studio monitor speakers--why not at home?

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97tbird

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I've been noticing that the speaker companies which make high end active studio monitors always have TPS or XLR connections, and never any banana plugs/binding posts
...is there any way one can connect a pair of those studio monitos to a regular home amplifier/receiver, which normally have banana plugs or binding posts?
anybody ever tried that?
Also: those companies that make studio monitors never make regular home high-end speakers (except perhaps Dynaaudio and Warfdale)...and vice versa.

and are studio monitors (most of them active and bi-ampable) superior to regular book -shelf speakers?
why is that, I wonder...
 
XLR, if you use all 3 connectors are "balanced", that is, they are kind of a "2-phase" system with neutral, pushing, and pulling wires. two-connector systems are "unbalanced." The benefit of balanced connectors, or wiring actually, is noise that's picked up by the wiring largely self-cancels with its mirror image, that's also picked up.

You can drive an XLR with 2 of the 3 posts... neutral and one side... but you lose 6 dB.

The use of XLR connections could be as simple as they want something they can break down quickly and throw in the van when the show is over.

It's sometimes dangerous to apply professional audio concepts to home audio-phoolery. They might deliberately use mediocre speakers to mix a pop CD, for example, to simulate the average home user experience.
 
Many (these days most) studio monitors are powered. They have the amps built in. They almost never have grilles on them so they are too "ugly" for many households.

Home speakers don't have pro connectors on them because of carryover from the old days. It would be difficult for a DIYer to build a speaker cable with a Neutrik connector on there. Not to mention that they are a bit pricey. Binding posts are fine for home speakers that are moved infrequently.

You can certainly make your own adapter cable if you want.

As far as sound quality, some studio monitors are very good and some are simply awful. Many studio monitors are made for close-up listening and wouldn't be as good in a home environment where they would be a little farther away. Some studio montitors are made to deliberately accentuate certain frequencies so that engineers can more easily detect certain sonic characteristics (TV work especially). Engineers have to tweak the sound so that it will be usable even on ________ TV speakers not just high end stuff.
 
monitors are superior to bookshelf speakers without a doubt, it depends on your application - monitors are used at moderate volume to mix the tracks, not used to blare rock music - their application is in reproducing the various spectrums of sound so that they are clean and crisp and the engineer is able to hear them and mix accordingly... for mega high end look at snell, or system audio - but you really can't go wrong with any of the high end offerings.

if you are going to be listening to tunes at a reasonable volume then monitors would be awesome.
 
I have some bi-amped bookshelf studio monitors.
They are designed to have a flat frequency response and extreme clarity and accuracy in order to hear and correct problems in the mix.
My wife has a set of honking 3.1 speakers hooked up to her computer and they can kick my monitor's butts.
But speakers for "home" use have a frequency response that's designed to "enhance", or colour the experience.
 
Yamaha and Mackie make some good studio monitors, in fact Yamaha is de rigeur in most studios, the older NS series and the newer MS self powered series. Point is apart from the Yamaha NS-1000x vintage of late 70s which had beryllium mids and tweeters, most studio monitors are made for close quarter listening.
 
Among others obviously, Dunlavy speakers seemed to be used as 'mastering speakers' in a lot of studios. They were designed and manufactured to be the most accurate at their price points, but are no longer made.
 
can't go wrong with the old studio standard yamaha ns10m... I think they have been discontinued and have been replaced by the hs80m
 
Buy a set of these:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html

And buy some monitor type stands (I have wood technology MU-24), and have AWESOME sound for a great price.

The Ascend 340SE speakers have quality unmatched in their price segment... I bought them after spending at least 20 hours in stores auditioning mid to high end speakers, and none have quality all-around that is as good as these... Sure, I could have spent well over $1500/pair and had something on par or better... but I got a much superior deal and couldnt be happier...

JMH
 
Quote:

can't go wrong with the old studio standard yamaha ns10m... I think they have been discontinued and have been replaced by the hs80m

Click to expand...


Carbonics,

They have been replaced by tri-amped MSP series which are equally good, if not better as they come with inbuilt Yamaha amps.
 
those look like a fine set of speaker, however - I noticed they have a bass port... it would be relatively rare to see this on a studio monitor, as it gives a false bass. I have not seen any reference monitors with bass ports (even the tunable type) in any of the studios I have worked in. Then again it depends on his app.
 
What kind of studio ? What kind of music ? If we're talking the typical pop music, with a track recorded one day, enhanced on another day, then additional tracks recorded later, it doesn't matter to much what you use, anything equalized to a reasonably flat response and with a reasonably extended range will do fine.

If you're recording 'real instruments playing in real space', acoustic instruments whether it's folk, jazz, classical, etc., then you need to select carefully as people know what the music sounded like when it was being recorded, and thus know to expect when it's being played back. I've never seen anyone using Yamaha 'studio monitors' as a 'reference speaker', to demo equipment commercially or for home use, but your mileage will vary.
 
I prefer a quality set of headphones..... good speakers, great headphones.
cool.gif
 
I don't really know much abouty studio speakers... I just reccomended these in case anyone was interested. They are extremely flat, don't add anything to the sound, image GREAT, and are very detailed. I hear things that I have not before heard on many a CD.

To a more professional ear/eye, I can't say. I only know the hours Ive spent at hi-end audio stores, and how I like my speakers comapred to what else Ive heard, for my listening purposes..

I dont have much else to add to this conversation, but it will be interesting to read!

cheers.gif


JMH
 
Monitoring is generally done "nearfield", meaning that the listener is close to the speakers and the room is deadened with acoustic foam treatment or similar. Often these speakers will sound dull and lifeless in a domestic environment, with an untreated room and "farfield" listening.

The XLR connector situation is easily resolved with adapters. Using unbalanced instead of balanced interconnect is unlikely to cause a problem unless you live next to a powerful FM transmitter or some equally huge noise source.

I've been fortunate enough to work in several recording studios with some of the top names and they are continually tinkering with equipment and looking for the right sound. Even if they find it, the label might then post process and mess it up. For example, the Santana Supernatural CD is compressed to high heaven. The VU meters stay at 0dB for the whole CD. Bad sound is getting more and more common, probably helped along by the download/mp3 phenomenon which places no value on sound quality.
 
Thanks guys. I learned a lot.
Someday when I'm out of school, and putting up my high-end 2-channel system, some of this knowledge will come in handy.
( I hope I'll be able to afford some Dahli or Totum bookshelf spkrs by then...)
smile.gif
 
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