Hey, I've been thinking about studio monitors, but I am not sure how they work. I don't have any studio equipment, only a PC with soundcard (regular old SoundBlaster Live with 1/8" plugs). From my research I'm guessing I need active monitors? But how do you hook them up? What do I need to hook them to? Most of the pictures I've found they have XLR and RCA plugs on the back of them. Do they connect directly to your soundcard somehow? Any advice and explanation is appreciated. Thanks, Bob.
There are two different types of studio monitors
A- Powered ( usually have a XLR and a RCA ) connector on the back and always have a power cable going to them. These are the best option if you dont want a separate power amp * big and expensive * But in some cases you sacrifice dynamic range, but only if you buy cheap monitors.
B- Non powered monitors have two terminals on the back red and black and they might have whats called a speakon or 1/4 connector x 2 if they can be biamped. This means you will need at the very least a power amp and at the very most a power amp and a crossover. This can get expensive rather quickly but the advantage for this set up "can be" higher SPL with less distortion. These will connect directly to your sound card provided you get speakers that have an "unbalanced" input you will need a special cable that goes from 3.5 mm stereo to two RCA OR two 1/4 inch cables.
I would personally go with A.
Some of the monitors I would recommend are
Genlec, JBL, Tannoy, Event, and KRK. But there are others you can spend from $200 to $20,000 for a good set of monitors I recommend getting the best you can afford, only if you plan on making money by say doing some recording.. or if hearing your recording with a good balanced speaker is important you might want to consider getting powered home stereo receiver and buying a set of good home stereo speakers. Recording speakers tend to have there own flavor Genlec tends to be pretty flat, JBL tends to be bright almost to flat, Tannoy tends to have good imaging at the expense of low end. Event tends to be cheap and ok sounding, and KRK tends to be what most people buy for a home studio. If you want good low end you will also need or might consider a subwoofer. But opinions on this subject are like assholes.. Every one's got one. The bottom line is dont ever buy anything unless you hear them for your self with program material that is very familiar to you bring a cd down to the store for your listening tests. Also make sure the speakers will fit into your space. If you use a CRT monitor you might also need to make sure that your monitors are magnetically shielded. This prevents the magnets from magnetizing your computer monitor! and making it look like ass. Its a really hard thing to find good speakers do research shop around and ask lots of questions. In the end you will end up with good speakers. I really like Genlec but they might be out of your price range at $800 a set but again especially in this business you get what you pay for. I have a set of 1033's that I have had for about 6 years now and they will never leave me. I rely on them for my mixes and for my day to day listening.
Good luck
PS.. Here is a link to a pair of Genlec monitors I really like and they are cheap right now..
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Genelec-8020A-NEW-Condition-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ300174130911QQihZ020QQcategoryZ47093QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemChris
Topic: new to studio monitors (Read 5671 times)