passive monitors

I need a pair of passive monitors, and, considering that the market is mostly covered by active ones, I'm going to choose between few alternatives:

- Tannoy Reveal 6
- KRK R6
- Canton speakers: last option, these are hi-fi speakers, but I've tried them in a shop and they seem to be very flat and accurate

I've tried KRKs some time ago, but I need to test them better in these days, while I've never had occasion of trying Tannoy's ones:
reading in the net, some people say that Tannoys lack of basses, while KRKs, on the other hand, have too much basses (and lack in the highs): do you have any experience with these monitors?

thanks

See if you can find some Acoustic Energy AE22's to listen to as well.

Cheers

James.

I've had a pair of passive KRK K-ROKs for 10 years or more, and they have served me well. So well, in fact, that last week I took delivery of a pair of VXT 8s, which do sound good to my ears. The response is pretty flat, and you can adjust things in supposed 1 db steps.  Altogether< I like KRK stuff!

There's a pretty good deal here:   http://www.bswusa.com/proditem.asp?item=R-6

nothing against the KRKs and depending on the room and how you're driving them they could the choice that works for you

have not lived, 18 hr/day three day stretches, with any of the current Tannoy offerings largely because the PB8's have continued to perform well for what is now a long time

they are not the only monitors I have & and for several years defaulted to a set of powered sixes because of the room I had available but for the past yr & hlf the Tannoy PB8 (plus sub), which were initially set up as interim while I shopped for different have consistently performed well (again). 

I've used the current Precision 8's and as is consistent with past Tannoy expereince there was nothing the lept into you 'face' asserting 'great' 'wonderful' . . . probably the only reason I was aware and/or remember was that at end of day some question came up regarding monitors in general . . . at their price point I have consistantly found Tannoy's to be less fatiguing then a lot of other options.   I can live with them and, the important thing, I can get mixes that migrate and translate well. Rather obviously I continue to believe that the room is more important then the speakers and am rather less enthusiastic about mixing exclusively in the near field (a reason I prefer the 8's over 6's) but have found Tannoy's to be consistently respectable journeyman monitors

(stuio is in procress of migrating again and even the project portion looks like will be using Dynaudio when the move is completed but it's unlikely I'll get rid of the PB8's even when the cones are crystalized and cracked . . . might even try them for stereo speakers)

[CAVEAT EMPTOR RULES!]

I've tried KRKs some time ago, but I need to test them better in these days, while I've never had occasion of trying Tannoy's ones: reading in the net, some people say that Tannoys lack of basses, while KRKs, on the other hand, have too much basses (and lack in the highs): do you have any experience with these monitors?

No, but I have plenty of experience of peoples' comments about monitors, and I can tell you that since none of them ever make these comments based on listening in a controlled environment, they mean absolutely nothing. KRK have a good reputation when it comes to monitors, and there's no way that they are going to produce anything other than flat(ish) ones.

But with all of these monitors, it depends on how you place them in your room, and what sort of porting (or not) they use as to how they sound, especially when it comes to bass - which is why you should ignore them all. And shop trials likewise, I'm afraid - that's not your room you are listening in...

Ideally you should arrange to borrow monitors and actually try them where you are going to use them  before agreeing to purchase - any enlightened dealer should be able to help you with this as long as you leave a deposit with them as proof of intention to purchase. Or, you do it the way I would, and accept that a monitor actually meets its specification, and modify the room until it works properly. And that will inevitably give you better results.

Typical case in point - I have here a perfectly acceptable pair of Alesis Monitor 1 Mk2 passives (not main monitors at all), and these are ported to the rear. If you poke the backs of these monitors into the corners of a room, the bass booms absolutely dreadfully - until you stick a sock into the reflex port and bung it up! And that's the point really - you need to choose carefully the type of monitor for your space really - that's more important. If you are forced to mount monitors near a wall, or in corners, then you will inevitably screw the bass response up - you simply can't avoid it.

CAVEAT EMPTOR RULES!