Studio Monitors: Product Features
Jun 1, 2009,
By Kevin Becka
Mix technical editor Kevin Becka examines what’s new in nearfield reference monitors for professional recording studio applications. Buyers guide to near field studio monitor speakers for professional audio recording applications in the June 2009 issue of Mix magazine....
Mar 1, 2009,
By David Weiss
Mix magazine lists new self-powered mini studio monitors products in this 2009 product roundup...
Jun 1, 2008,
By Bob Hodas
More and more, the recording studio environment is becoming one of plug-ins replacing outboard gear. I know several engineers who are mixing inside the...
Jun 1, 2008,
By Michael Cooper
Every listening space whether a state-of-the-art control room or a simple basement/bedroom studio setup has a problem: the laws of physics. As soon as...
Nov 1, 2007,
By George Petersen
Forty years ago, Ed Long of Calibration Standard Instruments introduced the then-revolutionary concept of the Near-Field Monitor with his MDM-4 speakers,...
Feb 1, 2006,
By Michael Cooper
Several years ago, active monitors were new in town, raising eyebrows at trade shows where passive designs still ruled. How things have changed! Today, there are far more active models than passive ones on the market, and most pro audio speaker manufacturers make at least one active monitor.
...
Aug 1, 2005,
By George Petersen
The Linn name may be new to the studio community, but this Glasgow, Scotland–based manufacturer has been building audiophile gear for more than three decades and launched its acclaimed record label in 1981. What’s new is the company’s entry into the professional audio market with its 318A and 328A active studio monitors.
...
Jun 1, 2005,
By Roger Maycock
It's happened to all of us. You labor over a mix — tweaking every last detail to the nth degree — only to play it back somewhere else and find that things don't quite sound the way you expected. Perhaps there's harshness in the high end or the low end is too boomy. So you wonder what happened.
...
Jun 1, 2004,
By Strother Bullins
Shopping for the perfect monitors is a complicated process that's unlike buying any other professional audio gear. One sizable challenge is deciding which system type will integrate best into a particular (or in a variety of) work environments. What is “required” is a proverbial can of worms in itself, encompassing personal taste, consideration of the personal tastes of others—i.e., clients—and a litany of other factors, both aural and monetary. Unfortunately, the task of auditioning monitors too often occurs in environments that are dissimilar to the spaces in which they will actually be used. After all of this—and dealing with a few issues overlooked here—the best pair of monitors for a particular scenario can hopefully be found. If you're considering a multichannel monitoring setup, get ready to consider a host of variables....
May 1, 2004,
By David Ogilvy
In the past decade or so, the studio environment has changed radically, but one thing that's remained constant is the need for a hardware device to adjust tracking or playback levels. In the old days of stereo-only production, a studio volume pot and a couple of push buttons did the job, letting the engineer easily choose from several playback sources, perhaps with a Monitor Dim (attenuator) switch and a Sum button for checking mono (phase) compatibility.
...
Dec 1, 2003,
By John McJunkin
With numerous monitor choices out there, we decided to look into some recent entries in the marketplace, limiting our examination to new models introduced since the 2002 Los Angeles AES Convention 15 months ago....
Nov 1, 2002,
By the Mix Staff
The process of buying studio monitors has never been an easy one. Choosing from a plethora of products in a dealer's showroom can be difficult enough, but these days, monitors come in every conceivable size, design style, type and price—ranging from compact near-fields to gargantuan ultra-SPL main systems. Users must also decide between various options such as powered and unpowered models, analog or digital inputs, stereo pair or 5.1 array, dedicated center-channel models, subwoofers, bass-management features, and even remote and network-control functions....
Dec 1, 2001,
By Randy Alberts
No consumer format in the history of audio has succeeded so quickly as DVD, which offers attractive functions and features such as 5.1, interactive menus and bonus tracks in a format that's ideal for home and portable applications. Consumers are upgrading to multichannel home sound in record numbers....
Jun 2, 2000,
By Roger Maycock
Not too long ago, powered monitors were considered unworthy of a place in the commercial or project studio environment. In recent years, however, this situation has reversed, largely because of the reduced size and weight of switching power supplies and the latest innovations in amplification circuitry. ...
Nov 1, 1999,
By Manny LaCarrubba
Anyone who makes audio or music recordings will frequently ask themselves the question: “Does it sound good?” And if I’m about to spend my clients’ money on recording rooms they plan to rent out, the room had better “sound good”! Equally important, any product leaving that studio must “sound good” elsewhere in the known universe if I ever want to work again....
Mar 1, 1999,
By Loren Alldrin
Riddled with anti-matter warheads, the alien spacecraft explodes with a blinding flash of energy. A room-shaking roar of sound accompanies the ship's demise, enveloping a solitary viewer whose eyeballs briefly refuse to focus. The man smiles, swept away by the majesty of his new high-power surround sound system. He reaches for the DVD's remote control to play the scene again....
Jun 1, 1998,
By Loren Alldrin
A few years back, active near-field speakers were so bass-happy that they vibrated right off the console. Today, the majority of near-field studio monitors introduced are active designs with built-in amplifiers and electronics. Passive models still have their place, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a monitor manufacturer that’s not selling or designing a self-powered near-field. Even amplifier and console manufacturers are getting into the game, selling active monitors that use their electronics....
Jun 1, 1997,
By Chris Michie
Choosing powered near-field studio monitors is quite different from selecting any other piece of audio gear. Of course, price, performance, availability, reliability, popularity and looks are all factors that a serious buyer should consider, along with recommendations from peers and clients. But the appearance of powered reference monitors as a distinct product category is relatively recent: ...
Apr 1, 1996,
By Sarah Jones
Ask a hundred audio professionals to describe the ideal reference monitor, and you’ll get as many answers. So, we narrowed the field down to seven, all nominees for this year’s Grammy Award for Best Engineer. The nominees we spoke to represent various backgrounds—their projects range from the familiar harmonies of The Eagles to White Zombie’s grinding metal grooves to the drama of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana—yet they revealed common concerns when it comes to monitoring....
Feb 1, 1995,
By Tom Kenny
It wasn’t too long ago that certain monitors were considered standards: UREI 813s or JBL 4311s for the mains, Yamaha NS-10s for reference and Auratones sprinkled throughout the facility; the idea being, “We all know what they sound like.” In video edit rooms, it was the EV Sentry 100, largely because they were powered and convenient....
Aug 1, 1994,
By George Petersen
While signal processors, tape recorders, consoles and musical instruments seem to make quantum leaps in technology every year, studio monitors—a critical factor in the recording chain—seem to be stuck somewhere in the Paleolithic era. The evolution of studio monitors has been a continual process and the integration of exotic materials, interactive electronics, i...
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