Audio Monitoring

Jaime Toruno · November 1, 2008

:D Hi everybody, I am new at this editing thing, I have concentrated more in Directing and Writing, any way I am trying to cut a short that I shot, :huh: 2 questions, I have final cut studio 2 and was wondering what speakers would be good for editing. :unsure: Also I shot the footage on a JVC 110u in HD with 24p but I turned in the camera and was not able to download the footage so the second question is what would be the best way to download the footage to my external hard drive. :unsure:

Any recommendation is appreciate :rolleyes:

Thank You all!

Jaime.

Saul Rodgar · November 1, 2008

The sky is the limit when it comes to speakers, just like any other pro application. Some people really like the smaller, affordable M-Audio self powered speakers for editing. I have a pair of KRK's that I really like.

Hal Smith · November 2, 2008

Listening environment is critical for intelligent mixing. Don't use a hard room like a small office with a tiled floor. Remixing is best done in a space similar to the one that the final product will be viewed in. One absolute no-no is don't listen sitting up against a wall, get out in the center of the room where there are no reflective surfaces close to your ears.

I'm personally partial to JBL monitor speakers. I have a Dolby Surround setup with 1212/15's for screening and have several pairs of Control 5 monitors for utility use. Pro JBL's have a very consistent sound across different models. I do have a pair of classic Dalhquist DQ-10's in my living room system with small JBL's for surround and center. There's an "airy" quality to DQ-10's that's very unique and quite pleasing.

One additional thought: It's always a good idea to listen to any final mix in mono on a small speaker. If the intelligibility is still there on a small mono speaker you've probably got a mix that will work anywhere.

Paul Bruening · November 2, 2008

Hey Hal,

You might find this interesting: I've got a pair of Jensen, active piezo speakers in my viewing/living room. They're about 35 years old or so. I had to have the woofers re-coned about five years ago. The circuit boards and piezo plates are still good. They sat in my dad's closet for about 25 years, unused. They sound amazing. They're slightly weakish in the mids but stunningly crisp in the mid-to-highs. If I lose the boards or the piezo plates, I guess it will be game over on them. I can't find any replacement stuff for them. I feel confident in saying that their fidelity and clarity were way in excess of vinyl technology. Digital, 16 bit audio is rendered very well on them. I think they are the best speakers that I have personally experienced even with their slightly under-represented mids.

Hal Smith · November 3, 2008

You might find this interesting: I've got a pair of Jensen, active piezo speakers in my viewing/living room. They're about 35 years old or so........................

Yah baby! They are goodies. A technician who worked for me a gazillion years ago when I was in graduate school and managing the shop at Musicraft in Chicago went on to open his own very high end stereo store in Chi town. I dropped by to visit him one day and he had a pair of Jensen piezos with a bit of support from an equalized pair of KEF 105's to help the Jensens going on some Chicago Symphony master tapes he had borrowed. Absolutely incredible sound, one of the few times in my life that I've heard a recording that really did sound like the real thing. I fell in love with DQ-10's when I heard a friend's pair playing the first Roches CD. Have you ever heard that recording on a good system? It's the closest thing I know to an auditory version of Cinema Verite'.

Paul Bruening · November 3, 2008

I fell in love with DQ-10's when I heard a friend's pair playing the first Roches CD. Have you ever heard that recording on a good system? It's the closest thing I know to an auditory version of Cinema Verite'.

These folks?

http://www.roches.com/

Hal Smith · November 4, 2008

These folks?

http://www.roches.com/

That's them.

Steve McBride · December 5, 2008

When your doing your equalization, use your two levels meters on the right side of the timeline (standard workspace Ctrl + U). Also, look into getting a nice set of headphones. I use a pair of Beyerdynamic headphones and I love them. I've used some sets that get very annoying and uncomfortable after 30 minutes to an hour of working with them on, but with the Beyerdynamic headphones I can go hours and I'm still comfortable :) .

Paul Bruening · December 5, 2008

When your doing your equalization, use your two levels meters on the right side of the timeline (standard workspace Ctrl + U). Also, look into getting a nice set of headphones. I use a pair of Beyerdynamic headphones and I love them. I've used some sets that get very annoying and uncomfortable after 30 minutes to an hour of working with them on, but with the Beyerdynamic headphones I can go hours and I'm still comfortable :) .

Comfort. Very good point, Steve. I've got a Roland RH-50 on each of my edit stations. They're comfortable and good bang for buck. Though, they never end up on anyone's favorites list. I had to have the same listening device on all of my machines. You know how crazy it is to mix equipment types in a facility. I could get a bunch of them for a good price.

Steve McBride · December 5, 2008

Yeah. The headphones I have, DT-770, get mixed reviews all over the place. But I just love them.

Hal Smith · December 7, 2008

Mixing with headphones can be a bit dangerous. When you're listening on headphones, you will not notice an amount of reverberation (room echo) that can be much more reverb than is acceptable when playing the tracks back in a room or auditorium with natural levels of additional reverb.

Paul Bruening · December 7, 2008

Hey Hal,

But it keeps family members from strangling you when they've heard the same tracks a hundred times in a row. I keep a variety of speaker types on hand to test the audio under as many of the possible outputs as I can anticipate. I've even got a crummy 12", mono speakered TV as the worst possible output example.

Whatever speakers you settle on, I would recommend that your main set have a woofer, mid-range and tweeter. You need three ranges of speakers (actual speaker) in each of the two main speakers (case they are mounted in). You should drive them with a transparent amp in the 150-300 watts range. You don't need it big and you don't want it small. Almost all computer speakers are insufficient. You don't want any coloring like EQs or signal processors. You want it to transparently, accurately and evenly represent what's coming directly out of your sound card.

I've got some lovely RTR (BIC America) speaker sets. Same on all three of my sound work stations. Sadly, they don't make them anymore. They were both cost effective and better than sufficient for the job. I'm pushing them with Samson Servo-260 amps. It is a professional yet affordable, transparent amp. I use Behringer HA400 to split and distribute the line signal to headphones, amps and other speaker sets.