You have heard about monitoring speakers, you may know that this is the type of speaker found in studios and home studios… but you want to know specifically what makes these speakers special?
Good news, you have stumbled upon the right article!
Definition of Monitoring Speakers
So, what is a monitoring speaker, by definition?
It is a speaker that emits sound and has the particularity of altering the audio signal very little.
In other words, monitoring speakers are designed to be respectful of the audio signal they reproduce.
This is reflected in a frequency response that is as flat as possible across the audible spectrum: there are of course always slight variations, but generally, we are talking about +/- 3dB, which is quite low.
Generally, monitoring speakers are also less sensitive to distortion, which will be reflected in good THD characteristics on the technical sheets.
Where Can Monitoring Speakers Be Found?
I have already mentioned this a bit in the introduction: monitoring speakers are primarily found in studios or home studios.
To be precise, they are usually connected to audio interfaces, or sometimes directly to mixing consoles.
That said, they can also be seen in other situations, such as artistic acoustic installations or among audiophiles who want very flat speakers.
The Difference Between Monitoring Speakers and Hi-Fi Speakers
Of course, there are different types of speakers on the audio market:
- portable bluetooth speakers;
- soundbars;
- “mini hi-fi system” type speakers;
- home hi-fi speakers (for music or cinema);
- monitoring speakers (passive or active);
- etc.
Hi-fi speakers, as well as other types of speakers except for monitoring ones, tend to be colorative regarding the sound they reproduce.
In other words, they have a certain sound color, particularly in their way of reproducing frequencies, which makes listening to music on them tend to “sound better”, to be more pleasant.
Although some models provide a lot of detail, they generally remain colored and thus relatively dishonest compared to the original sound, because the goal is to provide a pleasant listening experience.
Monitoring speakers, on the other hand, are designed to be much more analytical. For the sound engineer working with them, it is indeed important to hear absolutely everything in the most neutral way possible to make the best mixing decisions.
The consequence is that when listening to music on monitoring speakers, it is sometimes a bit less pleasant/fun/interesting than when listening on hi-fi speakers.
Two speakers, two uses.
What Are Monitoring Speakers Used For, Specifically?
In fact, when used in a studio or home studio context, they serve two purposes:
- They provide information on frequencies, dynamics, and stereo image that are as accurate and analytical as possible;
- They must be as neutral as possible so that the mixes made with them sound good on any listening system.
On this last point, it is worth noting that of course the sound of the speaker and the ability of the sound engineer to make the right decisions will also depend on the acoustic treatment applied in the room.
But the idea is indeed that mixing on neutral speakers means that the mixes made on them will be more balanced, optimizing their sound on average so that it sounds good on any speaker, in any context.
Need Monitoring Speakers for Your (Home) Studio?
There you go, you now know exactly what a monitoring speaker is.
If you are looking for a model for your (home) studio, for example, click here to discover my recommendations.