With monitor control coming with the console or control surface in larger facilities, studios great and small working without a console still need control of their monitoring setups regardless. We look at six standalone options to check out for the mixer-less studio.

Why Bother With Standalone Monitor Control?

Monitor controllers make life easier, and for those working in the mixer-less studio some kind of control is essential in all but the most basic of setups. Having the following features at the engineer’s fingertips is different to having to tab into an interface’s mixer app to navigate to and click on the relevant control.

• Mute - the classic hard-stop button to kill sudden noise, re-patch inputs or to take phone calls.

• Dim - being able to turn down the monitors by a fixed, known amount the same amount every time is essential in level-calibrated setups.

• Mono - one of the most basic quality checks for compatibility on different systems. Many controllers allow polarity inversion of one channel for sides-only monitoring for stereo mixes.

• Reference - Being able to fly in different sources and reference mixes for comparison is an indispensable mixing tool. Having those references on the end of a button press is hard to beat.

• Alternative Speakers - Having a ‘B’ pair, or more pairs (or singles) of significantly different loudspeaker monitoring can be used for extra insight into the mix. Subs can be linked to stereo ‘satellite’ speakers as desired on many controllers.

Monitor Controllers - Anything Else?

Any controller sits in-between available audio inputs and outputs. On the input side, DAW main outputs, cue sources, as well as system sounds, and perhaps the odd minijack or bluetooth connections so beloved by artists and producers, can be selected and summed together where required. On the output side, this selection can be routed to different monitor pairs and headphones, with output switching available along with facilities to cut or dim the output or do quality checks such as for mono compatibility and polarity.

Not all monitor controllers are the same in terms of form factor and suitability for different types of work. For stereo work there are many, many choices, from inexpensive passive devices to top-dollar offerings. For surround there is still a range of choices as this sector of the market is mature but for Atmos the choices are rather more narrow.

• Standalone desktop monitor controllers see all inputs and outputs physically passing through them.

• Frequently the choice of pros, ‘rack and remote’ systems see dedicated rack mount I/O controlled by a conveniently placed remote unit. Increasingly, pro audio interfaces can also be controlled remotely to this end.

• Controllers for stereo, multichannel, and Atmos workflows require differing feature sets. Units such as the Focusrite R1 and DAD MOM for Avid MTRX/DAD AX32 support this functionality. Users of Genelec’s SAM monitors can control them directly using the company’s GLM software.

Here is our choice of six monitor controllers which illustrate the breadth of choice and the quality of what’s out there:

1 - The Networked One - Focusrite R1

With several Audio Over IP solutions to choose from, one of the most well-known is Focusrite’s RedNet line which makes tons of analogue cabling in multichannel work a thing of the past. As the remote for a system of controlled interfaces the company’s R1 desktop unit tightly integrates with an entire line of Focusrite’s networked interfaces. RedNet means this box can also pass headphone and talkback audio.

2 - The Virtual One - Sonnox ListenHub

While there are few engineers who don’t appreciate haptic control or the odd illuminated button, there are good technical and economic arguments for keeping all monitor control in the box. Not only does this keep the signal path as short as possible with potentially fewer audio connections, but also it can utilise existing hardware, be controlled wirelessly, and afford recall for different setups. Sonnox ListenHub heads up an increasing number of both monitor controllers and monitor speakers with the ability to host speaker calibration software downstream of the DAW. This neatly sidesteps the need to bypass calibration plugins when bouncing mixes, with virtual monitor controllers such as ListenHub making post-DAW audio plugins simple.

3 - The Band One - Audient Nero

No strangers to the large format console, Audient’s Nero controller distils the company’s console knowhow into the familiar desktop form factor. Transparent signal path with rock solid stereo imaging form the foundation, joined by sweeteners such as Smart Touchpoints for clever routing and customisation, as well as four high power headphone amps for band tracking. More unusual on this kind of unit is the digital input option. Forgoing the serving suggestions on the panel legends, this could easily serve as the main input from the DAW, freeing up other interface outputs for cue duties. You can find out more on this unit when we test drove the Nero back in 2021.

4 - The Specialist One - DAD MOM

From the minds of DAD (Digital Audio Denmark), the diminutive MOM (Monitor Operating Module) is a remote control for their DADMan routing/monitoring software. This in turn is the nerve centre application for those running Avid MTRX, MTRX Studio, or DAD’s own hardware such as the AX32 in either multichannel or stereo environments. Very high quality interface I/O renders a second stage of inputs and outputs redundant, and taking the path of least resistance is this neat remote-and-rack system that is in fact a ‘controlled’ interface with the DAD MOM at the engineer’s fingertips. Those with an Avid MTRX, MTRX Studio, who don’t own an Avid S4 or S6 to control DADMan with should take note. In his test, Production Expert’s James Richmond took the DAD MOM for a spin on music duties in his own studio.

5 - The Rackmount One - Drawmer MC2.1

Many will be familiar with Drawmer name, whose ubiquitous black-and-yellow-potted gates and comps have graced studios and live rigs alike for decades. In the digital era, the company have played to their strengths of excellent design and reliability to give the DAW generation a range of monitor controllers that will be working long after your £5k laptop is in the bin. With a recently added rackmount option, the MC2.1 is a 2U box with excellent technical specs that earns space in studio furniture at any level.

6 - The ‘Controllerface’ One - Fluid Audio SRI-2

While products such as Mackie’s Big Knob Studio, and SPL’s discontinued Crimson carved out niches as mid-priced prosumer ‘controllerface’ products, those on even smaller budgets had to wait for Fluid Audio’s SRI-2. This unassuming wedge-on-a-desk certainly has a few tricks up its sleeve, going one further than the esoteric pro options by putting the controls on the interface itself. Standalone, computer-less operation? Check. Dedicated A-B speaker switching? Check. Mixable true zero-latency monitoring with mix control? Also check. Bringing a taste of the big console centre section, those needing to record, mix, and run a few signals without having to turn on the computer or spend a fortune might want to check this one out.

Living Without Monitor Control

Mix engineers understand the importance of having unassuming controls such as monitor level control, Dim, Cut, And Mono to hand at all times. In the large format studio console tradition, these controls have always been found within easy reach of a centre section for quick checks or to take that phone call. In the mixer-less studio, monitor controllers afford these interactions, and in an era of doing more with less, their use can only increase.