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Post subject: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 7:05 am
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Them new studio monitors that I see came out listed at the top of this forum,are they some thing we can tie into our Passports or no?


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 7:54 pm
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Louis8 wrote:
Them new studio monitors that I see came out listed at the top of this forum,are they some thing we can tie into our Passports or no?


Good question! I don't have an answer, but Sweetwater has them in stock for $600! :shock: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PassStudio/

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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:04 pm
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Electronically, you can patch between the Stereo Out port on a Passport and the stereo input port on the Studio Monitors, though mechanically, the studio monitors are really designed for a studio. I read the manual and they recommend that you put them on a desk, table, or shelf near face height.

They are not really set up as floor wedges, and they are not made to put on a mic stand or a speaker stand. Maybe putting them on a chair close to you would do the trick, but they don't really seem to be designed with the stage in mind.

I like the portability. I'm sure they sound great. I'd hope they are rugged enough to take feedback without damage. Studio monitors tend to be designed more for precision of sound reproduction than they are for feedback and other common stage abuse. There's no grate on the speaker, for instance. You can easily touch (or kick) the speaker; something that happens a lot on stage, but not in a studio. So not having a grate on the speakers is common for studio monitors, but not for stage monitors.

So, I expect that they are great for what they are, but I'm not sure they really are intended as stage monitors for live performance.


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 10:31 am
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I know that the Passport isn't really ment for serious band usage, but you'd think they would provide outputs for a pair of optional powered monitors. They've got a sub out but no sub. :?

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One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 1:02 pm
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Passports have a monitor problem. The design of the Passport is clearly intended for musical venues where the performers can have the speakers behind them, to the sides enough to not feed back into the mics, but close enough that the performers are using the mains as the monitors.

The Stereo Out port is primarily useful for headphones. I used this when working for a choir of about thirty women in a very resonant church with mics several yards away from the singers. I used headphones to ride the levels, cutting back as feedback gave its first warning tones, so it could be as loud as possible without feedback.

It's also useful to patch two or more Passports together. I have a 300 and a 500, and I often link them to give me four speakers for better treble distribution in sub-optimal venues.

To some extent, I've outgrown the Passports, but I don't regret the investment. I learned a lot using them as designed. When I needed a separate monitor mix, I got an external line-level mixer and now I typically use the Passports just as power amps and speakers. The sound is good and the package is compact for storage and transport. The 15 pound speakers are incredibly easy to mount on a speaker stand, and they sound great.

The compact, active speakers I'd need to buy to replace the Passports are quite expensive and would require AC power cables strewn around the stage, and would be less convenient to haul around. Even as I outgrow the original design, they remain a foundation around which I've built my sound system.

Just because I'm getting into parametric EQ, delay (for mid-hall speakers), and wireless controllers, so I can wander around the hall while adjusting the sound doesn't imply that I somehow now need more watts or cleaner sound than the Passports have always provided.

I have one annual gig that needs more watts, and I just borrow a couple of active speakers from a friend to add to the pile of gear, and I'm covered. I'm still thankful to Fender for coming up with such great gear for me to get started with.


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 4:51 pm
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I hear ya, ContraCaller, I've priced a Yamaha board: EV powered speakers; monitors, and subs at $4,500- $5K. And that's what would be considered an 'economy system'.

Fender's Bose clone is interesting, but at a grand a pop how many would you need to equal 1KWatt??? Fender doesn't say how many watts. Neither does Bose. Call them on the phone and they become very defensive. They will not divulge their wattage. Effe Bose.

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2018 Rumble Studio 40 Combo
2016 Rumble 200 Combo
One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:20 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Obviously, Bose started this trend of not revealing watts, so that when Fender clones the Bose, they don't want to talk about watts, either. It would put them at a marketing disadvantage if one revealed watts and the other didn't. Instead, they use Bose's artificial measurement of how many people it's supposed to serve.

Riiiiiight.

Anyway, the new Fender pole-and-bass-base system and the Bose system it imitates don't offer any monitors, either. The intent of the Bose design is that each musician buys one of their expensive units and puts it behind them, and with enough feedback-killing electronics inside, it's as if the sound were coming acoustically from the musician. In theory.

Bose has always been all about treble distribution with a little high-excursion bass kicked in. The treble impresses you so much that you don't notice the lack of bass. Their whole line is like that. So, without bass, their wattage is remarkably low, since bass requires more wattage. They have a characteristic sound that a lot of people like (even though the bass sucks).

Since most PA systems have a more balanced sound, they require more wattage, so Bose doesn't want to mention wattage. They claim that their systems are more "efficient" than anybody else's. Well, when you filter out all the bass, you get a LOT of volume out of a very small number of watts. So, Bose never talks watts.

Since Fender is claiming 300 people, that implies their system is aimed at the Bose L1, which lists for $500 more than the Fender Expo. Bose doesn't even tell you how many speakers are in the system, let alone how big they are...

This is getting off topic. I'll post another message about Bose L1 vs. Fender Expo. I see the Fender as being more flexible for future expansion.


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:57 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Okay, back to the topic of the Passport Studio speakers. What are they really for?

Well, the thing *I* want them for is to plug them into my Apple Airport Express's 1/8" stereo line out port and turn on AirPlay on my iPad or iPod Touch or iMac and suddenly, I've got a great 150 watt home sound system. As long as the sound source and the Airport are within WiFi range of each other, I'd have great stereo sound wherever I want it, and I can wirelessly pick out the play list wherever I am.

I have enough tracks to last a couple weeks without repeating. What's not to like?

Of course, I have to talk my wife into accepting the price tag. That's the one speed bump. Might be a brick wall. We'll see...

Or if somebody is into gaming, plug it into your computer or console. Or if you want to rock out while you sit at your computer, nothing beats this. Anywhere you have a headphone jack or line out ports, this is your whole sound system. For a home, it's loud and strong.

Pros may like it for portable studio work, but really, if a pro wants it for a studio, think what it would be like in your living room or bedroom. And it's portable, so you don't really need to make up your mind. One AC plug for the speakers and one for the Airport, and it's not tied to any other hardware.


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Post subject: Re: About the new studio monitors
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 9:09 pm
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Well this clearly answers my questions and for sure some thing I can't use and won't be buying.I can see my self piggybacking an other 500 though if I out grow the halls I'm playing now.


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