Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Studio Monitors
Studio monitors are mainly designed for professional purposes, such as music studios, filmmaking, television studios, radio studios etc. Although they are used as personal speakers as well for listening to music but the core purpose of it is professional, where accurate music production is essential. There are many factors that are responsible for producing ideal music. For example, tone, bass, frequency, slow-reverb etc. You set an accuracy mark for your audio according to the type of music you are creating, be it loud or slow, the settings vary.
Hence selecting the right studio monitor will fix all your uncertainties that you might face while producing the best music. There are many factors involved when choosing the right studio monitors, it is always better to acquire information and necessary knowledge about different monitors and their features and functions. In order to make an appropriate decision, going through reviews and ratings before buying will definitely ease your job. Therefore, if you are thinking of purchasing a new set of the Best Studio Monitors here is something for you. A list of questions that you need to figure out.
- What is my budget? One must know that studio monitors are not a cheap investment. In India starting price of studio monitors is seven thousand to nine thousand rupees. Definitely, this amount is huge, especially for the middle-class salaried people. Hence, preparing the budget is essential if you want a proper return on your investment. Moreover, such things you cannot buy often. There comes a time in years when you decide to purchase them. This makes it more important to efficiently set your budget.
- What is my purpose? As already discussed, the purpose of studio monitors is both personal and professional. You can either use them for music listening or use them for producing music for commercial use. For that reason, it is important to decide your purpose. It is simply because there is no point in purchasing expensive monitors if your purpose is limited to music listening. But if you have a purpose beyond then it is worth going for expensive monitors.
- What are my expectations? It is obvious that any product we buy, we have some expectation from it, be it more or less. To answer this question, you need to again go back to the purpose, your purpose will decide your expectations. Studio monitors come with different functions and features and this is determined by the price. As we are already aware, every electronic product has its configuration and the same goes with studio monitors. Configuration decides its functionality. Therefore, figure out what functions you need to meet your expectations.
- What is my room size? You’ll come across terms like ‘near-field’ and ‘mid-field’ when buying studio monitors. In general, smaller mixed rooms require smaller monitors. For example, if you put large speakers in a small room then it will sound blasting, and you will not get an accurate sound, it will be a noise and that’s it. Hence, knowing the dimensions of your room is important before getting monitors, else you will waste your money on something which will not turn out worthy in future.
- What is the best company for studio monitors? There are certain USPs of every company. Meaning, every company has their highest selling product and they are the dominators of that product in the market. Although highly-recommended products are expensive it is better than going behind the cheap ones, that does not come with a guarantee. A few examples of the Best Studio Monitors are JBL Synthesis, JBL Nano and Yamaha HS5.
- Is my room treated? Treating your room means preparing it for carrying out a certain purpose. For example, if you want a room to produce music then design it specifically, simply make it acoustic. Your interior is equally responsible for producing an accurate or dull sound. For instance, if you have seen the walls of a theatre, then you must be aware that those are not just mere walls. The walls are made of sound absorbent materials like draperies or compressed fireboards to reduce reverberation. Similarly, your room needs a set up like this before you begin to start producing music with monitors.
- Where will I set up monitors? Placing the monitors after treating your room is another important thing to do. You cannot just put them in any corner of the room. If you have seen recording studios or radio studios live or television. The monitors are placed at a specific degree. It is said 60 degrees is an ideal angle for achieving accurate mixes of music. Hence, the monitors must be located at a point where they are just outside of your head’s first reflection points.
- What kind of audio am I engineering? Most studio monitors are meant to be versatile. Brands like focal have an excellent high-end response that is great for vocals, while some drivers miss out on the crucial low-frequencies of electronic music. Therefore, as already said you need to decide the tone of your music and buy a set of monitors accordingly.
Hence, figuring out these questions well before buying studio monitors will higher your tendency of getting the best one. The best studio monitors come with many benefits as well. They provide you with the necessary transparency to hear the music common out of DAW and bring a critical vibe to your studio. Purchasing the right set of monitors will take you closer to achieving your music production goal.
Conclusion
As a music producer, it is essential to set yourself up with the best studio monitors. But simply, buying them without research and planning will cause you regret in future. There are many aspects to consider before buying electronic products. They are expensive and for many a one-time investment. Therefore, talking about studio monitors in this article, which are one of the costliest electronic products and what factors to consider before buying them? This is helpful in order to make an appropriate investment, which will provide you with the best returns in future.