Hifi vs Studio Monitors (With a twist)

[sablabaesj]

Hello

So, I normally would answer the "Hifi-speakers or studio monitors?" question pretty easily by saying "go for the studio monitors, you'll get a flatter sound", but I've found myself faced with a rather odd situation where I have the opportunity to buy a pair of Bowers & Wilkins CM6 s2 speakers and a Cambridge Audio CXa60 amplifier for a total of 1100USD (This would normally cost almost 3000USD). Now the question arises; Is this setup worth buying when I intend using them for production, or should I still buy a pair of studio monitors (like Yamaha HS8 etc, been thinking about them for a while) at a normal price?

I find myself leaning towards the hifi-option in this situation, mainly because I cannot imagine a hifi-setup at 3000USD sounding that much worse than a studio-setup at 600USD.

Again, an odd situation indeed, and thats why I ask you guys. I hope some of you might have experience with hifi-speakers as monitors, and the challenges it might or might not bring.

Thanks for any tips.

[No_Use]

I'd suggest find some frequency response curves and reviews (in reputable mags, not XY guy) about these speakers. If they have some "sweetening" character (as opposed to neutral) you might rather go with monitors.

[sablabaesj]

Thanks for replying

I've done a bit of research about it, and the B&W's certainly have a more "sweetened" curve (Especially a pretty big boost in the 15kHz area). Wouldn't it be possible to still produce and mix well if I just listen to alot of music on them and get to know their sound? Also there will always be coloration to the frequency spectrum made by the room as well, so even studio monitors will face some coloration in most places without alot of acoustic treatment. I do plan on spending a bit on that, as I am currently building a new studio (why I am buying new speakers). Still, I would consider myself unexperienced, and i hope you will correct me if I'm assuming something wrong.

I have also listened to the B&W's with the Cambridge in person and they do sound absolutely amazing, I just haven't compared them directly to anything I know has a flatter sound. Other reviews I've read also states the CM6's are comparable to the B&W 805 D3, which costs almost 5800USD without any amplification. The Abbey Road studio actually uses B&W speakers (Older 800-series) as monitors.

This might seem like I just argued against your comment like I already made up my mind, but theres so many important factors to consider here I feel.

[BertKoor]

There are some unexpected little differences between HiFi speakers and nearfield monitors that you would not find unless you have them in front of you.

When I was shopping for passive monitors I also took home a set of Wharfdale hifi speakers. Apart from the fact that Wharfdale seriously f**ked up something in their cross-over filter (it literally sounded like the spectrum was shredded in two parts and glued together backwards) there was this little design detail that made them useless for nearfield monitoring.
The tweeter was too directional. Not a problem in a typical hifi setup, it gets spread around the room anyway. But when sitting right in front of them you had to keep your head in this tiny "sweet spot" to get all out of the tweeter. I also demoed some other proper nearfield monitors in the same price category that looked like they had the exact same silk dome tweeters. But these did not have that directional problem at all.
Bonus of that set was that their character was near identical to the hifi set I use in the living room. So I didn't have to get accustomed to their sound although they probably are not perfectly flat.

So the answer is: it depends...

[sablabaesj]

Interesting argument, I haven't concidered differences in sweet spots a thing really. As for the CM6, they do have the tweeter in its own cabinet on top of the speaker, and at least B&W claim this to widen the dispersion. I will go and test them again next week and place them closer together and listen from several angles to test your hypothesis though.

Also, with my current plans for a new studio, the speakers would be placed more than 2 meters apart because of the desk size, meaning they wouldn't be that close to me anyway

[SteveWZ]

Hello

So, I normally would answer the "Hifi-speakers or studio monitors?" question pretty easily by saying "go for the studio monitors, you'll get a flatter sound"....

And that is very important.
BUT, you can use Hifi speakers if you know them really well.
In other words, how they respond,accuracies and inaccuracies.

I have used both but always keep a pair of professional studio monitors on hand.

[bronxsound]

in technical terms monitors are purposely suite for the job. from experience, i would dare to say that you can do a solid mix on hifi speakers. as mentioned above you will have to spend some time to learn how they translate to other systems. that's it.

[sablabaesj]

I have used both but always keep a pair of professional studio monitors on hand.

I currently have a pair of M-audio BX8 (very cheap, my first monitors), maybe I could make room so I can use both sets, at least for a period, so I can compare the new ones to something I really know well (I've had them for some years now).

[sablabaesj]

I have used both but always keep a pair of professional studio monitors on hand.

I currently have a pair of M-audio BX8 (very cheap, my first monitors), maybe I could make room so I can use both sets, at least for a period, so I can compare the new ones to something I really know well (I've had them for some years now).

[Obsolete236871]

I have some very good Hifi speakers with a frequency spectrum that is more neutral than most Studio Monitors. While I'm very satisfied with the frequency response I get, there are some problems in terms of dynamics, especially with transients that don't come through fully. I think that active monitors tend to be better in this respect than passive / hifi amp powered ones.

[sablabaesj]

While I'm very satisfied with the frequency response I get, there are some problems in terms of dynamics, especially with transients that don't come through fully.

How so? I have never heard mentioning of transients in these kinds of debates.

[ghettosynth]

Interesting argument, I haven't concidered differences in sweet spots a thing really. As for the CM6, they do have the tweeter in its own cabinet on top of the speaker, and at least B&W claim this to widen the dispersion. I will go and test them again next week and place them closer together and listen from several angles to test your hypothesis though.

Also, with my current plans for a new studio, the speakers would be placed more than 2 meters apart because of the desk size, meaning they wouldn't be that close to me anyway

First I'm not expert on speaker design. I've built some, and measured a few larger speakers for PA design, but when it comes to subtle stuff, I buy my speakers from experts like the rest of you. But, isn't that what the term "nearfield" is all about? My understanding is that hi-fi speakers are almost never designed to be "near field" speakers.

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/masteri ... nitor.html

[stillshaded]

Actually transients are the main thing I would be concerned about with hi-fi stuff. They're just not designed to reproduce them with the detail that monitors are. Because if a record is well mixed, hearing the transients exactly right won't really make a difference as much as frequency balance. Look at it this way.. When mixing, you might have some situations where super sharp transients come about and you need to deal with them. On a finished mix, all these little transients will already have been tamed so it's unimportant for hi-fi speakers to reproduce them perfectly.


That said, b&w speakers are without a doubt the best hi-fi speakers I've ever heard. They could very well cut the mustard.

I might suggest that you get a lot of individual instrument parts, like some guitar, bass, drums, synths.. Just some loops. Then run them through some compression/eq etc. make a cd with both versions of these tracks, and listen to them a bunch on your monitors. Then being listen to them on the b&w'S and see how they sound. Are you hearing all the little artifacts he compress creates? Over compressing things often creates tiny really loud transients. Are those coming through at all?


I think thoroughly demoing them is the answer. On the other hand, if you are getting such a good deal, if it turns out you don't like them, you could sell them and maybe even make a profit.

[sablabaesj]

I'll bring my mac and test all the things you mentioned, and then post the results here in case someone in the future might have similar questions.

[Obsolete236871]

Actually transients are the main thing I would be concerned about with hi-fi stuff. They're just not designed to reproduce them with the detail that monitors are.

Absolutely correct. I'm not a speaker expert at all from an physics/acoustics point of view - but essentially the woofer and the tweeter (the actual parts that produce the sound) in hifi speakers are usually not built to react fast enough to reproduce very short transients properly in the dynamic dimension (amplitude). It also has to do with differences in passive vs active / powered amplification.

I can recommend Nubert speakers btw - small German company that manufactures great speakers with a lot of bang for the buck and a very neutral frequency response curve - if you are willing to make a compromise on the transient aspect that is inevitable if you choose (passive) hifi speakers.