Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 571)

Chapter 41 Setting Up Audio Equipment 571
VIII
∏
Tip: A much cheaper alternative to building new walls is to mount angled pieces of
material to the existing walls to eliminate parallel surfaces.
If the material in a room is very reflective, the room sounds “brighter” because high
frequencies are easily reflected. Mounting absorbing material (such as acoustic foam)
on the walls can reduce the brightness of a room. A “dead room” is one that has very
little reflection (or reverberation). Try to cover any reflective surfaces in your
monitoring environment.
Speaker Placement and Listening Position
Most video editing suites use nearfield monitors, which are speakers designed to be
listened to at fairly close range. Speakers should be at least a foot or two away from
any walls to prevent early reflections of sound which combine with and muddy up the
original sound.
Position the speakers as far from your listening position as they are from each other
(forming an equilateral triangle). For example, if the distance between the speakers is
six feet, you should place yourself six feet from each speaker. The apparent width of the
sound stage, or stereo image, increases as the distance between the speakers increases.
However, if the two speakers get too far apart, sound information appearing in the
center (between both speakers) starts to disappear.
Using Headphones
Many people use headphones as an alternative to critical monitoring speakers.
Headphones provide isolation from ambient noise in the room where you are mixing,
adding additional clarity that may not be obvious in your speakers a few feet from your
ears. This clarity can be helpful for cleaning up low-level noise and pops created by
misaligned edits. However, don’t rely solely on headphones when you mix because
adjustments you make may be too subtle or delicate for the average viewer listening to
your movie on speakers a few feet away.