Loudspeakers and Studio Monitors 

What are Studio Monitors ?

Studio Monitors are basically loudspeakers designed for audio production applications, such as recording studios , filmmaking, television studios, radio studios and project and home studios, where accurate audio reproduction is crucial while reference monitors are used to understand what the audio will sound like in consumer level speakers .

Audio Engineers consider studio monitors because of their relative flat response (‘uncoloured’ or ‘transparent’ ) through out the  frequency range as compared to consumer level speakers .

But we should always keep in mind, that all consumer’s do not posses studio monitors and way our mixes sound in studio monitors along with the right environment will never sound the same in consumer level speakers or headphones .

This is the reason why we should check our mixes in different speakers in different environments . 

One of the best places to check our mixes, are the car speakers . Car speakers along with its environment can help us a lot to understand our mixes in a better way .

Having said all this about studio monitors , it is not necessary to have a pair of those to make music . Now a days, we have studio level professional headphones that are very accurate and flat in nature, which sometimes work far better in situations then having a pair of those studio monitors but not having the accurate room for it .

Well, taking about studio monitors there are different types and kinds of the same .

There are Passive , Powered and Active Speakers .

Passive Speakers:

In a passive loudspeaker system the low-level audio signal is first being amplified by an external power amplifier before being sent to the loudspeaker where the signal is split by a passive crossover into the appropriate frequency ranges before being sent to the individual drivers . The design is common in home audio as well as professional concert audio.

Powered Speakers :

A powered loudspeaker works the same way as a passive speaker but the power amplifier is built into the loudspeaker enclosure . The design is common in compact personal speakers such as those used to amplify portable digital music devices .

Active Speakers :

In a fully active loudspeaker system each driver has its own dedicated power amplifier . The low-level audio signal is first sent through an active crossover to split the audio signal into the appropriate frequency ranges before being sent to the power amplifiers and then on to the drivers . This design is commonly seen in studio monitors and professional concert audio .

There are two types of monitors when comparing size and loudness i.e. Far field and Near field .

Far Field:

Far field monitors are intended to be more than -6 feet away from the listener . These are meant for more acoustically treated studio setup . 

Near Field :

Near field monitors are designed to be placed less than 6 feet away from the listener . Since they are positioned close to you , they are relatively unaltered by the room acoustics . In other words , these monitors are used where the rooms are not treated well and can have a lot of unwanted reflections .

Both options accept either 1/4” Instrument cable or a balanced XLR cable input .

THE MONITORS IN THE DESK ARE NEAR-FIELD AND THOSE WHICH ARE IN THE BACK WITH THE WALL ARE FAR-FIELD . 

A BASIC MONITORS PLACEMENT SYMMETRY 

These topics are vast and doesn't have any end to it . There are whole lot of books and articles on just individual types of speakers and their properties . Another thing to keep in mind is the placement of the monitors which is again another huge topic and i will not be covering in the post as we will move to music production after this post .

In the next blog we will talk about the basic requirements and the connectivity of different equipments for recording and producing your own music . We will also discuss a little bit more about our D.A.W which in my case is logic pro x and learn how to get our first recording done . Till then bare with me as I am sure this is going to be fun once we start producing on our own .