Who says studio monitors are "cold and analytical"?

It’s a shame people cannot see music in the different realms they are created and envisioned in. Pop music is completely different from something like Lenny Kravitz or Tom Petty or John Williams or James Newton Howard. If audiophiles throw everyone into the same basket that’s sad and not at all what the artists have in mind. Imagine looking at modern art and saying a Picasso is the same as Dali -they are “paintings”.

brad

@m-db --

Much appreciated, and the same to the both of you.

The contention that since studio monitors are used in a studio, they must be super accurate is not correct.

Engineers use them as tools, and each individual engineer has specific things they want to hear. In fact, they will often switch between monitors, since some say, have a forward sounding midrange, and that is what they are trying to get ’right’ on the recording.

The other thing about studio monitors, is that they tend to be designed so they sum frequencies fairly close to the speaker, since they are usually hung on a wall or on the back of the mixing console, which are not the ideal listening position. While home speakers are usually designed to sum their frequencies at a normal listening position.

Imaging and soundstage is hardly ever taken into consideration on studio monitors.

An audiophile speaker is designed for pleasure only. If mix engineers wanted to use audiophile speakers they would. But they dont want a good sounding speaker they want a bad sounding one. Hence the emergence of the studio monitor market.

I can’t even begin to address this insanity, so I won’t.  Peace out. 

@simonmoon , in this thread, "studio monitor" is being used as a catch all for speakers used in studio monitoring rooms, mixing rooms, mastering rooms, review rooms, etc.  Recording studio monitors tend to be smaller out of necessity. Mixing, mastering depends on who is doing it. Some work in small spaces, some work in large spaces. Review rooms, may be mastering rooms, or may be separate and more in line with a home setup.

The distance to the listener is a non starter as home listening positions vary from 6 - 15 feet, so 2.5:1, probably wider than most "studio monitors" on average, but if anything, "studio monitors", at least today, have good integration at most distances.

Rarely see anyone switching between monitors except in final mastering and review where they are testing out the mix to determine how it may sound to a variety of end users. More of that in the past when studio speakers were all over the map.

It is today, 2023 now, so we need to talk about 2023. In 2023, most "studio monitors" are active, with crossovers designed to fix as many issues as practical at the price point, with somewhat flat or very flat response, excellent dispersion characteristics, and low distortion. As this an audiophile site, we would be discussing the mid to upper end of the "studio monitor" space, which will typically mean very flat response on axis, well controlled off axis ie good dispersion and low distortion when the speaker is used within its limits. These are characteristics of all good speakers "studio" or home. They may not have the bass extension, they may not place as loud, and they won't come in your particular shade of sound, but they do what they do very well.