chapter 2 • installation
Why not place tweeters to the outside?
The “classic” studio monitor layout used to be that the tweeters be placed to the outside of a horizontally-oriented speaker. In the past, this configuration was actually beneficial in time aligning the tweeter with the woofer if the cabinets were not toed-in toward the listener. (But they usually are, which makes time alignment worse if tweeters are on the outside.) In addition, this configuration is highly prone to comb filtering effects if the listener’s head is moved from side-to-side while mixing. This “comb filtering” causes the mid- to-high frequency tones to get louder, then softer, then louder again as you move your head from side-to-side, making it very confusing when trying to mix with precision.
Some people still believe that stereo separation is “improved” with tweeters to the outside, but this is advice left over from the early days (the sixties) of stereo recordings when “correct” stereo often meant a complete hard right or hard left placement of an instrument (or singer). As stereo mixing techniques changed toward placing the vocalist (for example) in the center, the old “tweeters-out” orientation would indeed widen the image if one’s head were kept in the exact center position. But this set-up proves to be very tiring, very quickly for the recording engineer. And, to others who are listening to the mix from either side of the engineer, the sound will seem to be coming primarily from the speaker closest to them.
Fortunately, recording techniques have changed radically since the sixties. Engineers have learned to how to “place” an instrument or singer within the mix so that an accurate re-creation of the actual instrument and vocal positioning (left-to-right and front-to-back) is achieved. In the Monitor One Mk2, advances in crossover design technologies and improvements in the off-axis response of tweeter domes and woofer cone materials and profile have made the requirement for tweeters to be placed to the outside of the cabinet obsolete. In fact, using a non-toed-in,tweeters-out orientation with a modern, wide dispersion design like the Monitor One Mk2 will increase the likelihood of hearing unwanted first reflections and a variety of phase anomalies in your mix.
So, proper tweeter orientation is toward the stereo image center (the middle) as shown. This arrangement will promote a strongly focused center image (such as for the vocals). And because the (vocal) image width will be narrower than if the speakers are placed vertically, it will be possible to place the vocalist with great precision at stage center. In this orientation there will be much less chance of first reflections from either sidewalls or the console coloring your mix.
Monitor One Mk2 Reference Manual | 13 |
