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What makes it a studio monitor?

mr.jones

mr.jones

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
My understanding of a studio monitor is a speaker designed to give "accurate sound reproduction". Aren't all speakers supposed to do this? Parts Express sells Behringer studio monitors. If I buy a pair of these will I like them more because they are studio monitors or maybe like them less because I am used to the sound of regular speakers that aren't considered studio monitors?
 
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+2 ask the questions we noobies always wanted to ask, but never did. Good question!
 
I think it may have to do with the near field listening that they are intended for. Now I don't what is different about them that would make them more suitable for near field use though.
 
Some discussion along the same lines here:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=358340

From that trustworthy source Wikipedia:

Studio monitors, also called reference monitors, are loudspeakers specifically designed for audio production applications such as recording, film, television and radio studios where accurate audio reproduction is crucial.

Among audio engineers, the term monitor usually implies that the speaker is designed to produce relatively flat (linear) phase and frequency responses. In other words, it exhibits minimal emphasis or de-emphasis of particular frequencies and the loudspeaker gives an accurate reproduction of the tonal qualities of the source audio ("uncolored" or "transparent" are synonyms), and there will be no relative phase shift of particular frequencies meaning no distortion in sound stage perspective for stereo recordings.

Beyond stereo sound stage requirements, a linear phase response helps impulse response remain true to source without encountering "smearing". An unqualified reference to a monitor often refers to a near-field (compact or close-field) design. This is a speaker small enough to sit on a stand or desk in proximity to the listener (called a "bookshelf speaker" in hi-fi parlance), so that most of the sound that the listener hears is coming directly from the speaker, rather than reflecting off of walls and ceilings (and thus picking up coloration and reverberation from the room).

As well, studio monitors are made in a more physically robust manner than home hi-fi loudspeakers; whereas home hi-fi loudspeakers only have to reproduce compressed commercial recordings, studio monitors have to cope with the high volumes and sudden sound bursts that may happen in the studio when playing back unmastered mixes.
 
Studio monitors are designed to deliver an extremely flat response. They are usually for nearfield type listening as recording studio rooms are not very large. I find for general listening they are not always preferred and can cause fatique with extended listening periods for me.
 
Next up: "What are Hall Monitors?"...

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I owned a pair of Art-Ls1 nearfield studio monitors that I used as hi fi speakers . They didn't pretty up the sound the way most home loudspeakers would . If a recording was harsh this is what you got . Well recorded music sounded great . Also these speakers were extraordinarily dynamic for their size . They could play loud , I mean really loud and with little distress !! My EPI-100's couldn't touch them is that respect or overall accuracy . I can imagine what a large studio monitor would sound like . Sorry I got rid of those speakers .
 
So they would make great computer speakers if they aren't too large.

Or they might sound good in a small room.
 
Just spotted the current discussion on this topic. Looks like it is covering this in depth. Thanks.
 
jaykoly said:
I find for general listening they are not always preferred and can cause fatique with extended listening periods for me.
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Hmm, well this is going to be very subjective of course. There are really no measurements that will back this up (flat response is flat response).
 
But it would have sounded great!

js1138 said:
So they would make great computer speakers if they aren't too large.
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Funny but true story.

A few years ago I responded to a CL ad about speakers for sale. In the pictures, they clearly looked like JBL 4311s. I called the seller, who at my request, checked the model number and verified that they were 4311s. He had 4 of them.

So I drove straight over to his place, about an hour away. They were all in good shape and we had the deal done in no time. They were in a large utility building in back of his house that contained a pool table and some musical instruments. This building was heated and cooled and had carpet, it was a very nice little "getaway".

As he was helping me load the speakers in my vehicle, he mentioned that he had them in the house at one time, using them for surround sound. He had to move one of them because it sat too close to his mothers computer monitor and "made the screen look funny"!
 
jaykoly said:
Studio monitors are designed to deliver an extremely flat response. They are usually for nearfield type listening as recording studio rooms are not very large. I find for general listening they are not always preferred and can cause fatique with extended listening periods for me.
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Agree in spades! The Yamaha NS 10M is a prime example of a studio monitor that is near unlistenable in normal stereo applications. However, many studio monitors, the JBL 4412 or the Bowers and Wilkins 801 as examples, are indeed accurate reproducers, though the bass of the 801's has been described as "tubby" by some(a problem that can be cured by plugging the ports).

Nevertheless, accurate is not necessarily ideal for home listening. Accurate sound can sometimes be dull or overly bright, depending on the source input. My 4412's have a tendency toward brightness in the treble on some music. I found myself dialling back the treble response a couple of db. I then experimented with putting some thin foam discs around the tweeters. Problem solved.
 
IMO studio monitors make great home audio speakers as they tend to be accurate to the timbre of instruments, tonally balanced and dynamic. The sound you will get will be dependent on the room and IMO EQing and room treatments can help in that regard. For example I am using JBL 4408 studio monitors in a bedroom which are "bright" in the midrange and treble and in a room with wood floors and paneling so I the treble down 6 db on the high frequency level on the speaker itself and down another 6ish db between 1 k and 8k on the itunes graphic eq. With a small B & K sub it absolutely walks all for example the "audiophile" Linn speakers I had, Mission 701s, etc. Speaker choice is of course subjective but IMO tuned to the room my JBLs very accurate to the music and you could get a similar sound from KRK or Alesis monitors that are relatively inexpensive.
 
Sealy jumped in with a comment similar to mine about the bright JBL titanium tweeter. :) All studio monitors are not the same Mr. Jones, listen before you buy. Do you have a Guitar Center near you, they carry a wide range of monitors.
 
What makes a speaker a studio monitor is that it's called one by it's makers and sold as such. Also speakers that aren't marketed as monitors become monitors when used in that role.

Now wasn't that simple?
 
While nearly any speaker can be called a "studio monitor" by a manufacturer looking for a marketing gimmick, there are some speakers that were designed specifically for use as studio monitors. Others that because of their flat response characteristics, were brought into studios to be used as monitors and were thereafter referred to as studio monitors. I believe the B&W 801's fall into the latter category.

Paradigm and others have sometimes referred to some of their speakers as "monitors".

I guess if Monitor Audio built studio monitors, they'd be Monitor monitors?
 
A similar adjective I see a lot is "reference." Every tuner, preamp, amp or speaker over $1000 is a "reference" unit. Reference compared to what? :D
 
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