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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.
