While many grille materials are “acoustically transparent,” other problems stem from diffraction effects and edge reflections caused by sounds from the high and mid frequency drivers bouncing off the wood or plastic grille frame. On the rear of the speaker, input terminals range from XLR, 14 inch, and RCA jacks to screw fasteners and gold plated, five way binding posts. The latter accommodates banana plugs, spade lugs, test prods, and bare wires bent to go around the post, but also includes holes in the post itself for inserting various gauges of speaker wire. If you frequently change speakers in your studio, banana, XLR, RCA, and 14 inch connectors make a lot of sense, because they provide a solid and easily removable connection.
Computer and video monitors are common in studio, and many reference speakers provide internal magnetic shielding to reduce or eliminate the picture distortion that occurs whenever a large magnetic structure is placed near a video display. The degree of protection varies widely. Some models must be placed three to six inches away to avoid picture degradation, while other speakers can be placed flush against a video or computer monitor without ill effects. High quality powered studio monitors have overtaken passive monitors in the personal studio, not only because of the convenience they offer, but because they incorporate state of the art bi amplification and active crossovers that precisely match on board electronics to loudspeaker components for optimum performance. As the technology improves and manufacturing is sent overseas, the quality of powered monitors has improved, and the number of models available has increased, while prices have remained steady and in some cases dropped.
One noticeable trend is the addition of self tuning capabilities to the monitoring system. Reasonably priced systems, such as the Genelec 8200 series and the ,BL 4300 series, include a measurement mic and software that can be used to automatically analyze the room and calibrate the monitors to a particular listening environment. You can expect to see continued development in this area, making increasingly sophisticated, yet affordable, monitoring systems available to nearly every level of personal studio. The Genelec 8200 series offers bi amplified active monitors that combine digital signal processing DSP, Genelec Loudspeaker Manager software, and Auto Cal Automated Calibration software to create a networked monitoring system that can be quickly set up, measured, and calibrated to any studio environment. The monitors accept analog and digital input.
