When you are recording a playback song or mixing different sounds together, you need to ensure that all the frequencies are audible with maximum clarity and almost zero distortion. This can only be done with the help of a studio audio monitor. It’s a device that will make the sounds flat so that the low, mid, and high range frequencies can be distinguished easily. This will help you to accurately mix the audio and adjust their loudness, timbre, bass, and other such features to get the desired results.
As an audio monitor is a complex device, choosing it isn’t an easy task. If you randomly pick out the product, you may end up with the wrong one that won’t meet your requirements easily.
That’s why we have discussed some of the ways in the below section following which you can choose the best audio monitor with ease:-
Monitor Size
There are two sizes of the sound monitor- 5” and 8”. The 5” monitors usually don’t have a built-in subwoofer and therefore, to distinguish the low frequencies, you need to use an external device. But if you go with the 8” monitors, there is no need to use the subwoofer separately as they have a built-in drive to generate low frequencies.
Frequency Response Graph
While choosing the sound monitor, you need to understand its frequency response graph. The flatter the curve, the better will be the accuracy in the frequencies. Even though you won’t get a product having a complete flat-line response, you should try to look for a product whose frequency response line is as flat as possible along the x-axis.
Number Of Built-In Amps
In most sound monitors, you will find built-in amplifiers but their numbers may vary from one product to another. A bi-amp sound monitor will have two amplifiers- one subwoofer and one tweeter- that will allow you to distinguish between high and low frequencies. But if you want to identify low, mid, and high frequencies of the sounds, then you need a tri-amp monitor where you will have a subwoofer, tweeter, and another amplification driver.
Price Of The Monitors
Finally, you have to consider the price of the sound monitors you have shortlisted so far. If you want to use this device for basic purposes like learning about how to mix different music, go for a low-priced monitor. But for high-end applications like recording live music in the studio, you need a monitor with advanced features. Therefore, your budget should be more.
Final Thoughts
As you now know about various features of sound monitors, we are certain that you won’t make any mistake in choosing the best product. Always keep in mind that no monitor can produce sounds with 100% accuracy because its performance will depend on the ambient noises, frequency responses of the connected devices, and many other such factors.