Home Recording Basics Ep. 02
Today we’re talking about proper setup of your studio monitors (speakers). This is important because it provides great bang for your buck: making sure your monitoring system is accurate gives you the ability to get the maximum result out of whatever level of equipment you currently have.
How should I set up my studio monitors?
Your studio speakers should be set up in an equilateral triangle, with each speaker at two points and your head at the third point.
Like so:
Don’t be afraid to break out that tape measure and make sure each side of the triangle is of equal length!
Additional tips on proper studio monitor setup
-don’t spread your speakers too far apart.
-Your speaker triangle should be centered in the room, firing down the longest axis.
-Place your speakers on solid, non-resonant surfaces.
-Quality speaker isolation pads with solid metal mass in their design (Primeacoustic, among others) do work. As do the fancy acoustic floor spikes on studio speaker stands.
The reason we’re doing this is to attempt to acoustically isolate the speakers from both the floor, and from the speaker stands they’re resting on.
Even more monitor placement tips!
-Position speakers with their tweeters slightly above your ears, firing down towards you at a 5-15 degree angle.
-Minimize placing objects between your ears and the speakers.
-If you have a computer monitor near your speakers, be sure to place the speaker cones in front of the monitor so they’re not firing directly into it.
-An angled studio desk will cause fewer acoustic issues than a desk whose surface is parallel with the floor.
Digital calibration of your studio monitors
If you’re lucky enough to have digital EQ and/or phase timing calibration on your studio monitors, calibrate them according to the manufacturers instructions. Genelec’s version is called the Smart Active Monitor system. Try not to be intimidated by the jargon here, these systems are actually very easy and intuitive to set up. This tech is becoming more and more common. Here’s how it works:
You get a calibration reference mic with your speakers, and place it in the mix position during setup. Software will then auto calibrate and adjust the timing of when signal leaves each speaker at the millisecond level, so that the signals from the left and right speakers both arrive at the mix position (your head) at the exact same moment in time.
Use this-it’s not a gimmick! Properly set up, digital calibration will noticeably improve the accuracy of the stereo field, and the sense of 3-D depth in the sound stage when you’re listening to music.
Subwoofer setup and calibration
If you’re setting up a monitoring system with subwoofers, the positioning and calibration of the subwoofer in your system is extremely important! Please don’t just throw your subwoofer up anywhere in the room randomly-this can lead to inaccurate bass response in your monitors, and inconsistent bass balance in your recordings!
Subwoofer calibration is something a digitally calibrated software system will help take care of for you, if you’re got that option. But, you can also do this calibration manually.
Subwoofer calibration can be complex, and we’ll leave a detailed discussion of the nuances for a dedicated episode. In the meantime, here’s some terms to google:
“subwoofer crawl”
“subwoofer crossover calibration”
Knowledge like this is the best way to get the most bang for your buck when building your home studio! And quality, curated knowledge backed by science, in an approachable format, is what we do here, and on our Patreon feed! Jump on in for maximum content!
