All  right guys....i'm about to buy my first studio monitor. I want to buy my speakers in one of our local music stores (i try to support my music stores). So far i've listen to the Yorkville YSM6 and was surprised (positivly….there are some good reviews on the net). Today i've listened to the Mackie MR6MK3 which sounded great and were cheaper (!!!!?????) than the Yorkville. Still have to listen for the kRK RP6-G2...Little city, no big music stores, this is what they had to offer. Basically, there all in the same range (6’’ inch speaker with a tweeter) . I could really tell the difference between the 5’’ (lack of something) and the 6’’ speaker but it’s a bit hard between the 6’’ models. I couldn’t compare the Mackie and the Yorkville since they are not at the same store but the Mackie sounded very good to me. The thing is that rooms weren’t really adequate (speakers positioning, the room itself) in either of the stores for the listening. They are all active speakers. My budget is around 500.00$ (I’m a hobbysit). Right now, i would say I can’t go wrong with the Mackie…I’m looking for pads to go with the speaker but oh it’s expensive…What you think? Any advices.
 
Thanks

I recommend JBL LSR305 studio monitors, the price is right, and for the money, I haven't seen anything that comes close to them, bought them a few months ago, very accurate for mixing and mastering!

I too would recommend the JBL LSR305's or for a little more the 308's. 
 
I upgraded back in December from some Samson Resolv 6.5a speakers to the LSR308's.  A world of difference and I can now mix low end and usually get it right the first time.  With the Samson's I had to guess and remix to get the low end right.

Hey Hellya!  FWIW.......The real key is in how they will sound in your space and how they are placed your room.  Since you prefer to deal with your local retailers, you might ask if you could take them home and give a listen, or at least negotiate a "no questions asked" return guarantee when you purchase.  Just a thought!...... you really can't tell how they sound at your place until you get them there.  They may sound great in the store, but you cannot expect them to sound exactly the same way in a different space.  Best of luck!
 
Dave

Disclaimer: KRK is owned by Gibson Brands, which also owns Cakewalk.
 
The first time I heard KRK speakers was in a store and I thought they sounded pretty bad. I A/Bed with some other speakers and I expected all the speakers to sound at least vaguely similar, but there were significant variations. 
 
Long story short: Most speakers have controls on the back for adjusting high and low frequencies. Make SURE they're all set to their default positions! This is particularly true of the PreSonus Eris speakers, which have a ton of room compensation adjustments available. A salesperson having fun with those on a Saturday afternoon can make the Eris speakers sound like an audiophile's nightmare. Or consider Yamaha's ancient NS-10, which had a +5dB bump around 2kHz. I didn't like mixing on those but other people loved them because they'd undermix 2kHz and also hear a lot of midrange detail, so when translated to more accurate speakers, the mix sounded less "boxy" and the midrange balance was good. Yamaha came out with a modern version, the HS50M, which by itself has a much more accurate response (although the bass response is somewhat light in the 100-300Hz range, with a boost around 70Hz according to Moozek) BUT also has a switch to give that famous 2dB bump. In fact, I think you'll find that linked review very educational in explaining why you do, or don't, want to mix on speakers that are or aren't flat.
 
Also, when comparing speakers you have to make sure the levels are matched. Some speakers are less sensitive than others and require being turned up more. There's nothing wrong with a speaker being less sensitive, but if compared to louder speakers - even if the levels are only a dB or two different - you'll lose highs and lows because of the ear's response, so the midrange will be louder and the overall sound will seem more muffled and "boxy."
 
Finally, choose speakers that are accurate. I won't mention names but I have tested quite a few speakers in my time. Several have had slight bass or high end tweaks or anomalies. If these are significant, you can end up under-mixing in a particular range if your room is acoustically up to spec because the speakers make you think that range is louder than it is. But if you mix in an untreated room, the bass will be all over the place due to the room acoustics - there will be build-ups and suck-outs. Using near-fields does take room acoustics out of the picture somewhat, but there's more influence than you might think. How speakers are placed in your room, and the room itself, will determine the sound almost as much if not more than the speaker itself.
 
This is why any speaker needs to be "learned" over time. Again not mentioning names, the [expensive] speakers I used before switching to KRK's VXT line were pretty flat from 50 to 500Hz, but had bumps in the lower mids and 10k, and a dip in the upper mids. Any two-way speaker is going to be lacking something, somewhere, so you learn to compensate...but some make you compensate more than others.
 
I've had the good fortune of working on some CDs in mastering facilities with monitoring systems costing tens of thousands of dollars, and which are about as good as is technically possible. When auditioning speakers, I bring CDs that were mastered in those facilities. Whichever speaker's frequency response sounds most like those CDs did in the mastering suite gets my vote, and it's not always the "best sounding" speaker.
 
I will add one final comment: being "in the business," I know which speakers have the best margins and which are running promotions to boost sales. Frankly these days, most speakers in the same price range are sonically and financially competitive, but given a choice between selling speaker 1 with a 40% margin and speaker 2 with a 50% margin, and if they're roughly equivalent in other respects, expect to be told speaker 2 is better 

Kudos for supporting your local retailer. We'll miss them when they're all gone.
 
It's damn-near impossible to audition speakers in a music store, though. You'll really have no way of knowing how they'll sound when you get them home. Talk to them about their return policy, so you can hear them properly at home. An acquaintance of mine did that and had to try three models before settling on his purchase.
 
If that's not possible, then take some music into the store with you to play through the speakers. Choose something you know really, really well and have heard many, many times. You'll spot a potential candidate right away when you hear something in that recording that you'd never noticed before. Listen to kick drums in particular. Small speakers are prone to smearing low frequencies due to ringing; even good ones will be a little light at the low end of the spectrum but kicks will still sound tight.

Good advice, but I don't necessarily agree with this:
 
<<You'll spot a potential candidate right away when you hear something in that recording that you'd never noticed before.>>
 
One of the largest variations with speakers is the smoothness of the midrange response. You might be hearing something you hadn't noticed before because there's a bump at that frequency.
 
Here's a tip on checking out transient response if you don't have test gear. Play music with strong attack transients that are spread in stereo. The better the transient response, the more it will seem like the imaging is wider.

I'm not expert in speakers - I've own the same Yamaha monitors s for home recording for 30 years.  I will say I've learned them pretty good, but they were pretty good to start with.  If I was in your position today I'd be sure that you could return the speakers - ideally you should bring home both and return the one that doesn't sound as good in your space.  And by good I mean revealing, which is what you want from a monitor, not pleasing sounding.  Listen for frequency range and masking and depth.  Then learn how they sound in your room and stick with them for a while - maybe not 30 years,  but long enough to see how they translate to other systems.
 
As to which model to buy - that is very personal.  Of course listen in the show room(s), read the reviews, read what forum members have to say if they have the exact models or brands, then go w/ your guts.  I imagine any of those speakers would work well.
 
@

The JBL LSR series have been or go on sale quite a bit...getting the 2nd speaker at half price.  That makes them a really good deal, it appears.
 
My suggestions would be the 8" versions of the current Yamaha (HS8) or the Jbls, (JBL lsr 308).  If space is a limitation, maybe the 5" with thoughts of maybe the matching sub, down the line in the budget.

Good stuff guys...just what i was hoping for...and for the pads what you guys think?