Thanks for the explanation. That was really helpful. Another question, what do you mean by flat frequency response? How do you tell when a speaker has a flat response? What other kinds of responses are there (sharp? live?)? Does this have to do with how "wide" or "narrow" the sound projection is coming out of the speaker? And while we're at it, could you please explain what "nearfield" means exactly?
Thank you for taking the time. I feel like Alice going down the rabbithole, learning all kinds of new things since starting this project.
I'll oversimplify a tad, but....
Sound is made up of frequencies measured in cycles per second (Hz) or how many times the driver of the speaker moves back and forth making sound. I.e. An audio signal with a frequency of 1000Hz (1kHz) undergoes 1000 cycles of sine wave (think of rolling waves in the ocean, that's how a sine wave looks).
Frequency response is the amplitude (how much) as a function of frequency.
A speakers job is to reproduce recorded sound, so it should make the same amount of sound at every frequency.... when you graph the frequency versus amplitude on a graph, if the response is even, then it looks "flat" like a table top.
Speakers intended to be studio monitors, like yours, generally have 'flat' response. This is because when audio is mixed, the studio will overcompensate by the inverse of loudspeaker or equipment deficiencies. Meaning, if there is too much treble, the sound engineer will turn down the treble in the mix... but then when they are played outside of the studio other speakers, there won't be enough treble! The studios job is to make a good sounding mix on neutral/flat speakers, then if people want to EQ it after the fact they can (or their speakers can by their nature).
High end speakers generally also go for flat frequencies response, whereas mass market speakers tend to have a little bloat in places to make them sound 'better.'
How wide or narrow sound coming from a speaker has to do with its design and purpose. A speaker intended for fill loudspeakers in a club, for example, might be designed to have a very wide pattern, whereas a home audiophile speaker might have a narrower dispersion.
Nearfield monitors tend to be a bit narrower (I say 'tend' because I'm generalizing), because the idea of a nearfield monitor is to sit close to them (or 'near the field of sound' I guess you could say). The idea of sitting close in a studio is that if the sound hits your ears first, before the room, you'll hear more of the direct sound and less of the colored sound of the room. Like in my little "studio" I can reach and touch my monitors from the seated position.
This is especially helpful in project studios, but big studios use them too. The advantage of a bit of a narrower dispersion is that sound gets reflected off the walls later in time, perhaps in an easier place to use absorption and farther in time from where your trying to hear to mix, and the opposite ear hears less of the direct sound. Larger theaters typically have speakers with a bit wider of dispersion because that enlarges the 'sweet spot' ... or where imaging (how well you can place the sound) is good. Nearfields tend to have a bit of a tendency to cause you to have to keep your head very centered to have good imaging, but now I'm overgeneralizing (and rambling..are you still reading?
) so I'll stop.
As far as learning, don't get a discouraged... have fun and learn as you wish. You have an awesome start, enjoy it. As you listen more, and hear more speakers and different rooms, you'll start to become able to hear differences among speakers. Its a mixture of learning and experience... but, the most important thing is fun and enjoying the music and movies!
