Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 863)

Speaker Placement and Listening Position
Most video editing suites use near-field 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 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
6 feet, you should place yourself 6 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 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 level and pan
adjustments you make may be too subtle or delicate for the average viewer listening to
your movie on speakers a few feet away. Headphones often have a different frequency
response than full-range speakers, so if you mix using headphones your audio may sound
bass-heavy when played back on speakers.
863 Chapter 53 Assigning Output Channels and External Audio Monitors