Studio monitor or hifi which is better for personal music at home ?

[music4mhell]

Plenty from Surrountec to Focal to JBL to Yamaha connected to Chavin Research etc etc. Source was either a Lexicon or McCormack or AVM or DDA etc etc. They were good for what they were supposed to be but they can't be something they are not meant to be.

No matter what opinion I or you have OP should audition speakers himself and take our advise with a pinch of salt!

Have you tried Mackie or Presonus or Genelecs ?

 

[Aanuj]

Mackie, Genelacs yes , Presonus no.

 

[magma]

I am confused that should I buy active studio monitors or tower speaker with stereo amp. I need it for just listening music. I donot do any kind of mixing. I saw Tannoy reveal 802 studio monitors are cheap and comparable to buying bookshelf and amp. Please help in making my decision.

nothing to be confused about here
let me make it simpler
separates are generally preferred my people who have planned to take an upgrade path one or the other time
they know their tastes will evolve and there will one time or the other be rotating their speaker or may want to rotate amplification
these kind of people buy separates

if youre in only for the music and are not gonna really fall into the audiophile rabbit hole
you can look at getting actives and be done with it

the old line of the thinking that generally believes that only musicians and recording artists and pro audio guys use actives is not really valid today
especially with some really good actives that are make themself at "home" pretty easily

Actives have only one down side
if the electronics in the speaker dies
youre left with nothin
(though this rarely almost never occurs in good actives)
So if youre not looking to o down the audiophile rabbit hole
just get yourself an active and be done
However actives are real finicky since they cater to recording artists
so they are tuned to be neutral
Some do not prefer the neutral tone and like the masala

look at the sonodyne SRP series
the tannoys are decent as well
the genelecs are good too

the newly launched series by sonodyne ( the actives ) without the DSP are pretty good
i have heard and liked them

then theres always the yamaha HS series
the workhorse

though for a home audio guy i would normally reccomend the newly launched sonodyne which is more suited to home

 

[elt93]

nothing to be confused about here
let me make it simpler
separates are generally preferred my people who have planned to take an upgrade path one or the other time
they know their tastes will evolve and there will one time or the other be rotating their speaker or may want to rotate amplification
these kind of people buy separates

if youre in only for the music and are not gonna really fall into the audiophile rabbit hole
you can look at getting actives and be done with it

the old line of the thinking that generally believes that only musicians and recording artists and pro audio guys use actives is not really valid today
especially with some really good actives that are make themself at "home" pretty easily

Pretty much nailed it there.
My relative needed a no fuss minimal system and I set him up with presonus eris actives. He's very happy. Neutral hifi and studio monitors are equally capable. I just prefer to have multiple boxes and the flexibility to change things here and there for me. If you're not into that, get actives and be done with it.

 

[Aanuj]

I think we are mixing up between Actives and Studio Monitors here somewhere. Actives and Active Studio Monitors and Passive Studio Monitors are not same and they all have a specific job to do. Just having a powered speaker dosnt make it a active studio monitors in any case. A studio Monitor will sound analytical and like a magnifying glass if it is not doing so and doing its duty at home playing all kinda music touching that emotional Chord of yours even with bad recordings then you have a bad studio Monitor or it is not a studio Monitor but an Active speaker which people nowadays term as studio monitors! As one member correctly pointed out here about NF MF and so on....now that's the basic fundamental of having a studio monitor. Just buying any active speaker and thinking I have bought a studio monitor is prudish.

Speaking practically since we listen all kinda recordings and not only work of art audiophile recordings and masterings get a good Active speaker which dosnt glorify itself of being a Near Field or MidField Studio Monitor if you don't want the clutter of wires, Amps, stands etc etc. That's my personal opinion others might differ.

 

[elt93]

My bad. I meant "studio monitors". Atleast that's what the company states them as.
But I don't see how a speaker will act like a magnifying glass magically magnifying whatever. A neutral studio monitor and a neutral hifi speaker are equally "analytical". There are reputed studios that use some "hifi" speakers as monitors too... The lines are blurred.... Just because someone is enjoying studio monitors at home, how can that studio monitor be labelled bad? What about the "hifi" speakers being used as "studio monitors"? Would you say that they are bad hifi speakers?

 

[Aanuj]

The difference between neutral and analytically neutral is all in the presentation. A studio monitor conveys the mistakes or flaws of a bad recording more prominently than a neutral passive home speaker. In a good studio monitor things are glaring that's where the term fits in as magnifying glass and not literally. I already mentioned that if a studio monitor is passing of bad recordings as good stuff then it's not one of the better studio monitors but good Actives. Now why do they have normal hi-fi speakers at studio,good question and it will clear all your doubts. It is only to listen to the final mastered product as to how it will sound at home. Every studio has them and it is the sole purpose.

An eg BBC is so stringent about studio monitors that no manufacturer can live up to their standards and has to modify as per their spec and companies like Dynaudio to PMC to Rogers modify for them to be in their Studio! Studio is not an easy place mate, it's tough.

Studio monitors are not bad , why would they be bad. They do what they are supposed to do, analyze. Now coming to a conclusion if somebody loves monitors go ahead and buy it. Everybody has a choice.

 

[music4mhell]

I listen to my Tatasky TV and Youtube n al on chromecast feeding from TV to studio monitors Genelecs.

I never felt any bad recordings. May be i am not a pro in listening.
I am just a simple guy hyeah:

 

[Aanuj]

I listen to my Tatasky TV and Youtube n al on chromecast feeding from TV to studio monitors Genelecs.

I never felt any bad recordings. May be i am not a pro in listening.
I am just a simple guy hyeah:

You are a simple and "lucky" guy :lol:

 

[jai1611]

The idea that all studio monitors are neutral and transparent is not quite correct. They are used for mixing but they do not all sound the same. If you hear a few, you'll find a reasonable range of "flavours" (for lack of a better word). However, the range is much wider in home audio.

Having used a pair of studio monitors at home before, I would suggest listening to a few. If you find one you like, get them. They are much less fussy than home audio gear and are usually easier to dial into a room. The big downside is the lack of a simple upgrade path and a few missing convenience features (chiefly a remote).

 

[elt93]

There are some very reputed studios that use hifi speakers as their main monitors. Then there are some very famous "studio monitors" that started out life as nothing but "hifi" speakers and ended up being "adopted" by the studio fraternity. What do you have to say about that?
Like somebody correctly pointed out, not all studio monitors are neutral and transparent. Same goes for hifi. I've heard a fair share and my experience has been the same too. I'll still say that the lines between them are blurred (when you're looking at the good ones). generalizing that all studio monitors are analytically neutral and hifi speakers aren't is wrong. Trust your own ears, listen and then decide. Don't generalize.

 

[music4mhell]

There are some very reputed studios that use hifi speakers as their main monitors. Then there are some very famous "studio monitors" that started out life as nothing but "hifi" speakers and ended up being "adopted" by the studio fraternity. What do you have to say about that?
Like somebody correctly pointed out, not all studio monitors are neutral and transparent. Same goes for hifi. I've heard a fair share and my experience has been the same too. I'll still say that the lines between them are blurred (when you're looking at the good ones). generalizing that all studio monitors are analytically neutral and hifi speakers aren't is wrong. Trust your own ears, listen and then decide. Don't generalize.

+100 :yahoo:
"generalizing that all studio monitors are analytically neutral and hifi speakers aren't is wrong.":clapping:

 

[Hiten]

I am confused that should I buy active studio monitors or tower speaker with stereo amp. I need it for just listening music. I donot do any kind of mixing. I saw Tannoy reveal 802 studio monitors are cheap and comparable to buying bookshelf and amp. Please help in making my decision.

Kindly take my post as noob generalisation. No Problem in listening to studio monitors. Separate amplifiers for each drivers and active crossover is an advantage. Your room size probably will decide which active monitors to buy. Very generally speaking studio monitors don't have very good linear off axis response and low end. And for cheaper monitors amplification needs to be looked at. Behringer 2030A and JBL LSR 305/308 are much talked about monitors, Mackie, genelac are Studio standards. From purely subjective view I have found tweeter and large woofer (8") speaker system lacking the body in midrange. Best are smaller drivers 5" and tweeter but they lack little bit of low end. But if your listening distance is not much and your room is small it wont matter I guess. Or you can add subwoofer.

Little difficult but best would be listening yourself in your listening room. Also do compare monitors against normal hifi system (Amp and separate speakers)(You can even try second hand system from reliable source) Please do update on what you have finalized.

Regards.

 

[arunkvivek]

A tangential question - How 'small' is a small room? We should have some measurement thresholds to discuss:may be small = '<200 sqft' (12' X 15' room)

Second question - how far away would the listening distance be?

Finally, would the speakers audibility reduce after a certain distance?

 

[atanu mukerji]

Try Norge.You will get a HiFI system with floor standing wavecor speakers at the cost of monitor.

 

[Aanuj]

Go the HiFi way. I forgot to point out the narrow sweet spot of studio monitors which is perfect for NF monitoring but not home use. As nobody buys a truck to move around in the city hence nobody buys studio monitors to listen to music. Trucks are used to transfer goods studio monitors are to analyze music. People are mixing up active monitors with studio monitors. These days people use or think AE2/5 to be studio monitors,came across many. Both are different. OP it's best you draw what you have to draw from here and audition before you buy.

 

[jls001]

small = '<200 sqft' (12' X 15' room)

Second question - how far away would the listening distance be?

Finally, would the speakers audibility reduce after a certain distance?

1) 12'x15' is banquet hall of a Mumbai mansion
2) same distance from either speaker as distance between speakers.
3) SPL follows inverse square root law. If distance is doubled, SPL is one-fourth.

 

[tuff]

Guys,Guys, I think we all scared away the original poster. he hasn't made a single comment since..

 

[music4mhell]

Go the HiFi way. I forgot to point out the narrow sweet spot of studio monitors which is perfect for NF monitoring but not home use. As nobody buys a truck to move around in the city hence nobody buys studio monitors to listen to music. Trucks are used to transfer goods studio monitors are to analyze music. People are mixing up active monitors with studio monitors. These days people use or think AE2/5 to be studio monitors,came across many. Both are different. OP it's best you draw what you have to draw from here and audition before you buy.

I have bought Professional Studio Monitors(Genelecs+Sub) only to listen to music hyeah:
And i have zero knowledge about music mixing or recording, my previous set up was iBall Tarang

 

[Aanuj]

I have bought Professional Studio Monitors(Genelecs+Sub) only to listen to music hyeah:
And i have zero knowledge about music mixing or recording, my previous set up was iBall Tarang

I'm in to Class A Amplification & a Full Balanced Stereo set up and generally play only DSD so I wouldnt know what your experience is like. Never owned anything audio from iball but a computer cabinet called the workhorse ,so yes a Genelacs a massive step up for you in that regard.But seeing your enthusiasm, it better be good, I mean your recommendations to OP.