Studio Monitor Question

[HCO SF 87]

I'm looking into getting a couple studio monitors for playing back audio that I've recorded. I also would like to some good speakers for playing my CDs. My question is, if I get some good studio monitors, will they work fine for CD playback, or should I go with good old regular speakers for that? I'd like to kill two birds with one stone. Thanks!

[patrickhowell]

Good studio monitors are the best way to listen to music. You'll be able to hear everything the way it was intended to be mixed.

[ShimmerAndSpill]

Go with studio monitors if you have the cash. Everything just sounds so good when you listen through them.

[Bi11 Lumburgh]

Go with studio monitors if you have the cash. Everything just sounds so good when you listen through them.

not necessarily, the sound will be so superior to consumer grade speakers, that you will hear all the little nuances of the recording, and if mixing engineer did not do a great job, you will hear that also, if anything, you will appreciate the art of recording and mixing, but yes, studio monitors are the way to go, they also won't be so bass heavy considering kids these days just turn the bass up all the way and would rather feel the rumble of an 808 than the music itself

[ShimmerAndSpill]

not necessarily, the sound will be so superior to consumer grade speakers, that you will hear all the little nuances of the recording, and if mixing engineer did not do a great job, you will hear that also, if anything, you will appreciate the art of recording and mixing, but yes, studio monitors are the way to go, they also won't be so bass heavy considering kids these days just turn the bass up all the way and would rather feel the rumble of an 808 than the music itself

True, but I like being able to figure out where engineers messed up, I do some recording so that's the main reason I have them.

[Bi11 Lumburgh]

Yea i agree totally, I have a degree in recording, and studio monitors are the way to go when trying to critique music, you begin to appreciate good production on albums as well, when recording/mixing, get yourself a really nice pair of headphones, things will sound much different in headphones than they do on monitors and speakers, when you mix, it's good to reference your mix on different speakers like consumer grade, and even car speakers, because thats where most people will listen to your music, you may have a mix that sounds amazing on monitors, but doesn't translate well to regular consumer grade speakers

[ShimmerAndSpill]

Yea i agree totally, I have a degree in recording, and studio monitors are the way to go when trying to critique music, you begin to appreciate good production on albums as well, when recording/mixing, get yourself a really nice pair of headphones, things will sound much different in headphones than they do on monitors and speakers, when you mix, it's good to reference your mix on different speakers like consumer grade, and even car speakers, because thats where most people will listen to your music, you may have a mix that sounds amazing on monitors, but doesn't translate well to regular consumer grade speakers

Wow, I never really thought of that, thanks for the advice, I'll definitely try that out.

[Esrb99]

the monitors are only as good as the room. if you're investing over $300 on monitors (still cheap, actually,) look into spending about $120 on room acoustics treatment with DIY broadband traps made of Rigid fiberglass or Mineral Wool.

[rawkandrowl]

Good advice here.

[HCO SF 87]

alright, cool. I'm thinking about getting some Mackie HRs. Any particular amps you guys recommmend?

[Tristan Needler]

Depends how much you're willing to spend. Keep in mind that engineers mix on monitors for regular speakers. So that "hear it the way it's meant to be heard" isn't totally true. If you're getting anything less than a set of KRK Rokit 5's (I think about $300 for two) than you might as well be getting regular hi-fi speakers.

Out of curiosity, what kind of sound card do you plan on running them through? Unless you have a good soundcard/interface with good D/A converters, it's not really going to help and you're not going to get what you can, or what you want out of them.

[ShimmerAndSpill]

I second the use of the Rokit 5's, I've been using them for a couple of months and they're great.

[HCO SF 87]

Depends how much you're willing to spend. Keep in mind that engineers mix on monitors for regular speakers. So that "hear it the way it's meant to be heard" isn't totally true. If you're getting anything less than a set of KRK Rokit 5's (I think about $300 for two) than you might as well be getting regular hi-fi speakers.

Out of curiosity, what kind of sound card do you plan on running them through? Unless you have a good soundcard/interface with good D/A converters, it's not really going to help and you're not going to get what you can, or what you want out of them.

I'll check out those rockit's, thanks for the advice. I'm really just now getting into all this stuff, so I don't know much about D/A converters and whatnot. I know I need to buy some kind of amp to power the speakers. I have an 09 MacBook Pro which I would run the speakers through.

[Tristan Needler]

I'll check out those rockit's, thanks for the advice. I'm really just now getting into all this stuff, so I don't know much about D/A converters and whatnot. I know I need to buy some kind of amp to power the speakers. I have an 09 MacBook Pro which I would run the speakers through.
You can't run a set of monitors straight from your laptop. You need an interface with main outputs that are separated into left and right signals, preferably balanced outputs. So there will be one cable going to each speaker, instead of one cable going to both. These cables will either be 1/4" TRS cables (look like guitar cabes, but have an extra "ring") or XLR cables (microphone-style cables).

D/A converters are simply Digital to Audio converters. The better the signal is converted, the better it will sound. Pretty much any recording audio interface worth its salt will have all that (mine does except no balanced outs; it's garbage) and I'd imagine most higher end, not recording related sound cards would as well.


I've never listened to the Rokits, but they're generally regarded as the best sound for the price. As you go up in speaker size, and consequently price, the bass response gets better/clearer.

[ShimmerAndSpill]

I would recommend the rokit's to anyone. I run them through my firepod, but should I be using a power amp for them?

[Tristan Needler]

I would recommend the rokit's to anyone. I run them through my firepod, but should I be using a power amp for them?
I'm pretty sure they're active monitors, aren't they? So I they produce their own power. I don't know if a power amp would do anything, but to be honest I don't know much about those.

I'm poor so I just use HD 280's for everything.

[ShimmerAndSpill]

I'm pretty sure they're active monitors, aren't they? So I they produce their own power. I don't know if a power amp would do anything, but to be honest I don't know much about those.

I'm poor so I just use HD 280's for everything.

Yeah they are, I just for some reason thought that power amps were used as a sort of boost or something that made them run better. I want to start building up my rack, but I really have no idea what direction to go in next.

[Tristan Needler]

Yeah, I don't really know what they're for to be honest. Maybe someone else knows better.

[HCO SF 87]

You can't run a set of monitors straight from your laptop. You need an interface with main outputs that are separated into left and right signals, preferably balanced outputs. So there will be one cable going to each speaker, instead of one cable going to both. These cables will either be 1/4" TRS cables (look like guitar cabes, but have an extra "ring") or XLR cables (microphone-style cables).

D/A converters are simply Digital to Audio converters. The better the signal is converted, the better it will sound. Pretty much any recording audio interface worth its salt will have all that (mine does except no balanced outs; it's garbage) and I'd imagine most higher end, not recording related sound cards would as well.


I've never listened to the Rokits, but they're generally regarded as the best sound for the price. As you go up in speaker size, and consequently price, the bass response gets better/clearer.

So do I need an amp to power the speakers, if they're not active? What are these interfaces called? Do I need a D/A converter?

[Tristan Needler]

Well a D/A converter would be part of the interface. I don't think you need a power amp for passive speakers, but I could be wrong. I've sort of always thought it was similar to passive/active electronics on a guitar, but that was just my assumption, could be way off.

Audio interfaces: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

Learn away! I believe he has a page for monitors as well, although I might be remembering wrong. He has info for pretty much everything you need (and much more) for a home studio, presented in a way that's easy to understand, and fun to read.

[JLG_Matt]

Try out a pair of NS-10's. They don't sound good but every studio I've been in has them and people say that if you can get everything to sound balanced in those it will sound good everywhere. I can't be anymore technical than that because I'm not 100% on this but it has to do with the frequency response on them i believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. You can get them pretty cheap and always have a second pair that sounds better and switch between the two, which is what I've noticed people do.

[Esrb99]

Try out a pair of NS-10's. They don't sound good but every studio I've been in has them and people say that if you can get everything to sound balanced in those it will sound good everywhere. I can't be anymore technical than that because I'm not 100% on this but it has to do with the frequency response on them i believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. You can get them pretty cheap and always have a second pair that sounds better and switch between the two, which is what I've noticed people do.

NS-10's are good reference monitors- a second pair. people who track and mix to them add too much bass in the tracking, eq, and mix phase. then the mastering engineer gets it and it's too boomy and cluttered.

you wan monitors that have a flat frequency response; ones that don't boost or cut anything, very neutral.

ns-10's are good reference monitors as they are similar to home hifi sets.

just if mixing to them, check check check your mixes in the car, on the laptop, mono via cellphone, headphones, etc. before sending to the masterer. you'll be thankful if you do.