Current Monitors similiar to Event 20/20-- Need recommendations!

[rp88.2]

Hi:

I am starting to look for a new set of monitors similar to Event 20/20 for a second location. I have been spending more time away from home and need a better set of monitors-- the ones I have are ok, but to hear bass, I need to play them louder than I like-- so I end up using headphones more than I want to.

I like the Event 20/20 because to my ears they are clear, open and I don't have to crank the volume to get a reasonable bass response.

I would like to keep the price under $1000/pair (under $700/pair) would be ideal. Been saving up, so I think I am ready to take the plunge.

Thank you all in advance for your recommendations!!

Rich

[stubbsonic]

I don't have golden ears (far from it). I used those Event 20/20's at work, and liked them.

I find my old Mackie HR824's to have similar low-end characteristics, but I never A/B'ed them.

The Mk2 is more than you want to spend, though. And at that price, there are probably better options.

[mikehalloran]

v3 of the 20/20 had a $treet of $900 the pair in 2006. That was 15 years ago. Unfortunately, there were at least 4 different monitors sold under the 20/20 name, powered and unpowered.

You can find them used as long as you know what you're looking for. Lots of used unpowered pairs under $300. Decent power amplifiers (500W side @ 4Ω) in the $500 range are readily available.

I'd be looking at the Mackie 824 mkII also. Adjust inflation by 15 years and the prices aren't much different.

Otherwise, a pair of monitors with a sub is the only way I know to get decent bass under a grand. A pair of the JBL 308P MkII is $498 and the LSR310S sub is $399. I've little doubt you couldn't talk Sweetwater to toss in a pair of interconnect cables as part of a package deal.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... itors-pair
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -subwoofer

I use the LSR310S sub with a pair of (discontinued) Equator D8 mk2 and don't think I could do better without dropping $3k or more if I got tired of them.

[Phil O]

I've always been a big fan of ADAM Audio, although I'm not familiar with this T series...so I can't recommend - but worth checking out.

You can get a pair of these for $600:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... io-monitor

And the sub for $400

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -subwoofer


Your friendly neighborhood Phil

[HCMarkus]

I just picked up a pair of Tannoy Gold 8 speakers, to augment my current reference monitors (Dynaudio BM5 + sub and Avantones) and headphones. The Golds give me the perspective of an 8" woofer and concentric tweeter, which I find valuable in mixing. With that 8" woofer, the Gold 8s might give you the bottom end you seek referenced to the 20/20s.

Although I haven't done much listening yet, the one thing that popped out at me immediately with the Tannoys is the imaging... superb! I will be pairing with a sub (switchable) soon, but the overall sound seems balanced, and the front port and woofer/tweeter/overall level controls make placement flexible.

Price is very affordable... $300/ea is the new apparent US MAP. Even less overseas. The performance we can get for small dollars these days is pretty darn amazing.

[mikehalloran]

I just picked up a pair of Tannoy Gold 8 speakers, to augment my current reference monitors (Dynaudio BM5 + sub and Avantones) and headphones. The Golds give me the perspective of an 8" woofer and concentric tweeter, which I find valuable in mixing. With that 8" woofer, the Gold 8s might give you the bottom end you seek referenced to the 20/20s.

Although I haven't done much listening yet, the one thing that popped out at me immediately with the Tannoys is the imaging... superb! I will be pairing with a sub (switchable) soon, but the overall sound seems balanced, and the front port and woofer/tweeter/overall level controls make placement flexible.

Price is very affordable... $300/ea is the new apparent US MAP. Even less overseas. The performance we can get for small dollars these days is pretty darn amazing.

I forgot about these. If one of the DSP cards in my Equatoirs went down, these would be on order the next day.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... io-monitor

There are a number of subs in the $400 range that would pair nicely besides the JBL. If you don't use a monitor controller with a bypass switch for the sub, the KRK 10S and PreSonus Temblor T10 both have that functionality at that price point.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/search ... b=low2high

[rp88.2]

Thank you all fo your suggestions. The Tannoy’s look very interesting.

Thank you all again!

Rich

[rp88.2]

@Mike -- so, from your perspective, the JBL LSR10 is good sub to pair with? It sounds like you are very happy with it.

Been looking at different monitors, but am starting to think that may be the way to go for my monitoring needs, for now.

In the future, I could upgrade to the Tannoys (or Neumann KH 120) and still pair with the sub?

What are you all using for calibration? DP's internal or something else?

All the best,

Rich

[HCMarkus]

You can pair that JBL Sub with any speakers you wish and, if you are happy with an 80Hz crossover point, can use the sub's internal crossover to feed your left and right speakers. The sub level is adjustable to match the speaker level. If you need a different crossover frequency, the built in crossover won't do the job.

[rp88.2]

Thank you for the help!

[wylie1]

I see a lot of people using the Kali speakers if I ever have to replace my Equator's I'd like to check them out

[stubbsonic]

I got a pair of the LP-6 Kali speakers ($300) from SW for a classroom/lab a couple weeks ago. I haven't had a good opportunity to put them through their paces, but my first impression is that they sound good and not weird. The low-end is natural, but doesn't have the same pleasing lows as a 20/20. When I have more of a chance to play familiar material through them, I'll post an update here.

[primeevolutionary]

If you like the 20/20s, you might be able to pick up a used pair of Event Studio Precision 8s within your budget. They are more of a mid-field monitor, but, are a good sound progression from the 20/20s. I used them for a decade and a half and then switched to the Opals (which I love so much I eventually bought a second pair for backup and playing with quad).

I loved the SP8s enough that I am keeping my pair for listening purposes.

[Gravity Jim]

If you were running V1 or V2 of the 20/20s, you might look around for a used pair of 20/20bas V3s. I sold mine for $500 for the pair. I used 20/20s for years and really liked them a lot... if you're used to their flavor profile, the V3s are a significant improvement. I didn't find anything I liked better until I got my Genelecs.

[mikehalloran]

You can pair that JBL Sub with any speakers you wish and, if you are happy with an 80Hz crossover point, can use the sub's internal crossover to feed your left and right speakers. The sub level is adjustable to match the speaker level. If you need a different crossover frequency, the built in crossover won't do the job.

True and very true.

I use the internal high pass filter to limit my sub to 80Hz but am not feeding the outputs to my Equators. Their natural rolloff is close enough that I am able to balance them easily.

I use a Radial MC3 as my controller. It lets me balance the outputs of both pairs of mains and the sub along with sub's polarity. I can also sum to mono and switch the sub in and out without a footswitch (that the 310 doesn't support anyway). Because my handicap does not let me crawl on the floor to adjust levels and polarity, the MC3 turned out to be an ideal solution (there are active controllers that can do this, of course).
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MC3--radial-mc3
You can also find used on Reverb and eBay. Another user here complained that the MC3 turned "gritty" on him. Didn't know what he meant till I had a similar problem, caused by oxidizing TRS jacks and solved by a healthy shot of DeOxIt aerosol into those 1/4" jacks about 8 years ago.

One thing to know: If feeding an LSR310S from an unbalanced source such as the MC3, use an unbalanced cable or suffer a -3 dB signal drop which is quite noticeable. I use a mono splitter at the end of the cable to feed both coils in the sub. Not an issue, of course if feeding it from a balanced source.