COVER STORY: Sound Choices

Mar 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Rusty Cutchin

           
 

Loud and Proud

In our real-world tests of the monitors examined here, we relied on comparison listening and off-site evaluation to come up with our favorites. Experience has taught us to consider not only the sound we prefer personally, but also what is likely to appeal to clients and to work in a competitive marketplace. If you're thinking about buying one of these monitors, consider the kind of projects you're working on, and listen to many different kinds of program material on different monitors before making a choice. Also, don't hesitate to return a set that isn't working in your studio space. After all, if the music doesn't sound good to you, it probably won't to the client or the public.

If you are looking for monitors under $800 a pair, you would not make a serious misstep with any of the units we looked at, although certain models will require tooling with built-in compensation settings or outboard equalizers to ensure they are providing the most bang for your buck. For most small studios, however, we would recommend the Event TR 8XL for the widest range of projects. For ample bass in smaller studios, the Alesis ProLinear 720 is an excellent choice, while the Fostex PM-2 provides an even balance and crispness rivaling the TR 8XLs for a list price of $100 less.

Alesis/Numark — www.alesis.com

Event Electronics — www.event1.com or www.eventelectronics.com.

Fostex Corporation of America — www.fostex.com

M-Audio — www.m-audio.com

Phonic America Corporation — www.phonic.com

Tapco (Loud Technologies, Inc.) — www.tapcogear.com

Rusty Cutchin is an associate editor of EM. He can be contacted at rcutchin@comcast.net.