Legitimate Review: Pioneer's NEW DJ VM-50 Studio Monitor 

I use it for my headphones and speakers. It’s great

I agree. It just seems odd to know how to design a proper waveguide - likely using measurements - and not be able to fix these other issues.

@napilopez Good question. However, from a business perspective, I think there is a fairly simple explanation... If you are a speaker manufacturer, ask yourself this: If we make our "budget" speakers nearly perfect, who is going to buy our more expensive upper tier or "High End" speakers (higher profit margin)??? Why bother when the performance of the much more expensive speaker is maybe just 5% better? To most general consumers, the industrial design or aesthetics of a product have MUCH more bearing on their buying decisions, as long as the performance of the product is better than average or at least acceptable, and especially in this price tier. IOW, if I am a budget-minded consumer (i.e. a college student, etc.), if I can purchase something that "looks" like it is "High-End" or "High Tech" and looks like it should perform well, and in fact it performs "well enough", that's where their money is going. Only when you become a true audio enthusiast do you begin to consider sacrificing the "looks" or aesthetics for better actual performance. For instance, there may be a far superior speaker that costs the same, but it looks very generic, "like every other basic, old rectangular speaker I've seen since the 1970's", even though it uses far superior drive units and a proven acoustic design. Most consumers would rather have items that "look expensive" and aesthetically pleasing in their homes, even if they have to sacrifice a bit of performance. Manufacturing a product itself is fairly efficient and straightforward at this point in time. But extensive R&D is where a company's costs increase exponentially. The expertise, equipment, and time involved to perform serious R&D and develop worthwhile solutions ain't cheap (example: Erin's Klippel NFS). This is why we see some of our most advanced technologies come from military and defence R&D and the resulting equipment. They are much more likely to apply a cost-no-object attitude to R&D, because the end goal is not based purely on a company's Profitably or ROI, but on securing superior technology in order to ensure national security. They also are not concerned with the aesthetics in most cases. Most equipment is designed and based purely on function, reliability, speed, efficiency, and ease of cross-platform implementation/operation. When you produce a somewhat affordable or '"budget-minded" speaker or electronics product that is expected to sell in mass quantities, even a few pennies saved per unit by not improving the acoustic design or electronics/DSP translates to a significant increase in profit margin. The inverse is true for true "High-End" products where only the best drivers, acoustic design, and electronics are implemented... The quantity of sales of these items will be extremely limited, so the prices need to be exponentially higher in order to provide a worthwhile ROI. This is the point at which a good DIY speaker design or kit becomes a much better value in terms of performance per dollar. It's the improved mid-tier product market where we as consumers realize the best cost/performance ratios, such as the *Kali IN-5* that Erin reviewed.

Thats what i was thinking..... get some "loft insulation" in it lol...... 😂

Audioengine is very overpriced for what you get and way worse than these...

I rarely do. If I do, i mention it.

I appreciate that. I have actually tested all the new Kali monitors. :) I don't have any experience with the others you mentioned, though. I'd like to test the KRK but the one I've been eyeing has been out of stock at the retailer who loans me stuff to review from time to time.

Agree...... i expect from Pioneer, far better quality...... The stingy way they left out vital dampening from inside the speaker is unforgivable........