The Mackie Guide to Buying Your First Studio Monitors
Studio monitors are essential for anyone serious about making music, but theyâre also a great upgrade for video creators, podcasters, and anyone who works with audio. Compared to consumer speakers and soundbars, studio monitors offer far more accurate sound reproduction, so you can hear your work in its purest form and create mixes that sound great everywhere. Even if you just want a better sound system for gaming or music listening, Mackie studio monitors offer ultra-detailed sound at an unbeatable value.
Studio Monitor Basics
A studio monitor is a loudspeaker thatâs specifically designed for professional audio work like music and podcast production. While most consumer speakers are designed to enhance audio with boosted bass for extra power or emphasized treble for a crisper sound, studio monitors are engineered to represent sound accurately with a much more even frequency response.
To create professional-sounding music, podcasts, or videos, you need to be able to hear the full range of frequencies with a relatively even balance across the spectrum. If you mix on regular consumer speakers, the hyped low-end will cause you to subconsciously mix bass instruments quieter, while uneven treble warps your perception of the critical high frequencies. Think of it like painting a picture with color-filtering glasses on, then taking them off to see that all the colors are wrong.
Compared to regular speakers, studio monitors are like magnifying glasses that allow you to âzoom inâ on all the details. Even the most basic studio monitors deliver vast improvements over regular speakers, including more transparent sound for accurate mixing, better transient response for percussion instruments, and increased headroom so you can turn up the volume without distortion or compression.
Of course, often your studio doubles as your office or bedroom, and there may be times you want the boosted bass and enhanced treble you expect from consumer-style speakersâlike when youâre playing records or watching a movie. Thatâs why Mackie CR Series studio monitors have a tone knob that moves from accurate to âenhancedâ response, so you can use one pair of speakers for all your listening.
Types of Studio Monitors
Studio monitors fall into a handful of broad categories based on a few fundamental differences in their design. When shopping for monitors, understanding these differences will help you narrow down the selection and find the right product for your needs.
Active vs. Passive Monitors
One of the biggest differentiators between monitors is how theyâre amplified. Active monitors contain built-in amplifiers that require power to operate. On the other hand, passive monitors are powered by an external amplifier. Originally, all monitors were passive because amplifiers were simply too big to fit inside the speaker cabinetsâbut thanks to improvements in amplifier technology, the vast majority of modern studio monitors are active.
The choice between active or passive doesnât affect sound quality directly. Instead, itâs more of a practical matter. Most studios choose active monitors because theyâre convenient, save loads of space, and donât have many drawbacks for most users. However, passive monitors do weigh less and donât require power cables, making them good choices for mounted multi-speaker installations.
Two-Way and Three-Way Monitors
Unlike many consumer speakers, studio monitors usually combine multiple speakers (also called drivers) to achieve the best performance across the low, mid, and high-frequency ranges. No single speaker performs optimally at all frequencies, so studio monitors use components called crossovers to split the input signal into multiple frequency bands that are then sent to different-sized drivers.
Two-way monitors feature two drivers: a âwooferâ to handle the low frequencies and a âtweeterâ that covers the high frequencies. Three-way monitors feature a third driver to produce midrange frequencies. Most entry-level and even professional monitors utilize a two-way design, while three-way monitors are more common in commercial studios and mastering facilities.
Near-field, Mid-field, and Far-field Monitors
Different types of monitors are optimized for different setupsâusually dictated by the room size, monitor placement, and the desired âsweet spot.â Near-field monitors are designed for small setups where the monitors sit right in front of you, while mid-field monitors are better for large studios where the monitors sit on stands behind a mixing desk. Far-field monitors are usually mounted in the walls of large studios or behind the screen in post-production mix stages, where everyone in the room needs to hear accurate sound.
Most studios today use near-field monitors because theyâre widely available, easy to set up, and provide excellent sound for one or two people at a time. Console-based studios that work with bands sometimes opt for mid-field monitors because they provide a wider sweet spot and more volume to fill the room. Far-field monitors are almost exclusively used in large installations and are not recommended for first-time buyers.
If you canât decide between near-field and far-field studio monitors, or you want speakers that you can use at either distance, Mackie CR Series monitors feature a built-in location switch with a âdesktopâ mode for near-field listening and a âbookshelfâ mode for far-field.
Common Studio Monitor Features and Specifications
Whether shopping for studio monitors, youâll need to understand their features and specifications to make an informed choice. Here are a few key terms to know:
Studio Monitor Features
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Drivers: The components that produce sound (usually a woofer and a tweeter). Woofers can be made of different materials with different sound properties, and tweeters come in a number of designs such as dome tweeters, ribbon tweeters, and compression drivers.
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Bass ports: Precisely engineered openings in the speaker cabinet that enhance the bass output beyond what the woofer alone can produce. Bass ports may be located on the front or back.
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Inputs: The type of audio connection your monitors are designed to accept. Active monitors usually feature balanced XLR or TRS jacks and/or unbalanced RCA inputs,while passive monitors often feature bare-wire connections for interfacing with amplifiers.
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Equalization (EQ): Controls for adjusting the sound to compensate for speaker placement and room acoustics. EQ can enhance or reduce certain frequencies to achieve an ideal balance.
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Digital Signal Processing (DSP): Onboard digital processing including advanced EQ, limiters, and automatic calibration. These are advanced features that are not necessary for all users.
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Digital connections: Some monitors can connect to a computer via USB or Ethernet, enabling remote control, DSP programming, firmware updates, and network access.
Studio Monitor Specifications
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Driver size: The diameter of the woofers and tweeters. Larger drivers produce lower frequencies, with woofers typically ranging from 3-8 inches and tweeters commonly 1-2 inches.
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Frequency response: The range of frequencies produced and the relative balance across the spectrumâusually expressed as a curve on a graph with a flat line indicating perfect linearity.
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Maximum Sound Pressure Level (SPL): The maximum acoustic volume a monitor can produce, measured in decibels (dB). Higher SPL ratings mean more headroom before distortion.
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Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): The amount of distortion added by the circuitry, expressed as a percentage. Lower values indicate purer sound. Most monitors exhibit less than 1-2% THD.
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Input Sensitivity: The optimal signal level the monitors are designed for. This usually corresponds to one of two standard voltages (+4 dBu or -10 dBv) at maximum input gain.
Shopping for Studio Monitors
Studio monitors are available at every conceivable price point, from affordable and streamlined entry-level options to high-end professional models packed with features. Thereâs also a wide array of mid-range monitors that offer a balance of performance and value with varying feature sets catered to different applications. To get the most bang for your buck, consider these factors:
Setting a Budget
Setting a realistic budget should be one of the first decisions you make. When buying your first studio monitors, resist the temptation to buy the cheapest no-name product availableâas the saying goes, âbuy nice or buy twice!â Even your first pair of basic monitors should be quality products that last a long time and retain their resale value if you eventually upgrade.
Expect to spend between $99-299 for a pair of solid entry-level monitors like the Mackie CR Series, $300-900 for professional models like the Mackie MR Series, or more for premium monitors with extra features like the Mackie HRMK2 Series. The largest monitors in one category might be closely priced to smaller monitors in the next category, so any budget will give you multiple options.
Size and Subwoofers
How big do your monitors actually need to be? It can be tempting to go as big as possible within your price range, but this isnât always the right move. Even 3-4â woofers can produce frequencies as low as 60 or 70 Hz, which is enough to hear the bass in most music. Monitors with 4-6â woofers provide more accurate low-end and higher output, and the largest monitors with 7-8â woofers deliver true full-range sound and increased headroom for maximum volume.
If you have limited desk space but still want full-range sound with small monitors, consider adding a subwoofer to fill in the missing low frequencies. Many monitors have matching subwoofers like the Mackie MRS10 and CR8SBT, which pair perfectly with their corresponding monitors. A subwoofer isnât strictly necessary with larger monitors, but it can provide a more consistent bass response in some rooms.
Choosing Features
Extra features can increase the price of studio monitors, so itâs important to know which features would be most useful to you and which you can go without. The most basic monitors feature only the essentials like input jacks and volume controls, while mid-range monitors usually feature EQ controls, and higher-end models often include advanced features like DSP, remote control, and automatic calibration.
Some features provide noticeable sound quality improvements, while others simply increase utility and make your life easier. For example, monitors with circular waveguides can be placed vertically or horizontally without altering the sweet spot. Monitors with mounting hardware enable wall or ceiling installation, while multiple input connections provide more flexible setup options.
Accessories
There are many useful accessories available to help you get the best performance possible out of your monitors. Some improve sound quality while others provide convenience and flexibility. Here are a few accessories to consider:
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Monitor controllers like the Mackie Big Knob Series offer convenient volume control, speaker and source switching, and communication features at your fingertips.
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Isolation pads sit under your monitors and absorb vibrations that would otherwise make your desk resonate unpleasantly.
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Monitor stands free up desk space and allow you to place your monitors farther back. They may be height-adjustable or feature built-in isolation pads.
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Acoustic treatment improves sound quality by reducing or scattering unwanted sound reflections in your room. Treatment options include absorption panels, bass traps, and diffusers.
Installation and Setup
The way you set up your monitors is just as important as buying high-quality products in the first place. With proper setup, entry-level monitors can give you fantastic sound, but even the most expensive monitors wonât improve your sound if theyâre set up incorrectly.
Monitor Placement
The standard configuration for stereo monitors is a triangle with equal distances between the left speaker, the right speaker, and your head. This places the monitors 60 degrees apart, providing a wide stereo image that still sounds full in the center. For the most accurate sound, face your monitors directly at your head with the tweeters at the same level as your ears. And since Mackie monitors feature a circular waveguide design, they can be placed upright or on their sides without affecting performance.
Room Acoustics
The dimensions of your room, wall angles, building materials, and even the furniture can affect your monitorsâ performance by reinforcing and canceling out various frequencies. To set yourself up for success, set up your desk along the middle of one wall, and leave some space between the wall and your monitors. If your room sounds echoey, install absorption panels to reduce reflections. If you notice a buildup of bass in certain areas, install bass traps.
Monitor Calibration
When youâve done everything you can with monitor placement and acoustic treatment, you may want to manually calibrate your monitors using EQ for even more accurate sound. You can do this by ear using your favorite music as a reference point or use a microphone and measurement software for greater accuracy. Mackie MR and HRMK2 Series monitors feature multiple EQ options, including high- and low-frequency filters and Acoustic Space controls to compensate for room acoustics. CR Series monitors condense the EQ settings down to a single knob that moves from a flatter response to an âenhancedâ sound with boosted low end and treble. Mackie subwoofers also feature adjustable output, crossover, and polarity controls for fine-tuning the bass response.
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