Conventional hi-fi speaker boxes are designed to make the resulting sound more attractive by suppressing and picking up some bandwidths, so are therefore not suitable for sound monitoring during recording and post-production sound. On the contrary, studio monitors are designed to produce detailed, realistic sound that is balanced across the entire frequency spectrum. Warning! Studio monitors are sold separately or as a pair.
Solving this dilemma further simplifies the selection process. Passive speakers can be easily identified by the cable clamps on the back, which are used to connect cables from the power amplifier. Unlike active speakers, they do not have an amplifier built into the body. Special categories of models are referred to as bi-amping or tri-amping. Each speaker driver is powered by a separate amplifier. The advantage of a passive monitor is the higher modularity of the connection.
Although easier to combine with other devices overall, the standard of most studies today is active monitor with built-in amplifier. They connect directly to a sound card or mixer. The amplification of the individual speakers is provided by either one common, or several separate amplifiers of different quality.
When making a selection, it is worth focusing on the type of construction itself. For models with a closed cabinet, the air inside, which moves under the influence of the membrane, also plays an important role. However, this air tends to put up more resistance, especially when the bass frequencies propagate, which then sound too flat. Professional studios therefore prefer monitors with a bass reflex hole, which is usually located on the front or back of the box structure.
Near-field vs. Far-field monitors and monitor location
The resulting sound perception is affected not only by the monitor parameters, but also by the room parameters. The sound echoes off the walls and also off of every piece of furniture in the room. It is ideal to position the monitor so that the listener is in the radius of the direct reverberation without the echo from the walls. The smaller the room, the smaller the reverberation radius.
The speaker should be positioned so that it is in direct earshot of the listener without obstructions. It is recommended to place the speakers on a stand or hang them on a wall. Ideal conditions are achieved by evenly rotating both speakers towards the listener's ear so that the rear edges of the speakers will form an angle of approximately 60 degrees from the inside. We arrange the monitors so that the listening takes place within the radius of direct reverberation, ie approximately 1.2 m from the listener's ear, and so that the monitors form an equilateral triangle with the listener's head. The monitors we use in this way are called near-field monitors.
The speaker size selection must be related to the size of the room. A speaker that is too large in a small room will cause more problems than benefits. The sound will be too loud and bounce off the walls and objects in the room uncontrollably, causing it to be significantly distorted. Our recommendations can provide basic guidance: