How do I shot inexpensive studio monitors??

Would it be a mistake to get any of these cheapo pairs?

Mackie HR624s can found cheap sometimes. I have some, and in the right room, are lovely lovey lovely. Massive difference between those, and new things under £400.

BX5s are okay, ish, not much depth to them. I've always liked the active reveals. I've also heard good things from mags on those KRKs, although the conspiricy theorists tells me nots to trust any audio gear mags. Corrupt as hell, apparently. I'm not convinced!

look for some small active nearfields. M-audio Bx5s or Behringer truths would probably do. It. The space is small and awkward and I would prefer front porting (one will end up in the corner)

any ideas?

i went out with my neighbor last night to see an acoustic blues trio (one guy on guitar/vocals, one on harmonica and overalls, one on washboard and hammer), had one too many beers, then came home and apparently bought a pair of studio monitors on ebay.

oh well, at least it's a decent deal (m-audio Bx5A's). i had been using my normal stereo system and yesterday my receiver refused to turn on at all, so it was time.

I have a pair of M-Audio studiophiles and they're godawful, I didn't know much about monitors and just bought something cheap. But they don't get very loud at all and sound worse than computer speakers.

Considering a desktop monitors (power'd):

1.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1051/8040a.jpg
http://www.genelecusa.com/products/2-way-monitors/8040a/

2.
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4821/mainu.jpg
http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/model.php?sector_id=2&range_id=5&model_id=23

3. ???

Come on. Someone's gotta have an opinion on this here topic.

I've had a set of Yamaha MSP5 monitors since 1999 and they have been pretty good for me. They are not high end but they are not too low end either. They definitely have enough power for a bedroom studio. I had a cheaper set of Fostex before them but the bass levels and mixes never translated. I got led into checking out the Yamahas by a guy I knew that ran an advertising studio in Indianapolis, as he thought they were the most accurate for the buck.

I'd say the monitors might not be the best place to skimp, as if you might find yourself swapping them out down the line. I've bought alot of crap that never really led to much music, but my Yamaha monitors have been pretty good to me and I have found them to be accurate for the most part.

The Quad 12L and Genelec 8040a are roughly $1000 MSRP. That's not the cheapest thing in the world, but it's 1/4th (or less) the cost of good real studio monitors. I'm thinking that the Genelecs have the "Genelec surcharge", much like the "Apple surcharge". That, and the fact that the Genelecs are hideous is tilting me more toward Quad.

I may be a little late here, but whatever:

Don't buy the Quads! I had a pair for a while, and whilst they are wonderful hi-fi speakers they are crappy monitors. They are not exact enough for mixing. I'd recommend Adam A7s. I am super-happy with my pair. I have to use Genelecs for work, and they are noticeably poorer in the upper mid-range than the Adams. There are also the smaller(and cheaper) Adam A6s, which I'm sure would also be great (although I have no personal experience with).

Oh hay thanks! I hadn't bought anything 'cause the Quad finish I wanted is unavailable in the states. What's yr job, by the way?

I'm an academic involved in research on synthesizer and audio effect design. At the moment this means I have to sit around and do hard maths all day in an attempt to make a good sounding digital version of a spring reverb.