I was flipping through a recording magazine this weekend and recognized very few of the speaker brands presented. NHT, Tannoy, Fostex were the only ones that I've heard of before. Why do manufacturers seem to only specialize in studio or home, but not both?

gar.

There are certainly inexpensive prosound speakers, and those made for guitars and what-not. But there are also cheap home speakers, and this is really not relevant. When discussing the best quality products out there, in my opinion, the best speakers are those intended for high-fidelity professional use.

Anyone out there using pro studio monitors for home use? Any recommendations?

gar.

Certainly, there are some very expensive home speakers and there are some cheap professional speakers. My point was that, in my opinion, the extra cost of a good studio monitor is often justified by affording better components. In many cases, they are significantly better components. And it is also my opinion that some commercial speakers in the same price range are overpriced by comparison.

Maybe its a judgement call, but I find more value in the better high-efficiency prosound drivers than most of the commercial stuff for the home, even those marketed as boutique products made for audiophiles.

Wayne

Pro stuff has to go out and work for a living.

I know I'm not exactly answering your question, sorry. I think the better monitors try for flat response, and many are used near-field, which to me sounds kind of dead, though I do like the JBL/Urei units.

Going out and listening to different speakers is fun and tends to help focus on what's important.

Good luck!

John

Studio monitors are designed to be extremely neutral and accurate in a near-field recording studio environment (1-4 ft.). In an acoustically untreated home environment where a typical listening distance is more like 8-12 ft., the sonic characteristics of these pro monitors may prove even less accurate than the typical consumer speaker because that is not what they were designed for.

Nonetheless, some of the studio monitors that I have heard that would work wonderfully for stereo and home theater application would include Mackie, NHT, and Dynaudio Acoustics. Interesting enough, Dynaudio's professional speakers, save for the black vinyl finish and sans grills, are about 50% less than the price of the comparable model in their consumer line and, as I understand it, is virtually identical. Now that's a bargain if I've ever seen one!

VIctor