Kind of a noobish question

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JPXTom

JPXTom

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But ive been wondering...whats the difference between studio monitors and just regular computer speakers? I dont have monitors, just speakers...but i mean..what do monitors really do,i guess is what im asking. I know, its a pretty lame question haha,
 
in theory*, studio monitors have a flatter frequency response, where as most other speakers have exaggerated bass and treble with less midrange. While that may be nice to listen to existing music on, it is not as easy to mix on because a whole bunch of audio information is difficult to hear - some might say the most important part of the audio - the midrange. The theory is that if you can get a good sounding mix on 'studio monitors' it will translate well to a wide variety of speakers, from ipod earbuds, to car stereos to computer speakers, etc..

*many will argue (and rightfully so, I'm sure) that high-end hi-fi speakers make better monitors than low-end studio monitors. Either, though, should be WAY better than your computer speakers.
 
andy's right... dont get hung up on terms like monitor/pro/digital ready etc..
 
Harvey Gerst has (had?) a FM transmitter just so his clients could listen to their music on their car radio. If it sounds good in the studio it will sound good in the Ford, but not vice-a-versa.
 
wheelema said:
Harvey Gerst has (had?) a FM transmitter just so his clients could listen to their music on their car radio. If it sounds good in the studio it will sound good in the Ford, but not vice-a-versa.
Click to expand...


here's post 500 for me woo hoo... anyhow.. when i was in nashvegas back in the 80's that was a very common thing to do... do a mix... roll one... hit the car to check it... you would hear stories of people driving around music row with their radios scanning to hear who's working on what...
 
dementedchord said:
... do a mix... roll one... hit the car to check it... you would hear stories of people driving around music row with their radios scanning to hear who's working on what...
Click to expand...


You rolled mixes...how does that work? :confused: :confused: :confused:

jk :D
 
typical computer speakers add boosts and cuts in different places to 'enhance' the music. anything that is imported into itunes or windows media player is 'enhanced', unless you disable that.

some things- like ipod headphones and computer speakers are designed to make music sound 'better' as they say.. which is why i dont recommend mixing on them.

a good monitor is a monitor that is TRUE- freq response is as close to flat as possible. also, your room will affect this in ways you cant imagine until you do some treatment and hear the difference for yourself.

good luck.
 
speakers (computer, hi-fi, stereo, car, etc) are designed and constructed so that music sounds GOOD on them. that is the purpose of stereo speakers--to make the listener enjoy what they're hearing. no one wants to buy speakers that don't make the music sound good, right?

studio monitors are designed and constructed so that you can hear what the music really sounds like. they are not designed to make the music sound good--they are designed so you can hear what's really going on. that doesn't mean that monitors always sound bad (nor are they always flat)--it means that they're designed so that the engineer can truly hear what's happening when they're recording and mixing.

so yes, when it comes to a recording and generating a mix that translates from one system to another, there's a huge difference between "speakers that make music sound good" and "speakers that let you hear what's really going on".

that's the most basic difference/definition i can give you.

sure some folks make decent recordings and mixes on hifi speakers, headphones or even computer speakers. but that's simply b/c they've learned the speakers exceptionally well and know how things need to sound on them in order to translate. even then i'd argue that a good pair of monitors would help them do the mixing job faster.....let alone better.

cheers,
wade
 
If you look around there was a thread seeking out people who don't mix on real monitors. Quite a lot of people replied to that, so I'm guessing a lot of us don't have monitors. I don't. I mix on a computer speakers and Koss headphones, and check it on an iPod dock and a cheap boombox.
 
Didn't get monitors until about a month ago, but they did make a difference. I wasn't able to learn my computer speakers well enough to comepnsate by hearing alone, and even the KRK's I bought helped a lot getting a good mix. However, as others have said, you can get by just as well with whatcha got, if you can learn your speakers well enough.
 
fwiw, please note that i didn't say that "you could get by" with regular speakers. you *need* monitors. what i said is that some people have managed to get decent results in spite of not having monitors.

that's like saying that some people have managed to drive cross country in spite of not having any money for gas.

not only do you need monitors, you need the best monitors you can possibly afford. but beware--there are a number of things (especially on the low budget side of things) being pimped as "monitors" that really have no business as being pimped as such.

so outside of "fixing the room" being the first place any noob starts dumping money, i'd put quality monitoring #2 on the list. save those pennies and spend them wisely.


cheers,
wadde
 
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