Pro engineers are used to gear that makes it fast and simple to control speakers and headphones. This needn’t be the preserve of just the big studios, and with the right gear even the small studio owner can ditch the mouse and get hands-on with their monitoring. We outline the advantages.

Zero Latency Tracking

Whether you are working out of a domestic space, or from a large multi-room facility, all studios currently have three choices when it comes to getting cue mixes to the artist.

The first is to create headphone mixes in the DAW, and to rely on the speed of the computer and the interface’s driver. The faster these two factors are, the lower the amount of distracting delay is introduced to headphone mixes. While many pro interfaces now can offer the kind of numbers that will avoid ‘that’ conversation with the artist about delayed headphones, at present those on smaller budgets with slower machines will realistically need another way.

The second, for those with the budget, are the DSP based solutions that still promise perhaps the most elegant way for artists to hear what they’re doing at the same time as they’re doing it. While the often quoted feature of DSP-sourced headphone mixes is their ‘faster than air’ latency, perhaps the biggest bonus is the DAW-only workflow. With this convenience comes added cost.

The third solution is to use a hardware mixer for true zero-latency headphone mixing. The good news here is that whether you’re working out of a world-class room on a ten foot monster console, or using a simple DAW/Input mix knob on a desktop interface, you are using the same method. For the home studio artist, buying an interface with one of these unassuming mix controls waves goodbye to headphone headaches for very little cash.

Extra Speaker Pairs

Using extra monitor pairs in the control room is the well established setup that affords engineers a wider window on the mix. While smaller studios might not have the same amount of space to accommodate extra speakers, many solutions out there will fall within budget allowing something with the quality and footprint to match their needs. All that is needed then is a way to switch between them.

Many small interfaces have four outputs on the back, but the means to utilise them varies. In lieu of a dedicated A/B button, the engineer can get creative with DAW routing, or use a hardware or virtual monitor controller. For some engineers, having real buttons is hard to beat, and having the ability to flip-flop between pairs with their eyes closed is right up there with the car stereo test… Better still, an interface with hardware switching between two monitor pairs will increase your desk space as well as your bank balance.

The Hybrid Solution

Using an interface such as Fluid Audio’s SRI-2 offers another approach, which is to offer simple interfacing and monitor control built-in. What is interesting is that this unit can be used as a standalone monitor controller in its own right thanks to true analogue mix and monitor level controls as well as a hardware relay for A-B speaker switching. With standard 5V USB powering, it offers viable mobile or studio control downstream of another interface, keeping users’ upgrade options open.

What About Dedicated Controllers?

When it comes to external monitor controllers, the engineer has plenty to choose from. These can offer anything from simple passive input and output switching paired with a level control, right up to remotely controlled multi channel rack mount units accommodating music and post mixers alike. For the small music studio however, the needs might be far fewer. For many, a simple two or four input box with connections for two pairs of monitors alongside some level control will do the job nicely.

While getting a small dedicated controller will inevitably offer functionality that surpasses that of a combined interface and controller, there will be tradeoffs. The added cost of putting another box inline of your monitors might not just be a financial one, as there is a good argument to keep the path between your DAW and your ears as short as possible. Added to that is the small question of space, as a dedicated controller can easily double the amount of gear taking up desk space that could accommodate the next shiny toy…

Thankfully the small studio has a lot of options available, and of those, finding the right small interface with monitor control could be the thing that outlasts a lot of the other things convincing us to part with our hard-earned cash.