Monitors without built-in speakers

quote:

I rather like the notion of not paying for a speaker I'm not going to use, and certainly wouldn't want to spoil the sound being fed into the hi-fi system.

I hardly think the speakers in the monitor are going ruin the sounds any more than the PS in the PC and for said monitor..

It used to be said that any additional transducer in the near vicinity was enough to spoil the sound; I wonder if this is no longer the case.

Where possible the screens that I have always used have lacked speakers; even with the large one speakers were removable, allowing a much neater installation. Small screens for PC and AV systems are the very tidy Samsung Syncmaster type.

It just seemed to me in this area things are not improving.

I seem to remember at one time that Ivor was telling people to get TVs, phones, radios etc out of the listening room but it doesn't get mentioned much now. It was never practical for me to do this so I've no idea if it did make a difference. At the time it seemed by no means the daftest idea going round and I could just about see the logic behind it.

I looked into this a few years ago for the same reasons as you. Some of the larger plasma screens seemed to have detachable/optional speakers but other than that it was only professional broadcast standard monitors, with prices starting at around £2000 for a tiny 15" screen! Basically I think the Linn idea of no extra speakers in the room has pretty much died a death. It never seems to get mentioned anymore and it is certainly not practical for most people, especially if integrating a 2 channel and surround av set-up, when it is impossible! It is an idea that is perhaps best regarded as old hi-fi folklore, much along the lines of the days when all turntables and amplifiers sounded exactly the same and only the speakers influenced the sound!
As for neatness, I find that TV's with the speakers at either side of the screen look the worst. I use a Samsung and the speakers are totally concealed on the underside of the cabinet, so it actually looks as though it doesn't have any.

Looks like we are stuck with the redundant speakers. However, I'm going to make my minimalist screens last as long as possible and, when I'm forced to make a replacement, get one of the tidy jobs to which pjl refers.

I have to admit that I have never heard the sound collapse in the presence of an additonal speaker; just as well with the centre speakers which will be switched off in systems being used in 2-channel mode. The only thing which caused such a deterioration for me was an alarm clock battery placed between the two speakers. At the time I thought I might be going crazy, but verified it in a blind test with a friend.

Thanks for the replies.

quote:

The only thing which caused such a deterioration for me was an alarm clock battery placed between the two speakers. At the time I thought I might be going crazy, but verified it in a blind test with a friend.

Just an alarm clock battery? No other type of battery?

In my recent browsing for Pioneer screens (I'm not buying yet) I found that I could buy the screen without the speakers as well as buying the screen with detachable speakers. I hope you find the same.
Regarding the sound issue: The key is to not have other UNDriven speakers in the room. The surround and center channels can still be controlled by a power amp (turned on) even if you're only listening to two channels. The sound quality of the system is degraded by other transducers in the vicinity, as I've found through demonstration as well as trial and error. Cell phones, as well as others, are demonstrable examples.
Good luck\
Mark

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
Just an alarm clock battery? No other type of battery?

Yes, no other battery anywhere near. Once the sound was back to normal I was happy and did no further experiments, but I do keep all the remote controls well away from the speakers.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark Gilbert:
In my recent browsing for Pioneer screens (I'm not buying yet) I found that I could buy the screen without the speakers as well as buying the screen with detachable speakers. I hope you find the same.
Regarding the sound issue: The key is to not have other UNDriven speakers in the room. The surround and center channels can still be controlled by a power amp (turned on) even if you're only listening to two channels. The sound quality of the system is degraded by other transducers in the vicinity, as I've found through demonstration as well as trial and error. Cell phones, as well as others, are demonstrable examples.
Good luck\
Mark

Thanks for the tip, will investigate Pioneer screens further. With the sound issue, I suspect that how close undriven speakers are is important. I have found that I can't detect any change in sound if one is on the opposite side of the room to the driven pair. I'm afraid that I'm not willing to spend lots of time investigating this, but I tend to follow the advice if it is widely accepted and the music sounds right.

Best wishes from Ears

You guys must have better ears/gear than me,because I can't say I've ever noticed the effect of a mobile phone or un-driven centre/ rears in the room. I would have thought having centre/rear amp switched on,many of which would have PPS to be more detrimental. I should say I have not done any specific listening tests to try these scenarios.

Some brands (e.g. Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, Sanyo and others) have separate consumer departments (tv: mostly all-in-one solutions) and professional departments (monitor: screen, speakers, tuner, all separate parts). Sometimes they have different beamers too. You'll probably want to take a look at the pro-models.

I have noticed, that the pro series in the past where often not up to date with the specs. of consumer series ("new" features like full HD resolution, HDCP copy protection, 24p, ect.) But I haven't take a look recently.
Probably because they do not have as much model changes in the pro series? They are often built more solid for rugged treatment and for running through 24h/7days a week. Sometimes they come with special warranty and fast exchange in case of a failure. This makes them more expensive - but they should keep their value better over time...

happy watching
Adrian

Thanks Adrian, I'll continue the search.

Un-driven speakers do make a difference, did a test with two medium size speakers in the room, I put them together drivers facing each other with minimal separation then separated them and a definite difference could be heard.

However I've not noticed anything with phones or other small speakers.