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Building a music listening and HT with Studio Monitors

1K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  NetTechie 
#1 ·
I've decided to go the studio monitor route, and as such I think my topic for a budget speaker system has become outdated. Are there people here who have done this, built a home theater system with Studio Monitors?

So far I have four 8 inch studio monitors and a 12 inch sub. I am connecting them with XLR connections, and running a pro audio receiver with XLR outputs supporting 7.1 surround.

Input on doing a system this route would be appreciated.

My old topic is http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1638025-budget-speaker-system-recommendations.html
 
#2 ·
I've decided to go the studio monitor route, and as such I think my topic for a budget speaker system has become outdated. Are there people here who have done this, built a home theater system with Studio Monitors?

So far I have four 8 inch studio monitors and a 12 inch sub. I am connecting them with XLR connections, and running a pro audio receiver with XLR outputs supporting 7.1 surround.

Input on doing a system this route would be appreciated.

My old topic is http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1638025-budget-speaker-system-recommendations.html
While I haven't done this myself, the route you have taken is not that far from the audio approach used in commercial theater and mixing stages. Some would argue that going the studio monitor route and electronics may lack refinement, yet it can sound more lively, which for films is a good thing.
Count me as a refugee from that other thread :) Enjoy your system.
 
#3 ·
Well, resuming my discussion of issues potentially due to unbalanced connections, I got my XLR cables and hooked it up. The sound is almost verging on harsh now, very different sound. It could be the Denon preamp has a different sound to it than the Yamaha one, though.
 
#6 ·
I think it's great idea. Just keep in mind that you want speakers that meet your goals, not just ones that have a "studio monitor" moniker applied to them.

Room size, desired SPL, and the dynamics the speakers are capable of given those first two requirements will have a dramatic impact on how happy you'll be with the system for HT.

The nice thing about "studio monitors" is that they are often designated by the manufacturer for near-field, mid-field, or far-field monitoring. Make sure you choose an appropriate monitor for your room size and, most importantly, the distance to your listening postions. In contrast, consumer speakers are sold without any indication to the consumer if they are appropriate for their space or listening distance.

I'm putting together a studio monitor system myself, but I'll likely be mixing in studio cinema speakers for the surrounds.
 
#8 ·
While the only experience I have with self powered speakers is th3e set of Yamaha Stagepass 600i that are on my back porch I see no reason this can't be done well and as someone else pointed out it is very close to the way pro audio is setup. The only downfall may be the choice of equipment available to you at any one time. If you choose correctly there sure won't be any lack of refinement.
Frank
 
#9 · (Edited)
No doubt. Just as with consumer speakers, it's the design and measurements that count. As I've mentioned already, putting a "Studio Monitor" label on a speaker doesn't mean its a great speaker for your application, or that it's a great speaker at all. Often though it indicates there is probably published data that can help you make that determination. The thing with many studio monitors, and pro stuff in general, is that they sometimes publish measurements that matter when it comes to evaluating the accuracy, design quality, and applicability of a speaker. That information is almost never found for consumer speakers.

Using that information can help narrow the search to those speakers that you might actually want to listen to and decide if they align with your preferences. I wouldn't say that you should necessarily choose a speaker based on measurements alone, but you can definitely rule out many speakers based on them.

Due to the lack of a full understanding(or agreement on) of all the measurements necessary to fully characterize what we hear in a room from a speaker, using most measurements to test for excellent speaker SQ could be said to have high sensitivity but a low specificity.
 
#12 ·
I'm definitely open to peoples experiences doing this, as I see others on this forum have done this before. Issues I might need to watch out for, like the fact that they are very directional. I have worked that out by pointing them at the couch, which I would have done regardless. The Mackie HR824mk2's have a wider dispersion and "sweet spot" then most monitors, according to the Mackie web site. Perhaps that plays a role in why they have sounded best so far.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I don't like the sound of the Denon DN-500AV preamp, so I am going to return it and get adapters to connect the speakers by XLR. ART CleanBoxPro or Rolls MB15b Promatch are the ones I'm looking at using instead, with my Yamaha RX-V661 receiver's unbalanced preamp outputs.

Edit: I decided to give Audyssey a try, I ordered a Marantz SR5005 receiver this morning for $400 on ebay used, as the Yamaha only allows YPAO to work on the speaker connections, not the preamp outputs.

I've decided on the ART CleanBoxPro as they seem to be most popular here and in general.
 
#15 ·
I figured out that Yamaha allows YPAO to work, you just have to disconnect the wired speakers and it detects this, then sends the signal to the preamp outputs. :)

I like the Marantz, however it seems the Yamaha has more accurate sound reproduction when it does the YPAO. It sharpens the speakers up considerably, so they don't sound soft. Audyssey doesn't seem to actually do anything to the sound at all, in the version on the SR5005. We'll see tomorrow though if the CleanBoxPro's fix the softness at all. The Yamaha once you run YPAO it removes a lot of the bass from the speakers, which sounds ok but I like it better with more bass.
 
#19 ·
Well, the other day I decided to wire up my room with high grade RCA cables I got, and try running unbalanced again. Boy, is it not good sounding, soft and lacking in clarity in comparison, without the cleanboxpro adapters. XLR makes a huge difference for some reason with these monitors.
 
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