I am extremely interested in studio monitors. Sound is extremely important to me. I can be extremely picky.
I have had a thread which mentioned this. But also seen some talk on other threads. Won't mention names.
Been looking at these on MFriend.
Not only for the piano sound. But also for singing, and criticizing both. Must be dead flat.
What do you all think of Fostex? Was looking and they have a neat little monitor at 4 inches. It is on sale in a pair. Could get a little sub woofer at a good price. This woofer is a "studio monitor" woofer. Fostex has a 6.5 incher that reviews claim does the bass well. Price in the end would be a little less than the 4's on sale and the sub woofer in another brand. Price here is around $400 total.
Also JBL. I often have not been impressed with JBL products. I do know they can excel when they want to. They have a monitor and sub woofer to match. Both are studio monitors. Price here would run up to $800.
KRK seems to be going the popular route. See reviews that say the last one was better than this newer. That as far as a studio monitor. Mackie appears good.
Forget MAudio. Looked at reviews. Having problems with bad speakers and their customer service is out to lunch.
I can't listen to these. Doh! Wish I could.
I'm also in an apartment. Only want a sub woofer for proper base. That's all. I need to criticise base. I'm a baritone.
The two, Fostex and JBL. Reviews claim extremely clear. And extremely flat. That's what I look for.
I must confess. I'm getting tired of wearing my head phones. I like the sound. K240's.
I'm avoiding the name MkII wherever I see it. That seems to be an indicator of colored. Especially increased base.

In your price range Yamaha HS80M's or the KRK VXT-8's are both pretty good the Yamaha's in particular outperform their price by a wide margin.

If you want truly great monitors then you have to go to Genlec 8200's or Focal's.

Go for something with an 8" woofer if you can. You want to move a lot of air just like a real Piano's soundboard would.

I have been auditioning monitors for the same purpose recently. I would definitely stay away from KRKs. They are not flat at all. Too much emphasis in the bass and harsh highs.

I owned the HS80Ms for a while actually. They are great for the purpose perhaps even best in their price range, but have a very unfortunate drawback. The hiss in the tweeters more than most studio monitors. Google it and you will see. For piano where soft passages are common vs. hip-hop this can wreak havoc on your concentration. Also they tend to pick up a lot more noise from computer equipment if your connecting them to that.

In this price range the JBL LSR 2328P set is not used as much (because most people play and mix hip-hop where the Yammahas are fine), but they are well respected and well reviewed. Sound on sound had a nice write-up on them.

gearslutz.com has an active forum obsessed with Monitors so if you have a question you can get a wealth of information there. Just remember that Piano is different than Hip-Hop.

Audition the monitors you are considering if you can and good luck.

I hate to say it, but I made up my mind about monitors by going to the local Guitar Center, where they have about 15 sets of monitors lined up for comparison in a room that's separate from the keyboard section. They have a receiver that can pick up a signal from an iPhone (I know, I know...) which meant that the sales guy could go into Pandora Radio and play one of the Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie albums for me. Loud. I use it because it exposes all of the ranges well, although some of the cuts sound as though they're mono.

My impression was that the Mackies were wonderful in the midrange but too bass heavy. (Ella is to die for on those Mackies, alas.) I ended up getting a pair of JBL's. I hear them as having a flatter response.

But the general principle is of course just listening to music you like, and that exposes a wide freq range, in a situation that lets you instantly switch between monitors. Using Pandora helps a lot, too.

Nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, that is the best way to feel that you are getting the best monitor for you vs. the competition. That is how I decided on my JBLs as well.

Behringer B1030A?

I'm not interested in hip hop.
On the JBL's. Reviews I've seen talk about exceptional or over bass? On the 8's. Mid a bit low? Or realistic?

Thank you very much, far star, for the gearhead reference. That is a great site for listening in on opinions. Anybody interested in sound for their keyboard should go there. I could looky loo there a long time. Interesting, to say the least!

I did see some very high respect for the Fostex PM-1's. Not much talk. One person said they are a real sleeper for a low end recording studio.

Some good praise for the JBL's. Have seen one opinion that they color slightly just like a high fi stereo. With the mids a little bit low. Gee...That sound like how I'd want to set something up. Reminds me of the wisdom of Nikon and their famous lenses.

Surprised that some people don't like Adam. When others bow to them like a god. A money product for sure.

People are very diplomatic on that site. Always honest about their type of music. That colors a persons opinion.

I'm not looking to blast anything. No hip hop or anything like that. Not looking to find out what it sounds like at 3.4 on the Richter scale.

Well... I'm forced to not listen before buying. Could return. But I'm not looking for really great stuff. That would cost in the thousands. Would have to listen before at that point.

Anyway.....Thanks again. Got all the input I could ever hope for on this.

If anyone interested... I bought a used pair of Event Studio Precision ASP8 Monitors on ebay. That gearslutz site was a ton of help. Anything audio those guys obsess over. They'll even advise you how to record your piano well. Or at least do the best you can with what you got. I'll let you all know how my audio is going when the monitors arrive.

I've received one of these monitors. Other on Monday. Just listening to it in mono, I'm very happy. I think it goes into the realm of excellent. But then, new pairs of these list for $1,400. I got mine used for almost a third of that. Yes, as previously been an audiophile. I have had better. These are definitely good enough.
I'm very happy I've gone the way I have in DP's. I obsess excessively over sound in music. That is what I get out of and give in my music.
Still got fiddling around to do with everything. Basically got...

Casio CDP-100
Ivory II
Presonus box with it's better sound card, hookups, and controls.
AKG K240 headphones
Event Precision Studio 8 Monitors
Shure SM86 microphone

EDIT: That gearsluts site has pretty much convinced me to convert one of my bedrooms into a studio.

rnaple,

Congratulations on your monitors. I hope they are everything you are looking for.

I haven't seen any mention in this thread of the effect of the location of the monitors within the room or the effect of the room on the sound. You are probably already aware of these issues, but on the off chance you're not, please think about doing a little research on the subject.

The interaction of the speakers with the room are often more significant than the 'flatness' of the speakers. Monitors are simply speakers intended for 'near-field' listening. The intent is that the listener is close enough to the monitors that direct sound is far more significant than the reflections/absorptions from the room surfaces (the positioning of the monitors relative to the listener's ears is also important). Setting the monitors up so this assumption is true is generally not too hard to do, but it still requires some consideration.

Good luck.

Finally received the second one. He took such good care of these that he still had the original paperwork. Has an explanation of how they should be set up. Pretty much how I guessed they should be. BTW: Paperwork said: 200W LF, 80W HF. I'm running them with all gain/volume levels just above zero. Anymore and they can get real loud real quick.

Interesting how these perform so well up close. But farther away you lose detail. How do they do that? These are great for an apartment. I'd suggest near field monitors for anyone wanting speakers for their DP.

I am also using the Yamaha HS80M's or the KRK VXT-8's. These are the best in all. My Fav. Music studio is Yamaha one. I like it because it have 2-way Powered Monitor Speaker System with Quality Audio and Excellent Cost Performance. All this quality make it more superior.