studio monitors
 

does anyone know a good place to get some decent studio monitors? or even some good brands? i know of m-audio but thats it.

I've only ever used M-AUDIO, so I can't give much perspective here, but the BX8as that I have are awesome. The are quite neutral, with only a very slight high-frequency bias. The bass response is quite good. If the song you're listening to/working on has a lot of bass, be prepared to experience some serious vibrations. Less bassy songs are well-represented and are not overblown.

Some possible drawbacks: No high-frequency cut switch, like in the BX8. The high frequencies may be bothersome for some people. They are also very large, around 15 inches tall and 12 inches deep.

My brother has a pair of these (random link from google) consuming most of his desktop, and occasionally I listen to stuff through them. Being a musician myself I like to test my stuff on his speakers before considering it finished too, and with good reason; they are just so crisp and clear compared to my own speakers, I pickup things I wouldn't on my own.

Though that's rather moot, since I'm a headphone guy, but still =).

I'm thinking against studio monitors now, I won't want my music and movies to show every slight defect. I'm thinking of getting this sound box though
M-AUDIO - Fast Track Pro - 4 x 4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps

if i were to get that, would i be able to use a set of logitech 2.1 speakers with it?

Additional Spam:
alright, Logitech Z-2300 speakers to be exact.

You won't hear any defects unless you're looking for them specifically. The BX8as make great general use speakers. For a time I even had mine hooked up to my PS2. Now that I don't, I really miss playing games on them. I'm thinking of getting a second pair just to hook up to my TV and game system.

If you don't want your sound to have any "defects," then go and buy some nasty, colored speakers. I have no respect for people who do not respect neutral sound, and can't comprehend why anyone would want anything else.

If you hear a bad mix, then at least you'd know that the mixer was incompetent.

I'm still waiting for my $1200 Mackie Mark IIs.

Now that sounds a little harsh. There's nothing wrong with enjoying coloration. Coloration can even enhance certain types of music. That is why companies like Grado Labs do so well. Even respected speaker companies sometimes bias their sound toward a certain coloration. (For example, B&W speakers sound warmer.)

Listening to truly neutral equipment isn't always prudent when the majority of music is mixed and mastered to sound good on "average" equipment. Especially when said music is compressed to hell and equalized for maximum brightness. You'd have to be some kind of aural masochist to listen to that kind of music on a neutral monitor. Now if the music is produced by a company like Mapleshade Records or whatnot, that's different.

(For the record, my own preference is for a basically neutral sound, perhaps mildly warm... which is why I love my HD650s so much.)