Can You Use Regular Speakers as Studio Monitors?
Yes, you can use regular speakers as studio monitors, as long as you learn how they color the sound. Yamaha's NS-10M started in 1978 as a consumer hi-fi speaker and became a studio standard, per Yamaha's monitor history.
What you lose with regular speakers
You lose a published measure of accuracy. The Genelec 8030C is specified at 54 Hz to 20 kHz within plus or minus 2 dB. A consumer spec that lists only a range, with no tolerance, says nothing about bumps in between.
| Check | Why it matters | Studio monitor example |
|---|---|---|
| Response with a plus or minus tolerance | Shows how flat it is | Genelec 8030C: plus or minus 2 dB |
| Low end at minus 3 dB | Bass below it is guesswork | Yamaha HS8I: 47 Hz |
| Rear bass cut switch | Tames bass near walls | Yamaha HS: 2 or 4 dB below 500 Hz |
Those measurements predict how a speaker sounds: Sean Olive's AES paper built a model that predicts listener preference from objective measurements, tested on 70 loudspeakers across 19 listening tests.
How to compensate
- Set tone controls flat. Turn off bass boost, loudness, and sound modes.
- Pull them off the wall. The Yamaha HS manual suggests at least about 5 ft (1.5 m) from walls and corners, since a nearby wall exaggerates bass.
- Mix against reference tracks. Match the bass and vocal level of two or three commercial songs in your genre on the same speakers.
- Check on headphones. Studio headphones reveal low end below what small speakers reproduce.
- Test elsewhere. Play your mix in a car, on earbuds, and on a phone.
Passive pairs need an amp, explained in active vs passive studio monitors. Upgrade picks are in the best studio monitors for home studios.
Related questions
Can I use bookshelf speakers as studio monitors?
Yes. Passive bookshelf speakers need a separate amplifier, so you run the interface into the amp and the amp into the speakers.
Can I use computer speakers as studio monitors?
Yes, with bass boost and sound modes off. Check every mix on headphones and in a car too, so the bass doesn't surprise you.
Are studio monitors better than speakers for mixing?
Yes. Makers such as Genelec publish response with a tolerance, plus or minus 2 dB on the 8030C, so you know what you're hearing.
More answers: Home recording FAQ