2
been successfully tested to over 200 watts using the industry
standard EIA-426A method. This a rugged speaker system
designed for serious professional use.
Covered with a non-slip rubber textured laminate for stable
mounting, the Monitor Ones come in a mirror image left/right pair
for symmetrical horizontal mounting.
1.0 A LITTLE HISTORY
In the early days of recording, most recording studios used big
monitor speakers almost exclusively. Unfortunately, they also
required high powered amplifiers and expensive acoustic
treatment (often poorly done) of the

entire

control room. Still, a
well-constructed big monitoring system really was impressive to
listen to, a fact not overlooked by the studio owners who wanted to
impress the record company executives who paid for the big
studio's time. These big systems had big level control knobs, and
clients enjoyed "cranking-up" the volume.
Fortunately, recording engineers and producers eventually
learned that this was not the best way to accurately mix music
because it wasn't the way people listened to their radios, cassettes
and CD players (metalheads excepted). Also, big monitor systems
and the costs for the required control room acoustic treatments
were going through the roof (no pun intended), particularly beyond
the budget limits of smaller project and home studios which were
growing in numbers. A new way of accurate monitoring was
needed: near-field monitoring.
Near-field monitors, by their definition, are intended for
mounting close to the listener. The idea here is to improve the
direct acoustic path between the speaker and the listener by
making it shorter, thereby giving less opportunity for the always
present indirect (reflected) sounds to get back in and muddle
things up. With near-field monitoring, the surrounding acoustic
environment becomes a much less significant factor in
establishing the monitor system's sound character.
A good set of small monitors properly placed in a reasonably
non-reverberant room and powered by a 100-watt amplifier will
yield surprisingly accurate results at budget prices. Carried to
another studio, the same monitor should also provide

repeatable

results. In fact, some recording engineers carry their own
speakers around because they know how they will sound in
almost any room. Now, even the big studios use smaller speakers