# What is the difference between a monitor speaker and a regular speaker



## rentonhighlands (Mar 24, 2010)

I know this question has been answered but I can not find a answer to explanation. 
What is the difference between a studio monitor ex Makie MR8 and a regular speaker setup with a 8" driver and a 1" tweeter. 
Is one difference one is amplified making it active and the other is not. 
I am tring to rap my head around this.


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## Dave Upton (Aug 4, 2009)

Monitors are also often designed for near-field listening, which may or may not be true of all regular loudspeakers.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I believe Dave is correct. A professional monitor is engineered to sounds its best at a very minimal distance to the listener.


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## JerryLove (Dec 5, 2009)

Agree with the above but expand.

A "studio monitor", for which I believe "monitor" is an evolutionary shortening (rather than there having had been two separate things) is a speaker setup in a audio production studio for the mixing operator, or some other, to hear the sounds being recorded / manipulated.

Once upon a time, these were often deliberately mediocre. These days, studios run the gambit from low-end two-ways to Abby Road's use of B&W 800D's. 

When someone describes something as a "monitor" these days: they are *most likely* referring to a 2-way bookshelf-sized speaker designed (as mentioned above) for near-field listening.

It is possible, however, for someone to take any of those examples or characteristics, and use that to justify calling most anything a monitor.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

"Monitors" also refer to stage monitors used by musicians in concert and places like a church to hear specific mixes and are also near field.


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## JerryLove (Dec 5, 2009)

tonyvdb said:


> "Monitors" also refer to stage monitors used by musicians in concert and places like a church to hear specific mixes and are also near field.


 Very true. Had forgotten. Thanks!


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

And, sometimes, "Monitor" means absolutely nothing but a label, like "Reference" or "Signature," that is slapped on by the marketing staff.


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## JerryLove (Dec 5, 2009)

Kal Rubinson said:


> And, sometimes, "Monitor" means absolutely nothing but a label, like "Reference" or "Signature," that is slapped on by the marketing staff.


 Much like "large" is a label slapped onto some sodas, pizzas, and coffee mugs.

As mentioned: there are specific criteria which can be used to determine something is a monitor (its use in studio or on stage to monitor music)... and there are some commonalities in the bulk of units labeled monitors.

Just because something fails to always conform to a rigid standard doesn't make it meaningless... to digress to such absolutes would make any cohesive conversation nigh-impossible. I assume you also believe terms like "full range speaker" and "omnipolar" are meaningless?


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## Gregr (Nov 2, 2010)

How much do you have to spend?

"Monitor" speakers for the stage - if you are reading a manufacturer's description and the speaker is actually and truly a monitor speaker. Other considerations you will find are: a speaker that is designed to play well at extremely loud volumes - speaker efficiency and sound quality at lower listening volumes (levels) is not a priority. Also, the speakers (drivers) themselves the crossovers and the cabinets are designed and built to withstand abuses that a home audio speaker pair would surely and quickly fail. 

Also, the difference between a Stage Monitor and a Sound Room Monitor are extreme. The differences are much less extreme when comparing a pair of Home Audio speakers to a Sound Room pair of monitor speakers. In the Studio sound room you may even find a pair of home speakers and you could find a pair of studio monitors in a home. 

In the sound room a real priority is flat frequency response..., an accurate representation of a single instruments performance in a musical passage or a simple harmony. Of course if you are recording Orchestral..., well let me just say that speaker design is a real science. The variables are endless if you look close. 

Thanks for reading, I hope I didn't step on toes. I hope you all add to my experience and opinions.:bigsmile:

Greg


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

Kal Rubinson said:


> And, sometimes, "Monitor" means absolutely nothing but a label, like "Reference" or "Signature," that is slapped on by the marketing staff.





JerryLove said:


> Much like "large" is a label slapped onto some sodas, pizzas, and coffee mugs.
> 
> As mentioned: there are specific criteria which can be used to determine something is a monitor (its use in studio or on stage to monitor music)... and there are some commonalities in the bulk of units labeled monitors.
> 
> Just because something fails to always conform to a rigid standard doesn't make it meaningless... to digress to such absolutes would make any cohesive conversation nigh-impossible. I assume you also believe terms like "full range speaker" and "omnipolar" are meaningless?


Note that I said "sometimes." While there are valid criteria for labeling something as a monitor, there are many products which wear the label without meeting the criteria. The same can be said for _terms like "full range speaker" and "omnipolar."_ I was merely offering a caveat.


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## Gregr (Nov 2, 2010)

You all know the feeling.
Just trying to add a thought or two and I reread to reassure myself I have actually said what I intended. But what is fed back to me by those who read the comment/note is something usually at least one something not even considered.

I very often feel I say too much and I very often feel I don't say enough. 

The truth for me is - We are similar in that we are human beings. I differ only in my life experiences (aside from the obvious) and the choices I make based on my experience. So, when I write I like to avoid absolutes like: always, never, have to, I will, I won't, I can't, etc., because inevitably somebody will proudly point out their truth..., "nothing, always happens or never happens. You can't always do or never do anything". I get the principal but I am human and I forget or...

This same principal and line of reasoning could apply to the term studio monitor or monitor speaker. Because a manufacturer describes a speaker as a monitor in their literature does not make it so. For me it would be the features and the spec.'s that finally tell the story. Additionally if I were to tell somebody "I found a perfect monitor" I might not have found all of what he or she is specifically looking for in a speaker monitor. In fact I attempted to write about this in the first sentence of my previous note. 

So, It may in fact be true that the term monitor is overused to the point it lacks useful defining criteria. 


Greg:yikes:


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2010)

I think a lot of people already hit the head on the nail. I don't work in the recording industry, but some of the things I've noticed about studio monitors DIY projects and Behringer, is that the goal is low distortion and a flat signal. While most probably don't cater to wide off axis performance, the Behringer studio monitors are also advertised to work for HT. Most studio monitors don't seem to cover any low end bass, but flat response treble and mid range seems to be the goal.


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## JerryLove (Dec 5, 2009)

Kal Rubinson said:


> Note that I said "sometimes." While there are valid criteria for labeling something as a monitor, there are many products which wear the label without meeting the criteria. The same can be said for _terms like "full range speaker" and "omnipolar."_ I was merely offering a caveat.


 Sorry. My bad.


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## callas01 (Oct 24, 2010)

I think also, "Monitor" is used because some "bookshelfs" can also be used as *mains* given their size and output. Manufactures/Dealers don't want their "bookshelf" speakers to be pigeon holed as only available for surround duty.

, my Dynaudio Excite X16s "bookshelf/monitors" work better as mains then my Energy Towers did.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

and sometimes monitors is used to reference a Monitor Audio speaker.


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2010)

I once owned Infinity studio monitor series speakers. Their wasn't anything studio monitor about them. They were loud speakers, nothing more. I really doubt that anyone ever used them in any studio.

This is what I think of when I think of a studio monitor now days. http://www.parts-express.com/projectshowcase/indexn.cfm?project=Usher701

Some people mentioned stage monitors, but that is something different.


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## rdaltx (Dec 13, 2010)

Many monitor speakers (ie many older JBS for instance) were no different from home speakers in their line 
except for the fact that the speakers were mounted with the tweeters and mids mounted low and the woofer mounted high in the cabiners. They also had the crossover pots mounted in front for ease of operation and most were not covered by the grill. This was done only because of the usual placment of a monitor in a studio which was normaly higher than in a home to keep the highs close to ear level for near field use.

rdaltx


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