Obviously this is not the whole story. You
really do want to listen to speakers before you buy them.
However, this might help you determine which monitors fit
into a price, size, weight, or power category that you’re
looking for. Some of them are considerably smaller and lighter
than the rest, which can be a great help for someone using
a mobile laptop to mix. I would suggest listening to a few
of these monitors to get a feel for the sound, though. The
sound is not always in the specs, as some might assume.
It’s also impossible to get all of the companies to use
the same standard for rating sound quality, and then educate
the consumer on how their monitors compare to the others.
As it is, basic specs are handy to eliminate some models
and consider others, but please listen before purchasing.
Preferably with some recordings that you know very well.
There are other factors here, like how the speakers handle
separation of different instruments, and how balanced they
are. Also, how wide the stereo field is when listening.
Use your ears, and try out as many as possible before purchasing.
Happy listening!
*Unlike their competition, Behringer doesn’t list power
in terms of RMS in the manual. This doesn’t seem to be published
information. Instead, they give power in terms of Maximum,
or peak power. This is not an accurate measure of power,
and is not the standard widely used in the professional
audio industry. For all intents and purposes, disregard
the power ratings on the Behringer monitors until they start
listing them as RMS.
