Question about studio monitors and the AxeFx2

A

AndrewSierra

Member
Hello everyone, I've been a long time lurker on the forum, soaking up as much information I can about fractal products before I decide to buy. Currently I'm looking to run the Axe Fx with Adam a7x's. I'm wondering if running the Axe Fx through studio monitors will have any detrimental effects on the monitors such as degrading audio quality because I will also be using the monitors for mixing. Also, I was wondering if by using monitors will I be missing out on anything vs a FRFR setup like PA system.
Thank you for any answers.:D
 
Studio monitos are FRFR, so you won't be missing anything sonically. In fact, they're usually more accurate than PA monitors. However, you will be giving up the ability to play at gig levels, and studio monitors aren't built for the rigors of playing out.

And no, you won't hurt your monitors by playing through them. Audio is audio. :)
 
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rex is spot on as usual. audio is audio and the worst thing for any speaker is too much signal. just make sure you know the difference between actual speaker distortion and a "distorted tone." that said, studio monitors should definitely get loud enough to fill up a bedroom with sound, but they really aren't meant to get too loud. i have ax5 speakers and very rarely do i get them a bit too loud and i hear distortion starting. you really should have no problem with the 7 size.

there were some threads over the past few years where someone wanted to re-purpose their studio monitors for on-stage monitoring with a full band. bad idea. they are called "near-field" monitors for a reason! so you mentioned mixing as well, and if that's the primary thing you'll do you should be fine. but if you are also going to play live, you should get a different rig for that.
 
Thanks for the responses :) I'll be playing at bedroom levels and turning to a mackie hd1531 live uses. I can't wait to get my axe fx saving every paycheck up lol.
 
chrisallen8888 said:
audio is audio and the worst thing for any speaker is too much signal.
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Chrisallen8888 makes a good point. Speakers can be damaged by too much signal, which is why home-stereo speakers aren't the best candidates for gainy guitar FRFR. Fortunately, most studio monitors are bult to take some signal abuse. They have limiters built into them to prevent things from getting too hot for the drivers.
 
chrisallen8888 said:
rex is spot on as usual. audio is audio and the worst thing for any speaker is too much signal. just make sure you know the difference between actual speaker distortion and a "distorted tone."
Click to expand...

Would you mind elaborating?

Are you referring to the difference between "good" (guitar amp) speaker breakup vs. "bad" distortion that would result from a studio monitor speaker being pushed too hard?
 
He's talking about recognizing distortion coming from the speaker. Studio monitors are supposed to be linear—what you put in is what you get out. If you're driving the monitor's speakers into distortion, you'll get a harsher tone, and you could damage the speakers.

Guitar speakers are built to withstand more signal abuse, but IMO, much of what people call "speaker breakup" is actually a hard-workin' power amp. Significant speaker breakup won't sound good.
 
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