Do you really need high-quality monitors in your studio?

Do you really need high-quality monitors in your studio?

For a novice, deciding what you really need in your studio and what you don’t can be tricky. When it comes to one of the more important items – Studio monitors, this question becomes all the more critical. Do you really need the best studio monitors for your recording studio? If so, why?

Choose the truth What is interesting, is that great monitors don’t even sound that great to untrained ears. This is because they have a flat, almost clinical frequency response. What you hear through a pair of greatest monitors is your mix in its truest version. Hearing your mistakes is the most crucial aspect of being able to record a great mix. This enables an Engineer the ability to actually do something to fix it. The mistakes you can’t hear will find their way to your final mix and the results can be catastrophic.

Picking up some cheap monitor speakers might seem like a good idea initially. However, these can be very “coloured” and hide many flaws in your mix. So, your mix may sound better during the recording, there are chances you will overcompensate for those issues in the mixing process.

Are good studio monitors pricey?

The last few years have witnessed an improvement in driver technology and a drop in the price of component parts as knowledge and design principles has expanded. You can now get very decentsounding speakers without putting a dent in your wallet.

That said, speaking generally, the more you pay, the more accurate your monitors will be. As you go to the next budget level, you will find the monitors to be more accurate. Whether you think this gain is worth the extra buck is something only you can decide.

A wide frequency range does cost In addition to a flat response, a sound engineer also wants their monitors to be able to handle a wide frequency range. The human ear can detect 20Hz to 20 kHz, so your ideal speaker range will cover this. Cheaper, smaller speakers do not reach down to the low end of this range. It is thus advisable to add a subwoofer to get that low-end detail.

Ideally, the frequency range of your monitors should be as broad as possible and this is where you will have spent a little more. It might be to add a subwoofer, for bigger speakers that can deliver a better low end, or on 3-way speaker monitor. Budget monitors are mostly 2-way designs and do the job quite well, but again if you want that extra edge, then it is best to go for 3-way speakers. With a mid-range driver, it connects the gap between the bass-end woofer and hi-end tweeter while also reducing distortion and phasing issues.

Sweet spots are improving The ‘sweet spot’ is another critical consideration when choosing your studio monitors. This is the position in the studio where the listener can sit and enjoy the most accurate playback. It is usually equidistant from each speaker. Shift your ears left or right out of this spot and the sound from the monitors will reach you at different times causing a decrease in accuracy.

However, these days, manufacturers are designing waveguides around the tweeters that disperse higher frequencies over a larger area. This increases this sweet spot and offers a much more flexible listening position, allowing for more than one listener or a larger room for monitoring. A wider sweet spot is definitely something you should consider in your speaker search.

As a sound engineer, you must make sure that the speakers you are mixing on accurately reveal the music you are listening to. That’s why you really need great monitors in your studio. The best studio monitors can be towards the higher end of your budget, but their honesty and accuracy will surely reflect in the quality of your mixes.