Monitors / Monitoring

There's a lot more to 5.1 surround sound production than stereo with extra channels — new, bewildering terms and concepts abound. This month, we explain Metadata, Upmixing, Downmixing, and look at what that centre speaker actually does...

Can these unconventional plastic-bodied speakers possibly be suitable for studio work?

SOS's guide to the world of surround sound comes right up to date with the first of two looks at the modern 5.1 standard, and its use with DVD Video and DVD Audio discs.

Can a compact system offer true reference monitor performance?

Though a commercial failure in the 1970s, the Ambisonics surround sound system was technically flawless, and survives to...

EMES have developed the first studio monitor to use a patented new single-point stereo speaker technology. Hugh Robjohns tests the Owl System and compares it with the conventional Violett HR on which it is based.

Hugh Robjohns continues SOS's series on surround sound with a detailed look at Dolby Pro Logic, the widely used surround system originally developed for use in the cinema, and considers how you might adapt your home recording setup to allow mixing in this format.

Hugh Robjohns tests the AML1, and discovers that PMC can actually get a quart from a pint pot.

Surround sound in one form or another has been a part of the film industry for many years, but the emergence of affordable digital technology has now pushed it into the domestic mainstream. Hugh Robjohns begins SOS's definitive guide to surround and its implications for the hi-tech musician.

It is a good general rule that miniature monitors are rarely of reference quality, but Leema Acoustics claim to have created an exception.

Hugh Robjohns tests an innovative full-range speaker system, which somehow manages to get 12 separate drivers working in harmony.

A new high-specification VIFA speaker cone makes its debut in AVI's latest compact monitors. Paul White puts them to the test.

Paul White evaluates a new active monitor designed to deliver professional studio accuracy at a home-studio price.

Quested have addressed the negative points of our previous F11 review, and incorporated a few small but significant improvements along the way. In the process, they've updated the original F11, and introduced a new passive version, the F11P.

Quested have not only updated the original F11, but also introduced a new passive version, the F11P.

Paul White tests ATC's T16 monitors, which combine space-age looks, solid engineering and a detailed, accurate sound at a surprisingly attractive price.

Hugh Robjohns tests a new monitor that has already acquired some major users.

Paul White tests AVI's updated 'Red Spot' version of their Bigga-Tron monitors and finds out if this offers a worthwhile improvement.

What do the manufacturer's frequency response figures tell you about your studio monitors? Less than you might think, as Phil Ward discovers...

Paul White auditions some new active monitors from Fostex that offer a number of technical innovations.

Monitor speakers affect nearly all the descisions we make when recording and mixing — yet most of us know very little about how they are designed, and why they sound the way they do. In the first of a new series, Phil Ward explains what goes into the design of typical passive nearfields, and the effects they can have on what we record.