I'd stay clear off JBL, Focal, Klipsch, Genelec, Logitechs, Audioengines, Bose, Creative etc.

All of them are known to be overly bright and fatiguing. And neither of those hold a candle to the speakers I recommended over them.

All of them are known to be overly bright and fatiguing. And neither of those hold a candle to the speakers I recommended over them.

But if I were to go that way, what else would I need in terms of amps, DAC's, etc. to handle inputs?

Heard bad stuff about JBL. And had some bad experiences with JBL. Only heard good stuff about the brands I suggested. Haven't heard the Adams, but have heard many others from the suggested/not suggested list.

I'm not sure where techboy is reading, but I seem to read a lot of great things about the JBL LSR305's considering their price. I'm not ready to spend $1000 for a pair of Adam Audio A5X's or similar at this point. Maybe in the future I'd think about it, if I had a slightly better system in place that I could audition them against. Are there other studio monitors coming in at less than $500/pair that are worth considering over the JBL's? Maybe the KRK Rokit 5's or 6's, or the Yamaha HS5? Everything I read suggests the JBL's are unmatched in their price class. How much more would an extra $100 buy me over them?

Between the A2+'s and the JBL's (or some comparable monitor), is it correct to say that the only real advantage of the A2's is the small form factor, the integrated DAC, and aesthetics? I could just squeeze the JBL's into my desk, it looks like I've got my inputs sorted out, and I don't care what they look like. So would a monitor solution likely be better for me?

As widely acclaimed as they are, I'd still recommend that you listen to them before buying a set.

Quote from: techboy on 2016-02-21 18:20:10

Heard bad stuff about JBL. And had some bad experiences with JBL. Only heard good stuff about the brands I suggested. Haven't heard the Adams, but have heard many others from the suggested/not suggested list.

So you recommend the Adams despite not actually having heard them yourself? So what is the basis of your recommendation?

And you dismiss all JBL products because of a few bad experiences with their products? I'm guessing you've had the "pleasure" of some of their consumer junk, but the JBL Pro products (including the LSR monitors) are a completely different kettle of fish and there is no direct connection between the two, other than the name.

Quote from: tppytel on 2016-02-21 18:49:54

I'm not sure where techboy is reading, but I seem to read a lot of great things about the JBL LSR305's considering their price. I'm not ready to spend $1000 for a pair of Adam Audio A5X's or similar at this point. Maybe in the future I'd think about it, if I had a slightly better system in place that I could audition them against. Are there other studio monitors coming in at less than $500/pair that are worth considering over the JBL's? Maybe the KRK Rokit 5's or 6's, or the Yamaha HS5? Everything I read suggests the JBL's are unmatched in their price class. How much more would an extra $100 buy me over them?

Between the A2+'s and the JBL's (or some comparable monitor), is it correct to say that the only real advantage of the A2's is the small form factor, the integrated DAC, and aesthetics? I could just squeeze the JBL's into my desk, it looks like I've got my inputs sorted out, and I don't care what they look like. So would a monitor solution likely be better for me?

Let me put it like this: I own a pair of Adam A5Xs, they're my main speakers, and I absolutely love them. The sound quality is astounding and the amount of solid well-defined bass Adam has managed to extract from such small speakers is nothing short of amazing. They're the best speakers I've ever owned.

But if I had to buy a pair of studio monitors today, I wouldn't buy the Adams. I paid ~$700 for the pair, and for that money I could buy four LSR305s and still have money left over, or two LSR308s and quite a lot of money left over. The LSRs are amazing bargains for the sound quality you get. Granted, the build quality doesn't feel quite as high-class as the Adams, the woofer is made from slightly more mundane materials (no carbon fiber etc.), and the tweeter is a normal softdome unit rather than a high-tech folded ribbon. But none of that matters, because the LSRs still sound amazing, so who cares how fancy the materials are?

And yes, the main draw of the Audioengine A2+s is the small form factor, the built-in USB DAC and the looks. However, you might as well forget about any sort of bass below ~80Hz, they can't cheat physics. They're great for what they are, but sound-quality wise, you'd definitely be better off with a larger set of speakers.