 40000 or more 
Adam
Adam is a small but respected brand in the audio industry. They have several active monitors with cool looking tweeters with excellent hi frequency response up to 35kHz making them ideal for 24-bit/96k systems. For small speakers they have the most impressive bass response characteristics, the smallest model goes down to 48Hz!! No need for a subwoofer here...
I could not find any prices on them though, but I don't expect them to be very cheap 
They have a great design with cut off corners making them look industrial and futuristic.
I'm going to look into these ones more closely cuz they're sold by Amptec in Belgium and that's a shop I know well. I might get a pair for testing 
Alesis
I'm not a big fan of Alesis, had some bad experiences with their equipment breaking down. Nevertheless their speakers are very popular and have a very attractive price so it's probably not a bad bet. At the moment they have three ranges in active monitors:
M1 is their longest running and most popular speaker. It's biamped (75W bass, 25W top), sounds very decent for the price. It has a nice bass response, goes well below 50Hz.
Pro Active - these are small desktop speakers, coming in two guises, for stereo and 5.1 surround monitoring. THX certified and including remote control, so you can use them to watch DVDs in a very comfortable way
Pro Linear - their new high end range, in two versions, the 720 (with 7" woofer) and the 820 (with 8" woofer). These are small nearfield monitors with biamped (80W/40W) electronics and both are available in a DSP version boasting an LCD display to chose EQ settings, and they can be connected to a PC for precise control. Special to say the least
ATC
Very high quality active speakers for the demanding professional. The cheapest mini speakers are 3000 euro a pair and the big ones are 36500 euro. Better start filling in those Lotto papers
Audix
Very small but very cheap powered monitors. These models are not designed for studio use, but may be interesting for people with a very small budget. No bass to be expected at all
Two models: the PH3s (200 euro for a pair) with 20W power and 3.5" woofer and the PH5vs (300 euro for a pair) with 25W power and 5" woofer
Behringer
Behringer is well-known for their extensive range of cheap gear for beginning producers. The quality of their stuff is ofcourse not comparable to things costing 10x as much, but they have a reputation for giving very good value for money. Especially when you are just starting out and don't want to spend huge sums on buying new gear Behringer is a brand to consider.
They currently have two sets of active studio speakers:
- the medium sized Truth B2031 which is a two-way system with a 6 3/4" polypropylene (=plastic) woofer and a 3/4" tweeter, powered by a 75W / 35W amplifier respectively. The frequency response goes down to 40Hz accordign to their chart, so a subwoofer would not be necessary.
- the MS16 is a *very* compact speaker set which resembles computer speakers rather than studio speakers.
Behringer has also announced the Truth B2030 range of active and passive studio monitors, which are a scaled down version of the B2031. They will be released in the first quarter of 2004 so my guess is that they will be revealed at the Frankfurter Messe.
Blue Sky
Blue Sky have two ranges of mean looking speakers with white cones like blind eyes
Both ranges are best used with a sub woofer because the bass end is rolled off at 80Hz. Good news is that you can get an entire system (2 sattelites + subwoofer) for the price of a single subwoofer from another brand: the Pro Desk 2.1 combination costing less than 1200 euro and the bigger System One combination for 1588 euro.
Dynaudio Acoustics
...working on it...
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15-11-2003 11:37 |
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thechronic
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EMES
...working on it...
Event Electronics
...working on it...
Focal
...working on it...
Fostex
...working on it...
Genelec
Genelec is one of the most known brands in active monitoring. They only make active monitors of the highest quality, but I saw on their website that they have moved in the hifi home theatre market as well.
They have a big range of speakers for all types of applications. A couple of models have digital inputs on AES/EBU 96kHz but these are a lot more expensive than their analog counterparts. Their cheapest model is the 1029A priced at 400 euro, but that's a very small one with a bass rolloff at 70 Hz, so it would require a subwoofer. The other models are more interesting but a lot more expensive. I once had a demo of a big surround set of Genelecs at the Galaxy studio in Mol and it was so loud that my bones started creaking but it still sounded very smooth.
In London I have mixed on a pair of big Genelecs at SAE but I found their sound too mellow for dance music. If I would mix on the Genelecs and then compare on a set of passive JBL's it would sound overly aggressive...
Hafler
...working on it...
HHB
...working on it...
Hot House
Specialised in big monitors that go very loud 
They have one active model, the ARM 265, which costs 6500 euro for a pair. They have a very posh looking varnished oak finish and you can specify the colour to match your studio interior
They also have three active subwoofers but these are very expensive too...
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15-11-2003 11:37 |
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thechronic
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JBL
...working on it...
Klein & Hummel
...working on it...
KRK
The distinctive dark grey monitors with flashy yellow kevlar woofers. The ones I heard (KRok and 9000B) sounded a bit too aggressive to my taste, but that were both passive models. They have quite a big range now, going from miniature monitors (eg the V4) to huge main speakers weighing over 180 kg a piece. They also have 3 different subwoofers to chose from.
KS Digital
...working on it...
M-Audio
This company is well-known for their audio interfaces and MIDI controllers but they are also offering a small range of active monitors. They have two types of nearfields (respectively 130W and 75W), a subwoofer and a set of tiny nearfields with subwoofer which can be expanded to 5.1 surround by two satellites. I've never heard them but they're cheap so it will never hurt to check them out.
Mackie
The Mackie nearfield speakers have been designed by one of Genelec's main engineers but are a lot cheaper than Genelecs. They have a reputation to be the best in their price range. They have a very flat frequency response which is uncommon for this price. They are very popular and can be tried out in most pro audio shops.
There are three models: the HR624 (650 euro) is the smallest one with a 6" woofer, the HR824 (900 euro) is the bigger one and the HR626 (1000 euro) is a new model with two 6" woofers which is very much suited for the center channel for surround mixing. There are also two subwoofers available: the HRS120 (1700 euro) and the HRS150 (2666 euro).
Miller & Kreisel
American brand of speakers that are mainly used for mixing film soundtracks. They have an extensive range of passive speakers, but only two active ones which are probably too expensive for most upcoming dnb producers. The 2510P costs 1400 euro a piece and you will need a subwoofer too, which range from 2380 euro to over 5000 euro. That's probably something to buy after your second mega selling album 
PMC
...working on it...
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15-11-2003 11:39 |
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thechronic
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PSI audio
PSI has been making OEM monitors for other brands since 28 years but have come out with their own bordeaux-coloured range last year. Their range consists of 4 different models and a sub woofer. All models are bi-amped, magnetically shielded and have a high SPL output (118dB @ 1m for the smallest model, 127dB @ 1m for the big one). Reasonably priced (685 euro ex VAT for the smallest pair, 2270 euro for the subwoofer) and they have a reputation to be very good
Quested
...working on it...
Roland
...working on it...
Samson
...working on it...
Studer
...working on it...
Tannoy
This company has been in existence for nearly 80 years
Through the history of pro audio they've built up a fantastic reputation of offering high quality monitors at very reasonable prices. Their current range is huge and incorporates studio speakers, PA speakers, installation speakers and components if you want to build your own. They also sell crossovers, amplifiers and all types of wall mounting brackets and stands
Their active studio range has 3 different types: the Reveal range, the System range and the new Ellipse.
The Reveals are their budget series. I have them myself
They sound nice but have a tendency to sweeten and colour the sound. Good thing is that they are incredibly cheap and offer very good quality for that price. They are magnetically shielded so you can place them besides your computer screen without causing funny colours to appear. The price is only 555 euro for a pair in Music Store Köln. The Reveal range also has two special subwoofers (one for stereo, one for surround), which is worth the extra investment.
The System range is their bigger range consisting of 4 active models and two different subwoofers. This range has the typical Tannoy feature of using dual concentric speakers which have the tweeter built inside the woofer for exceptional phase coherency. Their more expensive though, with the small System 600 model costing double of the Reveal.
The new Ellipse range has a very fancy design. It looks like it's ripped out of a space ship
It has two 3-way models with super tweeters that go up to 50kHz for 24-bit/96k applications with a price to match.
Truth Audio
...working on it...
Yamaha
...working on it...
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15-11-2003 11:40 |
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Contradiction
Cool Steppa
Registration Date: 29-09-2003
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woooow this is soo impressive...
thx man this is very useful
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15-11-2003 12:05 |
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Azer
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nice one thechronic 
enjoyed myself with hours of research and exploring last time. and still saving ....
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15-11-2003 13:16 |
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Surya
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Registration Date: 04-11-2002
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Qbit
I ordered a pair of Alesis M1
they have a good reputation & aren't expensive!
check this out |
I have the passive ones and they do sound very nice for their price!!!
The frequency range of the active ones is bigger, so they'll sound even better I guess
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"In dnb you should make people jump not swim"
- Pieter Frenssen 2004
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15-11-2003 13:34 |
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Akura
Kletsenboem-style
Registration Date: 06-04-2003
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Superb thread! Seeing this overview I can't stand it to do some research. I think I won't be able to hold it much longer buying a pair of monitors... Where is Santa Claus??
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16-11-2003 15:59 |
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Surya
The Robot
Registration Date: 04-11-2002
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Akura
Where is Santa Claus??
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Is the Santa that comes to you rich? The one here isn't 
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"In dnb you should make people jump not swim"
- Pieter Frenssen 2004
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16-11-2003 16:05 |
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Surya
The Robot
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Maybe make a section for this on the main site? I think this is very good info to put there, and it will be easyer to update then too.
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"In dnb you should make people jump not swim"
- Pieter Frenssen 2004
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19-11-2003 18:11 |
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Emblem-X
Master Producer
Registration Date: 10-11-2002
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Qbit
I ordered a pair of Alesis M1
they have a good reputation & aren't expensive!
check this out |
looking good idd!
septembre -> time to spend some money
cheerz
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21-07-2004 21:13 |
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wicked_wayz
Cool Producer
Registration Date: 19-03-2004
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anyone knows these ?, from tapco, supposed to be a spin-off of Mackie, but cheaper. Should have a flat response (+-3dB) form 40 to 20k Hz.
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22-07-2004 09:31 |
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Surya
The Robot
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Looks nice, what do they cost? Although 60W isn't THAT much, but I suppose it should be enough?
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"In dnb you should make people jump not swim"
- Pieter Frenssen 2004
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22-07-2004 11:25 |
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wicked_wayz
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Registration Date: 19-03-2004
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about 199$ each, but it seems there're hard to find here. didn't even watch the watts 
thougth that wasn't that important.
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22-07-2004 13:27 |
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Surya
The Robot
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Not that expensive indeed.
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"In dnb you should make people jump not swim"
- Pieter Frenssen 2004
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22-07-2004 14:21 |
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Mackie all the way
Although it comes down to personal taste when talking about moni's (and room accoustics)
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23-07-2004 13:19 |
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Surya
The Robot
Registration Date: 04-11-2002
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Yeah, but them Mackies kost a lot of mullas
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"In dnb you should make people jump not swim"
- Pieter Frenssen 2004
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23-07-2004 13:41 |
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True, you might pay more for a pair of mackies if you talk stricly price-quality rate. On the other hand, monitors are one of the most important pieces in a studio so I didn't mind spending some cash on it.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by woodcarver ORKA: 23-07-2004 16:04.
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23-07-2004 15:36 |
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