MOTUnation.com

Anyone have any suggestions for the best powered monitors for under 300.00 ? I'm a Singer/Songwriter and need to mix acoustic rock/pop rock.

Probably not gonna happen at that price.

Hey matt,
It is Jaime O'Connell. What a coincidence seeing you here! Either way, I used a set of Yamaha MSP3's a few times and i liked them ok. They are about 3 for a pair. They are pretty small, so the lower bass octaves are a bit shy, but if you check your mixes on other things, you will be alright. The best bet is to look in the used market for that kind of price, maybe the bigger yamaha's, like the Yamaha MSP5 or KRK's or some Events. Hope that is a little helpful.

One monitor that is overlooked at this price point is the Fostex pm1. Very great value for the $.

I see folks recommending the Behringer Truth series -- but I have never heard them, and have serious reliability issues with Behr gear.

However -- if at ALL possible, take a CD of YOUR own music as well as others that you like -- you know, the song you spent 6 weeks on and know every beat -- and use it to audition different monitors yourself. Its not as good as doing it in your room, but much better than nothing.

-lee-

Anyone have any suggestions for the best powered monitors for under 300.00 ? I'm a Singer/Songwriter and need to mix acoustic rock/pop rock.

It's kind of an oxymoron. Honestly I would look at the nicest home stereo speakers you can find and a little amp in that price range. Reason being, if you continue to grow your studio you may eventually replace them with a more pro set and you can easily use the the set for a music listening setup or a stereo in another room in your crib.

Good luck with your music.

When I started my home studio, I bought a pair of Samson Resolv 65A's for $300. I have always been a little embarassed of them, but I was happy. They might have been a little hyped, but overall I was pretty happy. They've gotten good reviews in several audio magazines, several of which were surprised that anything by Samson was good. I would agree with the person above me who worried about the reliability of the Behringer monitors. A friend who used to work in pro audio sales said they were a very common return.
When I was in school, we had several different small editing labs with "budget monitors", so I got to work on a daily basis with low end monitors by M-Audio, Behringer, Tapco, Alesis, etc. I was happier with my Samsons than any of those. I think the key to accurate monitoring is being used to the way music sounds on your monitors. Listen to everything on them, not just the projects you're doing. Hope this helps.