Studio Monitor Comparison! 1 Song 5 Mixes!

The net capacity size of all speakers to be compared should always be the same size so that the comparison would be fair and correct.

I’m listening on IEMs (in ear monitors). So here’s my analysis as a music producer and audio engineer:

The Genelec (A) and Neumann (C) mixes sounded best and smoothest because the transient material was very smooth and not as harsh as Adam and Focal. This leads me to believe that they are better at revealing spikey transients and harsh high frequencies. Output Frontier (E) was third best in this regard.

I’m listening on IEMs (in ear monitors). So here’s my analysis as a music producer and audio engineer:

The Genelec (A) and Neumann (C) mixes sounded best and smoothest because the transient material was very smooth and not as harsh as Adam and Focal. This leads me to believe that they are better at revealing spikey transients and harsh high frequencies. Output Frontier (E) was third best in this regard.

A and C at same level. Sound different bit correct and equilibrated.

I like A. no bias because i know nothing about Genelecs. B was ok but had little harshness. C sounded good and balanced but it lacked energy for some reason oddly that's the monitor i anticipated buying 😬. D was HARSH 😖. E was ok it was a blend of balance and slight harshness. bass was attenuated.

Me B,C,E. It s good if you play voice acoustic

Mix A and B

The others have low end issues.

8030c has the nicest foundation to me. It's a little soft but could be mastered brighter. KH120 was also nice but the bottom end came out a bit 'bloomy'. Listening on ATCs. Obviously a lot has to do with the room and relative placement, which mix was done first, etc.

B - overall balanced (Adam A7X )
C - balanced, but bass boosted (Neumann KH 120A)
A - missing low-end (Genelec 8030C)
E - no energy (Output Frontier)
D - hi-fi sound (Focal Shape 50)

Mix A, no doubt.

C for me in my bose qc30's and presonus e8's. In my truck I'd say A with C coming in a close second.

What?????????? Focal shape is so bad....but i have focal cms 50 and they are awesome. Something is wrong.

A sounded the best on mono smartphone speaker

The b mix is the best for me, i listened with yamaha hs5

what speaker would you use with CDJ3000 dja9 mixer ?

C, than B and the same with A. The mix done with Neumann (C) seems to be the most neutral and well-balanced. Mix A - maybe just a little to much highs. B - not bad, but something's strange in hi-mids (5-7 kHz), C - neutral, could have a little more deep, D was way too much mid- and hi-mid range, E ... hard to say, I didn't like it, not clear. Tested with my very old monitors, TLC AMS1 Pro (I know them quite well, working with them more than 15 years), AKG K271 mk II, and finally with Jabra Evolve 2 65 which I use only for Teams :)

С - best sounding on modern Adam S

best to lose = A>C>B>E>D) interesting

its a by far most balanced

Great video and a catchy song! Not meaning to be negative after all the effort you've gone to but I don't see how this is really a good way for someone to choose which monitors are the best for them, or a balanced test. You could probably have mixed that song differently on the same set of speakers five different ways and ended up with similar results as you did here - depending on what "mood" you were in or how tired or alert you were at the time and how long you'd been listening/mixing to the same track etc.
I think also that most people who have less than perfect sounding rooms will probably use some kind of room correction software these days like Sonarworks and so the sound differences from monitor to monitor change from what they are straight out of the box and the differences between different makes and models after correction become less dramatic than in this scenario. (Don't mean to bitch - just my two cents)

You definitely should have set the DIP switches on the Genelecs - in fact, all of the monitors should have had basic tweaks consistent with their instruction manuals for a given room type. Good comparison, though, and content creation for this kind of very imperfect method was top-notch.

C
B
A
D
E

C easily the best. Genelecs are dull, Adams were quite nice, Neumanns just sounded great and far clearer in the low mids. The other two were crap.

Well here shopping for the Neumann KH 120 and picked mix C as my favorite. Guess I know what to do.

Thank you for this comparison! Tip for future video(s): I think it would do the community a world of good if you could do a self-noise comparison between 8030c and kh120 (and others if possible) if you still have access to all of these monitors. Nearfield listening on 8030c is very annoying as there is an extremely audible hiss. Some forums suggest the Neumanns are inaudible.

In my cheap MPOW X3 earpods, Mix D was the most stimulating by quite a margin. All the rest sounded dull and flat in comparison. I've used Focal Trio 6 BE in the past and I they just didn't work for me. Hearing this really confuse me a lot.

At first I liked A but C was the on for me.

A & C were most accurate... other mixes had too much High mid/ highs...

Genelec is the most natural then Neumann..Focal is like shit.Need Eve Audio too..

More videos like this, please!😀

A and D are the best

A, was the best for me c, and d

Through my Dynaudio BM5As, Mix B sounded better, the mids where there and warm. The others were thin in the mid, Mix D was not really fun. I sounded exagerated in my monitors, lot of bass and treble. Then I checked at the Answers, And then My brain and eyes tells me maybe Neumann should be the best haha But I understand listening to mixes through my monitors is like, putting the different EQ Curve next to each other.

I recently got the Genelecs and was curious how well they matched EACH OTHER. I actually have 4 of them. HA! None match. They all have a different tonal character. I'm left wondering how well the others in this group do in this kind of test. I've never seen a test like this on YT. Seems important.

Thank you!

Mix A and E were my favorites.

I actually really like this song. What's the name of this song? and where can I find it? And by the way, Mix B and C were my favorite.

C is the best for me me and why I purchased these speakers two years ago. Nice comparison video and validation that I made the right choice!

A and C for my ears.

genelec!

C then B

A7V is the best

Very cool review. this is tough to do as you mention the variables(lots). Would be cool to know how far away the speakers are from wall... affects low end as you know. Additional, would be cool to mix brass and drums as well...... as they reveal weak point in speakers. good stuff.

Genelec and Neumann my favorite!!!!

C is the most balanced for me. A is okay but the intro feels boomy and there's also a bit of mud in the vocals in that part, but the other half of the song sounds good. B sounded harsh, specially with my in-ears (overheads and vocals), and D was def too agressive and nasal. E somewhat works too but feels flat and unexciting

D has alot of bass, the ending of the vocals duck when the low end hits.

love C, B, A

Yo my man, give some cred to the puppy! He was in the vid chilling to your mixes too! Great videos by the way!