endover Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 This has bugged me for a while... What's the difference (in general) between a "speaker" like I would use at home and a "monitor" like folks use at a studio? Is it like a violin and a fiddle or is there really a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 that's pretty much it...waxing cloth...buffing cloth...polishing cloth A monitor is designed for accurate reproduction a moderate sound levels used by folks in the audio industry as they do their track work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 a Monitor can also be a big nasty black box that sits on the edge of the stage and gets beer spilled in it and gets stepped on by the occasional python boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Oh, one more thing. On Audiogon, where they do sell lots of audio gear, they have separate categories for "monitors" "full range speakers" and "panel speakers." Audiogon uses the term to mean anything that is a stand mount or bookshelf type speaker. As Mark stated earlier most use the term to describe a speaker intended for nearfield use, and still others use the term for speakers with a flat frequency response, think Harbeth 7es3 vs. Harbeth Monitor 30. Both are very similar speakers but with different intended uses, and Harbeth calls one a monitor (the 30 and 40 model) and others, not. Even larger floorstanding speakers like B&Ws Nautilus 801 has been referred to as monitors, maybe because those speakers have been used in more than one recording studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Monitors are designed as Near field,, Mid field,, and far field,,, Depending on requirements in studio.. At mixer board or Cinema screen monitoring,,, Very accurate speakers,, Such as the Westlake units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 All this is good but what internally makes them a nearfield or farfield or whatever? Is it a crossover change? Physical differences in the cone? What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 In my neck of the woods - a "monitor" is specifically intended for nearfield listening, whereas a speaker is more generally thought of as a room filling idea. In the nearfield you are focusing on the DIRECT sound and not the reverberant sound. I don't think "accuracy" per se is part of the definition. Although many feel that nearfield monitors might be more accurate. Small rooms (small studios) is where the JBL 4311's, 12's, 13's, etc really shined. I kinda' think (having owned the referenced JBL's from 1975 through about 2005) that the Heresy can also do that job as well. Maybe that's why I like Heresys about 3-4 feet off the ground, looking straight at me in a small room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I'm with mdeneen on this one; monitors being used for near-field applications and as I understand it, they are placed so to take the room coloration out of the audio path. Wiki offers are very good explanation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_monitor and discusses their specific characteristics that make them good for such purpose. Another Wiki article discusses Fold-Back monitors; the type used on-stage and mentioned by Michael: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foldback_(sound_engineering) -Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 In my neck of the woods - a "monitor" is specifically intended for nearfield listening, whereas a speaker is more generally thought of as a room filling idea. In the nearfield you are focusing on the DIRECT sound and not the reverberant sound. I don't think "accuracy" per se is part of the definition. Although many feel that nearfield monitors might be more accurate. Small rooms (small studios) is where the JBL 4311's, 12's, 13's, etc really shined. I kinda' think (having owned the referenced JBL's from 1975 through about 2005) that the Heresy can also do that job as well. Maybe that's why I like Heresys about 3-4 feet off the ground, looking straight at me in a small room? HYMMMM. I have a pair of 4312s and a pair of H1s being driven by an old Marantz recieiver in my shop. They both run toghether (A and B speaker outputs) and are about 14 feet up (on the short wall) in my 20 foot tall, 30' x 75' building and the combo of the two in there cranks out some darn nice tunes. There is however a layer of fiberglass insulation covering every interior surface of the steel building so that does tend to absorb some of the refelections. Sounds nice tho...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capo72 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I heard somewhere along the way and it always stuck with me, that monitors are voiced to be a neutral sounding speaker so as not to add coloration to the sound in a mixing studio or where ever they may be used. This would mean that in general Klipsch speakers, being more forward sounding, would not make good monitors. Take from it what you wish, but that is the way I always have thought it to be. Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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