Live Sound Monitors: Buying Guide

Expert Center > Buying Guides > Live Sound Monitors > Buying Guide

«Back to Buying Guide Menu

Monitors: Buying Guide

Live Sound Monitor Topics:
» Stage Monitor Types
» Benefits to In-ear Monitoring
» Types of Headphones
» What to Look For in a Monitor

The ability to hear yourself while performing on stage is priceless. It doesn't matter if you're the drummer or the lead singer, when you can hear yourself, you're more likely to stay in tune and stay in the pocket of the groove. This article is intended to introduce you to the various types of options available. As always, give us a call at 1-800-222-4700 when you have more questions about stage monitor types!

Stage Monitor Types

	Stage Wedge A wedge can be thought of as a regular speaker cabinet that's had its back cut off at an angle laid down on the floor. The angle allows two benefits. First, the sound points up at the performers head so that they can hear more effectively, and second, the low profile makes them unobtrusive so as not to block the view of the audience. One example of a great stage wedge is the Yamaha Club V SM12V. Stage wedges come in various sizes ranging from 10" drivers to 15" and beyond. Sweetwater sells wedges from Yamaha, Peavey, Samson, JBL, and others.
	Side-fill In stage monitoring applications side-fills are generally larger, full-range speaker systems placed off to the side of the stage. The purpose of side-fills is to provide the performers a more enveloping and well-balanced sound. This allows all performers to hear a good rough mix of the whole band, while still allowing for individual mixes to be provided for individuals at their position on the stage via wedge monitors. It is widely believed that the more full stage mix inspires better and more coherent performances among musicians. In past few years technology has made it possible to achieve a pretty full sounding mix at each position with relatively small wedge monitors so side-fills have begun to be used less. An example of a great speaker for use as a side-fill is the JBL JRX125 which is a dual 15" unpowered PA speaker. If you need something smaller, the Peavey PV 115 is a good choice.
	Stand Mounted As the title implies, these are much smaller, unobtrusive monitor cabinets that can be mounted on a mic stand and placed closer the performer’s ear for better intelligibility and less overall sound pressure on stage. A good example of popular stand-mounted monitors are the Galaxy Hot Spots.
	In-Ear-Monitoring (IEM) The concept of in-ear monitoring is actually quite simple. Introduce a high-quality signal to the musician’s ear, a signal that allows the user to clearly hear the mix at any chosen volume. Originally only used by top touring professionals because of the costs involved, in-ear monitoring has been around since the mid 1980s.

Benefits of In-ear Monitoring

Shure PSM 700 Series
In-Ear Wireless System

The benefits of in-ear monitors to the musician and engineer are immediately apparent: better sound, improved stereo imaging, less vocal strain, protection against hearing damage, portability, increased gain before feedback and lowered on-stage volume.

Reduced Stage Volume = Clean Mix
IEM systems are best known for their ability to reduce stage volume. When each band member hears vocals or instruments through wedges and instrument amplifiers, competitive monitoring (individual band members turning up to hear themselves better) often results in a loud stage. This has the effect of muddying the house mix and causes excessive overall volume as the sound engineer is forced to turn up the mains to compensate for stage levels.

Rack it Up, I'll Take It
A well-thought-out IEM system can replace the speakers and amplifiers in a monitor system with a single rack of equipment. Besides protecting your hearing against high sound levels, IEMs offer other advantages, such as improved and consistent sound quality and reduced feedback. In addition, you can easily bring an IEM system to every gig and rehearsal; pre-adjusted from the last time you used it.

Hands-on Control!
Another advantage of IEM is use in conjunction with self-monitoring systems such as those by Aviom and Hear Technologies. This enables musicians to control their own monitor mix on stage. The artist can have any mix he/she desires at any volume. Singers can independently increase their voice's volume and separate it from the band mix reducing voice fatigue and the risk of hearing damage. This also gives the engineer better isolation because loud stage monitors bleed into adjacent microphones which can muddy the overall mix. For smaller venues and bands without the luxury of a separate monitor engineer and console, it frees up the FOH mixer from having to send a number of separate cue mixes.

Types of Headphones

Headphones can be defined in terms of how they fit on your ear and/or in terms of the "open-ness" of their designed structure. In the end, headphones are much like studio monitors in that while the following information is intended to help you decide what type of headphone might be right for a given situation, personal taste still prevails. In other words, if they sound good to you, and they feel comfortable, use them!

	Circumaural "Around the ear". Circumaural headphones encircle the ear, and provide a good seal. Such earphones are usually comfortable to wear, provide good isolation, and result in a consistent sound from one wearing to another. Bass extension is excellent with this design since a very good air seal can be made against the head. Sennheiser's HD 280 Pro is one example of a circumaural design.
	Supra-Aural Used in reference to headphones. Supra-aural phones rest "on the ear," rather than enclosing the ear. Supra-aural phones typically are lightweight, and because they do not seal around the ear, tend to not provide good isolation. Response may vary depending on the precise positioning of the earcup. Bass extension may suffer inasmuch as a good air seal cannot be made. Audio Technica's ATH-M3X is an example of a set of supra-aural headphones.
	Open Air When referring to headphones, the term "open" means that the headphone remains open to the outside. Open air headphones are usually more comfortable than their closed air counterparts, but they do allow sound to leak in both directions. This means that sounds from the outside can get in, potentially making it difficult to hear the headphone signal, which is of particular concern with drummers or anyone who is monitoring near loud sound sources. They also allow sound to escape to the outside, which can become an issue in recording sessions. For example, a singer's headphone mix may leak into the vocal mic enough that it can be audible in the final recording, or at least to the extent that it effects the tonality of the final mix. For these and other reasons, open air headphones are not often used in recording situations; however, open air headphones are often preferred for general listening and/or audiophile listening applications. The DT 990 Pro from beyerdynamic are excellent open air headphones.
	Semi-Open As seen with AKG's K240 Studio headphones, semi-open headphones combine the best features of both closed or sealed headphones and open air designs with relatively few or none of their disadvantages. Through careful attention to the control of resonances, a surprisingly realistic stereo sound field is developed, coupled with low distortion and extended low frequency response.
	Closed (or Sealed) In this type of design the headphone forms some type of a seal around (or in) the ear. The purpose of closed ear headphone designs (in contrast with open air designs) is to provide isolation between the headphone signal and the outside world. This benefits users who are trying to monitor signals in loud environments. They also help keep headphone signals from leaking out and possibly corrupting a recording by leaking into mics, etc. The disadvantage might be that after hours of wear, ears tend to fatigue rapidly. Sony's MDR-7506 are an example of popular Closed earphones.

Despite the recent buzz about in-ear monitors leveling the playing field, ultimately, there is no one tool that renders others obsolete. Just as a musician's physiology determines instrument choice and playing comfort, personal preference and need are factors in determining whether a wedge, side fill, stand-mounted monitor or in ear monitor is right for you.

For example:

Backup singers who need to hear themselves clearly as well as the rest of the chorus would find it invaluable to have in-ear monitoring for staying on pitch and blending with the other vocalists.

A drummer and bass player's performance would benefit from hearing and feeling the beat pumping on stage.

Keyboard/synth players might benefit from a stand-mounted monitor to hear themselves cut through the mix.

An acoustic pianist or other acoustic musicians whose instruments play in a lower or wider spectrum will benefit from a larger full-range speaker.

The goal is to find the right monitor system that is best suited to your individual playing needs and comfort, and the individual needs of your ensemble members as well as the FOH (Front of House) mixer.

Summary

Good monitors are essential to a good performance. If you have to fight the music to hear yourself, your frustration will translate to the audience. If you are unsure about which monitoring system or combination of systems will best serve your music, then the wisest course of action is ask your Sweetwater Sales Engineer, who is experienced in configuring live sound systems. Call us at 1-800-222-4700 for more information.