Here’s something I never would have expected at this price point. I have a reasonably good pair of Sony headphones. When I toggle between the headphones and the speakers, the sound actually cleaned up slightly. I’m driving these with a Focusrite 6i6 interface box off my PC and my Jupiter 80 keyboard.

The high’s and mids are very clean and punchy. I will probably add the HS8S subwoofer at some point. The bass is thick down into the lower registers of what you can hear but it’s missing the foundation that the basement frequencies bring. This is not the top shelf home audio stuff you may or may not be familiar with but it’s at about 1/10 the cost. Although I’d be hard pressed to say where it loses it in the sound quality, it can leave your ears sore after playing it loud for an prolonged period. Perhaps this makes it safer than my home theater system or perhaps it means I need to work on the room balance. But these are great monitors that will bring out sound details you probably have not heard on your favorite music. As for use with a Keyboard, they are superb. For kicks I was learning Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. I had thought there was something weak with my pipe organ patch since I couldn’t get it to sound right in one particular section. When I played it with the HS8’s I finally heard what I was missing. Similarly when playing phatter patches for rock leads, baselines, or funk, the keyboard stood out more than ever. It was like I just upgraded my keyboard to a professional grade.

Possibly the best for the price. You can’t get better medium sized room monitors. The bass response is good enough for hip-hop production but will not register certain super deep frequencies. That being said, there are very few songs that have a lot of the groove below 43hz. Trust me, you won’t need a sub with these speakers unless you are producing orchestrations or are in a larger room! Very clean and are amazing for referencing. You can hear all the litttle details and really tell the difference between a good mix and a bad one. Enjoy these bad boys!

In with the… well u get it.

These things are amazing. I’ve mixed with pro headphones before but never on monitors. wait, real monitors lol. I used to mix between headphones and regular cpu speakers then later run to the car to compare. I still do the same now but subsequent changes (if any) are not as drastic and experimental. Like many engineers say what u see is what u… well, you get the point lol

Bottom Line
very clean- go to the store, find a proper listening position (with music hovering in front of u almost as if it did not originate from the speaker) and compare with other speakers. clarity will be the first thing u notice. and the sub, dont get me started. i’ve been to clubs that need dis thing.

crisp on the high end- perhaps to make up for bass issues if ur room is untreated. controls in the back let u dial in ur sound like mixing, but im going with factory setup right now. i need more time to find a real preference. Caution: watch out for phase effects and stuff when ur mixing. Rapid changes in high end will have ur ears ringing for a while.

everything you need- sub is needed for club music. you will not hear anything below 50 – 60 hz with just monitors. perhaps u can get away with headphones, but if you have the money spend it. The subs are equally impressive as the monitors. amazing.

final words
these speakers will make u a better engineer. u will hear things u’ve never heard before, pay attention to sounds that normally wouldn’t catch ur attention: for instance, as i write this review, im listening to the vibration of an air conditioner on an adjacent wall 2 feet away.

you still have to grow and practice to become better, but these speakers provide a good foundation to get started.

misc
i hear a slight hiss (1/64th type vol) coming from speakers when no audio is present. im not sure if it was there previously or if i picked it up somehow but im noticing all of these new… well u get the point lol.