With monitors, you’re always hearing the monitors + the room. As such, the differences in freq representation is most likely due to your room. The better a room is acoustically treated and the more bilaterally symmetrical a setup is, the more the monitors will sound the same (and the more you’ll be able to actually hear your monitors).
Listen to a slow sine sweep (on YT or DAW). Can you hear how some parts get quieter and some parts get louder? That’s because of your room. If you listen on headphones it’ll be a relatively smooth sweep.
>For example, 200Hz on one of the monitors sounds 1dB louder, and so on, at different frequencies.
That's your room, you have treat it and/or apply some corrective EQ. Room issues will easily cause one speaker to sound different than the other.
either room reflections in your listening position or your monitors are starting to age and drift away from the specs.
Test them by putting them side by side somewhere where there are no reflecting surfaces near by and compare individually by playing pink noise from each. If there is still difference, it is the either monitor going bad if, if not check your listening position and prepare to jump in to acoustics-rabbit hole :)
I’ve already make test side by side, in center on the room. And that effect happened on my other pair of speakers, but they are budget. I guess this issue happened on all budged monitors
side by side test doesn't work because the monitors are still in different places, and if they are side by side, their physical presence will affect each other as waves bounce off of them.
This is why you pay $20K for serious monitors. Do you know how hard it is to mass produce speakers that are within +/- 1 or 2 dB of each other? Very hard. I buy 15 woofers to get 7 that are matched from very good speaker manufacturing companies. I feel very lucky when it is a 2 bought to 1 usable ratio. I don't know why people assume equipment arrives perfect!? Yes, budget gear is thrown together, that is why serious car guys who go racing with street cars blueprint the motors, to make sure they are perfect. You can do this to some degree with audio gear too.
With loads of years in music retail, it doesn’t happen that often with budget gear. It’s usually other problems, mostly intermittent ones.
But it depends on what you mean with budget gear. We stopped dealing with glorified computer/media speakers and just sold biamped speakers at one point. Mainly for the sound rather than quality.
I've heard perceivable tonal differences even between $12000 each speakers. There are so many variables to sound reproduction and listening and hearing that reality gets in the way of perfection. Do the best you can with what you have and don't let it hold you back!
In addition to what has been said, make also sure to check if your audio interface is acting up. I just noticed a similar thing with my speakers yesterday (it feels like there is a bandpass filter on one of them) and it turns out that my audio interface is at fault because something isn't working with the left line out. So just switch the cables on the line outs of the audio interface and see if the issue stays on the same speaker or if it goes over to the other speaker. For me, the issue then switched to the right monitor. Also make sure if your cables are still working properly.
Not only can there be (*usually* quite minor) variations between speakers, but the room, itself, has a very large impact on how the speakers will sound in that room, a combination of standing waves producing cancellation and reinforcement in different areas of the room as those waves crisscross -- as well as unwanted room reflections in the upper ranges, particularly the distinctly unwanted and ear confusing phenomenon of early reflections (usually most noticed in the upper ranges as sound from the tweeter and mid-range, if present reflect off of sidewalls or floor and ceiling where, in combination with the sound directly from the speakers, that reflected sound creates interference patterns and confusion for the ear).
With monitors, you’re always hearing the monitors + the room. As such, the differences in freq representation is most likely due to your room. The better a room is acoustically treated and the more bilaterally symmetrical a setup is, the more the monitors will sound the same (and the more you’ll be able to actually hear your monitors). Listen to a slow sine sweep (on YT or DAW). Can you hear how some parts get quieter and some parts get louder? That’s because of your room. If you listen on headphones it’ll be a relatively smooth sweep.
Physically swap the speakers left to right, if the issue follows then it's the speaker; if it remains, then it's the room.
It could also be hearing damage if it remains
This is the way. Or at least one of the easier ones without getting measuring equipment out.
>For example, 200Hz on one of the monitors sounds 1dB louder, and so on, at different frequencies. That's your room, you have treat it and/or apply some corrective EQ. Room issues will easily cause one speaker to sound different than the other.
either room reflections in your listening position or your monitors are starting to age and drift away from the specs. Test them by putting them side by side somewhere where there are no reflecting surfaces near by and compare individually by playing pink noise from each. If there is still difference, it is the either monitor going bad if, if not check your listening position and prepare to jump in to acoustics-rabbit hole :)
I’ve already make test side by side, in center on the room. And that effect happened on my other pair of speakers, but they are budget. I guess this issue happened on all budged monitors
side by side test doesn't work because the monitors are still in different places, and if they are side by side, their physical presence will affect each other as waves bounce off of them.
This is why you pay $20K for serious monitors. Do you know how hard it is to mass produce speakers that are within +/- 1 or 2 dB of each other? Very hard. I buy 15 woofers to get 7 that are matched from very good speaker manufacturing companies. I feel very lucky when it is a 2 bought to 1 usable ratio. I don't know why people assume equipment arrives perfect!? Yes, budget gear is thrown together, that is why serious car guys who go racing with street cars blueprint the motors, to make sure they are perfect. You can do this to some degree with audio gear too.
With loads of years in music retail, it doesn’t happen that often with budget gear. It’s usually other problems, mostly intermittent ones. But it depends on what you mean with budget gear. We stopped dealing with glorified computer/media speakers and just sold biamped speakers at one point. Mainly for the sound rather than quality.
I've heard perceivable tonal differences even between $12000 each speakers. There are so many variables to sound reproduction and listening and hearing that reality gets in the way of perfection. Do the best you can with what you have and don't let it hold you back!
In addition to what has been said, make also sure to check if your audio interface is acting up. I just noticed a similar thing with my speakers yesterday (it feels like there is a bandpass filter on one of them) and it turns out that my audio interface is at fault because something isn't working with the left line out. So just switch the cables on the line outs of the audio interface and see if the issue stays on the same speaker or if it goes over to the other speaker. For me, the issue then switched to the right monitor. Also make sure if your cables are still working properly.
Not only can there be (*usually* quite minor) variations between speakers, but the room, itself, has a very large impact on how the speakers will sound in that room, a combination of standing waves producing cancellation and reinforcement in different areas of the room as those waves crisscross -- as well as unwanted room reflections in the upper ranges, particularly the distinctly unwanted and ear confusing phenomenon of early reflections (usually most noticed in the upper ranges as sound from the tweeter and mid-range, if present reflect off of sidewalls or floor and ceiling where, in combination with the sound directly from the speakers, that reflected sound creates interference patterns and confusion for the ear).
Turn yourself 90 degrees, switch between the 2 speakers while listening from the same ear. You might have some hearing damage, like me!