can I use studio monitors as a normal computer speaker?

A

andrewkim9711

New member
Hey guys it's my first time building my home recording studio, and I want to get only one set of monitor for my set.

I'm going to connect my computer to the AI via USB and AI to the monitor (KRK Rokit 5 G3) via XMP cables.

If I do that and turn on a song on my computer, will it come out of the KRK Rokit 5 G3 monitor?

my monitor will be used as follows:

- Mixing through the DAW
- Using it as a regular computer speaker (for music and movie sounds)
- and as a speaker to directly hear my recording as I play an instrument. Say that I have my AI connected to my computer for DAW and the monitors, as I play a guitar for an instance I want to hear how it sounds directly from it.
 
YES.

An audio interface (proper one) will in effect-replace your internal sound card. All audio from your computer will use it for audio. Youtube, DAW, whatever...

XMP cables? I'm guessing you did a typo. Yes XLR from an interface capable of such. More likely TRS to XLR cables or TRS to TRS, depending upon the interface you have budget to purchase, will supply signal to your monitors (audio).

You need to ask more questions and give more detail as to what you wish to record. Take time to do research before spending your money. :)
 
andrewkim9711 said:
Hey guys it's my first time building my home recording studio, and I want to get only one set of monitor for my set.

I'm going to connect my computer to the AI via USB and AI to the monitor (KRK Rokit 5 G3) via XMP cables.

If I do that and turn on a song on my computer, will it come out of the KRK Rokit 5 G3 monitor?

my monitor will be used as follows:

- Mixing through the DAW
- Using it as a regular computer speaker (for music and movie sounds)
- and as a speaker to directly hear my recording as I play an instrument. Say that I have my AI connected to my computer for DAW and the monitors, as I play a guitar for an instance I want to hear how it sounds directly from it.
Click to expand...

Agree with the others. The answer is yes.
 
jimmys69 said:
XMP cables? I'm guessing you did a typo.
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There ARE such things as XMP cables...we used to use them in certain satellite-uplink related applications! http://www.carlisleit.com/sites/default/files/resources/documents/XMP Connector.pdf

However, I hope that, in this case, it's a typo--they're pretty expensive and I don't know any monitors that need to go up to 5GHz!

...and, in answer to the OP's question, another "Yes". In fact, in my old house (where I was a single nerd) my studio was also my living room and I worked exactly that way. Youtube sounded interesting via a Quad 405 amp and Rogers Studio 1 speakers.
 
Bobbsy said:
There ARE such things as XMP cables...we used to use them in certain satellite-uplink related applications!

However, I hope that, in this case, it's a typo--they're pretty expensive and I don't know any monitors that need to go up to 5GHz!
Click to expand...

haha yeah it was a typo XD a big one too.. anyways thanks guys for answering my question :) helped a lot
 
arcaxis said:
I think your question was more if it can be done, but for me there is a benefit to being able to do it.

I have been using monitors as "normal" speakers for a while and one good thing that's come from doing this, is that using the monitor for both listening of commercially recording music and my own, I can have a good comparison reference to how my own recordings should sound.
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This. It is not only doable, but a damn good idea. The most important part of any monitor situation is your familiarity with it. You just plain can't mix if you don't know how things are supposed to sound on your speakers. My monitors are also my "living room" speakers.

Nobody's mentioned it, but this usually doesn't happen automatically. You will most likely have to go in and tell your OS to use the interface as its default recording and playback device, and/or completely disable its onboard soundcard.
 
Bobbsy said:
...and, in answer to the OP's question, another "Yes". In fact, in my old house (where I was a single nerd) my studio was also my living room and I worked exactly that way. Youtube sounded interesting via a Quad 405 amp and Rogers Studio 1 speakers.
Click to expand...
Did they have YouTube in those days ?
 
Just remember to turn them down or off before you go to bed. I was awoken to a booming "Avast virus database has been updated" at 3AM" one morning!!
 
Beerhunter said:
Just remember to turn them down or off before you go to bed. I was awoken to a booming "Avast virus database has been updated" at 3AM" one morning!!
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I had a rootkit virus for a while that would just randomly play dish soap commercials even when nothing else was going on on the computer. That is a mess when it goes off really loud in the middle of the night.

I usually go into Control Panel and turn off all the sounds (just set it to "None") so that the startup and shut down sounds, mouse clicks, and etc don't come blasting through my monitors.
 
grimtraveller said:
Did they have YouTube in those days ?
Click to expand...

They did since I kept using that set up until my move to Aus in the second half of 2007. Heck, I even had faster ADSL in the UK in 2001 than I do now in Aus 13 years later. AFAIK, Youtube started in about 2005 though it took a while to grow.

Worst thing I ever did was sell that Quad 405. I bought it in about 1979 and it was still going strong when I sold it, except for one change of the main output transistors. They don't build em like that any more!
 
Bobbsy said:
They did since I kept using that set up until my move to Aus in the second half of 2007. Heck, I even had faster ADSL in the UK in 2001 than I do now in Aus 13 years later. AFAIK, Youtube started in about 2005 though it took a while to grow.

Worst thing I ever did was sell that Quad 405. I bought it in about 1979 and it was still going strong when I sold it, except for one change of the main output transistors. They don't build em like that any more!
Click to expand...

Yes, good kit....But!
Just visited the Quad site (they are no longer "The Acoustical Manufacturing Company" and it shows!) . Bloody awful site to navigate IMHO and I am very disillusioned to see them tub thumping the same old bollocks about cables as all the other audiophools. I would have hoped Quad at least would have had more integrity.

£199 for an RCA cable, £ 300 ish for speaker leads!!! Can no one see the logic that nobody but NOBODY could afford to cable even a small commercial studio in this stuff, so HTF can another 2mtrs matter at home?!!

Dave.
 
That's sad for a company that used to make some excellent and innovative kit. Their ESL speakers were excellent, as was their 405 amp.

Edited to add: I just visited the QUAD site and don't see any cables or interconnects, just amps and speakers. Maybe I didn't look hard enough or maybe an audiophool company has a con artist URL? The site I visited is HERE.
 
Bobbsy said:
That's sad for a company that used to make some excellent and innovative kit. Their ESL speakers were excellent, as was their 405 amp.

Edited to add: I just visited the QUAD site and don't see any cables or interconnects, just amps and speakers. Maybe I didn't look hard enough or maybe an audiophool company has a con artist URL? The site I visited is HERE.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's the one!
http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/Series.aspx?lang=En&Tab=Performance Cables

Dave (you have to go to a dealer for the outrageous prices!)
 
Dang, I'm glad I missed that. It's sad to see a company that was once so good peddling snake oil like that.
 
I have never OWNED a pair of "PC" speakers!

I got a good PC rig mostly for my son's music work and it never occurred to me to use anything other than my Tannoy 5As to listen to everything coming out of two computers! (via a small mixer).

Dave.
 
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