Monitor replacement suggestions

[T-Bay]

One of our Laney wedge monitors has died so it’s time for replacement/ upgrade. I would like to go in ear but total cost for all of us is too high so we will either replace like for like (probably second hand Laney ones or new if we can’t find any) or the type that attach to microphone stands. Does anyone have any suggestions/ recommendations? Cost is a major factor as whilst I am willing to invest I am in a minority of one I think.

[Dan Dare]

You'll have to give us some idea of a budget. Do you want powered or passive, how large/powerful do they need to be (do they need to make enough noise for you to hear vocals over massive backline), will you be putting just vox or instruments through them, etc, etc?

I use 4 of these - http://hkaudio.com/products.php?id=131, but they are mainly for vox.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Dan Dare

[T-Bay]

Sorry, I purposefully left it a bit vague to see what others run at the moment. At present we run two active Laney monitors that take a feed from the vox only PA, backline is totally independent. Plan is to upgrade the PA in the future to put a full mix through but that could be six months or six years away. Budget wise, the cheaper the better but we can get a pair of Laney 120w brand new for £340 so that would be a max at present unless there was a sensibly priced PA system that would cover the monitoring and do what I mentioned before but can’t see that happening within the budget we are likely to stretch to.

I would love to hear any suggestions from a direct replacement to a completely different way of doing it.

[bertbass]

How about https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_ma5.htm

[CameronJ]

If it’s vox only then you could do much worse than one of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TC-Helicon-VoiceSolo-FX150-Portable-Modern-Multifunctional-Monitor-Speaker-/273022236715?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

I’ve comfortably run an open mic night using a pair of these and they sounded great. They’re tiny but they get LOUD. Some nice options on the front panel for EQ & decent reverbs built in too.

Edited January 23, 2018 by CameronJ

[T-Bay]

Thanks guys, jutsbthe sort of thing I was wondering about. The Thomann ones look interesting and being that cheap it wouldn’t be a killer if they didn’t really fit with the new PA whenever that happens.

[skidder652003]

Don't muck about, go for the best gear you can possibly afford, Im talking active RCF or QSC, db Technologies  etc, ok will cost upfront but should give you years of hassle free great foldback, go second hand if necessary. With this sort of gear it will blend into the new PA as well

Edited January 23, 2018 by skidder652003

[RichardH]

I got some RCF 310As a little while back, and they are fantastic. You just missed out on a great deal on them - Andertons had them at £278 just after the new year - now back to £328.

[Dan Dare]

Quite a few used monitor wedges on the 'Bay at the moment. Some look quite decent.

[Al Krow]

4 hours ago, RichardH said:

I got some RCF 310As a little while back, and they are fantastic. You just missed out on a great deal on them - Andertons had them at £278 just after the new year - now back to £328.

+1 for these.

We've actually been using them as our PA, rather than just as monitors, for 3 years now (for vocals, acoustic guitar and sax) and at 400W a piece, they can easily cope with up to medium sized venues. Me and the lead guitarist take our own amps and pretty much job done!

[bonzodog]

I would definitely go down the active speaker route rather than dedicated wedges. Virtually all speakers are shaped so that they can be tilted back and they also double up as a backup FOH speaker if one dies.

We use alto Ts212 as monitors and they are good for the price

[skidder652003]

4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

+1 for these.

We've actually been using them as our PA, rather than just as monitors, for 3 years now (for vocals, acoustic guitar and sax) and at 400W a piece, they can easily cope with up to medium sized venues. Me and the lead guitarist take our own amps and pretty much job done!

Yeah we use the RCF 310's as monitors, they're ace, and the 315's as PA speakers

[fleabag]

Bingo !

Great bit of kit, and weighs the same as my slippers

https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/alto_tourmax_sxm112a/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-qDTBRD-ARIsAJ_10yJQ74T2PTKQSLYR4FU3tjtgD0rOEVVw_QTPqXbd91hYInkd0nD4uh0aAjNBEALw_wcB

[keving]

On 1/23/2018 at 13:48, bertbass said:

How about https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_ma5.htm

I was in a band that switched to the Behringer version of these on top of mic stands. 

There were 2 main benefits:

1. Getting them closer to your ears mean they don't need to be so loud reducing overall stage volume.

2. You get loads of floor space back.  They are both off the floor and tiny.

In my view, spot monitors are the best solution if you don't want to go with IEM.

[M@23]

3 hours ago, fleabag said:

Bingo !

Great bit of kit, and weighs the same as my slippers

https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/alto_tourmax_sxm112a/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-qDTBRD-ARIsAJ_10yJQ74T2PTKQSLYR4FU3tjtgD0rOEVVw_QTPqXbd91hYInkd0nD4uh0aAjNBEALw_wcB

We have a couple of these too. Really good little monitors. 

[fleabag]

Yeah i might get another. Total bargain

[roceci]

On 1/23/2018 at 13:48, bertbass said:

How about https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_ma5.htm

+1 for these

So good, neat form factor and great sound. We've got three. Job done.

[Phil Starr]

I had the Behringer B205 personal monitors, their version of the Thomann one. Actually a clone of the Mackie. They are really good in a noisy band environment and you can have a personal mix if you get a feed from the PA. I A/B'd them with the Mackie, nothing in it, if anything the Behringer was more tidily put together but that may have been just luck on the two I had in front of me. Studiospares do their own version of the 'Box' version if you want to purchase from the UK.

The Behringer was used as a monitor by my drummer so I sold it to him and upgraded to the TC one. It sounds much better and has a lot of useful extra features. Not least it actually just clamps onto the mic stand, fixing the Behringer/Mackie to the stand is impractical really as you end up with something that topples really easily. The TC works well as a monitor in my fairly loud semi acoustic duo too. In a band situation I'd go back to the Behringer style monitor in a heartbeat, The extra fidelity of the TC means feedback at lower levels than the Behringer which is very mid biased meaning it cuts through with the bit's you need to hear to pitch when singing.

If you want a 'proper' floor monitor I'm using the Behringer 1320 The band love them and they sound unbelievable for the price, much more accurate than the Laneys, though see above for the feedback consequences of wider flatter frequency response. If you don't need the controls on the front of the speaker then the PA route of the ART310's or similar is a great solution. If the cost of that is too great then a couple of Wharfedale Titan 12's is the bargain of the  moment, they sound really good on vocals and reliability seems excellent. I think DJKit had them on offer but search around

[Al Krow]

On 25/01/2018 at 09:42, Phil Starr said:

I had the Behringer B205 personal monitors, their version of the Thomann one. Actually a clone of the Mackie. They are really good in a noisy band environment and you can have a personal mix if you get a feed from the PA. I A/B'd them with the Mackie, nothing in it, if anything the Behringer was more tidily put together but that may have been just luck on the two I had in front of me. Studiospares do their own version of the 'Box' version if you want to purchase from the UK.

The Behringer was used as a monitor by my drummer so I sold it to him and upgraded to the TC one. It sounds much better and has a lot of useful extra features. Not least it actually just clamps onto the mic stand, fixing the Behringer/Mackie to the stand is impractical really as you end up with something that topples really easily. The TC works well as a monitor in my fairly loud semi acoustic duo too. In a band situation I'd go back to the Behringer style monitor in a heartbeat, The extra fidelity of the TC means feedback at lower levels than the Behringer which is very mid biased meaning it cuts through with the bit's you need to hear to pitch when singing.

If you want a 'proper' floor monitor I'm using the Behringer 1320 The band love them and they sound unbelievable for the price, much more accurate than the Laneys, though see above for the feedback consequences of wider flatter frequency response. If you don't need the controls on the front of the speaker then the PA route of the ART310's or similar is a great solution. If the cost of that is too great then a couple of Wharfedale Titan 12's is the bargain of the  moment, they sound really good on vocals and reliability seems excellent. I think DJKit had them on offer but search around

+1 for the Behringer 205D. We've had one of these for the two vocalists for just over 18 months and it's been just fine. If we were buying again I'd be tempted to go for the slightly larger B207D which is another £40 on top. Both are 150W RMS but the 207D has a 6.5" speaker (rather than a 5.25" in the 205D) so will have a slightly better low end. Neither are 'amazing' but in terms of small footprint, portable and with a reasonable power output, they get the job done.

[Phil Starr]

19 hours ago, Al Krow said:

+1 for the Behringer 205D. We've had one of these for the two vocalists for just over 18 months and it's been just fine. If we were buying again I'd be tempted to go for the slightly larger B207D which is another £40 on top. Both are 150W RMS but the 207D has a 6.5" speaker (rather than a 5.25" in the 205D) so will have a slightly better low end. Neither are 'amazing' but in terms of small footprint, portable and with a reasonable power output, they get the job done.

Yeah, it's kind of the tool for the job. A bit like a hammer if you just want to bang in a nail. It's not elegant or sophisticated but it does the job well.