It has been a long time since I listened to current home stereo speakers or the newest crop of studio monitors. I used EV Sentry 100A nearfields for 20 years and about a decade ago when the surrounds finally rotted out sent em in to EV for rework. I didn't know how long EV would take to do the rework, though it only took about a week and they came back sounding brand-new, and they did not charge very much. Though the speakers were 'relatively expensive' new and they are still relatively expensive for a 2 way 8" nearfield.

Anyway, not knowing how long it would take, I bought a set of JBL 2 way nearfield studio monitors as spares.

Strange thing-- in a moderately sound-treated room, the JBL 2 way nearfields, designed and manufactured almost 20 years after the EV Sentry 100A's-- Both sets of speakers sounded so nearly identical that it might be difficult reliably identifying one from the other in a blindfold listening test. The JBL's were very slightly brighter, but I'm not certain it would be a definite enough cue for a successful blindfold test.

I listened to several then-current studio monitors that decade ago before getting the JBL 2-ways. There seemed quite a bit of variability of the tone of various inexpensive nearfield monitors from 'new kids on the block' manufacturers. You could easily tell a difference even wearing a blindfold.

So it leads to a provisional theory that some of the long-established monitor manufacturers might have a very definite long-established ideal of what these thangs ought to sound like. Either that, or it was sheer coincidence that the old EV sounded so nearly identical to the new JBL.

I'm not saying folks should make it a point to buy EV, JBL, Genelec or whatever. Only relating a tale. Tone is somewhat a matter of taste and you can get accustomed to about anything.

Long ago have listened to fairly expensive Polk bookshelf home stereo speakers in stereo stores, which seemed to sound very similar to nearfield studio monitors, but dunno what Polks sound like nowadays.

The mid-price home-stereo 12" three way speakers I tried to use many years ago for home studio monitoring for awhile before getting the EV monitors-- Those old home stereo speakers actually made music sound 'better' than the studio monitors, but it was just impossible to mix on them. I wanted something that would sound really bad if the mix sounds really bad.

James Chandler Jr
http://www.errnum.com/