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Posted by roosh on Oct-09-2003 00:30:

Monitors vs speakers

What advantages do studio monitors have over regular speakers? From my internet research, monitors are mostly used in recording songs to simulate the sound that will be most commonly played on consumer speakers. How do they help the DJ?

Roosh

Posted by Ibiza Dreams on Oct-09-2003 00:33:

stfu n00b

lol, i don't know bro, I'm wondering the same thing... the M-Audio monitors seem to be the most popular... BX5 or BX8... hmmmm.

Posted by calldown on Oct-09-2003 00:44:

My understanding of it is that 'normal' speakers color the sound - as in they boost certain frequencies and such. Like they might have brigher hi's or such - so in other words it's not *quite* what's pressed on that vinyl in your hands there.

But monitors are 'flat' or as flat as they can get - they don't add or take anything away from the sound, they provide a true representation of the sound.

How would this help? Well I dunno about experience-wise, cause all I have is really cheap headphones and speakers, but I'd imagine it'd let you hear how the frequencies are going together 'for real.'

Correct me if I'm wrong please.

-calldown

Posted by auujay on Oct-09-2003 00:59:

Ya, that is basicly it. Of course then there is the question of what is the difference between good speakers that give a flat reponse, and monitors. So what I did, instead of getting "reference monitors" I went out and got a good power amp and good "bookshelf" speakers that give a very flat frequency response.

Then there is the issue that most monitors people talk about on here are "near field" which simply means that the optimal listening position is a couple feet from the speakers (compared to a couple yards for most stereo systems). The speakers I have do sound good only a few feet away (even though they are not billed as near field monitors), but a friend of mine also has some really nice bookshelf speakers (that have a flat response) and they sound WAY better sitting 6-8 feet away then they do 2-3 feet away.

While I am not an audio engineer or anything, I did a decent amount of research when I got my setup and I think what I said is true. But if someone (who knows what they are talking about) disagrees please speakup.

Posted by Vlad on Oct-09-2003 04:30:

Im getting biamplified Event TR8 reference monitors. They are versitile enough to handle DJing and producing.

Event TR8

Posted by Gluegun on Oct-09-2003 04:50:

Studio monitors are made so that (generally), you can set them up in the near-field, on a shelf, and they will have a specific sound... this sound is made so that, as you change a mix, if you get it to sound good on those speakers, it should sound good on anything. They might not have the same types of detail as many types of audiophile speakers, and they might not work as well in a larger room, but they are made to be tuned and tweaked to work in that specific work environment..

Posted by audiotherapy on Oct-10-2003 05:59:

any review sites for monitors?

im lookin at some used alesis mk2 active...

my price range is ~280

Posted by IntegraR0064 on Oct-10-2003 20:14:

But...that raises the question.

If normal speakers "color" the sound....and 99.9% of the population will be listening on normal speakers....shouldn't you record it using those normal speakers?

Otherwise it won't sound the same to them as when you recorded it? right?

That's the only thing I don't understand.

Posted by auujay on Oct-10-2003 20:35:

The problem is that they do not color the sound the same way. But if you are using s flat speaker it you will hear what is going on, even if it it covered up by one pair of consumer speakers another may emphize that frequency.

Posted by Widget on Oct-10-2003 23:02:

so essentially, think of it this way:

if it sounds good on monitor speakers, it'll sound good on most (if not all speakers).

Just because it sounds good on standard speakers, there's no guarantee that you'll hear it the same with other speakers.

hence why production should always be done on monitors - make it sound good there and you'll be fine on every other system.

This is also the reason why many DJs are starting to use headphones that are more representative of the true sound. They know then that what they are hearing in their headphones will be what the crowd hears from the speakers, but if they use heavy bass headphones (Sony MDR-V700), then it may not sound the same out of the speakers.

Posted by T:REBEL on Oct-14-2003 16:34:

JBL EON-G2

'nuff said.

Posted by VIO on Oct-15-2003 16:20:

studio monitors are the best choice for practice and they'll make you a better dj. now here's why. studio monitors are much more accurate and you can hear every nuance in the recording. you can also hear if the beats are even ever so slightly off. you'll become more accurate in your mixing skills. this is especially important when recording promo and production cds. club speakers are muddy and you can be a bit sloppier with your mixing because they tend to cover up mistakes since they are so muddy compared to studio monitors. imagine this scenario. you buy club speakers and you practice. you mixes sound good. right on, now you're ready to record a promo. you spend an hour laying down what you think is a perfect promo. you burn it to a cd and then go to play it in your car or your home stereo only to find out that the beats are not lined up anywhere near perfect but you couldn't tell because you have club speakers. now you have a sub-par promo that people will listen to and they *will* pick out the fact that the beats aren't perfectly lined up and you don't get booked. practicing on studio monitors will make sure your mixes are tight and clean and they will make you more precise. cheers.

Posted by DJ Joshua H on Nov-10-2003 21:00:

The trouble with monitors?

I have heard that studio monitors are not good to use with vinyl because you can hear every pop and click and that for this reason monitors are only good for digital sound and recordings. Is there any truth to this?

Posted by VIO on Nov-10-2003 21:18:

Re: The trouble with monitors?

quote:
Originally posted by DJ Joshua H
I have heard that studio monitors are not good to use with vinyl because you can hear every pop and click and that for this reason monitors are only good for digital sound and recordings. Is there any truth to this?

not true. what does it matter if you can hear every pop and click when you're in the studio? when you record they're still going to be there regardless. just because you don't hear the pops and clicks on a club speaker doesn't mean they're not there. you want to have the most accurate speakers you can in your studio. read my previous post in this thread if you want to know why. cheers.

Posted by Magnus on Nov-12-2003 07:29:

I just got my Mackie HR824s 2 weeks ago and I love them. They took a while to get used to mainly because I went from shitty Altec Lansing speakers, to these things. I would have to highly recommend them.

Posted by Localsky on Nov-14-2003 01:00:

quote:
Originally posted by VIO
studio monitors are the best choice for practice and they'll make you a better dj. now here's why. studio monitors are much more accurate and you can hear every nuance in the recording. you can also hear if the beats are even ever so slightly off. you'll become more accurate in your mixing skills.

Exactly, I just got Alesis MK2's with an Alesis RA 300 amp and the sound is amazing, well worth the money. I noticed a difference immediately. I also would recommend Monitor speakers. They get loud enough for any type of practicing. Hope this helps.

Posted by audiotherapy on Nov-14-2003 06:25:

proud owner of a pair of Yamaha MSP5 here... best active crossover in its class

Posted by Steven Hays on Nov-24-2003 04:44:

Bump for everyone who has to start a thread on monitor speakers!