Small Studio Monitors – Why bigger is not always better

"Which Studio monitors should I buy?" The answer to this simple question is not so straightforward. Shopping for new monitors can be daunting. With so many manufacturers and companies competing for your hard-earned money and a ton of conflicting opinions and advice on the Internet, assessing which speakers to buy is anything but easy. 

Given the fact that the majority of recording studios start in cramped with not the most ideal conditions, choosing the correct speaker size is critical to hearing and mixing more accurately. That said, it is also important to debunk the myth that you need really big and expensive monitors to achieve the results that you are hoping for. This article explores the various reasons you should opt for smaller studio monitors like the Fluid Audio FX50 and the benefits associated with it. 

Why a small monitor might be the right choice 

At the outset, there are some obvious value propositions associated with small monitors: 

• They are economical – You don’t need to break the bank to own a decent pair. For less than $500, you can own a set of studio monitors that, for the price, easily outperform their larger counterparts. 
• They take up less space – A big studio monitor with an 8” woofer might overpower and overcrowd the space. Smaller speakers take up less space, and you can easily place them right onto your desktop. 
• You end up saving money – Paying less for smaller, professional monitors leaves you with extra money in your pocket that you can invest on other studio gear. 

These reasons are the most obvious ones. Now let us investigate the hidden benefits of having small Studio Monitors in small recording studios and learn why bigger is not always better. 

The Speaker size should be proportional to the room size 

Large monitors found in the high-end studios are there primarily used to “show off” their mixes to clients at high SPL levels. These are generally far-field speakers and the room needs to be acoustically treated to deal with these whoppers. Additionally, they must have a wide sweet spot so that people can appreciate the music from various areas in the room. However, before this stage in the mixing process, the day-to-day mixing is predominantly performed on smaller monitors. These are the near-field monitors with a much narrower sweet spot centered around the mix position of the engineer (usually only about 2-3 feet). 

Smaller monitor speakers, being that they are designed to be used closer to the mix/listening position, means that problems with acoustics in the room play less of a part in the sound arriving at the ear, particularly in the low end response. Using a nearfield monitor speaker allows you to sit closer to the sound source. Hence, most of the sound from the driver and tweeter travels directly to the ear, instead of reflecting off walls and ceilings and coloring the sound by reverberation from the surroundings. 

Smaller monitor size and sound pressure levels 

Another related issue with smaller studio monitors and mixing is ear safety. As already mentioned, large format monitors are used in high-end studios to “show off”, but the most critical listening is done in the near field, at much lower SPL levels. This is because sustained listening at high SPL levels can be very dangerous for long term hearing loss. Most professional mixing engineers are well aware of this, and since their hearing is their livelihood, they generally mix at lower SPL levels. This allows them to preserve their hearing, but also allows for longer mixing sessions. 

Larger the driver, farther the sweet spot (and visa versa) 

According to the cardinal rule: The larger the drivers in your system are, the further you need to sit from them to be in the “sweet spot” of optimum sound. Conversely, the smaller the monitors, the closer you can sit to them. This also makes it easier to adhere to the equilateral triangle listening position as you can space them nearer together without collapsing your stereo image. As explained above, the correct placement of smaller, near-field monitors significantly increases your ability to hear the direct sound from the drivers first. It also helps if your monitors are front-ported (as opposed to rear ported), like the Fluid Audio FX80 studio monitors. This allows you to place your speakers closer to the wall behind it without experiencing bass loading problems. This is much better if you’re in a limited mixing space because reducing early reflections and bass loading offer you a more accurate listening experience.