Using an Audio Monitor for Video

An Audio monitor will help take you from amateur to professional videographer. Audio quality is often a difference between amateur and professional videos. Audio has the potential to make or break any video project. This can be the determining factor between your audience losing interest or continuously being intrigued with what they are viewing.

Differences between PC Speakers and Audio Monitors

The average computer user is not conscious of what quality audio sounds like. Standard PC speakers seem to function properly and meet everyday needs. They play all varieties of music, streaming video from the web and even personal video messaging. When the quality of audio on a video seems unsatisfactory, the average user will simply close the window and chalk it up to poor video quality.

Standardized computer speakers are notorious for hiding various types of audio elements. Multiple unsatisfactory traits include a slight hiss to the sound, frequency range less responsive, inconsistency with delivery, various hums and noise interferences from insufficient ground. Improperly-shielded cables also cause noise interference.

Audio monitors will help reveal hidden elements. They are a helpful tool in understanding and deciphering what the project will sound like during the final delivery. With audio being a major part of the video world, details are imperative. Creative professionals have a responsibility to ensure that all audiences enjoy each element of the final product.

Features to Consider

The most common type of audio monitors for editing bays is nearfield. Two important yet very different monitor types are active and passive. Active refers to a monitor that has the amplification built inside. Some benefits to active monitors are that the amplification is engineered for that specific speaker, there is built-in damage prevention, they are compact and there are fewer cables to manage. A prominent downside to active monitors versus passive monitors is upfront pricing for convenience. Passive monitors have no amplifier, which is more cost-efficient initially. The negatives to passive monitors are that you have to buy amplifiers, which can become costly; there are more cables to manage; and there is less damage prevention.

The key to quality sound is making sure the monitor has the basics: a tweeter, a woofer and possibly a bass port. Tweeters generate higher audio frequency sounds. Woofers produce the low and mid-range frequencies. The bass port allows air pressure to escape and adds additional bass frequencies. Keep in mind that it is imperative to find audio monitors that will best suit the most popular delivery destination. Also, the specific dynamics of nearfield audio monitors are best utilized when a creative professional is mixing in a non-treated room, with the parallel walls and low ceiling of an editing suite.

Placement Matters

Some editing bays do not have an ideal audio listening environment. For instance, an edit station should never be in the corner of a room. For optimal sound; position two monitors three to five feet away from the listener, creating a triangular space. Monitors should be about four to six feet apart, at ear height, with a clear path to the listener. Try to keep edit stations in the middle of the right and left walls. This will maintain the space needed around the monitors to create optimal sound. It is important to maintain open space behind the listener for natural audio reflections. When establishing your listening environment, place monitors so that the tweeter is on top when stood upright or on the outside when on its side. This will dramatically improve sound performance. Be aware that monitors tend to use the desk as an extra base box, which adds unwanted low- and mid-range frequencies that are not elements of the final product. Eliminate this problem by placing foam under the speakers. A more affordable solution is to use mouse pads.