What speakers/monitors do you use while editing?

R

robfilms

Veteran
Still working on modifying my current edit work space.

I wonder what speakers/monitors others use while editing?

I look forward to read what folks use.

Be well.

Rob
Smalltalk.Media/NYC
 
I monitor everything I work on through a pair of Mackie HR824's.

They are self powered 8"-driver studio monitor and at about $800 each they are not cheap, but long ago I got tired of missing things in the audio. I insist on an audio monitoring set up that ensures there will be no surprises when the work is played back on the various speaker systems that people have.

I have the subwoofer that matches the set, but after working on them for the first year or so I found I didn't 'need' the subwoofer to still nail safe and correct low-end.
On rare occasions if there is something really dramatic in the audio - like an explosion or other loud full-range sound - I'll kick on the subwoofer to make sure there's nothing there that would overload a large playback system or cinema system. But the HR824's themselves almost always show me enough of what's going on.
 
I'm using M-Audio BX8 D2 speakers and Beyerdynamic DT150 headphones. Both connected via a MOTU 828mk3 audio interface.

The M-Audio monitors were a surprise. Back when I still had a recording studio I used Genelec monitors. When I was buying new ones I was comparing all the ones I could afford to Genelecs. None really compared favourably so I though "I might as well buy the cheapest" so went for the BX8s as I kinda liked the sound of the BX5s they had for testing. They are surprisingly nice considering the price! They have a bit too much noise and hum for near field monitors though. But overall they are good, even though I'm expecting them to break down at any time ;)

http://www.m-audio.com/products/view/bx8-d2
 
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Before you make a decision based on this wide swath of suggestions:

Do you mix your own audio in the NLE?
Do you mix your own audio in a DAW program?
Are you simpy looking for a basic solution for editing, and then sending your audio to a post facility?
If you're mixing your own audio, do you have a properly-treated room for these monitors?

If you aren't looking for accurate mixing monitors, in other words if you're just editing and then sending your audio off to someone else and you don't have a room that's been treated for accurate monitoring, then something like the M-Audio AV-40 can be great.

If you're mixing your own audio, though, you need to treat your editing room AND to invest in something more accurate.
 
I had the PreSonus Eris E4.5 in my cart at B&H, but they were making me wait a day to check out, because of a holiday. So I looked around again and got the JBL LSR-305s instead. They are less than I had thought they were, just $100 each. Plus at B&H all 27 reviews are five stars. At Amazon, there are 261 reviews, and the only bad ones are by people who thought they ordered two speakers but instead got just one.

The USB audio interface that I ordered is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. The brand sounds cheap, but it's British, with a reputation of excellent microphone preamplifiers. It has two XLR microphone inputs as well, with phantom power, in case you want to record narration or an interview at your desk.
 
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robfilms said:
nate-

i'm looking at the jbl lsr305s.

do you send you speakers straight into your nle or thru a mixer?

what about other-straight into nle or into a mixer?

thanks in advance.

be well.

rob
smalltalk.media/nyc
Click to expand...

Hi Rob,

I have them hooked up though a USB interface (a Scarlet 2i2 I think) that acts as the input/output for the computer. I'm not a pro at this, but I'm not doing anything heading to the theaters so I'm happy with my setup and feel like I'm getting adequate results. Better than iMac internal speakers that's for sure!
 
Nate Haustein said:
Hi Rob,

I have them hooked up though a USB interface (a Scarlet 2i2 I think) that acts as the input/output for the computer. I'm not a pro at this, but I'm not doing anything heading to the theaters so I'm happy with my setup and feel like I'm getting adequate results. Better than iMac internal speakers that's for sure!
Click to expand...

the scarlet 2i2 looks interesting (and affordable!)

but i was thinking of using my sound devices mixpre-d as the hub.

audio out from mac to xlr ins on the mix pre-d then xlr outs to jbls.

i'll have a clean pre amp, plenty of gain control and access to a headphone to monitor.

thoughts?

be well.

rob
smalltalk.media/nyc
 
Most people use an audio interface like say a MOTU Ultralite or something from RME or Focusrite. Using an SD MixPre-D will of course work. For monitors I have been using Adam A7 with an Adam Sub 8 but many of the previous suggestions are excellent in my view: Mackies, Focal, Yamaha powered speakers. Really you should preview them in a local music store. Most of these are carried in larger music outlets or at least the modern equivalents. You have to live with the sound so you should preview them with material you are extremely familiar with.

Don't overlook headphones. By going back and forth between near field monitors (like most mentioned) and decent headphones you get a good sense of range in sound and headphones are good when you can't have audio blaring at 2 am in your home studio. Sony 7506 and Sennheiser HD-25 mkII are common headphones in the video and location sound biz.
 
i did purchase the jbl 305s and have them set-up with my imac.

i have been taking the headphone out and splitting the signal by using a 3.5mm to xlr cable to connect to the jbls.

the sound has been very good.

the mids and highs are really good.

i could engage more of the low frequencies by employing the switch on the back but that might be preferable for listening to music rather than monitoring for an edit.

i did also purchase on black friday the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 but have not used it or the mixpre-d as the front end.

aside from having headphone access and a mic in port available, i'm not sure what it could do to improve the sound of the jbl 305s.

i am quite pleased.

ymmv

be well.

rob
smalltalk.media/nyc
 
robfilms said:
i did also purchase on black friday the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 but have not used it or the mixpre-d as the front end.

aside from having headphone access and a mic in port available, i'm not sure what it could do to improve the sound of the jbl 305s.
Click to expand...

The TR5 speaker outputs on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 are balanced, like XLR. So the cables will have no noise --- although at such short cable lengths I don't know whether I would hear much difference.
 
You can spend a fortune buying audio studio reference quality monitors and then spend another fortune doing sound treatment of your room that you're editing in. I'm not knocking this approach for the pro audio guys, but it's a different standard than what most semi-pro, budget pro, or pro's who aren't doing the final sound mix are going to need (or be able to afford). If a sound treated room and reference monitors are what you're looking for then head over to one of the audio forums and see what those guys recommend. If you're a little more budget minded then there are still some good options out there that won't completely break the bank.
If you're getting desktop monitors you should steer clear of the ones that are bass heavy, like the KRK Rockits. They're not bad exactly, just that they're not going to give you an accurate representation of what you're editing. The Genelecs are good, but for me I went with the JBL LSR305 since they checked the boxes for clarity, accuracy, and cost. $300 for a pair.
If you have a Guitar Center shop nearby you should stop in there and listen to them.
 
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