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Author Topic: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?  (Read 3034 times)

Tim McCulloch

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Re: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2019, 03:41:00 PM »

Thanks for your replies, if it's that complicated to make the passive version work as well as the active one, then I'll focus on finding a deal on that.

Yamahas are also on my radar, for the sheer fact that they have a symmetrical build, so when getting a second for double monitor use I could put the tweeters together, but the price of one DXR is around that of two ZLX's, so at the moment way above what I can afford. If only folks were willing to sell them as singles... ;-) (talking about used market of course)

Hi Rado-

I wish I could get in a time machine and "fix" the whole 2 monitor thing.  If more sound radiating devices made things sound better, we'd have more mouths... but we only have 1 mouth.  We have 2 ears because evolution favored creatures who could determine the audible location of predators and other threats.  Convincing performers is another matter as they've usually got their minds closed and made up already.  Even demonstrating the audible superiority of a single source is not enough to convince them.  >:(

The way to get them to use 1 monitor is to charge extra for each speaker.  It works better than administering beatings!
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Robert Lunceford

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Re: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2019, 05:36:40 PM »

Why would you ever use two monitors?  There is a big thread on this however the cliff notes version is two monitors interfere with each other so they don't sound as good as 1 and actually don't play as loud due to destructive interference.
If two monitors interfere with each other and don’t sound as good as one, why do recording and mastering engineers use two near field monitors?
Do you use L/R FOH speakers or a single speaker?
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Rob Spence

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Re: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2019, 06:20:36 PM »

If two monitors interfere with each other and don’t sound as good as one, why do recording and mastering engineers use two near field monitors?
Do you use L/R FOH speakers or a single speaker?

First, recording engineers rarely have the same program material in both speakers since most recordings are made to sound good in stereo.

In live sound, most audience members hear one side of the pa more than the other and so the source is mostly mono.

When you hear more than one speaker at similar volume levels with the same material, you get comb filtering.
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Robert Lunceford

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Re: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?
« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2019, 03:05:56 AM »

First, recording engineers rarely have the same program material in both speakers since most recordings are made to sound good in stereo.

In live sound, most audience members hear one side of the pa more than the other and so the source is mostly mono.

When you hear more than one speaker at similar volume levels with the same material, you get comb filtering.
The most important part of the mix of a recording, the vocal, is typically panned up the middle.
I am not arguing that comb filtering does not exist or changes the audio. I just don’t believe it is as detrimental as some have stated. In the case of near field monitors or “Texas headphones” the left ear will not hear both speakers equally, it will hear more coming from the speaker to the left. And visa-versa.
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Chris Grimshaw

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Re: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2019, 03:11:55 AM »

The most important part of the mix of a recording, the vocal, is typically panned up the middle.
I am not arguing that comb filtering does not exist or changes the audio. I just don’t believe it is as detrimental as some have stated. In the case of near field monitors or “Texas headphones” the left ear will not hear both speakers equally, it will hear more coming from the speaker to the left. And visa-versa.

True, but now you're on HRTF (head-related transfer functions) and the whole thing gets messy.

IMO, a little stereo panning helps to pin the sound to the visible sources on-stage. Particularly beneficial if there's 2x E-GTR playing similar things. Makes it easier to mix, too. It's important to bear in mind where the audience is sat, though, and set the panning accordingly.

Chris
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Re: EV ZLX as monitor - sound quality of active vs. passive?
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2019, 03:11:55 AM »


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