At last, here it is, my studio monitor speaker shootout. For those of you who don't follow me on any of my social media channels, I will fill you in. Last year I built an audio post-production sound studio in my garden. Well, to be strictly accurate, I paid other people to build a sound studio in my garden. I didn't need to buy a whole load of extra gear as I had already been working from home a few years, however, the new studio was a lot bigger than our spare bedroom, and my Genelec 8010s just weren't going to cut it. I now had a bespoke soundproofed and well-treated room here I could now play things LOUD. Whoop whoop!

Of course, my first thought was to just get some bigger Genelecs as they are what I've been used to at home (plus the studio I used to work in also used Genelecs) – I could also potentially use my current speakers as rears and minimize my costs when I eventually upgrade to 5.1. But I thought I should spend some time researching and reading reviews of other brands just in case.

After hours of internet browsing, I soon realized that although there are speakers that are clearly better than others within the same brand, and some brands that are favored by bigger professional studios, it wasn't quite as black and white as I had hoped. Speaker choice truly is a personal preference thing when it comes to the difference between various professional audio brands.

Magazines/reviewers/professional audio engineers I respect sometimes had polar opposite opinions **cough ** Genelecs **cough** Marmite **cough**.  It also became clear that the room can hugely impact your opinion of the speakers, and therefore it is always preferable to try them in your own space. This would also make it easier to do a true comparison, keeping all variables the same.

Long story short, I posted on LinkedIn and Twitter asking my connections and followers what speakers I should try out on loan and I was really surprised at the huge response I got! I went through every comment, made a note on how many times each speaker came up, and read reviews and tech specs on all speakers people recommended. I ended up with a list of about 11 that I wanted to try based on these posts/reviews, but I had to cut the list down – 11 is a lot to try to do a compare and contrast!

The List

 The list I settled on was:

• Focal Solo 6be

• Genelec 8340a SAM

• Dynaudio LYD 48

• PSI A17

• Neumann KH310

The distributors who loaned me their speakers also added to my list:

• Focal Shape 65

• Dynaudio Core 7

Before I get into the trickier side to the tests, let’s look at the facts.

Technical Specifications And Pricing

Prices: The street prices are from SXpro.co.uk. You can shop around and find a variety of prices, however, SXpro was one of the few sites that sold all 7, so I chose their prices to try and make the price comparison fairer. The prices are excluding UK VAT.

Brand new, direct from official brand distributors may be different. We have also listed the MRSP in US Dollars, less taxes.

Obviously I'd rather not spend over £1,500 per speaker if I don't need to – but if I feel I like the speakers considerably more than the others, then I may well stretch my budget as they are a long term investment for my business. It just means that I will have to wait a while before upgrading to 5.1, and may even need to rent the other speakers for a bit. I don't currently have a lot of 5.1 work from home though – but with the new studio, who knows what work I'll be bringing in so I need to take this into consideration now.

Frequency Response: The speaker's frequency range – how low or high they can go. The range is quoted at the frequency at the point the frequency response curve drops 6dB from the 1KHz figure unless otherwise stated.

For example, the Focal Shape 65s are only specified at their +/- 3dB points and the Focal Solo 6be frequency response is not specified on the manufacturer’s spec sheet.

Also, note that the bass extension enabled the LYD 48s frequency response range is 40Hz to 21KHz

Max SPL: Sound Pressure Level. This is essentially how loud the speaker can go.

Crossover Frequency: The crossover frequency is the frequency at which sound transitions from one speaker to another. (Woofer to Tweeter, or Woofer, to Mid, to Tweeter.).

Functionality And Back Panel Settings

Genelec 8340A

The settings on the back are as follows:

• Bass Roll-Off: -2 and -4

• Desktop 160Hz: -4

• Bass Tilt: -2 and -4

• Treble Tilt: +2 and +4

• LED Disable: Different colours and states of flashing indicate different things/potential problems, so you may not want to disable this.

• ISS (Intelligence Signal-Sensing): On or Off: This is essentially a power-saving standby mode. The default time for ISS activation is 60 minutes, but can be adjusted in GLM (Genelec Loudspeaker Monitor - more on this later)

• Digital: A and B: Their manual explains “The Digital switch selects the digital audio channels on the AES/EBU. Turning both switches on reproduces the sum of the A and B channels. A 6 dB of attenuation is applied to avoid overloading the monitor. If the AES/EBU cable is operated in dual-wire mode, the monitor detects this automatically and the channel selection switches have no effect.”

• Level: -10db and 20db: Essentially an additional volume control, combining with the rotary level adjustment, increasing the gain staging and therefore control.  The combined total setting range is 42 dB

• Stored: On or Off: If you use Genelec's own GLM software to measure the frequencies and calibrate your speakers, you can save the settings to the speakers themselves, not needing to route your DAW or computer output, or remember to open an application. If you used STORED, the setting override all other DIP switches; they do not work in conjunction with each other.

• GLM Network: Ethernet connections to connect to both the GLM adaptor (which connects to your computer) and for connecting to another speaker for the calibration process.

• Digital and Analogue In

• Digital Thru: Basically an Output socket, for connecting to other speakers.

The switches themselves are a bit fiddly to adjust, being so tiny, especially in situ (in my setup anyway), but the idea is you set them once and leave them so it's not a deal-breaker.

The winner in the DSP Settings section is the Genelec 8340A

Focal Shape 65

• Low-Frequency Shelving: From 250Hz: -6dB to +6: Focal suggest a negative setting when the speakers are placed close to a wall or corner

• Low Mid Frequency EQ: At 160Hz: -3dB to +3dB: A negative setting is suggested when speakers are placed on a table, console bridge or any other support that causes reflections.

• High-Frequency Shelving: From 4.5kHz: -3dB to +3db: Focal's manual says “We advise that you adjust it to +2 dB when the acoustic of the listening room naturally attenuates this frequency range (acoustically dead environment). We advise you to adjust it -2 or -3 dB when the acoustics of the listening room naturally increases this frequency range (bright environment).”

If you like measuring your room and adjusting to suit the frequency curves, the clarity of functionality of each knob is very helpful. Not as quick to set up as some of the other speakers that have “wall” or “corner” specific settings, but these give you a lot of control which I like. I did, however, find that the knobs being larger than others, and very loose, meant that they were easy to accidentality alter when moving the speakers around. I had to readjust some of them once my speakers were in place, which in my room was slightly awkward.

Focal Solo 6be

• These, like the Shapes, have the option for RCA input connection. Control-wise, there are just 2 adjustable parameters. HF (High Frequency +/- 3dB) and LF (Low Frequency +/- 6dB). Simple, but effective.

Dynaudio LYD 48

• Sensitivity: -6dB, 0dB and +6dB: This is basically the input volume. Dynaudio's manual suggests if you are using a professional interface with a max output of +20dBu or more, then a setting of -6dB on the loudspeaker is the most appropriate. If you are using equipment that runs at a consumer or domestic output level (-10dBV nominal), then the +6dB setting is better.

• Bass Extension: +10Hz, 0Hz and -10Hz: This adjustability of bass extension is in relation to 50Hz. Note that extending the bass to -10Hz reduces the maximum volume output, +10Hz increases maximum volume.

• Sound Balance: Bright or Dark: This represents a Tilt filter of 1.5db (for eg, Dark boosts bass frequencies down to 20Hz, and cuts up to 20kHz, on a tilt).

• Position: Wall and Free: Dynaudio suggests you use 'Free' if your speakers are placed more than 50cm from a wall. The 'Wall' setting for closer speakers helps with anomalies created by reflections coming off the back wall, especially in the lower frequencies. Specifying 'wall' is helpful to those who may not know exactly which frequencies are affected by being close to the wall and don't have to figure out which frequencies to adjust.

Neumann KH310A

• Acoustical Controls: Comes with a handy frequency curve diagram like the Focal Shapes. This shows that the Bass and Treble settings are shelving EQs rather than High or Low Pass filters.

  • Bass: 0dB to -7.5dB

  • Low Mid: 0dB to -4.5dB

  • Treble: +1dB to -2dB

• Output Level (dB SPL at 1m)

  • SPL level: 114, 108, 100 and 94

  • Input Gain: 0db to -10dB

 Having output and input gains gives you more control over your gain staging and maximum volume.

PSA A17

• Level (Audio Output): 0dB to -20dB (Set to 0 for maximum SPL)

• Roll Off: 0dB to -10dB

This is to control the boundary effect caused by the speaker position. PSI suggests -4dB for what they call “half-space position” (near a back wall) and -7db for corner (quarter-space) placement. This is just for a stereo setup, these settings would need to be adjusted if a subwoofer was added to your configuration.

The PSIs only have one EQ control unlike some of the other speakers. Yes, they pride themselves in being very accurate speakers, but as we have seen from my frequency curves, the room plays a huge part in what you will be hearing. More adjustable settings would be a welcome feature on the PSIs.

Dynaudio Core 7

Lots of settings which is great, but one thing I didn't like about this back panel was the power switch. I would have preferred this to have an “Off” setting, rather than just On or Standby. I want to use as little electricity as possible when not in the studio – I know it's minimal, but when you work from home, every little helps! Other DSP settings are:

• Bass Extension

  • Full – to be used under normal circumstances.

  • HP (High-Pass) – when integrating a separate subwoofer

• Sound Balance:

  • Bright: 20 Hz -1,5 dB, 20 kHz +1,5 dB

  • Neutral

  • Dark 20 Hz +1,5 dB, 20 kHz -1,5 dB

• Position 1

  • Anechoic: When speakers are on stands behind the workstation, in well-treated rooms, so long as the monitors are not closer than 50 cm from any wall or ceiling.

  • Desk: When speakers are placed on the desk (obviously); this includes on the meter bridge on mixing consoles.

  • Soffit: When the monitors are built into the walls of the listening room.

• Position 2

  • Free: When the speakers  are placed further than 50 cm from any wall surface

  • Wall: When placed within 50cm of a wall

  • Corner: When placed within 50cm of a corner

• Analogue Input level: 0bBu, +4bBu, +18bBu and +24dBu: Depending on the maximum output level of your mixer, interface, or monitor control system, you can choose a setting that optimises the gain staging into the monitor.

• For example, if you are using a professional audio interface or console with a max output of +24 dBu, set the input sensitivity to +24 dBu.

• SPL: 88dB, 96dB, 100db ad 118dB.

• Analogue and Digital In

• Digital Out: For daisy-chaining other speakers

• Word Clock: The only speaker in this shootout to have a Word Clock connection. When using the AES digital input, it may be necessary to synchronise the digital clock using a word clock signal. The Word Clock connector on the Core monitor should be used in this case to receive a word clock signal that is derived from the AES audio source. This will ensure that the internal clock of the Core monitor is running exactly in sync with the AES audio signal source.

Frequency Response In My Studio

I used Sonarworks to measure the frequency response of each speaker in my studio. Before I show you the graphs, I should say that at the time of measurement, my room wasn't 100% finished. I hadn't put up all the ceiling panels, I didn't have my acoustic seals on the inside door and I hadn't figured out the ideal speaker and bass trap positions etc, so no judging!

I measured all the speakers with their basic “default” settings. I then tested some of them a second time with some of the settings adjusted.

If you're not sure what you're looking for, ideally you want the graph to be flat. This would be a truly “flat” response, with the room not altering the source sound, adding any colourations, and it is the most accurate to the true source sound. In reality, a completely flat response is very rare, even with the most well-designed room, and most accurate speakers (unless in an anechoic chamber!). These graphs show the frequency response of the room and speakers combined – basically what the microphone (or listener) is hearing.

As you will see from the graphs, my room clearly has more issues in the low-mid to low frequencies, than the higher frequencies. There is a dip at 100Hz – most likely caused by Speaker-Boundary Interference Response(SBIR).

SBIR can't be fixed properly by frequency correction software. Speaker placement and acoustic treatment (mainly bass traps in this instance are the key to fixing this.

I also have a peak at around 160Hz, which is usually due to speakers being placed on a desk (which is odd, seeing as mine are on very expensive speaker stands with shock absorbers on top! Genelec supplied their own custom stands and I had the same issue). Plus my room is quite boomy in the low end it seems.

I will play around with placement etc another time to make the curve as flat as possible, but for now, all the speakers will have these nulls and peaks in frequency so I am going to compare like-for-like.

Frequency Response Conclusions

As someone who works mostly in Film and Television, for my dialogue work, I tend to often EQ two key areas in the spectrum – low mids between around 150Hz and 350Hz to remove any muddiness in the 'meaty' area of the voice, and between around 2KHz – 4KHz to help with the 'Presence' and improve clarity; the latter being important range for intelligibility.

It is crucial that these areas are as accurate as possible so I don't over or under EQ them. Consonants also live in this range, so I need to be able to able to listen out for any erroneous sounds in these frequencies so that they don't ruin the clarity of the consonants. I also want accuracy in my higher frequencies over 5KHz up to maybe 10 or 12KHz for sorting out any horrid sibilance. I don't want the de-essers overworking themselves and negatively affecting the brilliance of the sound.

Now here comes more opinion based observations:

Aesthetics

Not that it is that important when choosing speakers to some, but if you like two speakers the same amount from their sound and accuracy etc, then the way they look, may help in the decision making. It might also be more important to you if you are expecting to have lots of visitors/clients. I plan to have more clients for reviews, voiceover sessions, and even maybe dry hire my studio, so actually, the way it looks is quite important to me (as you will see when I eventually get round to taking some professional photos of my studio!) In order of my least favourite to my favourite looking speaker, here is my opinion on their aesthetics and I am going to list them in reverse order…

7th Place - Dynaudio Core 7

Although not cheap looking, there is nothing in their design that makes me think “oooo”. They look like regular rectangular speakers. They are also very big. They are the tallest of all the speakers and just looked too large for my studio.

6th Place - Genelec 8340A

As I mentioned before, Marmite. For our non-brit readers, this is referring to the old Marmite advert, which had the tag line, “You either love it, or you hate it”. Now I do not by any means hate the look of these. I actually don't believe Genelecs are as ‘marmite’ as the internet led me to believe. I don't really have a reason for this placement. I don't think they look as expensive as some of the others, even though they are pricier than some! Perhaps it's the material of their casing? And the curves just aren't my cup of tea – I like a bit of a curve, but these are a little too much for me. An advantage to their unusual design, however, is that any of your clients who have been to some professional dubbing theatres, even the non-audio clients, will instantly recognise the Genelecs and know they are good quality, even if they can't tell exactly which models you have. Something that can't be said for many other speaker brands.

Equal 4th Place - Neumann KH310

What I like about the Neumann speakers is the curviness of the speaker domes, in particular, the waveguide of the tweeter. There isn't anything that overly stands out to put these higher up the list though, despite really liking the look of 3-way speakers.

Equal 4th Place PSI A17

The ones I have borrowed are black so, similarly to the Core 7s, are a plain rectangular design. However, they are very compact, which I like, and suit my studio. If you refer back to my table at the beginning, they are the lightest together with the Focal Solos.

Plus if I were to get these, I would 100% go for the signature purple versions, or “studio red” as they call it, which is why they are higher up my list. Anyone who knows me knows I like colour. So for me, the purple ones look pretty swish, a bit different (which I like) and to my eyes make them look even more expensive.

They also come in white, and you can even get bespoke colours, but this can get very expensive on top of what are pretty expensive speakers. I do like the shape around the woofer more than the Cores.

3rd Place - Focal Shape 65

Focal's new lower budget Shape range have an unusual design and would be instantly recognisable in any studio with their curved tops and brown wood look. They are slightly more trendy looking, and I could imagine a lot of young music producers putting these in their studios. That being said, I do think they look a bit less expensive and therefore potentially less professional than the rest. I like them though but I always like things that look a bit unusual.

2nd Place - Dynaudio LYD 48

As I said before, I love the look of three-way speakers in general (if my studio was bigger I would have tried the Focal Twin or Trio 6be rather than the Solos purely for looks!)

Why are these placed higher than the Neumanns? A subtle design feature, but if you look closely at the outside edge of the LYDs, you will see that the side of the front panel is not a straight vertical edge. This is a design carried through the entire LYD family. This slight variation on the standard rectangular monitor design is one that really stands out for me, for some unknown reason.

I also like the look of the tweeter – it's a bit unusual. The original colour for the LYDs are actually white, which surprised me – I haven't seen many people with white ones. Every studio that I have seen online that does have the black versions, however, they are music producers' studios. So maybe they are just a bit more 'cool' (which admittedly I am not).

1st Place - Focal Solo 6be

As with the Shapes, Focal's Solo 6be speakers look a bit different to most speakers, with their signature red veneer side panels. Not only are they colourful (very me) but they have a wood pattern on them, which I think looks really classy. They are also pretty compact, slightly bigger than the PSIs but weighing the same. The silver around the domes themselves is quite different and stand out too. I love the look of these speakers and the rest of the range from Focal.

How Do They Sound?

 Ok, enough about things you can find on the internet, HOW DO THEY SOUND?

For that and to find out which pair of speakers won you will have to come back at the same time next week. No binge-watching the series online. Just like the old days, you have to wait a week to find out what happens in the second and final episode.