Recording monitors with deliberate response errors perpetuate the circle of confusion

Evidence

An interesting fact is that the B&W 802N is found in some high-profile music recording facilities and scoring stages. Some recording engineers believe it to be especially useful for classical music. It has been said that the sagging output around 3 kHz is compensation for excessive brightness in strings—the result of placing microphones above the violins where they project energetic high frequencies that are not heard in that proportion by live audiences (Meyer, 2009, figure 4.1). If this is the case, the remedy is to equalize the signal, not to use monitor loudspeakers with a compensating error, thereby contributing to the circle of confusion. In any event, this is a non-neutral loudspeaker being used in situations where neutrality should be a requirement. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 248

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ‘circle of confusion’ concept of loudspeaker-to-recording compatibility; relevant to the reader’s interest in how physical stimuli cause perceptual outcomes in recording practice.
• QUESTION: Meyer 2009 figure 4.1 is cited for the microphone-above-violins brightness claim — worth chasing that source for the actual frequency data on string over-brightness.