Studio Monitor and Backline?

[Dendrite]

Pondering options for the future... Wondering now if there is a good way to have a stereo pair of studio monitors which does a reasonable job at studio monitoring. Then, on gig days where I need a backline, I can rip one of the speakers out of the studio and put it onstage to hear myself. Once finished with the gig, take it home, return it to it's normal spot as a monitor.

As I see it, this speaker would need to be powered, lightweight, reasonably flat for these applications, and small enough to not be in the way in the small studio room. Lower price is always a better sell to the wife. Doesn't need to be terribly loud, just loud enough to hear over a moderate drummer.

Anyone know of a speaker pair that would do the above reasonably well? Yorkville has a good rep around here, maybe YX10P? Or do I lean the other way and go for a more standard studio type monitor like Eris or HS5/6, and then take that on stage?? My gut leans to the Yorkville style setup... thoughts anyone?

 

[lqdsnddist]

Near-field studio monitors are just that, near-field, meaning they are meant to be positioned a few feet from your ears, on a desk, typically set up in stereo, with the "sweet spot" being an equilateral triangle between your ears and the distance between the left and right.

They don't have the power or the dispersion to work well at larger distances nor compete with drums, other amps etc. If we are talking something like a little coffee shop gig they could work, but simply wrong tool for the job in most any other situations.

If your on a budget look at something like an Alto T10 or 12, not the best sounding, but good output and dispersion and intended for live opposed to studio applications

 

[Dendrite]

Makes sense to me. Not sure I'm pulling triggers at this point, but I appreciate the feedback.

 

[aziz]

That's a combination that is very unlikely to succeed. Basically it's always a tradeoff between Loud / Accurate / Small, where you can pick any two. And cheap, as you might guess, it's not available for even those combinations. If I could have just one speaker to cover my whole life (plus the necessary five roadies) I'd use Genelec 1236.

 

[Sixstring]

The only way I know of doing this is with a pair CLR's.

 

[yeky83]

The only way I know of doing this is with a pair CLR's.

They're great, and I've noticed a few others saying they use the CLRs for monitors as well. But since they're high output speakers, they do have a noticeable bit of hiss noise when idle. I don't find them (or any high output speakers) preferable for nearfield home studio monitoring use because of this reason, noise floor is too high.

Agree with @aziz, pick 2 of loud/accurate/small is a great way to think about it. OP is better off buying separate studio monitors and backline, plenty of cheap & decent ones available, should work better than trying to combine the two.

 

[lqdsnddist]

Might be something wrong with your CLR's if they've got some hiss. Mine are as silent as my Prosonus and Mackie nearfields. I had a Friedman ASM-12 before the CLR's which had a pretty noticeable hiss/white noise coming from it at idle, that was loud enough for me to always be aware of it, and it drove me crazy. Switched to the CLR and maybe if I put my ear literally against the grill I can hear something, but from more than a foot away its totally silent.

That is really what I love about the CLR, it sounds good at 1am family sleeping volume, and yet can also put out over 120 dB should I want it to. Very versatile unit with great dispersion of sound. It sounds exactly like my coaxial Prosonus S6's except that its got a huge sweet spot due to its wide dispersion.

 

[pauly]

Gday Dendrite,

How about something like a couple of high spec stage monitors?
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...-flashline-series-2-way-stage-monitor-12-inch
Thanks
Pauly

Pondering options for the future... Wondering now if there is a good way to have a stereo pair of studio monitors which does a reasonable job at studio monitoring. Then, on gig days where I need a backline, I can rip one of the speakers out of the studio and put it onstage to hear myself. Once finished with the gig, take it home, return it to it's normal spot as a monitor.

As I see it, this speaker would need to be powered, lightweight, reasonably flat for these applications, and small enough to not be in the way in the small studio room. Lower price is always a better sell to the wife. Doesn't need to be terribly loud, just loud enough to hear over a moderate drummer.

Anyone know of a speaker pair that would do the above reasonably well? Yorkville has a good rep around here, maybe YX10P? Or do I lean the other way and go for a more standard studio type monitor like Eris or HS5/6, and then take that on stage?? My gut leans to the Yorkville style setup... thoughts anyone?

 

[yeky83]

Might be something wrong with your CLR's if they've got some hiss. Mine are as silent as my Prosonus and Mackie nearfields. I had a Friedman ASM-12 before the CLR's which had a pretty noticeable hiss/white noise coming from it at idle, that was loud enough for me to always be aware of it, and it drove me crazy. Switched to the CLR and maybe if I put my ear literally against the grill I can hear something, but from more than a foot away its totally silent.

That is really what I love about the CLR, it sounds good at 1am family sleeping volume, and yet can also put out over 120 dB should I want it to. Very versatile unit with great dispersion of sound. It sounds exactly like my coaxial Prosonus S6's except that its got a huge sweet spot due to its wide dispersion.

I get annoyed with the Sceptre S6's because of its hiss (btw it's damn loud for a "nearfield" studio monitor, I have the volume knob turned at its lowest lol). We might just have different tolerance towards it. If you turn up the volume knob on S6 at all, 12 o'clock let's say, you have to agree the hiss is kind of unbearable for nearfield use, no? It's annoying.

And another btw, the Sceptres don't really have a wide dispersion, it has a more controlled dispersion. Its high and mid freq drop pretty quick after ~45 degrees off-axis.

 

[lqdsnddist]

I get annoyed with the Sceptre S6's because of its hiss (btw it's damn loud for a "nearfield" studio monitor, I have the volume knob turned at its lowest lol). We might just have different tolerance towards it. If you turn up the volume knob on S6 at all, 12 o'clock let's say, you have to agree the hiss is kind of unbearable for nearfield use, no? It's annoying.

And another btw, the Sceptres don't really have a wide dispersion, it has a more controlled dispersion. Its high and mid freq drop pretty quick after ~45 degrees off-axis.

I have my S6 sitting about 2 feet away from me as I type this and I'm getting no hiss at all. I'm an audiologist for a living as well so I know my hearing thresholds are all good as well as I test my hearing thresholds daily when doing biological checks on my equipment calibration.

I don't think any near-field monitors are intended to have that wide of dispersion. They are all pretty much meant to be set up in an equilateral sweet spot. What I like about the coaxial design of the S6 and S8 is that you don't have to choose between ear level height of the tweeter/woofer since its coaxial. Doesn't make a huge difference but with past monitors like my Mackie HR824's depending if I was using a taller stool for playing guitar, or my normal task chair, which was lower there was a little difference I perceived.

Cant really say why your having so many hiss issues but it seems odd I'm not with the same gear. Again, some class D amp units like the ASM-12 were unbearable (I also build silent PC's for the studio so I don't like even fan noise) and I know my hearing thresholds aren't at fault, yet I hear nothing from my S6's at all

 

[yeky83]

I have my S6 sitting about 2 feet away from me as I type this and I'm getting no hiss at all. I'm an audiologist for a living as well so I know my hearing thresholds are all good as well as I test my hearing thresholds daily when doing biological checks on my equipment calibration.

I don't think any near-field monitors are intended to have that wide of dispersion. They are all pretty much meant to be set up in an equilateral sweet spot. What I like about the coaxial design of the S6 and S8 is that you don't have to choose between ear level height of the tweeter/woofer since its coaxial. Doesn't make a huge difference but with past monitors like my Mackie HR824's depending if I was using a taller stool for playing guitar, or my normal task chair, which was lower there was a little difference I perceived.

Cant really say why your having so many hiss issues but it seems odd I'm not with the same gear. Again, some class D amp units like the ASM-12 were unbearable (I also build silent PC's for the studio so I don't like even fan noise) and I know my hearing thresholds aren't at fault, yet I hear nothing from my S6's at all

Again, have you tried turning up the S6's gain? You don't notice the significant hiss? It's a commonly reported complaint with the S6's, I don't think mine's defective or anything.

On dispersion, many near-field monitors have much wider dispersion than the Sceptres. Agreed on the coaxial having far better vertical directivity, with no lobing issue.

Slight hiss is par for the course with high sensitivity speakers like the CLR, compared to low sensitivity speakers like small desktop monitors. One has drivers rated ~100 dB sensitivity while the other is ~85 dB, that 15 dB difference pushes hiss from nonaudible to audible at a few feet away. I'm used to lower sensitivity speakers for near-field use, and it's for home use where I'm not using the computer for audio all the time, so the hiss is bothersome.

 

[Sixstring]

Considering the OP wants a dual use speaker the CLR fits the bill the best with respect to being accurate and gigable at the same time!

 

[lqdsnddist]

Why are you turning the gain up high for ? If your gain staging isn't set correctly you'll create additional noise/hiss with most any system. I keep mine set at the factory calibrated setting

 

[yeky83]

Why are you turning the gain up high for ? If your gain staging isn't set correctly you'll create additional noise/hiss with most any system. I keep mine set at the factory calibrated setting

What? I'm talking about the S6's volume knob... there's no "factory calibrated setting" for a volume knob, not sure what that's about.

I'm not talking about the additional noise created by gain staging. Just do a search for "CLR hiss" or "Sceptre hiss" or any other high output, high sensitivity PA type (e.g. "DXR10 hiss") search, and you'll see it's commonly reported. You either have 1)lucked out and both your CLR and S6 have significantly lower noise floor than most, 2)use it in a noisier environment or farther than a few feet away, or 3)not as susceptible to the hiss bothering you. I find #1 very unlikely, and don't find your "CLR and S6 doesn't have any hiss used nearfield" opinion very convincing nor helpful for others.

 

[addedc]

Might be something wrong with your CLR's if they've got some hiss. Mine are as silent as my Prosonus and Mackie nearfields. I had a Friedman ASM-12 before the CLR's which had a pretty noticeable hiss/white noise coming from it at idle, that was loud enough for me to always be aware of it, and it drove me crazy. Switched to the CLR and maybe if I put my ear literally against the grill I can hear something, but from more than a foot away its totally silent.

That is really what I love about the CLR, it sounds good at 1am family sleeping volume, and yet can also put out over 120 dB should I want it to. Very versatile unit with great dispersion of sound. It sounds exactly like my coaxial Prosonus S6's except that its got a huge sweet spot due to its wide dispersion.

I agree. My CLR is quiet at bedroom volume unless I am on single coils. I usually use Adams monitors at home and play out through the CLR. If I were in your boat and budget limited me, I would get one CLR instead of two of something not as good. (I haven't tried all the lower cost solutions, so there may some as good). When I gig, I only use one.

 

[cobbler]

I have Adam A7's set at ear height on each side of my desk. I have CLRs on poles at ear height two feet outside the Adams. Sitting at my desk I am in the sweet spot for the Adams. The entire room is the sweet spot for the CLRs. There definitely is a hiss on the CLRs but it is only noticeable within 2 ft of the speaker and that's in a silent room actually listening or it. At my desk I cannot hear it. Disclaimer: I'm an old fart.

If I could only keep one pair of the monitors and use them in multipurpose applications I would keep the CLRs. So my answer to the OP would be to grab a pair of CLR Neo's and enjoy the ride!

 

[lqdsnddist]

This thread seems to be turning into an academic discussion at best, a pissing contest to justify one’s own purchases at worst....

That said the S6’s do not have a volume control. They have an input gain knob, which comes from the factory set to unity gain. You can increase the gain to plus 10dB but that is going to increase the noise level significantly.

The OP isn’t in the market for them, I’m not going to stop using a monitor I’m really happy with, and I don’t expect anyone else to buy a pair, so basically nothing else needs to be said about them

 

[yeky83]

That said the S6’s do not have a volume control. They have an input gain knob, which comes from the factory set to unity gain. You can increase the gain to plus 10dB but that is going to increase the noise level significantly.

Fair point, it's an input gain knob, you're right. I find that at unity gain it is much too loud for nearfield monitoring, and I need to turn the source down a lot which decreases SNR, resulting in white noise.
Again, the hiss is a fairly often cited issue online, I don't think it's due to my user error in gain staging.

The OP isn’t in the market for them, I’m not going to stop using a monitor I’m really happy with, and I don’t expect anyone else to buy a pair, so basically nothing else needs to be said about them

Sorry for sidetracking the conversation. I wasn't trying to bash on the monitors you're really happy with, I like them too. It was originally to point out that high output speakers usually have a level of white noise that many are bothered by in very nearfield situations.

 

[yek]

I use CLRs at home as studio monitors and for live purposes. They hiss only when their Master is turned up. So, as instructed in the manual, set the INPUT levels right, as high as possible without clipping, then turn up MASTER. You’ll have more than enough volume with minimal hiss.

 

[yeky83]

I use CLRs at home as studio monitors and for live purposes. They hiss only when their Master is turned up. So, as instructed in the manual, set the INPUT levels right, as high as possible without clipping, then turn up MASTER. You’ll have more than enough volume with minimal hiss.

How close do you have them set up at home as studio monitors?