# New Speakers/Monitors for Film Editing



## miren2k (Apr 8, 2019)

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, I'm really pulling my hair out researching speakers and near field monitors and would really love some final advice.

Near field monitors - yes they are everything you need for sound editing, music etc.

But why?

All my research has just come to - you want a neutral sound to do any sort of sound design, so why can we not get this from a really good set of 2.1 speakers?

I can see where the disparity lies when you start comparing £500-£1000+ home theatre set ups and near field monitors, obviously the highest quality of sound comes near field with the monitors and further away with the home theatre. That makes sense....

But when comparing things around the £300 mark, the difference in sound quality between all the brands competing at this range is substantial. Surely there are 2.1 set ups that can really compete with studio near fields around this price range?

To the point:

After all my research, I was going to get the Kali LP-6
Pros:
Apparently fantastic low end, clear mids and highs, excellent reviews, and apparently better than the Rokits (or at least a larger radius for the sweet spot and better bass)

Cons:
Large, will be difficult to fit on my desk (not impossible, but not comfortable, won't be forming a perfect equilateral triangle, the distance between them will be a bit larger than the distance to me, unless I simply lean back when I need to hear them properly).
Also would have to get an interface, not really an issue to be honest.
Would also need desk stands, I can't seem to find any decent ones that can clamp on the edge and lean in, so they can be over my desk but not use the desk surface real estate; not a massive issue, but it's proving to be annoying.

However my research also fell into Edifier's lap and I saw the s350db
Pros:
Everything I could possibly find on the internet says that these speakers are absolutely incredible.
Very neutral sound (looks to be competitive with a quality nearfield at this cost).
The size is more fitting for my space, and I won't miss out on low end with the sub on the floor.
Aesthetic (just a bonus, the wood matches my table and the matte black matches my wall behind ^_^ )
Changing input easily (just a bonus again, I can hook up my main computer via optical and quickly easily switch to bluetooth if I want to connect my macbook or phone)
Dial for Treble and Bass (just another bonus to dial in the right settings)

Cons:
I don't see any at this price point, educate me.


You can see my heart is yearning for the s350db but my brain is being arrogant and saying "no don't be an idiot, you obviously need near fields its the better quality speaker bla blabla" shut up brain your not the boss of me. But I can't honestly see any reason why the s350db won't be good for my needs.

A bit of background: I work in the creative industry, I only use my home set up for about 20-30% of my professional work, but I also do a lot of personal projects which include a lot of short films etc. I usually have sound designers work on audio for me, but obviously it will be very beneficial for me to have good quality speakers myself to do some of the grunt work before hand and to give decent feedback, or to do some of my smaller personal projects by myself as I'm the Director and Editor for all my own work. Also to be noted, I do more than just work on this computer, I game every now and then, and I chill and listen to music, which is why I feel the Edifier might be a good balance as well, but I want to make sure it is good enough to do real work with as well. Anything would be an upgrade though from my £40 Logitech 2.1 set up which I bought almost 9 years ago.

My home studio is in the corner of a large living space so not ideal acoustics, but not super bad either, one wall is covered completely in faux slate panels which seem good for sound proofing and then two thirds of another wall is covered in curtains, floor to ceiling, so at least half of the walls have average sound proofing; I also have thick fluffy carpet - I will be getting a large wood acoustic panel to fill out the last third of the curtained wall, and I have some standard foam squares I'll put in the corner where my desk set up is.

Hopefully this is enough information to get some advice >_<


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## mscp (Apr 8, 2019)

Are they your only choices? Don't get stuck on technicalities. Listen to options. We all have ears, but as you know... Wouldn't rely on a "spec sheet" for a final call. I think you'd be the best judge on this one if you're torn between these two.


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## miren2k (Apr 8, 2019)

Phil81 said:


> Are they your only choices?


Thanks for reading the behemoth post, much appreciated.

Yes after all my research I've whittled it down to those two based on price, quality, size and aesthetics, I didn't want to bore people with all the other options I was balancing with, these were the others:

Here they are though if you want to know:
KRK Rokit 7 G4
Behringer MS40
*Kali Audio LP-6*
Edifier s3000pro 
*Edifier s350db*


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## mscp (Apr 8, 2019)

miren2k said:


> Thanks for reading the behemoth post, much appreciated.
> 
> Yes after all my research I've whittled it down to those two based on price, quality, size and aesthetics, I didn't want to bore people with all the other options I was balancing with, these were the others:
> 
> ...



Glad to help!
Are the Adams more expensive in your country? I love mine.


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## miren2k (Apr 8, 2019)

Phil81 said:


> Are the Adams more expensive in your country?



They're around £300 for the T5V pair 

My composer has the A7x and says they are great. I definitely think it's a quality brand but I didn't find any substantial reviews for the T5V to make me feel like it will be a better choice than the Rokit or Kali


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## mscp (Apr 8, 2019)

miren2k said:


> They're around £300 for the T5V pair
> 
> My composer has the A7x and says they are great. I definitely think it's a quality brand but I didn't find any substantial reviews for the T5V to make me feel like it will be a better choice than the Rokit or Kali



Have you heard the T5Vs? Is there a way to try them out? I find the Rockits a bit too boomy/boxy.


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## miren2k (Apr 8, 2019)

Phil81 said:


> Have you heard the T5Vs? Is there a way to try them out? I find the Rockits a bit too boomy/boxy.


Nope I haven't not sure where to go to hear them either tbh, is that what you have??


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## mscp (Apr 8, 2019)

miren2k said:


> Nope I haven't not sure where to go to hear them either tbh, is that what you have??



No. I have the A7's. Check the policy on returns if you find them for sale in your city. I think you won't return them. Every Adam monitor I came across in the past was just stellar. Where are you located? If in Europe, phone Thomann.


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## muk (Apr 9, 2019)

Haven't heard neither the Kali nor the Edifier, so I can't comment. But Edifier is not exactly known for uncolored frequency responses. Hifi-monitors/pc speakers usually have a smile curve frequency response, because that wows the listeneres and is fun to listen to. Studio monitors have a different purpose.

From reading your post I get the impression that you are struggling to decide whether you should go with what you think you need, or with what you want. It sounds like you want a fun system with good looks, but you think you need one with a neutral sound. Once you've made that decision it will probably be easier to decide on the exact model.

If you decide on a neutral sounding system, the studio monitor that is widely recommended within your budget is the JBL LSR 305. Should be much more neutral and honest than both the Kali and the Edifier. But not as fun to look at. If you need something smaller, the IK Multimedia iLoud Micro can sound decent with a bit of correcting eq (not as good as the JBL, but decent):

http://noaudiophile.com/IK_Multimedia_iLoudMM/

If you decide to go for the fun speakers, then I guess you'd be happiest if you really take the ones your heart wants. The worst decision I think would be to make a compromise between sound quality and fun speakers. That way you'll end up with speakers that are not neutral and not fun to you. So its probably best to decide for either studio speakers or a fun system, and then go with the most neutral you can get or the one you want the most.


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## miren2k (Apr 9, 2019)

muk said:


> Hifi-monitors/pc speakers usually have a smile curve frequency response, because that wows the listeneres and is fun to listen to. Studio monitors have a different purpose.




Thanks for the response and suggestions, and thanks for differentiating the two types. However from all the research, all I’ve discovered is that both monitors and “bookshelf speakers” (which I assume is the same as a hifi monitor) both try to have the same goal of having a neutral sound. Everything I’ve seen and heard about the edifiers suggests that the sound is/can be very neutral. I would really appreciate if you can give the edifiers a quick google and let me know what you think, because I feel like they don’t drop into the category of having a smile curve. They show the frequency graph on the box itself which looks super neutral, and people say it in their reviews as well


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## muk (Apr 9, 2019)

miren2k said:


> I would really appreciate if you can give the edifiers a quick google and let me know what you think, because I feel like they don’t drop into the category of having a smile curve.



Did a quick search, and unfortunately I couldn't find much trustworthy information. The frequency response that Edifier published does indeed show a smiley curve:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i1.wp.com/pokde.net/assets/uploads/2017/04/Edifier-S350DB-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1&imgrefurl=https://pokde.net/review/edifier-s350db-active-speaker-review/&docid=OcpRNKmH6mIqGM&tbnid=70gN20x8_JJTfM:&vet=10ahUKEwiS3eLf3MLhAhVlo4sKHZWLAKkQMwhfKBUwFQ..i&w=1024&h=683&bih=1304&biw=2560&q="edifier" "350 db" "frequency"&ved=0ahUKEwiS3eLf3MLhAhVlo4sKHZWLAKkQMwhfKBUwFQ&iact=mrc&uact=8

I can't quite read the db scale on that picture. But if it is the standard 5db steps, there is a 5db increase in the bass below 100Hz and in the treble. And that's the companies measurements, which usually are difficult to replicate in real world usage. So no, I would not choose these speakers for studio use.

On first look the Kali LP6 might be better in that regard. The companies specs show a slightly recessed treble:

https://www.kaliaudio.com/lp6-technology-frequency-response

That's not a big problem, as you'd probably set something similar with your house curve (Bruel & Kjaer or similar) anyway. However, a real world measurement of the bigger brother LP 8 shows a much more extreme treble recess:

https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/2019/02/09/Kali-LP8-Review.html

That's a 10db dip at 10kHz! See how the measurement is congruent with the companies specs (i. e. it shows a recessed treble), but shows much more extreme deviations than what the company publishes (10db of recession, not 3 or 4)? Unfortunately that's a theme with company specs.

If the LP 6 are anything like their bigger brother they are not a great choice for studio use either. On top of that there are reports of amplifier hiss with the LP 6. I don't know how loud it is, but it is potentially irksome at low listening levels.

In conclusion I haven't found enough information on either speakers. But what I have found doesn't suggest that either of those would be as suited for studio purpose as the JBLs.


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## miren2k (Apr 9, 2019)

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I also spoke to a sound studio engineer friend of mine and a sound designer friend of mine. They both suggested the Edifier I was looking at because of the all around quality, ease of use and size (They've both seen my set up, I have the space but like I said, these would fit much better)

I can also dial down the treble and bass easily on the Edifier to give myself a flatter response when I need it for editing.

I did take muks points into consideration, I just needed to hear a clear argument against it so that I can really balance how I feel. After hearing your point, I still felt quite strong about it and I know I can dial down the bass and treble, it definitely won't be perfect but I don't think I need "perfect" and it also competes when it comes to a clear bass response so I feel the benefits overall will outweigh its cons. 

Thanks everyone, it has helped.


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## kyleogren (Apr 9, 2019)

Yamaha HS8 are what I use...phenomenal monitors, have clarity across the spectrum - no need for Sub. Affordable, and highly recommend!


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## Beat Kaufmann (Apr 11, 2019)

Hello Miren2k
I would approach the topic as practically as possible.

*A)* If your room conditions are not optimized - and they obviously are not - actually only near field monitors (about 1m ... 1.5m) are the way to go. So the room influences will determine the sound less.

*B)* Monitors are tools with which decisions should be made. If you already know which speakers are suitable, then order them all to your home.
- Make audio files containing small pan differences. Which monitor shows the differences more clearly?
- Make audio files where instruments play in different depths of space (small differences). Which box shows the differences more clearly?
- Make audio files with organ chords and put a sub-bass (synth) underneath. Start with G2 98Hz and play down to G0 (24.5Hz). Which monitor "says goodbye" first? Which monitor produces more wind noises with low notes?
- Play a mono signal over both speakers (pink noise). Check which speaker can show a better and "razor-sharp signal" (position) between the monitors.
- Play a good classical orchestra on both speakers. Then check in a room next door, which monitor rather sounds like a real orchestra (Within the sweetspot a lot of speakers sound well, but as soon as you leave it...).

You'll notice big differences between the monitors, I am sure. You will have really good arguments for making a good decision. So you will find out which monitor better supports you for your work at your workplace. Then send the not used monitors back....
In a second step, you may be looking for a good subwoofer. But: Keep in mind that a subwoofer in the corner of your living room will sound pretty boomy...

By the way: If your monitors have to be very close (<1m), then you should check as well, if you do not buy better "coaxial speakers", because with conventional multi-way speakers the sound does not focus perfectly on this short distance.

*C)* If you mention "...mixes for films", then I would consider whether you invest better in a 5.1/ 7.1 system. This is almost a must in the film business. You know that for sure as well.

Finally
*D)* Be aware that your current budget and your planned location in your home does not lead to the desired professional "sound system". A few cheap speakers in a corner of the living room ... that may sound nice, but to be able to make correct decisions about the sound as I showed it in parts under B), ...I doubt it very much. Sorry to say that.


I hope my tips helped, even if it happened in a different way and that not all of my statements are what you want to hear.

Beat

_Edit: I added C) and D)_


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## Jeremy Spencer (Apr 11, 2019)

kyleogren said:


> Yamaha HS8 are what I use...phenomenal monitors, have clarity across the spectrum - no need for Sub. Affordable, and highly recommend!



I love mine, too.


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## MisteR (Apr 12, 2019)

I like my Presonus Sceptre S6 monitors.


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