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Choosing the right monitors is critical to the essential home studio. We compared three pairs of reasonably priced monitors costing between $1,000 and $1,500. All three models are powered speakers, so the amplifier is included.
We focused on their sound and found that each model has its “colour” or “tone.” Keep in mind that your ears will get used to any decent model and you can learn to work with any of these. For the comparison, we used a variety of classical and jazz including Miles Davis, Jordi Savall, Anner Bylsma and Ensemble Arion (see list below).
Left to right: Focal, Genlec and Neumann studio monitors (Photo by Karim Blondy)
Focal Alpha 65 ($1,060)
The Alpha 65s by Focal, a French brand popular among engineers, are the least costly in this test. Despite being the biggest speakers, they don’t have more bass than the other two, but rather, the Focals have the best and most natural bass regardless of the music played.
Overall, they have a fun and exciting sound; the stereo field is wide and there definitely is a “wow” factor when listening to them. Focals probably have a boost in the high-mids that creates this exciting sound, but this may also cause ear fatigue and make the speakers somewhat aggressive. After an hour of listening, I realized my ears were growing tired of this hyped sound.
When listening to music recorded in a large space, the Alpha 65s really bring out the sound of the venue so the reverb in the music really comes out. However, in the Jordi Savall recordings where the reverb is already very present, they seemed to go overboard making the reverb a bit too present. With Anner Bylsma’s cello suites, the hyped sound did not work either as it brought out unpleasant cello artifacts, but on other baroque recordings the Focals restored the fine details and subtleties of the recording. The depth of field in these speakers was great and was particularly noticeable in the mono Miles Davis recordings; despite the monophonic sound, the Focals rendered plenty of depth which was missing with the other speakers. www.focal.com
Neumann KH80 DSP ($1,400)
The KH80s, by German microphone manufacturer Neumann, are much smaller and don’t sound as spectacular as the Focals. They sound a little stuffy or boxy when listening to bass-heavy jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood. This may be due to their open bass-reflex ports, commonly found on small-sized speakers to increase their bass response but may cause resonances at certain frequencies resulting in this boxy sound.
The Neumann were my favourite on Anner Bylsma’s cello suites as the speakers’ (over)emphasized mids brought the music nicely to the front and the reverb was clearly audible. The bass was nicer here than in the Focals. In a recording that already has plenty of reverb, mids and highs, the KH80s sound a bit aggressive and did not flatter Jordi Savall’s music either; not only was the sound stuffy/boxy, but the mids were also slightly aggressive. This was not the case on a Telemann recording that is probably more balanced; the speakers brought out the details nicely. On the mono Miles Davis recording, the speakers had a nice depth and the highs seemed to open up the sound, almost to stereo. The band felt close, in your face, possibly because the mid-highs in the Neumann felt somewhat similar to those in the Focals. www.neumann.com
Genelec 8020 ($1,500)
Finnish manufacturer Genelec makes monitors that are ubiquitous in the professional studio world. Their 8020s are the most expensive speakers in this test. They are similar in size to the Neumanns but sound darker than the other models tested. Listening to Medeski Martin & Wood, it became apparent that the 8020 and the KH80 were pretty similar, but the 8020 had less highs—unfortunately, to the point where the cymbals and reverb almost disappeared.
Similarly, with the Jordi Savall recording, the reverb was almost lost; the instruments felt as if they were in the room with me rather than in the huge hall audible in the other speakers. The Telemann recording sounded a bit bland (but natural); however, the harpsichord did not cut through the mix, due to the lack of highs. With Anner Bylsma, the cello was far in the back and slightly boomy, and the Genelecs did not really flatter the music. Not surprisingly, the Miles Davis mono recordings sounded mono and thin; the band was a bit far and all stuck together in a ball. Because there is no wow factor and the highs are not over-emphasized, the 8020s are probably the most natural sounding and the least fatiguing of the three, but may make everything sound dull. www.genelec.com
Recordings used
– Medeski Martin & Wood: Friday Afternoon in the Universe
– Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
– Jordi Savall, Pedro Estevan: La Lira d’Esperia
– Arion Ensemble: Telemann Tafelmusik
– Anner Bylsma: Bach Cello Suites
Thanks to Studio Economik for the use of their listening room. www.economik.com
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
