Active Nearfield Monitors

Active Nearfield Monitors

If the microphone is the first part in the electro-acoustic chain, the monitors are the last. In many Homestudios, unfortunately, literally. There are still many people who mix their music with the domestic hifi speakers. There are some important things in which hifi boxes and monitors differ: hi-fi speakers are almost always passive speakers, which means they require an external amplifier with power amplifier and loudspeaker outputs. Studio monitors are, with few exceptions, active loudspeakers, that means, the power stage is built into the speaker housing. Active speakers have some advantages. Usually, they include not only one output stage, but several. The bass loudspeaker, the tweeter and (if available) the midrange drivers are driven by separate amplifiers. The result is a more precise sound dynamics with a powerful punch. Just the bass loudspeaker requires a lot of energy with every bass note and every beat of the kick drum; that is why it is driven by its own power amplifier, it does not take away the power of the other loudspeakers, as can happen with a passive loudspeaker, where a power amplifier must supply all loudspeakers at the same time. Active loudspeakers also offer the advantage that it is much easier to build high-quality frequency crossovers. Not only because the frequency divider can be placed in front of the output stages (which is technically more favorable), but also because current is present in order to build very steep filters with active circuits. This reduces the overlaps between the bass speaker, midrange and tweeter. The result is a clearer, more detailed sound. When professionals listen to music, they do so with a different attitude than music consumers. They want to hear the untold truth. You need loudspeakers that hide nothing beautiful and no mistakes. Homestudio is no different! In order to get to grips with wrong notes, noise or mediocre sound you want to take care of it at the beginning, because nothing is more frustrating than embarrassing errors being pointed out to you when you proudly present the new track. Also in the Homestudio you need monitor speakers, which represent significantly more sound details than ordinary HiFi boxes.