Fran Ashcroft – Over, Under, Sideways, Down…

Fran Ashcroft: Over, Under, Sideways, Down

I was asked, why do some engineers like to have NS10s on their side and others prefer them upright?

This is not something I’d consciously thought about before, but it’s very simple – turn them on their side and there’s more room to put your cups on the top. No,not really. It’s all down to how we perceive sound, isn’t it? We’re all individual in what we like to hear when we work – loud or quiet, bass heavy, bass light, near or far..a lot of factors are involved. I’m generally an upright speaker man, but not exclusively; in one studio I use a pair of Tannoy dual concentrics, sideways, bass cones inward, and they’re accurate enough at low volumes – for me. Swap them for the crappy nearfield Reveals, I’d be completely lost – though I’m assured some people like them (who?).

The world of modern self powered nearfields has become predominant for the majority of people now, and I’m sure it makes sense and gives them the sound they understand and want to hear. But they’re wildly inaccurate and inconsistent – ok if you’re an owner operator perhaps, but totally useless if your facility has a variety of engineers and producers in and out. Which is why we ended up with NS10s as a de facto standard…they tend to translate reliably in almost any environment. Limited as they are – a very compromised mid range to say the least – so many studios bought them, they became the yardstick that other nearfield monitors are measured by.

It’s been forgotten they were never intended to be accurate in the first place; they were a merely a representation of what a mix might sound like on the radio, superseding the abysmal Auratones of the late 70s. What was supposed to be a quick second point of reference became the listening norm, which is bizzarre when you think about it. But it fits in with my theory that as technology “improves” the fidelity (or shall we say “attractiveness”) of sound deteriorates by the same amount – i.e. mp3s as a consumer choice. Probably because digital generally sounds so naff, it doesn’t make much difference anyway if you file compress it to destruction.

Hence the recent resurgence of vinyl – even if only to audiophiles. A small market maybe, but it is fast becoming the choice of many smaller indie labels, releasing limited editions to combat freebie download dominance. Some listeners, it seems, are still willing to pay for the “vinyl experience”, and the almost mystical sense of physical ownership it imparts. “The Ultimate Format?” runs the theme of a recent Daily Telegraph piece.

I wouldn’t argue with that.

Fran Ashcroft’s website