B&W vs Studio Monitors

[BWLover]

Hello. What exactly are the differences between studio monitors and regular speakers such as B&W's? I do know that the 802's are used in studios. But a lot of people seem to think that if they go into a music shop, one that sells instruments and recording gear etc, and get some "studio monitors", that they now have the best speakers out there. I don't believe this to be the case. But I have no technical knowledge of what makes a studio monitor differ from a speaker of the same price. Thoughts people?

[Briz vegas]

Studio monitors are often active ie self powered. This makes them easy to plonk on top of the console or next to your laptop, plug in and go. In theory they are also supposed to be more flat in frequency response. They are not supposed to guild the Lilly so to speak, no rose coloured classes etc.

But, if you do a bit of research you will hear lots of studio guys talking about learning a speaker. Those super flat speakers are not always so flat. Abbey Road and other places use B&W, in their mixing suites etc but I am sure that here is a similar requirement for engineers to learn those speakers, listening to a range of music and learning where the speakers character lies. I hear them talking about things like a bump at 100 hertz or whatever,gees I barely know what 100 hertz sounds like, I do wonder how many truly have that skill and how accurate it is.

I guess it pays not to limit yourself when comparing speaker options.maybe you like the sound of a pair of professional monitors, or maybe you prefer speaker with a domestic market focus. There is no right and wrong. If you want to monitor recordings there are clearly speakers that will make that easier than others, the warts and all type, B&Ws can be quite revealing.

[mjb]

It's been posted before, but always nice to see. It's what humble people aspire to!

http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Discover/Discover/About_Bowers_&_Wilkins/Abbey-Road.html

[BWLover]

That's always a pleasing photo to look at. But ya I knew about the 802's being used all over in studios. But I've heard multiple times from people when stereo stuff is the topic, "I've got studio monitors". People say it as if the "studio monitor" label guarantees that it's the best speaker out there. I also should note that these people are not using the monitors in studios.


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[linuxtx]

Studio monitors, like regular speakers vary wildly in quality. Even among brands, you can find brands with a very well respected high end, and a horrible low end. Part of the problem, is most monitors are active, meaning the amps are inside. As for how B&W compare? I am using Nautilus 805s as studio monitors right now. In the price range, I don't think you can find much that competes. There is an article that compared the DM-303 to several studio monitors, including the Dynaudio BM5A and found the DM-303 a winner at lower volumes. By the same token, I would not want to monitor with the PM-1. While it is a great sounding speaker, there is some midbass bloom that I would rather not deal with when trying to mix and EQ. With the smaller drivers, they will compress at higher volumes. At that price point, there are a few good contenders out there including the Focal Solo 6 be, the Unity Audio "The Rock" or the Event Opal monitors. I looked at upgrading to the 805d, and found the Focals to be a comparable speaker at a much lower price. For less than the price of 805d with amps, you can get the Focal SM-9 with 600W of amp per speaker, and flat down to 30Hz in a speaker that will actually fit on a mixing desk. While the Focals sound good, they are nearfield monitors, they don't perform as well when more than 3 meters away. I wouldn't put them in my home theater, though they may be a perfect solution for someone who does most of their listening at a computer.
As you look across the range, there are several B&W speakers that make excellent studio monitors, there are much fewer studio monitors that make decent stereo or home theater speakers.

[Pio]

Agree - some "studio" monitors are horrible. I work in the broadcasting field and have been in my fair share of studios around the country. I love my B&Ws, but if I had to pick a studio monitor that wasn't integrated into the control room walls, I would chose a pair of these:

http://www.barefootsound.com/

Barefoot speakers sound AMAZING.

[linuxtx]

Agree - some "studio" monitors are horrible. I work in the broadcasting field and have been in my fair share of studios around the country. I love my B&Ws, but if I had to pick a studio monitor that wasn't integrated into the control room walls, I would chose a pair of these:

http://www.barefootsound.com/

Barefoot speakers sound AMAZING.

The barefoot are supposed to be great, but I haven't had a chance to spend any time with them. I think when it comes time to really look at the SM-9s, I will also track down somewhere to give the MM27 a listen.