i'm as chill as they come.
 

I totally love Classical and Jazz via my KRK VXT4's!  Everyone I have sat in my mixing position to listen has been blown away by what is possible from such a small plastic speaker.  Enclose them in a wood box with speaker cloth on the front if you must.  I would recommend a fine hand rubbed bubinga or curly maple finish.

A good set of speakers will be genre-neutral by definition, so don't assume that a model that's popular with (knowledgeable) hip-hop or EDM producers won't be suitable for epic Wagnerian classical music. 
 
I wouldn't go with the ADAM A5s, though. Great little speakers, but not full range. You'd need to add a subwoofer. I assume your epic productions contain taiko drums and contrabasses and concert bass drums and driving cello sections, and you'd like to hear them in all their glory.
 
Your best bet is something with an 8" woofer. Try eBay and Craigslist first, because unless a monitor has been abused (most haven't) there's no sonic compromise in buying used. You'll be looking at entry-level models and fortunately they are plentiful on the second-hand market, as most people eventually upgrade. With luck, you'll be able to score some older Mackies, Tannoys, Yamahas or even JBLs in your price range.
 
Don't be afraid to go with passive speakers, which many older monitors will be. Most people want active monitors nowadays, so passives are harder to sell, which could save you money.

BretB
I totally love Classical and Jazz via my KRK VXT4's!  Everyone I have sat in my mixing position to listen has been blown away by what is possible from such a small plastic speaker.  Enclose them in a wood box with speaker cloth on the front if you must.  I would recommend a fine hand rubbed bubinga or curly maple finish.

Oh. This is a goooood idea. Thanks for the tip!
 

bitflipper
A good set of speakers will be genre-neutral by definition, so don't assume that a model that's popular with (knowledgeable) hip-hop or EDM producers won't be suitable for epic Wagnerian classical music. 
 
I wouldn't go with the ADAM A5s, though. Great little speakers, but not full range. You'd need to add a subwoofer. I assume your epic productions contain taiko drums and contrabasses and concert bass drums and driving cello sections, and you'd like to hear them in all their glory.
 
Your best bet is something with an 8" woofer. Try eBay and Craigslist first, because unless a monitor has been abused (most haven't) there's no sonic compromise in buying used. You'll be looking at entry-level models and fortunately they are plentiful on the second-hand market, as most people eventually upgrade. With luck, you'll be able to score some older Mackies, Tannoys, Yamahas or even JBLs in your price range.
 
Don't be afraid to go with passive speakers, which many older monitors will be. Most people want active monitors nowadays, so passives are harder to sell, which could save you money.

Okay so I'll try to look for 3-ways monitors (tweeter+speaker+subwoofer) because like you mentionned I use lots of taikos and dhols, paired with heavy basses and cellos. These are more expensive, but I heard about the Adam F5 which are "great" 500$ 3-ways monitors. Anyways, gotta hear them first a?
 
 
P.S: If it's you on your profile picture, you are awesome.

I also own a fantastic pair of Mission 770's in walnut that I bought in the 80's.  You might find a used set on eBay.  They continue to serve me very well in my media room as mains.  I don't have room for them in my studio/music room.

A good set of speakers will be genre-neutral by definition

 
+1
 
Thus ends the lesson.

A good set of speakers will be genre-neutral by definition

 
+1
 
Thus ends the lesson.

Okay so I'll try to look for 3-ways monitors (tweeter+speaker+subwoofer) because like you mentionned I use lots of taikos and dhols, paired with heavy basses and cellos. These are more expensive, but I heard about the Adam F5 which are "great" 500$ 3-ways monitors. Anyways, gotta hear them first a?
 
 
P.S: If it's you on your profile picture, you are awesome.



No, that's not it. The monitors being 3-way is not the key thing. A subwoofer is a separate unit (third box in the system) designed for low range. If you want the lows to sound really well without a subwoofer you need monitors with 8" woofer, and in your price range there are none. Adam F5 is a two way speaker with 5" woofer. It's frequency range is 52 Hz-50 kHz, which is not bad, but a subwoofer goes down below 30 Hz (IIRC the lowest note of a bass guitar is 40 or 44 Hz)
If you don't want to buy second hand you must settle with "proper" sound, "good" or "great" cost more. If you choose passive speakers, you obviously need an amplifier as well.
And as mentioned already, treating your room is as important as the quality of the speakers.
 
You can get decent results without sufficient low range in your monitors, if you check your mixes with good headphones and learn to use spectral analyzers and reference tracks. That does require a lot of trial and error and ear-training, though.
 

Kalle Rantaaho

Okay so I'll try to look for 3-ways monitors (tweeter+speaker+subwoofer) because like you mentionned I use lots of taikos and dhols, paired with heavy basses and cellos. These are more expensive, but I heard about the Adam F5 which are "great" 500$ 3-ways monitors. Anyways, gotta hear them first a?
 
 
P.S: If it's you on your profile picture, you are awesome.



No, that's not it. The monitors being 3-way is not the key thing. A subwoofer is a separate unit (third box in the system) designed for low range. If you want the lows to sound really well without a subwoofer you need monitors with 8" woofer, and in your price range there are none. Adam F5 is a two way speaker with 5" woofer. It's frequency range is 52 Hz-50 kHz, which is not bad, but a subwoofer goes down below 30 Hz (IIRC the lowest note of a bass guitar is 40 or 44 Hz)
If you don't want to buy second hand you must settle with "proper" sound, "good" or "great" cost more. If you choose passive speakers, you obviously need an amplifier as well.
And as mentioned already, treating your room is as important as the quality of the speakers.
 
You can get decent results without sufficient low range in your monitors, if you check your mixes with good headphones and learn to use spectral analyzers and reference tracks. That does require a lot of trial and error and ear-training, though.
 


Thanks for the clarifications, I am a noob with monitors. For now I just can't afford a subwoofer but I think my brother got an Altec Lansing sub he doesn't use... Yes already got an amp so it can be either passive or active. I'm already sort of used to work with "Analysts" (like in sonar) to see if my mix is well-balanced, so this should not be much of a problem. Thanks for the input!

C'mon folks - there are plenty of choices in the $500 dollar range. you can get a set of Yammy HS-80's at GC for $500 for a pair. The cones are white (no day-glo sneakers here), and they're well respected.