Studio monitors in general.
This article is about active studio monitors. You can find a more detailed and complex description in my mastering book.
Studio monitor. This is a very important tool for mixing and mastering. The difference between a conventional speaker and a studio monitor is not negligible. If you've been mixing on hi-fi speakers, change that habit, because it's taking your ears in the wrong direction! Even the cheapest studio monitors will give you a better deal than the average speaker. Why? These special speakers are designed for that.
Many speakers have crossovers. What is it? It's basically a filter. It lets only the low frequencies into your woofer, and only the high frequencies into the treble. But, what is simple in description can be very complicated. The number of speakers is a function of the Ohm/Watt value. And they are not all the best. Neither is the shape, size or material of the speaker box. It is clear that a plastic box has a worse effect than a wooden one. In a hi-fi loudspeaker, you will usually find electronics that adversely alter the signal in terms of fidelity. By hi-fi speakers, I am talking about speakers that are available as cheap mass-produced articles. However, when developing a studio monitor, great care is taken to ensure that the sound, electronics, speaker, material and size are in harmony. Obviously, not all studio monitors do this perfectly, but there is a big difference between a hi-fi and a cheaper studio monitor. Anyone who switches to a studio monitor will not be able to mix well on it at first. Some people take weeks to adjust, others get used to the new sound in a few days. The only exceptions to this are expensive Hi-Fi speakers, but they are more difficult to choose, so if you can, stick to equipment designed for the job!
Size is important. A small studio monitor that can make the bass sound like it's playing on a big system is a tiny bit of a cheat. In this case, it's not the size of the box that makes the sub range appear, but the fact that electronics have been built in to emphasise the low frequencies. This has the disadvantage that the bass driver is subjected to a higher load. In such cases, the manufacturer must design the speaker to be able to handle this extra work. However, the more electronic fraud there is, the more the signal changes by the time it reaches the speakers. Make no mistake, these studio monitors can be good, but it's very important to test the sound of the equipment live before you go shopping. They are excellent as control monitors, and if you don't have a serious budget to spend on sound, they'll still do the job. In general, the price is a true reflection of the actual performance.
Another important factor when buying a monitor is linearity and frequency response. Why is linearity important? Simple. If a monitor is louder in a particular frequency range, it's likely that when you're mixing or mastering it, it will trick your hearing and you'll turn down that range because your ear takes linearity for granted. After a while you get used to it and learn to mix on it correctly, but for your main monitor, choose a monitor with less high excursion! If you are thinking of getting two separate studio monitors, make sure you choose speakers with different characteristics! Some people work with three different speakers. One is used to record music because they like the sound, the other is used to mix because it's linear, and the third is used to test where the problem is. If you don't have the money, it's okay to test your almost-finished music on a bare-bones hi-fi system. The goal with mixing and mastering is to make your music sound good on as many systems as possible. The average listener doesn't have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of hi-fi at home, so you need to think about the average music listener. Most people don't bother testing, saying it's going to end up on the internet anyway. Unfortunately, this is a common phenomenon and not at all good for musical taste.
There are some monitors -almost all of them- where frequency control can be used to correct the unfavourable sound of the studio room. If you're not working in a well-insulated studio room and you have an unfavourable sound, or you can't place the speaker in the right place, this feature can be useful for correction. It is important to emphasise the obvious fact that the first purpose of monitors is not to sound nice. The aim of the system is to make sure that all the frequency ranges are heard in their proper range, with their good and bad parts. Most hi-fi speakers are inadequate for this. This is why linearity is very important. Anyone whose ears are used to the sound of a less linear piece can mix or master it, but professional users cannot afford to deviate from this because it is the standard to which they cling in all cases. That's why professional studio engineers can tell you why a speaker's characteristics are not good, while many people who have never listened to truly professional gear will give a fairly average speaker a good marker.
More and more studio monitors are being sold with ribbon tweeters. But it's worth knowing that ribbon radiators built into cheaper speakers can be a disappointment. Many people don't like the sound because they are deceptive. They do not represent the real sound. It's an individual choice as to what you choose.
For near-field speakers, an important factor is how much the sound tires your ears. One cause of fatigue can be the appearance of too much high range. The Adam A7 typically lets more highs through, and this can be a guide. On the other hand, it doesn't matter whether the low frequencies of the speaker are just a hum or a clear frequency. If we are unable to determine the pitch of the lower frequencies, it may be partly a design issue, but the acoustics of the room may also add to the problem. A good loudspeaker will also display transients nicely, not wash them out.
Specific monitor specifications, and the linearity of each speaker, are discussed in the mastering book, where the following speaker specifications are presented: