difference between studio and hifi speaker

Many studio speakers were a bit scooped in the mid range just like Hi-Fi speakers. So it probably isn’t that.

I think it is mostly aesthetics and the fact that studios prefer two extremes of speaker - either a small near-field (at 3 feet) or a massive far-field beast (at 20 feet). The small near-fields go on a desk or meter bridge while the massive far-fields are usually mounted in a soffit for perfect bass response.

Studio speakers tend to be bass shy or lower Q than compared to most small audiophile speakers that are ported to sound big (with a big hump in the bass response). This is for accuracy as professionals don’t want to get the bass wrong because the speaker is emphasizing something too much. A speaker on a desk or meter bridge will get a bass boost. The trusty studio workhorse - the Yamaha NS-10 - only sounds flat when sitting on a desk otherwise it is bass light.

While the small near-fields are within audiophile budgets they don’t do so well when mounted on stands at 8 to 10 feet and the finishes are ugly.

The large main monitors are extremely bulky and ugly and may cost as much as an average audiophile home once installed with all the requisite studio acoustic treatment and design. This simply isn’t an option for most audiophiles. These are mostly used for bass checks or to impress clients who pay for the use of a studio facility.

Another factor may be time domain response or waterfall plot. The Yamaha NS-10 has a nice waterfall which means you hear less speaker coloration (warmth or nasal character). The sealed box means the bass group delay is very good too. All these factors add up to a more faithful reproduction of the source - warts and all.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-ns10-story

This research paper is also worth reading

https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/assetlibrary/n/ns10m.pdf

The NS10 are MDF. They are small portable and very accurate with a sealed box. The bass response will be interpreted as bass shy because of the roll off and the exceptional time domain response. They aren’t available anymore. 

Masking is is caused by loud low frequencies removing the ability to hear higher frequencies. The key to a sealed box speaker is the quality of the bass - it lets you hear more mid range. A typical audiophile ported speaker will mask the mid range due to the delayed bass response but the heavier bass can be pleasing to untrained ears.

@kenjit

  ”Atc used ported as well in some of their designs.”

Yes. They use ports on their larger models. The purpose of the port on large speakers is different than small ones. The goal is simply higher SPL and lower distortion rather than extended LF response. This means group delay in the bass is much better behaved than on a small ported speaker. Almost all of the very large high performance studio speakers are ported (designers from Tannoy, Urei, JBL, Westlake and ATC and many others use forward facing very large ports.)