|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
74.138.233.31
What's the difference between a bookshelf speaker and a mini monitor? I see some bookshelf speakers called mini monitors and i want to know why they don't just call it a bookshelf.
Follow Ups:
Good advice from the panel. A mini monitor tends to require a stand.
A bookshelf speaker can be placed against any wall.
In the professional world, "bookshelf" speakers are referred to as "monitors". Editors use near field monitors to listen to the audio when they are at an editing station.
When I was editing television the Genelec powered monitors were all the rage (late 80s) and I have to say I wouldn't mind finding a pair of those little powerhouses.
My guess is some marketing person somewhere thought it would be a good idea to use the term "mini-monitor" to differentiate their product from others OR that the company that started it was a Genelec or B&W or Focal which just put one of their lower priced models into the consumer market.
...any speaker used is referred to as 'monitor' regardless of size from 5" nearfields to mains using four 15" woofers per channel.
Genelec is a late comer to the domestic market if they have anything aimed at the consumer while B&W and Focal only came to the pro market very, very late ie this century.
Genelec is selling to the consumer market now? I had no idea. I was using what has to be one of my favorite powered monitors by Genelec in 1987. I forget the model number but I've been meaning to look around for a pair of those old mini-monitors. Solid as an ingot and boy could they crank!
I still kick myself for not going all Genelec in my home theater. They are the perfect match for my B&K Reference 50 preamp. No amps needed and all balanced connections!
Hmmmmmm. A plan is forming.
Yes Genelec does!
(see linky)
Mostly they seem to be the same as their small 2way monitors only in white.
Genelec does a rather interesting larger 3way with a clever co-axial mid/high unit and a 10" woofer called 8260A SAM. -6dB points are 23Hz and 40kHz but from 29Hz to 21kHz Genelec claims +-1dB variation!!!
A pair of those with 3 of the smaller co-axial 8351 for center and surround duties would make an awesome home system for stereo and movies that would be very hard to improve upon at any price.
Monitor sounds HiTech. Snobbish and marketable.
Bill
Bookshelf speaker is an old term when folks actually positioned small loudspeakers on a bookshelf within the den of a home. Since the advent of the internet, not many folks have books on a dedicated bookshelf anymore, nor a den for that matter, as well as better judgment about where to place a loudspeaker of any size.
Monitor originated as a recording studio term, then spread into home audio terminology meaning a small stand-mount loudspeaker, usually a 2-way design. Mini monitor is simply a very small monitor, often with an inference that a subwoofer is required if a meaningful bottom-end is desired.
My first set of serious speakers was back in 1968 -- a pair of AR4a speakers mounted in the bookshelves on each side of the fireplace. True bookshelf speakers! Very few speakers were stand mounted in those days.
Very Little It's devolved into a meaning less despricttor Brochure babble basically.
IF one listens to Dr Toole then the Name "monitor" equals a Bad speaker
Studio monitors (real ones) are notorious for being quite Piss Poor speakers.
Edits: 02/27/17
Inmate 51 will let you buy bookshelf speakers but mini-monitors as they are not within your budget right now.
ET
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936
If you put it on a bookshelf, it is a bookshelf speaker. If you put it on a stand 3 feet from the wall, it is a minimonitor.
an actual bookshelf speaker shouldn't have a port in the rear.
There are very few small, 2-way speakers that sound better without stands
Nt
nt
Jim
http://jimtranr.com
Bookshelf, mini monitor? Looking from my side of the Atlantic there really isn't any significant difference. The term "mini-monitor " is largely of USA usage that has evolved somehow rather than being anything that has a technical definition. Maybe it started with the LS3/5A (a genuine monitor) and has since become attached to any speaker from around that size to 3 or 4 times its internal volume.
Us Brits call "mini-monitors " "stand mounts". Bookshelf was a term used a few decades ago until it was realised that a bookshelf is really a bad place to put a loudspeaker. Beside which many "bookshelf" speakers are too large to actually place on a bookshelf. So we also call "bookshelf" speakers " stand mounts". Fits both 'coz that's what you do with 'em.
The word "monitor" has been attached to numerous speakers which are without any claim to actually be used in this fashion. Just think of it as a marketing term like "wonder ingredient" ( excepting a few speakers in the hobby market that are also used as monitors for real by audio professionals - normally made by companies with established pro resumés).
Unfortunately it depends on who is using the terms. Other than they are not floor standers there really isn't a good definition although in general a bookshelf speaker may be larger than a mini monitor.
For example in the 60s the Acoustic Research AR3a, a heavy over 2 cubic foot speaker was called a book shelf speaker. A classic mini monitor, of course, is the LS35a, and it actually is a monitor speaker as that was what the BBC designed it to be, not to be a home use speaker.
It use to be just 'bookshelf' loudspeakers because people typically placed them in a bookcase like shelf against the wall.Then they began calling them 'monitor' loudspeakers when they decided that they sound much better on loudspeaker stands situated away from the wall. These monitor loudspeakers could then become bigger. The term comes from studio monitors which were their original use.
Then the subwoofer was brought out as a consumer item, which allowed the monitors to be strunk down to 'mini-monitor' size, like mini-me on Austin Powers movies.
The bottom line is that mini-monitors will be bass deficient. So, get yourself some bookshelf speakers or be prepared to also buy a subwoofer.
(I have no idea of the actual history and just made up this narative as my understanding at this time ;-)
Edits: 02/25/17
I guess in the end it comes down to power ratings and bass.
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: