Help with monitoring decision - Studio Monitors or FRFR Speakers

    Hey guys, I mostly just play my unpowered Kemper in my home studio and I mostly use it for two things:


    • To record ideas (setup: Kemper à Digi 003 Control Surface via SPDIF)
    • To play along to tracks or to come up with ideas (setup: Laptop and Kemper (monitor output) à Roland KC350)



    My question is – Will I be sacrificing anything if I setup the laptop, Kemper, and my Nord keyboard to go through a mixer to a pair of Alesis M1 monitors? Or, am I better off getting an FRFR speaker (preferably not one with unnecessary 1000W of power) for this application?


    Some considerations:


    • Would this put too much wear on the Alesis M1s?
    • Any risk in doing this?
    • Any risk in leaving the Alesis M1s on for too long or reproducing poor quality audio at times (think noisy YouTube audio)



    Thanks!

    Alex

    No risk to the M1s by mixing multiple intruments into them; that's what they're designed for.


    No risk leaving them on for too long. Just make sure things don't get ridiculously-hot in your room so that the monitors' natural heat dissipation isn't impeded.


    The only possible "sacrifice" is that a dedicated FRFR box will allow you to play the guitar louder, but seeing as you're used to using the M1s, I can't see any downside. Why spend all that extra dosh unless it's necessary, which it isn't?


    HTH

    I consider a FRFR type speaker a PA speaker and would only get one to play at volume ie to a crowd or with a drummer. At home, I use a small pair of active monitor speakers; they have multiple inputs so have the Kemper, USB interface and videos/songs blaring through them. They also have a headphone socket, so I can use them to sum the lot for late night sessions.

    For sure, and if you do end up pushing them harder in future to the point that you can hear distortion, maybe with live e-drums, keys and guitar, for example, you could then upgrade to something more-powerful. The sky's the limit when it comes to studio monitors, as your wallet will learn if it hasn't already.


    That said, there are plenty of powerful-and-cheap(ish) models on the market, so if or when you need to step up a notch, it shouldn't break the bank.