If I want to play at low volume, is it better studio monitors or FRFR speakers?

These days I actually use IEMs at home (SHure SE215s - cheap enough and good enough). Because I gig with them, it makes sense to practice with them. I am quite happy with the result. I just plug them straight into the headphone jack.
 
tysonlt said:
These days I actually use IEMs at home (SHure SE215s - cheap enough and good enough). Because I gig with them, it makes sense to practice with them. I am quite happy with the result. I just plug them straight into the headphone jack.
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I actually use my Audeze LCD-2 headphones more than the Genelec monitors because they provide a wider range at the low end, they are more flat, and not subject to the room acoustics.
 
JoKeR III said:
I would suggest looking at the Behringer B2030a, I have personal experience with them and they sound great with the FM3/Axe III. They have a 6.5" speaker and provide plenty of bottom end and volume as well as adjustments to tune to your room. They have a very neutral sound, very close to the Event TR8's they replaced. Bought them as a cheap replacement until I could afford better ones. Wound up using them for 10+ years.

I've heard or used the Yamaha HS5, HS7 and HS8 as well as the JBL 305P and 308P. The Yamaha HS series, in my experience, is on the harsh side with ear fatigue setting in quickly with the HS8's I used. JBL's aren't bad but seemed more mids focused. If I had to get another set of monitors under $400.00, I would choose the Behringers every time without reservation.
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Have to agree with the second part of this. I own the HS7s and they are just not nice to use. The bass I find very weak, and they are very tiring to listen too.

I don’t do enough recording or playing anymore to justify replacing them but I am intrigued by the suggestion of the Behringer.

May need to get a pair to try out at that price
 
I also have Presonus Eris E5s I used before going IEM. They sound fine, and probably sound even better because they were cheap! 😂
 
Simplest difference for folks to understand is that most any “studio monitor” that is within the realm of affordable is a near or midfield, which is designed for listening essentially “near” it. It’s designed for as accurate of reproduction as possible with regards to stereo imaging, frequency response et al. Positioning is very important and there is a small “sweet spot”.

A “frfr” like the atomic CLR is still an accurate monitor speaker, but your typically not going to stick two of them 3-4 feet from your ears on the corners of your computer desk lol.

You can set it on the floor, angled up at you and it’s got a much wider dispersion. You can move around a bit and it still sounds pretty accurate.

If you want to sit at your studio desk and play, near field monitors are great. If you want to move around freely, stand up etc, I think the typical “frfr” wedge works and sounds and feels better.

Heck, I like to put a foot on my CLR when playing, can’t really do that with my nearfields lol.

You can also use both!

Send a dry mono signal to a “frfr” wedge, and stereo wet effects to your desktop monitors. It sounds awesome. W/d/w setup! Tons of fun and fills the room with sound !

Also don’t forgot a “frfr” wedge can be a grab a go. Go put it in the living room, the garage, take it to a buddies house. They usually have a handle built in even lol. Likely not going to be grabbing your studio nearfields and moving them around too much

Don’t per say need to break the bank on either. A headrush 108 and a nearfields in the $3-400 range still sound really really good, and give you tons of options and fun
 
Piing said:
The Axe-FX III is not a cheap piece of equipment, and the value of the investment can be ruined with weak monitors/headphones/guitarFRFRcab
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Correct. Like so many cases, the audio reproduction is a chain of different components and it’s only as strong, or good, as the weakest components.


As for playing at low volume, it’s REALLY important to understand how the Fletcher-Munson curve affects our hearing. Not understanding it will result in presets that sound wrong when they’re used at a volume different than what they were created at.

For instance, all the factory presets are designed to be used at a realistic stage volume, 90+ dB. People complain that they sound muffled at low volume but that’s because of the Fletcher-Munson curve affecting their perception of the sound. Conversely, people adjust a preset so it sounds good at low volume and then don’t understand why it sounds shrill and/or has too much bass at stage volume.

Sound, and our perception of it, is affected by the room’s size and shape, the floors, walls and ceiling coverings, where in the room the speakers are positioned, and whether there is something to absorb or reflect the different frequencies, AND the volume.

Good headphones usually cost less than equal quality speakers, at least until you get to the point of diminishing returns, but they still affect the sound and with either it’s important to have a way to flatten their natural frequency response, especially when setting the EQ of a preset. There are a number of threads that go into that so search the forum.

I recommend getting reasonable quality near-field monitors and research the correct placement in your room for your desk and furniture and speakers. Get started correctly and you will be happier in the long run.
 
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Marco Fanton said:
FRFR is a standard in the professional audio world who mean the capability to reproduce the audio in a range of 20-20.000 Hz with linear response.
than you can specify different use: Monitors, Stage monitors, PA, Headphone etc
In the guitar modeler worlds there are some cabinet designed to give the tipical guitar feeling (Like my Red Sound MF10) but they are still FRFR speakers like studio monitors.

Guitar folk are really strange, they call Headrush FR112 speakers a guitar FRFR speaker but it is an ALTO TS112 speaker rebranded.
This is only possible because many guitarist are not expert in the audio professional.
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Absolutely true. There is a practical difference though, monitors are primarily designed for personal use. What people refer to as an FRFR typically takes the form of a combo type amp or cabinet. Associated with that is normally a larger speaker which will give it a different feel than monitors.
 
Dave Merrill said:
I agree w all the above, but just to play devil's advocate, I'm playing by myself in my basement 99% of the time, but in my mind I'm jamming with friends. That and on stage is the world I grew up in, and what I'm imagining is happening around me.

In that world, I'm standing at my FC, with my speakers (2 Alessis cheapo plastic FRFRs) maybe 8-10 feet away, like I'm playing with people, and I'm not quiet. Not serious loud, but not polite stereo volume either. For that, I'm happier with a stage-like rig.

YMMV of course, and it's absolutely true that you'll get higher quality for your money if you don't also ask for some volume.

(And take care of your hearing! Don't take what I'm saying to mean any different!)
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This describes the 'show' I put on in my office/studio. Put a playlist on in A Standard or Eb and try to nail it. It's been a few years since me and my buddies got together to jam. I know one thing: Next time we do, I'll definitely be the more polished with the best tone. They've yet to hear the Fractal. They always had to deal with my old Marshall blistering their ears.
 
strabes said:
Generally you can pick two among: price, volume, and accuracy. If you don’t need to crank up the volume to hearing-damaging levels, then I would go with studio monitors.

For me it’s much more comfortable to sit at my desk with my monitors at a safe listening level while still moving some air, with Axe-Edit open on my monitor, dialing in tones in stereo, than having wires everywhere, finding a place for my laptop, trying to dial in tones through some cheap mono plastic PA speaker in the corner which introduces a lot of issues. In my setup everything is always connected and boots up with a single switch on my furman and I can use the studio monitors for casual music listening or general PC use. Easy for me to take the axe3 on the road as well, and doesn’t affect my home setup at all because I have a dedicated interface and record the Axe3 with SPDIF.
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Good moves.
 
fcs101 said:
Absolutely true. There is a practical difference though, monitors are primarily designed for personal use. What people refer to as an FRFR typically takes the form of a combo type amp or cabinet. Associated with that is normally a larger speaker which will give it a different feel than monitors.
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the problem is the terminology.
if people compare studio monitors with FRFR speaker is like to compare Doberman and Dog ...
Doberman is a dog! :D
 
Marco Fanton said:
the problem is the terminology.
if people compare studio monitors with FRFR speaker is like to compare Doberman and Dog ...
Doberman is a dog! :D
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Yes, that was the gist of what I was saying. There is an unofficial difference between studio monitors and an FRFR, even though the studio monitors are indeed FRFR. But along with that difference comes a difference in performance just as a Doberman is a better guard dog than say a Shih Tzu. :p
 
IMHO, "FRFR Guitar Speakers" sacrify accuracy and true FRFRness for the sake of power and punch. Nothing like good quality near field monitors if you want to tweak accurate patches or work with a DAW
 
fcs101 said:
Yes, that was the gist of what I was saying. There is an unofficial difference between studio monitors and an FRFR, even though the studio monitors are indeed FRFR. But along with that difference comes a difference in performance just as a Doberman is a better guard dog than say a Shih Tzu. :p
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You've not met my Shih Tzu. Evil little bugger.
 
Piing said:
IMHO, "FRFR Guitar Speakers" sacrify accuracy and true FRFRness for the sake of power and punch. Nothing like good quality near field monitors if you want to tweak accurate patches or work with a DAW
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+1 - going back and forth here, I tend to choose FR Cabs for more of a traditional guitar cab vibe but true to varying cab models, vs studio monitors for accurate monitoring. Also, I enjoy music thru SM, but never thru my FR Cabs. So not about volume for me (everything is at low v), but why I keep both in my music room.
 
The hidden question is what is ideal speaker size for bedroom practice...
Because between the studio monitors and the powered cab, it's a matter of getting a 5 or 6" speaker vs a 12" (not even speaking about stereo etc).
OF COURSE there is a difference in air moved, but are you playing loud enough for it to be felt ?

I'm surprised about criticism on yamaha HS series, I guess I'm in the other clan, I've heard many bass heavy monitors like KRK rockit that I HATED, and never got a harsh feeling from my HS7.
I got recently the yamaha subwoofer and obviously now I have sound quality and the THUMP ! in the chest :)
 
Lax said:
The hidden question is what is ideal speaker size for bedroom practice...
Because between the studio monitors and the powered cab, it's a matter of getting a 5 or 6" speaker vs a 12" (not even speaking about stereo etc).
OF COURSE there is a difference in air moved, but are you playing loud enough for it to be felt ?

I'm surprised about criticism on yamaha HS series, I guess I'm in the other clan, I've heard many bass heavy monitors like KRK rockit that I HATED, and never got a harsh feeling from my HS7.
I got recently the yamaha subwoofer and obviously now I have sound quality and the THUMP ! in the chest :)
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Love my HS8s with sub set very very low. Not sure I could live with 5" studio monitors despite their frequency ranges covering what's required. The extended low end range just seems to add something I like for guitar despite not seeming to be needed on paper.
 
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I do love my RedSound MF 10 and Elis 8 FRFR Speakers.
They are awesome for band practice, gigs etc.
Actually at home I do use the Nubert nupro X 3000 RC active Monitors and they are stunning.
They do have a Spidf Input, so I can go full digital.
And they do have optical,XLR, Coaxial etc. they also have Bluetooth and I do also use them for listening to music, TV etc.
They also have automatic room calibration which is awesome because I do not want to prepare my room (Mancave)

But… they are different than my RedSound which give me the Amp in the room feeling and pushing a massive amount of air.
 
Subs, and "pushing air", and "amp in the room" are amusing. But if you need critical listening, better use a measuring mic and a RTA software to make sure that the sub is not out of control.
 
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