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RE: John Atkinson - Studio Monitors vs Audiophile Speakers

> I'm asking for your opinion on this subject as you record and produce
> music. And as a reviewer who has tested many speakers.

This is an enormous subject, too big to discuss in this space, perhaps.
Studio monitors have to have a much higher dynamic range than is
necessary for a domestic design and often have a peaky output in the low
treble, to expose problems. I recently produced sessions where the
engineer's preferred speakers were Tannoy Little Reds with Mastering Lab
crossovers. These monitors were too bright for my tastes, but told the
engineer everything he needed to know. See fig.30 at the link below for
the responses of several professional monitors and compare with fig.27,
which shows the flattest-measuring speakers we had reviewed at the time
I wrote this article, in the summer of 1997.

> I also recall that you have used a variety of speakers over the years
> for your recordings. Is there any one constant for you, a set of
> headphones perhaps?

At the sessions, I exclusively use headphones: Sennheiser HD650s and
Audeze LCD-Xes. FOr mixing, editing, and mastering, I use the most
neutral speakers I have to hand, generally what I am reviewing, as well
as my 1978 pair of Rogers LS3/5a's.


John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile


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