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About Near-Field Monitors
In the past most recording studios used huge monitor loudspeakers, elaborate acoustic
treatments, and large power amplifiers, in a large control room. Although a control room like
that sounded great (usually), and made a big impression on customers, it also required large
investments of space, time, and money. Ironically, many recording engineers preferred to be
able to listen to their mix on a system that sounded more or less like what it would eventually be
played on by the customer. A control room that sounded more like a concert hall than a living
room didn’t work very well for them. Also, even though many of those impressive studio control
rooms had a very nice sound, it was a very distinctive sound, so a mix might sound different when
played in a different studio (or even a different room at the same studio). This made it difficult for
the engineer to judge what a mix would actually sound like - which is, after all, the whole point of
monitoring. All of this led to the current revolution in near-field monitors.
A near-field monitor is simply a small accurate monitor loudspeaker that is positioned close to the
console so that it is “playing directly to the engineer”. This location helps to reduce contributions
from control room acoustics, especially those due to room reflections. In addition, the human
brain tends to focus its attention on the sounds that arrive earliest, so the reflected sound that
does arrive later has minimal influence on the overall sound. The result is a more accurate,
and more repeatable, presentation of the music. By eliminating most of the control room’s
contribution to the sound, near-field monitors allow the recording engineer to hear what the
music really sounds like. Many large studios, while they still have their big control rooms that
allow large groups to listen at levels approaching a live performance, do a lot of their serious
work on near-field monitors, and many recording engineers prefer them. The fact that near-field
monitors work very well in small rooms with minimal acoustic treatment, and so reduce cost and
space requirements, is also a major benefit for smaller studios and serious home recordists.
The most significant requirement for near-field monitors is sound quality. Unlike a big speaker
intended to play loud in a huge room, a near-field monitor must sound perfect at moderate
listening levels, when located very close to the listener. It must deliver every nuance and detail of
the music with perfect clarity, near-perfect accuracy, and extremely low residual noise. Because it
may be located only a few feet from the recording engineer’s ears, it can’t make a lot of hiss, and
the cabinet and drivers can’t contribute significant noise or distortion to the sound.
In short, because the near-field monitor is almost a direct pipeline between the music and the
engineer’s ears, it must do a superb job of delivering the music with virtually no coloration or
distortion. Emotiva’s
airmotiv
™ monitors are your direct link to the music.
