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What you DON'T KNOW about your STUDIO MONITORS!
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- čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
- Active or passive monitors? Do I need a Sub? Where should I put my monitors
Let's be honest! We all have a lot of simple questions about studio monitors that need to be answered! I recently sat down with Charles Sprinkle from @kaliaudio to get the answers to all the questions that I have and that you guys sent me!
Time to get nerdy!
Check out Kali Audio's studio monitors:
➡️tinyurl.com/24t...
UPDATED LINK! The paper about measuring your room:
➡️ www.aes.org/e-l...
Check out the beautiful mic we used to record this video:
➡️shorturl.at/iAH49
Use ROOM EQ Wizard (free software) to measure you room:
➡️www.roomeqwiza...
If you wanna learn more about recording, mixing and mastering all kinds of heavy music, check out my academy:
➡️www.kohleaudio...
#studiomonitor #studiomonitors #recordingstudio
00:00 Intro
01:34 Active vs Passive Monitors
03:10 Ported vs Sealed Monitors
06:18 2-way vs 3-way Monitors. The more the better?
09:34 Can a monitor be TOO BIG for my control room?
11:13 Do I need a SUBWOOFER?
13:24 Should I highpass my mains when using a sub?
14:13 What are Passive Radiators?
17:06 What are Class-D Amps and are they any good?
20:53 How to place my Studio monitors in my control room?
25:57 Which speaker stands should I use?
26:55 Should I decouple my monitors?
29:15 Hifi vs Studio Monitors
30:51 Outro
Any follow-up questions? Shoot!
Front vs. rear ported?
Working on monitors vs headphones (with crossfeed to make the comparison more true, if that's what your prefer). Why mix on speakers when you can get great headphones for a fraction of the cost, cut the room out of the equation and also be able to do work outside of the studio with the same familiar sound signature?
I obviously have some situations/conditions when a speaker makes more sense. But in the long run I think headphones have the edge, especially for home studios.
People are also consuming music much more on headphones these days compared to lets say 25 years ago. So one could argue that it's more important now days to make a mix that works on headphones without crossfeed. Even though that's really not a problem since almost all mixes work on both. Gone are the early days of stereo mixes.
Good one!@@seitsen
@@borisgrigull7772 phase wraps are just the phase rotation caused by a minimum phase (read: not linear phase) crossover. FIR DSP crossovers (and analog active with phase compensation via all-pass filters) can have the phase rotation corrected out.
@@seitsen tradeoffs. Front ported tends to make pipe resonances be out of phase with the woofer so you get interference dips, but they're less sensitive to wall proximity. Rear ports actually have their tuning slightly affected by proximity to the wall - too close and it actually drops a bit because the port appears to be "longer" than it actually is.
This is an absolutely amazing video! No nonsense facts!
Yup. Good stuff ! Nice to see you Warren still doing good Warren :)
Love this Charles's pragmatic, 100% logic and facts, 0% hyped up claim approach to his conversation style... my favorite type of person to have these types of conversations with.
Aamen !
Absolutely 💯
He’s German xD
And he doesn’t throw ads and nonsense at you every 5 seconds.
The most burning questions around the topic, from someone who knows exactly what they are talking about. Thank you Kristian!
Thanks! I usually try to talk to people who know their shit.
I met Charles a few days before and knew that he’s the guy!
Bought a pair of the kali 6.5 v2 monitors, love them... even more impressed after the interview! This guy knows his stuff!
@paulwilliams6959
Charles Sprinkle and one of his colleagues were formerly lead studio monitor designers at Harman/JBL. There's a vast vault of knowledge and expertise there in regards to all types of transducer and loudspeaker design, testing, and measurements.
I have the KALI IN-8 v2 and they are impressive for the money.
@KaliAudio
...if you read this, the only thing I'd appreciate that you add to these enclosures (IN-8v2) is at least some type of butyl rubber & thick aluminum foil Constrained Layer Damping (CLD) sheet material (i.e. Dynamat Extreme or similar) applied to the.interior sides and top panels of the enclosures.
Just with a light "knuckle knocking test" on the sides and top, the panels resonate quite a bit. I'm all for it if it adds $20 to the cost. ;)
Cheers
I have known Charles since the early 90's. What a journey we have both been through. Charles and I may disagree on many things, but on audio we are both in alignment. Everything he say's here in this interview is correct. Well done my friend. BTW- did I mention that I am listening to this interview on Kali IN8's.
That dude is highly intelligent and a joy to listen to.
The most important lesson I learned with monitors is that it’s not about finding the pair that sounds the most natural to your ear in your room with the most revealing midrange (listening to tunes you like or even tunes you have mixed). It’s about finding a pair of monitors that makes you mix better. You’d think the two are one in the same but for me they weren’t. I wanted to have something that had incredibly in your face midrange clarity and detail but after trying lots of stuff I realized that I just kept making my mix sound like it was coming out of genelecs. At the time I didn’t know that, and I didn’t like genelecs but once I tried them my mixes translated wayyyyy better. Imagine how bad your mix would be if you used ns10’s and managed to make ns10’s sound like genelecs. That’s the kinda shit I was going through and there’s no way to know what suits you until you actually try MIXING on them. I used to think genelecs were overrated and muddy (the muddy part is just the room acoustics). Anyways, I’m not saying go and buy genelecs I’m saying find a dealer with a great return policy and try a bunch of stuff! For me it was Neumann, barefoot, NS10’s, focal, Meyer Aimee’s (fucking amazing!), and then genelecs. If you want to hear the most linear and clear shit ever tho definitely check out the Meyer Aimee’s they are incredible, I just couldn’t make the right decisions on them.
Also, a perfectly placed, eq’d and time aligned subwoofer along with a high crossover was what saved my small bedroom acoustics nightmare in the low end. Now, the amount of corrective eq I did to the sub did neuter the max SPL a bit but my phase is perfect (dialed in myself using Smaart v8 software) and it sits right where it needs to not as a low end extension device but as a dip filler for that big ass 85hz dip that most averaged size rooms have. I love having my seated/standing desk along with the genelec GLM software. I’ve got two height presets for the desk that are accompanied by GLM presets for eq time and phase so whether I want to sit or stand I get an almost identical sound. For whatever reason tho the low end is much better when I’m standing so in the standing position I can mute my sub if I want and still get really accurate low end monitoring. Cheers everyone and good luck! If all else fails use headphones. They will sound the same everywhere and if Andrew Scheps can mix records for Rihanna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on nothing but $100 Sony closed back cans we can too. (Although I prefer my audio technicas ❤). Slate vsx is also AWESOME.
I fully agree!
The two questions that matter to me are:
1.) do the mixes translate?
2.) is it fun to work on the speakers? (if you do this 8 hours+ every day, this is really important too)
I can relate to this so much! In my experience the flattest possible system hasn't been the best, although it's a good starting point for tuning. Nowadays I try to adjust my system so that my favorite songs sound as good as possible (to my ears) and that's the setup I mix with. Then my work translates very well and that's the most important thing for me. It's the same thing with monitors or headphones.
I got the In8 2md Wave and the WS 6.2. Listening to music is a treat now, and I have a whole different confidence in my mixes. Last but not least, mixing is somehow faster. Thanks Kali Audio:) PS: And the customer service is just great. Super nice and dedicated. Thanks to Oskar!
Great to hear that!
@@KohleAudioKultAh, and btw. great Video, again :)
I’m so stoked that this interview was with one of the guys from Kali. I got a pair of IN-8’s a few months back and I have been so stoked about them. These monitors just translate perfectly. I was just having a comment conversation on another channel about these monitors and I just told him that so far I have a 100% success rate with how my mixes translate since I’ve been on these monitors. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s such a freeing feeling. If you’re reading this comment because you are considering the IN-8 monitors, do it!!! You won’t regret it!!!
the question si what speakers you were on before ?
Funny, a friend has the in-8 and his mixes don't translate very well at all
@@mirkomarkovic3438 A good chance the room your friend is mixing in is the problem.
@@mirkomarkovic3438 if your room isn’t treated, no monitors will translate. Like he said in the video, everything under 700hz is out of his control. It really is up to the consumer to get the most out of the monitors.
@@LaidbackSounds my most recent were the presonus e44’s. Complete garbage imo. They just lie and are quite edgy sounding. Very unpleasant for long sessions. Also one of them developed a hum over the few years.
What a knowledgeable, no bullshit, phenomenal guy! I've been using Kali's since the LP-8 v1, and they've always just -felt- right. After a while I got more nerdy and started measuring and fine tuning my setups they also measured superbly. I can't say I'm surprised that someone like Charles is behind them.
Best interviews ALWAYS! I love my LP6's, since I have them my mixes level up a LOT!!!
I have a pair of Kali IN-5's strapped to a Kali WS-6.2 and the sound is wonderful. When I cancel the crossover or run the tops full range alongside the subwoofer the stereo imaging is a lot poorer. With the crossover employed from the subwoofer AND using IK Mulitmedia's Arc 3 (which has phase adjustment) the stereo imaging is truly astonishing. And all the is for about £1700!!! 😎
I love my Kali monitors- I can't wait to watch this!
Enjoy!
It blows my fucking mind that a company from California can make the most cost-effective monitors on the planet. I had the LP-6s and they were awesome. I then got the IN-5s and theyre even more awesomier. Even better that they have a warehouse 3 minutes from my work in Irvine. Thanks dudes!!!
To be clear: we design in California, we build in China.
@@kaliaudio
Hey Nate & Charles, thanks for the honesty and transparency. Those in the know realize that China and Indonesia currently have some of the world's most high-tech and best quality audio transducer manufacturing facilities.
I'm really looking forward to checking out your new "Santa Monica" series SM-5/SM-5C monitors soon. :)
At the moment, I'm using your IN-8v2 as my secondary monitors and have been extremely impressed with them.
The ONLY suggestion I might have regarding build quality of the IN-8v2 is that I wish they had some additional or better internal bracing, and/or some type of internal Constrained Layer Damping (CLD) sheet material applied to the interior enclosure panels, especially the side panels, as they are quite resonant...
...Products such as ResoNix Sound Solutions CLD Tiles, Dynamat Extreme, or Stinger Road Kill Ultimate CLD-type products that are used for car audio panel resonance control come to mind, and shouldn't add significant cost in production when purchased in wholesale/bulk quantities. It doesn't require very much of any of these products in order to be effective at reducing panel resonances.
But just some additional internal bracing might be more cost-effective and provide similar improvements.
I also wish you would release a car audio component driver lineup, as I would love to be able to use the Concentric midrange/tweeter drive unit from the IN-5 & IN-8 in my high-end DSP controlled car audio systems. :P
For the moment, I'm using another former JBL/Harman alumni's car audio speaker products in one of my vehicles with great success (Andy Wehmeyer's AUDIOFROG GB-series component speakers).
But your Concentric mid/tweeter drive unit would simplify aftermarket speaker installs and allow for much better installation options for aftermarket car stereo when using the OEM speaker locations! Although the potential additional depth of the dual motor system of your concentric drivers might limit their use in some OEM speaker locations.
However, this might be another stream of revenue, especially if you became a supplier of speaker drive units to OEM automotive manufacturers for their premium/upgraded OEM audio systems.
Anyhow, I wish you continued success.
Cheers
The video I didn't realize I wanted *and* needed!!!
Now you know, haha!
I'll watch the video even though I was extremely disappointed with the Kali LP6V2. I had bought them to replace my Alesis M1 Active520 monitors but when I A/B'd them, found that the Kali's sounded horribly hollow. Unfortunately, I had to return them. I regularly work with Dynaudio monitors as well so I know what good sound it.
WOW I blown away, The amount of information on one subject. Thanks for all the new knowledge. Kali Audio rules.
Thanks for the Kii shout out, Kohle!!! appreciated :)
And hats off to Charles, what a down to earth and knowledgable gentleman and great job explaining and answering your questions in detail. I´m still baffled by the quality the Kalis offer at these price points, affordable monitoring has never been better than today.... great times we´re living in.
You’re more than welcome!
I was very impressed with your speakers when I tried them at Nolly’s 🤘❤️
Great interview, thank you!
I thought about getting new monitors for a long time but than took the money and bought absorbers to treat my room. After that and countless measurements it feels like I bought new monitors with the absorbers because they sound way better in the room now.
thank you for answering many questions...including some that i didnt even know how to ask!! 🤔🤔
thanks again guyz
Haha! You’re welcome
I really enjoyed Charles explaining all this. He's got a great voice and manner of speech and a super focused way to illuminate the salient points of the quetions asked.
Ive always wondered if a 3-way speaker is better for metal music. Being that there is so much signal coming through a single tweeter, it seems like dividing the frequency range between multiple tweeters would be optimal for instrument/vocal separation.
Awesome guest, awesome info.
Tried Kalis, and they don't translate like other common monitors like Yamaha. They still sound like boxy muddy bedroom amateur speakers. Better than Mackie and Presonus beginner price speakers but anything beyond the $600 range in a pair of speakers sound better. To me. My opinion.
Good stuff Kohle! I am an owner of a pair of Kali IN-8 v2's. I have a treated mix room and when I first started mixing on them it was quite the shock. They're very revealing. Not really a speaker to enjoy listening to music on -- a tool to make decisions. I think they punch above their asking price. Thanks!
That's exactly what a studio monitor is supposed to do!
Make you mix until things sound great.
Some of us -- including Mr. Sprinkle and yours truly -- "enjoy listening to music on" on our Kali monitors. I don't understand the rift between "hi fi" speakers and monitors -- doesn't "hi fi" mean "high fidelity," IOW "great faithfulness" to the intentions of the folks who create the tracks? If a mix sounds crappy on a "very revealing" system it's a crappy mix!
@@editorjuno Agreed -- I guess I meant more from the typical consumer perspective. I listen to music on them all the time now. The initial go with them in my treated mix room was the "woah" moment. My ears have adjusted.
@@billyhughes9776 -- Understood. 😎
Great video and very thoughtful, informative questions/answers. As a fellow extreme metal engineer, your channel has a wealth of relevant content. Being in a music niche like extreme metal sometimes it can be hard to find useful content related to what we do. Keep it up!
Great to hear that! 🤘
Make sure to check out the Kohle Audio Kult Academy for more content if you haven’t already!
Sweet, I'm looking to learn in the same timbre and sonic scape range, but different genre and instrumentation. I enjoy some ex metal, but love messing around with synths and fx.
Thank you Kohle and Charles for the lesson. I think they are speakers out there which are perfect for studio and hi fi as well. Example: My Buchardt S400 MarkII are Hi End HiFi speakers but the manufacturer tells you that you can use them perfectly in the studio, so balanced and well put together they are. Just if you look at the crossover unit is really a work of art so you can use the boxes anyplace you want. If you add the proprietary Integrated I150 Class D with separate power supplies, analog volume and, take this, 4000 damping factor and 300 real watts at 4 ohms and 150 at 8, totally compoatible in the studio, you have a real win win situation.
Lots of Value here. Thank You ❤🙏🏽
Love my Kali IN-8s
16:00 In my opinion, the port discussion is missing the important factor of port resonances. This is precisely where I see the much greater advantage of a closed system over a bass reflex.
In the end, however, there is nothing new in the video here. Loudspeakers are a compromise between volume, impulse response, dispersion and linearity. Every manufacturer has its own philosophy here.
Very interesting, gerne mehr solche Interviews!
I‘ve got the original LP-6s and their good for what they are.
Nice ! Those Kali monitors seems to be really cool !
They’re incredible for the price
I've been mixing with headphones for years. About to take the dive into studio monitors and doing my research now. Probably getting some Kali monitors. Hearing a lot of great things about them for the price point.
Find the listening position first in any room as there will be one place where the room acoustics interfere the least and that is where you should sit for best monitoring. Then place the speakers in accordance to that seating position.
Kohle, That's a great use of bidirectional polar pattern of ribbon mic! xD
Perfect for interviews!
@LeikiUeda
It's a very common microphone recording technique that has been used since at least the mid-40s for recording multiple singers and their instruments around the microphone.
Look into the microphone technique used in the recording of the Cowboy Junkies' "Trinity Session" and "Trinity Revisited" which are considered hallmark recordings.
Great video, thanks!
Please provide the link to his paper on room measurement tecniques (@23:50)
Added now! Sorry for that
It’s a dead gateway. FYI.
The link doesn't work, tho.
Good to check your mix on a variety of systems, to hear what your audience will hear. Try the dogsnot blutooth earbuds, mono portable bt speaker, your buddy's home stereo, as well as good monitoring.
I love it when real good info like this comes out. Hi Fi and home studio guy here agreed with everything .
Nice to hear knowledgeable people behind the monitors. It’s a plus for the next time considering Kali.
I like my Kali monitors a lot. Sometimes I get the urge to get that Yamaha sound, and that takes a couple of extra steps, but the Kalis do that too, just not out of the box and not *quite* as crispy. But that crispy gets fatiguing pretty quickly and really lends it self to specific genres. Until I get in the realm of Genelec or Focal prices, I'm happy with what I have. My mixes translate to any system.
Nice nerd talk again! Thank you guys!!
I say "Hi" to Charles and of course you, Kristian! Thanks for some very eye-opening 30 minutes 🙂
Danke dir! Bis bald!
I love my Gen1 LP6s... They are way too big for my bedroom studio but at the time there was no other option. They were a cheaper but than used!
I just LOVE my pair of Kali LP6
Awesome video, im curently looking monitors for my garage studio so thx alot for this !!
Great content, fully absorbed. Thanks to you both. Charles' advice of not complicating things too much resonates with me and I'm certain others as well. It's not voodoo, just use your ears, but first, invest in quality product for your monitoring needs. I'm currently monitoring on a pair of 6.5" low-cost JBLs. just purchased a high-quality measurement mic, downloaded and have been messing around with REW. I'm looking forward to stepping up my game and trying out the Kali Audio offerings.
Dude is a national treasure -- "Project Independence" changed my audio life!
I have 3.5" monitors, I added a subwoofer because the bass frequencies wheren't good, but it is more complicated to manage the balance in my amateur home studio =)
I use multiple monitors and use reference cd's and a spectrum analyzer on the recording. In other words, if you know your reference material, you dont have to move anything! Not that I would recommend this but you can even use "crappy" speakers to do an excellent recording as long as your reference cd's match your EQ mix. Think about that one!
Great interview questions and logical answers. Thanks
love my Kali in8 and 5 Atmos setup. great interview adding 2 Kali subs soon. that will make 3 in the room
Thank you Kristian!
I'm in a new place and trying out my room. I started in the weirdest place and slowly narrowing it down to find the best place. It's good to know I'm on right track.
If you are looking to find a position in the room for good bass response, I can show you something that you may find useful. Take the speakers and put them in your listening position. (Wherever you'll be sitting when listening to the speakers.). Play some music and walk around the room until you find the place where they sound best. Put the speakers there and fine tune placement after that. Its much faster than placing the speakers and listening for an improvement.
Question is ways you can use and hook them up to your stereo system for listening pleasure.
I have Rokit 5 gen 4 which are decent. And 3.5 Mackie and PreSonus. But at one point I went to a Music Den and heard Rokit, JBL, M-Audio, PreSonus, Yamaha, Mackie, Kaili and Adam Audio. I would put Kali at second best. But my favorite were Adam Audio T5V. A bigger room might require 7 or another brand, but man, those sounded sweet. The JBLs sounded very good but I don't trust their bass. They tend to have great bass but also boost the a bit. If I had the money I would get alot of different ones for comparison.
I love my IN-8's. Good to know the people behind it are great too!
I bought the Kali LP6 when they came out and they're still awesome monitors.
No nonsense, just awesome! Btw, Kali Audio LP6 2ND Wave is what i am looking at right now. Thanks!
Excellent talk. Thank you Charles.
Charles.. good to see you are doing well - you look very good and much the same. Fantastic job w/ the new company. I can't believe it's been over 12 years since my time at harman!
Thank you for claryfying some weird myth and the very understandble explanation of the pros and cons regarding the different speaker and amp systems.
i'm glad still right on track about Monitor things
also that closing quote crack my laugh everytime watch your video lol
Great to hear your tjoughts fellas! Its more clear now why my IN-5s perform so well.
Just started the videos but I'm gonna love this one. I have the Kali LP6 and damn these are so good. But I can't enjoy it as I could because of my room having a bump at 130hz (like lot of people mixing in a small room). I'm gonna love this video
If you like this one, don’t miss the newest video on the channel!
@@KohleAudioKult new subscriber so I'm definitely gonna watching this 🤘🏻
I've mixed songs on an ametuer basis because I don't have access to a treated room and the issue of monitoring has always been an enigma for me but this episode was really interesting. I didn't know I could get free software like room wizard. Thats so cool.
Great talk! And yeah I too always giggle a little bit when you do your tag line after a really geeky deep dive video like this.
What can I do? It’s part of the game 😜
Very interesting and informative conversation. I really learned a lot. I didn't realize some things were so complicated about the design! This guy really knows a lot.
Hi to Charles!✌
Charles looks like tom hanks almost
Beat me to it
Awesome video, great info and insight from Kali . Also great links to understanding how and why to setup your home studio
I am a room acoustics engineer and unfortunately I have to disagree with the subwoofer topic. First of all, I would like to say that I absolutely recommend Kali and have already used it a lot in recording studios. As they've said a few times: there is a short and a (very) long answer here..........
You don't need a subwoofer to reproduce 20hz with f -3db, but you have be able to control the modal problems independently of the monitor. This means: A loudspeaker has physical room-related cancellations due to the room. The problem here is SBIR (Speaker Boundary Interference Response): Cancellations occur between the loudspeaker and the room below 140hz. You can avoid this if subwoofers are placed on the floor, then you have the floor reflection under control. The same applies to the front wall: The speakers not placing between 80cm and 120cm from the front wall, otherwise you will have a 30db DIP(!!!!!!!!!!!!) between 70hz-120hz (depending on how long the distance is). You can avoid this with subwoofers by positioning the monitors correctly. The best solution here is a dual-mono subwoofer setup (one subwoofer on each side symmetrically on the front wall), do not place the subwoofer in the middle, otherwise the mode becomes more critical in the width!
That is the absolute shortest answer. I give a workshop for audio engineers, and this topic goes 6 hours, and only this topic! lol😄😄😄
So it's clear that the guest didn't want to open this Pandora's box, but one thing must be clear to you: speakers at ear level will NEVER be able to reproduce the bass range linearly!
cheers
Great interview ! Lots of killer information Thanks Brother
The link for the paper about measuring your room doesn't seem work. Can you please share a new link? Thanks in advance and thank you for a very informative video! :)
Never mind, I found it. You need to change 20240202 to 20240221 in the link address and it works. Or just google 22302.pdf paper measuring room and it comes up.
This AES e-library has a lot of interesting stuff in its free open access section. I never knew! I'm glad I poked around! :)
I just reached out to Kali to get an updated link! Sorry for that!
@@KohleAudioKult I found it and posted a reply how, but CZcams auto-removed it... if you search in the site it comes up. I Found other articles too. Good stuff. :)
This was a great interview and I appreciate both of you doing it!
One reason I'm leaning towards passive monitors with traditional toroidal amps, if your speakers have DSP and an additional AD / DA conversion, are you really hearing what those fancy converters sound like?
i love my Kali LP6s! Special thanks to Glenn Fricker and Warren Huart for recommending them.
Very interesting thanks for such an insightful guest and conversation!!!
ive got Kali 8’s 3-way monitors. Bedroom studio with vaulted ceilings. Pretty large room 15’x20’. Wifey wont mind wall treatment that are aesthetically pleasing but what to do with the vaulted ceilings? No way is she going to allow me to hang foam etc etc. thanks.
This video was reaally good thanks alot Kristian and Charles!
Ok but what about using sealed high passed tops and sealed sub? Still more distortion in sealed? At what frequency is the distortion usually happening? In the sub band or the next band above with the low mid?
Cus the cleanest sounding systems ive heard are sealed ones.
And for a subwoofer, what about very steep active slopes on the crossover and aligning the phase properly to summate the sub properly with the next driver up?
@LCRLive687
There really are no hard and fast rules regarding Sealed versus Ported/Vented/Bass Reflex main speakers or subwoofers, and/or the use of steep crossover slopes (i.e. 4th Order & higher) or shallow crossover slopes.
It really depends on the T/S parameters of the individual drive units that are being used and the design goals of the speakers and/or subwoofer.
EVERY speaker is designed around a group of benefits and compromises or trade-offs.
What matters in the end is the in-room response, and if the speakers or subwoofer(s) reach the desired SPL at your listening position without being driven into distortion.
As Charles also mentioned, maintaining smooth and even DIRECTIVITY (a similar and smooth off-axis dispersion or polar radiating pattern of the midbass, midrange, and tweeter) improves the consistency of the spectral balance/tonality, provides for a good sense of "space" or ambience, and maintains the important imaging cues that are necessary to reproduce a deep and wide soundstage with focused imaging that doesn't shift depending on the frequency being played.
The main reason that ported or "bass reflex" designs are used and are popular is because they improve efficiency and extend the low end response.
In order to reproduce lower frequencies at equivalent SPLs to the midrange and treble, it requires exponentially more power and cone excursion from the midwoofer driver. This is especially true below about 80Hz.
Using a ported/bass reflex design as opposed to a sealed enclosure usually results in AT LEAST a "free" 3dB boost in SPL around the tuning frequency of the port without requiring any additional amplifier power or additional excursion from the drive unit. This is significant because every time you want the system to play just 3dB Louder, you need to DOUBLE the amplifier power!
In many instances, that free lower end boost in SPL provides for more output before Distortion sets in and/or the driver reaches its physical excursion limits.
Every unique loudspeaker transducer or "drive unit" will have a particular set of Thiele/Small Parameters which will determine if it is best suited for a sealed or ported/bass reflex alignment, etc.
In the T/S specifications, every drive unit has a "Resonant Frequency" spec (listed as "Fs") which determines how low in frequency it will play before it begins to naturally roll off at a given rate. The "Fs" is also where the impedance reaches its highest peak and value.
But there are many other interrelated T/S specifications such as Qts, Vas, linear Xmax, etcetera, that will have a large influence on how a driver will perform in any given enclosure.
More expensive drivers usually have better overall specs that will allow for a wider range of use, or at least smoother on-axis and off-axis frequency response, and higher output levels before distortion becomes a problem.
The TYPE of crossover alignment (Bessel, Butterworth, Linkwitz-Riley, etc.) also determines how the response of any two given drivers will sum or combine at the center frequency of the crossover as well as their phase relationship.
As you increase the "Order" or Slope of the crossover in dB per Octave, the Phase Rotation increases, so this must be accounted for in the passive or active Crossover Network, and whether it not the drivers are wired in the same polarity, or some are wired 180° out of polarity relative to the others.
As Charles mentioned, speakers and subwoofers in a sealed alignment will inherently have a shallower or less steep roll-off (~12dB/octave) of the low end response.
And with all things being equal, a ported/vented/bass reflex design will usually have extended and/or boosted low end response and higher efficiency, but the low end response will roll off/drop off more quickly (~24dB/octave) below the tuning frequency.
Either one can be a benefit or detriment depending on the amount of boundary-loading and transfer function the room provides, which is also very dependent on how/where the speakers or subwoofers are placed relative to those boundaries.
I would advise you to pick up the latest edition of Vance Dickerson's "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" for a deep dive into speaker design and what each of the trade-offs and compromises are.
Most useful discussion of monitors I’ve found. Love my Kalis btw
Link to paper isn’t working for me. Also is the link to the measuring software/site thing listed?
Software is listed! We're working on the link to the paper.
Have another look in a few hours! Sorry for that.
Thank you for the video, lots of speaker questions cleared up. I am curious, we know that human hearing is 20hz - 20khz (typically). Some speakers have specs upwards of 40Khz, or even something like 37Khz. Even though we can not hear above 20Khz (and some of us might not even be able to hear that high), does the speaker's ability to produce a freq that high effect 'fatigue' or serve some other real life purpose or is it marketing snake oil?
It... depends. If you have massive non-linearities above 20K, you might be able to hear the subharmonics of that response in the audible band. Typically though, it's more of a flex than anything else; if a speaker can handle 40K, the bandwidth up to 20K should be a walk in the park.
I would always take extension above 20K with a grain of salt. If it's a reputable manufacturer, they're using it to show off audible performance. If it's a questionable manufacturer, it's likely BS. If you're looking for apples to apples comparisons between two speakers, I'd look for the distortion numbers (THD) and compare those, rather than raw HF extension.
Waaaaw What a potcast. Absolutely beautiful the perfect questions and answered by a expert love it absolute love it 🤟
I love that typo!
Great Q&A:))
My understanding about amplifier design is that it's very difficult and expensive to make a linear class a/b amplifier. Even cheap class d amp chips produce an extremely even frequency response.
mr Sprinkle was great, excellent interview mr Kohle
thanks for the links
i'm not in the business, i just love speakers, the first one i saw as a kid got to me :)
Cool video. Lot's of great info on speakers. I've always been interested in building speakers and crossovers. By the way.. that mic sounds amazing! Lets hope that the police caught who they we're looking for.... or not.... Ha ha ha! Great video! Loved it.
@gdel5104
If you are interested in learning more about loudspeaker design on crossovers as well as "room acoustics", I would highly recommend the following two books which are pretty much the Go-To "Bibles" of Loudspeaker Design and Acoustics:
Vance Dickason: "The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook"
Floyd Toole: "Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms”
Try to get the latest editions that have the newest revisions.
Cheers
So what are the best cables to connect your studio monitors? Should you use magic oils on the connectors? Do silver mains leads give more correct sound? Do gold plated speaker stands help balance? (I use lightly padded kitchen chairs myself).
Ordinary Neutrik XLR. What's the point with gold-plated when there is no Gold inside the speaker.
no snake oil needed;D grab a decent xlr and you are in the "jazz"😅
@kumchavalcha Australian snake oil are the best for your connectors, you can find in your local voodoo store !!!! Increases your sound 100%
I was prepared to drop over $2000 for monitors in my home studio. I tried the IN-6 first after demoing them in store (they sounded pretty good there) and never returned them. Exactly what I wanted. Shortly after, I purchased the LP8 for my living room speakers after demoing multi thousand dollar hifi and home theatre setups. Nothing but complements from every single person that's heard them and many not believing me when I mention the price.
I have Kali Audio In8 second wave speakers. They are great!
I'd love to hear his thoughts on the headphones vs monitors debate. Nearly everyone still says you "can't" mix on headphones, but I feel like that's just the internet echo chamber. I bet his thoughts would be great on that subject.
Link for the paper doesn't seem to be working, getting 404 page.
we're working on it!
I got the kali 6.5 v2 monitors and i love them!
Love my Kali LP-8 monitors!
I am a hifi guy, for many years I looked for honest speakers, then I tried some studio monitors(horrible expirence) and I switched back to hifi again until I found Kali Audio IN-5s.
Hi Charles, and thank you!
Amazing, a pleasure to listen to. Thank you!
Thank you guys.
I hear nothing but great things about Kal Monitor,s ❤I do have some Focals ,❤Love them too,Got the sub One to match ,actually play to the size of the room,Great topic ❤