Is there any rules : distance between you and your monitors?

Hi,

I always see those studio pics that the distance between the producers/music makers and their monitors (speakers) are only few feet (3-4feet mostly). Is there any rules? Or can you share with me the proper distance? Mine is around 5 feet.

Cowby

Quick answer: ideally about 3-4 feet, but most importantly, closer to your head than to any walls -- ideally at least twice as close.

This is called "near field monitoring". The idea is that our rooms aren't perfect, so use small monitors and get close to them to minimize the effect of reflections and room modes/nodes. I suspect monitoring at relatively low volumes also helps avoid reflections & standing waves, but there are even more important reasons to do that so it doesn't matter if that's not a factor.

The ideal location for monitors is at head level, arm's lenght, in an equilateral triangle (same distance to your head as between speakers) and IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, not against the walls! If that's not practical in general (you need the room when tracking, etc), make your desk movable so you can pull it away from the walls during mix sessions. The speakers should be pointed directly at your head.

In addition, do what you can to avoid reflections off your desk. Raising them above the desk (e.g., using floor stands), using a small desk, and having lots of oddly shaped and soft crap on your desk all help there. (One of the few cases when there's a scientifically valid reason to be messy!)

I see a lot of pictures of home studios and the monitors are almost always against the wall, which is a complete waste of good studio monitors. The wall reflects and totally changes the bass response.

I wouldn't worry if the speakers are a bit farther (5 feet), as long as they're at least 5 feet from the walls. However, the ceiling and floor and desk matter too, and the closer you can get to the speakers, the less those other surfaces will matter. (The floor usually isn't a big factor because of all the other stuff in the way -- assuming that's the case.)

[edit to add] This is for studio work. For just playing keyboards and practice, use whatever works for you. If it sounds good, feels good, and looks good, then it is good.

What's even more important is mixing at relatively low loudness, to avoid ear fatigue, and to force yourself to make hard choices about what's important (at high levels you can hear more of everything and can let important material slip down in the mix where it shouldn't be). Some advise using consistant SPL levels, for example Bob Katz talks about using the MPAA's standard of 87dB SPL. He's a smart guy and it's rarely a mistake to follow his advice.

I say, use the lowest level you can manage, take frequent breaks, and crank it up and blast away just before a break (a, because it's FUN, and b, to hear stuff you miss at lower levels and avoid any problems at high levels -- but mostly because it's fun!)

PS: this thread would be better in Craig Anderton's forum here at HC, which is where we discuss studio stuff, and Craig is an incredible resource. What I said about Bob Katz applies to Craig as well.