Hey audiophiles! What's a "monitor" speaker.

[George K]

@Doctor-Phibes commented on a pair of JBL speakers that he has. He said they were "studio monitors."

How is that different from the usual speakers that I've had all along?

[Renauda]

Am no audiophile but as I understand it, monitor speakers are designed to play music as recorded, flat without bass or treble enhancement. Theoretically giving the listener a true sound as recorded- provided you have quality source equipment feeding the signal to the speakers in the first place.

[Doctor Phibes]

Yes, the idea is they don't colour the sound, so you can use them to get good recorded sound. The same applies to 'monitor headphones'

To be honest I can't tell much difference, but when I bought them they seemed like the best way to get decent quality powered speakers.

[kluurs]

Some speakers are designed to highlight certain frequencies for dramatic effect. If one is listening to electronic music, it is challenging to even say what a particular electric guitar is supposed to sound like. Listening to a piano trio where all of the instruments are acoustic, one doesn't want anything highlighted. OTOH, it is also a marketing ploy - implying that the speakers are of a better quality - all natural ingredients kind of thing. The speakers I've seen in recording situations - have been Bowers & WIlkins, Mackie, JBL or Yamaha speakers.

[Renauda]

@kluurs

The speakers I've seen in recording situations - have been Bowers & WIlkins, Mackie, JBL or Yamaha speakers.

I am still playing my old B&W Matrix II monitors I bought new in 1987. They continue to perform well and show no audible or visible signs of fatigue. I think one of the reasons they have lasted is that they have always been driven with a powerful amp either an old Bryston 4B at 250 w per channel or, for the last ten years, Audiolab monoblocs at 250 w a side.

[mark]

@Renauda Nice setup!

I am using a pair of Klipsch RF-7 Towers with 2x10" woofers and a 1.75" Titanium Horn midrange/tweeter. Powered by a relatively modest 60wpc amp that I built from a kit. Being that the RF-7s are so damn efficient, they don't require much power to get loud. Heck I also have a 12wpc old tube amp that still lets them pump out 100db@9ft

Some think the Klipsch sound is too bright but with a good clean signal, they really produce that "band is in the room with you" sound. Not surprisingly, they reproduce horn instruments very nicely.

I like them just fine even though my buddy keeps wanting me to "upgrade" to the Klipsch LaScalla or KilpschHorn.

I really like the B&Ws. They would be a contender for any upgrade from my current speakers.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Renauda said in Hey audiophiles! What's a "monitor" speaker.:

I am still playing my old B&W Matrix II monitors I bought new in 1987.

Yeah, those are proper monitors. Mine are just PC speakers with pretensions - I think the term is 'faux prosumer'.

[Renauda]

@mark

Until three years ago when I went into full retirement, I was working part time at high end audio store helping with the CD and vinyl ordering and sales. I got exposed to and listened to a lot of equipment. Of all the various speakers that were played in the store the best sounding to my ears were Harbeth speakers out of England. Natural and clean sounding. Unfortunately I do not recall the amplification driving them although I think it was probably a Naim integrated amp.

There were also some Italian speakers that the owner brought in from a receivership sale. Pretty sure they were Chario speakers. Not only did they sound great but the walnut cabinets were elegantly crafted. I considered picking up a pair as the price was right. Never did. Bought a Blusound node instead to stream off my computer hard drive.

[Doctor Phibes]

George was saying my $150 audio interface was expensive - this is a whole different level of poverty we're considering.

[kluurs]

The key thing I learned is if you enjoy the music you're hearing from your current audio system, don't go to a high-end audio store and listen to theirs.

[Renauda]

I really had no choice but to hear the high end audio. Despite it all, I found that in the end I was more interested in listening to the music itself than the quality of the illusion coming out from the speakers, impressive as it sounded.

I admit it, my vinyl and CDs are packed away and I only stream MP3 files from my computer through the living room hi-fi system at low volume. Some day I hope to get around to redownloading all my CDs as Flac files. No hurry though.

[kluurs]

After a long break of mostly listening through a good headphone amplifier and very good headphones, I've started listening to the real speakers again. It's nice to have a more realistic soundstage. Back in the day, I used to love listening to good Magnepan speaker with their ribbon technology, but I always went back to traditional speakers. The speakers I have create a pretty good illusion of listening live.

[Renauda]

@kluurs

I too started with Magneplanars but traded them in for the B&Ws I still have. No regrets.

[kluurs]

@Renauda
I've tried a bunch of different speakers over the years before settling on B&Ws. Started with AR3s, then Kef Cantata (similar to their 105), followed by B&W 802 Matrix, 801 Matrix, and current 800 Nautilus. I still have a pair of 805 S3's that I'm not currently using and a pair of Infinity speakers that I use for a second system. Still, until this week most of my listening was through Sennheiser HD 800 or a pair of eletrostatic Stax headphones that, while older, are amazing.