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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Why not studio monitors? posted by audiogremlin on June 28, 2014 at 09:32:45:
First of all, "studio monitor" is generally a marketing term that means exactly nothing.
That said, the needs of a studio are different from home. If the studio is used for tracking, there will generally big a big console, and behind it a window looking into the live room. In that case, the only practical solution is near-field monitors that sit on top of the console, about arm's reach from the engineer. Near-field listening can be pretty great, but it's different from what most of us have set up at home. Studio monitors have to bring out details, even the low-level stuff buried deep. That kind of detail doesn't make for great listening, but it does help the engineer. The ubiquitous Yamaha NS-10 are great for this - they let you hear everything that's going on, but I would never want a pair for home. (Mids and highs tilted up... will show up any digital grunge like crazy.) As long as the monitors show the details, and the engineer can reliably translate their sound to what we hear at home, the job can get done well.
There are exceptions. Masterdisk has a mastering room that's huge and beautifully treated. Because it's just for mastering, the engineer's desk is low, and has a dozen or so pieces of gear mounted in it. The monitors are huge Dunlavys set quite a ways away, so the presentation is very much like what a good home setup would be. Sound One, which did lots of film and video work (e.g. all the Ken Burns PBS stuff) also had a big room with speakers at a distance, and carefully calibrated for 5.1 playback.
Still, there is lots of overlap between home and studio. ProAC and B&W monitors are often seen in studios and homes. Again, lots depends on the physical characteristics of the room. If there is a big console in the middle of the room, setting up good sound is lots different from a listening room at home.
For monitors in studios, you also have to take into consideration the kinds of music. Rock bands? String quartets? Piano? Vocal? Jazz? Orchestra? Broadway? Bluegrass? That's a big range, and finding monitors that will handle it all well can be a challenge.
As an aside, the best near-fields I've heard, which are beyond amazing, are the internally tri-amped Genelec S30. Completely unlike the current Genelecs, they get the details out *and* are hugely musical. But they have been out of production for ages, and they don't play very loud. Still, they're pretty wonderful. $5k will get you a pair if you're patient, but you might want to have a spare pair as well.
The pic is an MCI 600-series console (1979/1980ish) with Neve flying faders, Yammy NS-10M and ROR monitors, an SSL compressor on top center, with a fast LED level meter on top of that. Foreground right is an EMT 250 - very cool piece. Studer R67 in the corner. This studio also has ProAC Studio 100, and built-in Urei/JBL horn monitors.
WW
"Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.
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Follow Ups
- RE: Why not studio monitors? - Bill Way 11:22:26 06/28/14 (1)
- RE: Why not studio monitors? - G Squared 13:54:49 06/28/14 (0)
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