Best Home Studio Monitor Setup for Video Editing

50 Comments

1. Dear THiNK Media TV,

   I would ask some help from you if you can donate any amount for me to start my vlogging channel and please support me too. If you think this is a SCAM. This is not a SCAM. I always wanted to buy some Camera, Microphone and Tripod for that amount of Money.

   Donate Here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/my

   I hope for your kind help.

   -JohnLegendaryiOS

2. hey Sean could you do a video on streaming mics? For us budding gaming and podcast youtubers?

3. should i go for a 200$ vlog camera, or buy phone filming accessories and use my phone as a camera?

4. HELP ME PLEASE i have just bought a dsc H400 sony camera but im not sure if the lens is removable please help me!!!

5. Every time I’m looking for advice on equipment for shooting I find this guy’s channel and he’s talking about expensive shit. Anybody know a good channel where they’re talking about equipment for regular people who aren’t trying to spend thousands of dollars?

6. do a video about popsockets and how they are good please.

7. Can you make a video showing the best and CHEAPEST ( not depending on the quality as such ~ possibly even free) editing software. Plz ☺

8. do you connect your rode camera mic directly to the audio interface?

9. I’d like to try and clarify and explain about using Balanced audio cables such as the 6.35mm TRS and the XLR as opposed to the Unbalanced RCA.

   While it is technically possible to use a balanced cable to send a stereo signal using two of the conductors as hot and the third as a common ground, this actually would be an unbalanced signal. What balanced cables are used for is actually noise and interference reduction through a technique called differential signalling.

   Instead of just using "hot" and ground conductors, a balanced cable adds a third "cold" conductor. This "cold" signal is actually just an inverted copy of the normal "hot" signal. It may seem a bit strange that we’re also sending an inverted signal, but we can actually use this to remove (or at least reduce) any noise picked up by the cables. When you add a waveform to a negative version of itself you end up with a flat or "cancelled" signal. Because the "hot" and "cold" conductors are so close together, running parallel to each other, they will both pick up interference and noise in exactly the same manner. The receiving device can pick up both the "hot" and "cold" signals, and re-invert the "cold" signal before it sums the two. This flip in polarity for the "cold" signal will also affect any noise picked up on the cable, leaving us with two copies of the intended signal (both now positive due to the double inversion), and also two copies of the cable noise (one positive from the "hot" conductor, and one negative that we’ve just inverted from the "cold"). When we sum the two signals, we then get a stronger version of the intended signal, and any noise on the line gets cancelled out.

   Over a short distance and in a normal household setting the difference between a balanced cable and an unbalanced cable is unlikely to make a huge amount of difference, but in professional audio far longer cable runs are common and the potential for interference is greater. This is why you don’t see XLR connectors on consumer audio gear much, but balanced connection are widespread in the professional world.

   I hope this helps people to understand the difference, if you have any further questions or would like any clarification let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

10. Nicely done. A few points you missed:
    – position the monitors in an "equilateral triangle" configuration as you have done (60 degree slant angle between you and each other speaker).
    – raise your monitor to the same height as your head/ears (yours are a bit low)
    – put sound absorbing material under your monitors to absorb unwanted vibrations
    – when possible, use wall sound deadening materials (curtains, foam, etc – not by windows)
    – move monitors away from walls (avoid out of phase base frequency reflections)
    – otherwise, place monitors facing the longest wall (also to avoid reflections)
    – otherwise, try angling monitors downward toward head
    …
    google "studio monitor placement" for more…
    BTW, while those of us doing vlogging will find a USB 2 interface with 24bit/96khz sampling rate fine, for true audiophiles you’d want USB 3 (Thunderbolt or PCI card) for lower latency and better fidelity (192Kbps) – starting with something like this, or one more higher end:
    https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-UAC-2-Two-Channel-SuperSpeed-Interface/dp/B00ZY33B40
    And not have to break the back with higher-end devices like these:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011KFQA2U

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1005523-REG/rme_madi_xt_madiface_xt_usb_3_0.html

11. I’m an audio engineer turned video nerd. Having great sound is something that keeps a lot of YouTubers from really hitting the next level in terms of production quality. Great video, great advice!

12. Sean why did you choose your current audio setup vs a audio interface like Focusrite Scarlett or a Behringer audio interface? Or do you plan on doing any reviews on these types of audio interfaces? Thanks.

13. Can use radio speakers

14. Can you do a video explaining how you can add clips of Movies show or games to your video as you talk over it? This has bothered me for so long wondering how people do it. Thank you in advance

15. Would you rather recommend using song vegas pro 13 or final cut pro for video editing ? and why. As in what is better than the other, i have to buy one so if u answered it would be a great help

16. Your monitors are supposed to be at ear level. Otherwise, you’re not benefitting from them at all. Also… subwoofer for audio engineering? Are you kidding me? Mixing with a subwoofer is impossible. Not my opinion. That’s a fact.

17. In the price point the Focusrite forte is maybe better, but is now discontinued.

18. My current speakers that i use for "studio monitors’ are the bose series 3 companion 2 desktop speaker which actually have their own built in sub wuffers which is nice. for monitor headphones i use my beats solo 2.

19. 1.Samson MediaOne 5a Active Studio Moniors
    2. Focusrite Scarlett Solo Audio interface and preamp
    3. Audio-Technica ath-m50 for headphones
    4. Scarlett studio condenser microphone and/or sennheiser me66 with K6
    total cost was over 1k

    Comments. I’ve noticed almost no gain in quality when switching from the hd onboard dac on my pc to my usb audio interface. Before the studio monitors I was using bose companion 3 series II, and found that in most cases the sound on the bose is better than the monitors. (sounds better but not more accurate). If I had to buy another set of studio monitors it would be the JBL SLR 305. But my advice is to stick with what you bought as the increase in sound quality will not justify the cost. Also I did not add a subwoofer as these studio monitors have plenty of low end for audio editing.

20. Can you do videos like this for small and new YouTubers that are on a really tight budget and don’t live in the USA?

21. Dude thank you for making all the videos you put out, they are really helping me with my own videos!

22. I’m so overwhelmed! lol I’m a 51 yr old non-tech grandma that wants to shoot card making tutorials in my basement from my iPhone. Any advice?

23. In audio I use the Rode Pro shotgun mic. I use it with a tube preamp by ART. But right now Im thinking about the Juicelink preamp and a Mackie equalizer. I use a Panasonic G7 but I really need a better lense and better lighting. I also use the Audio technica M50 headphone. I love those. Good video.thanks.

24. Thanks Sean! You are a great help and a true inspiration. Keep crushing it!!

25. Ok this has nothing to do with this video but I have noticed my computer slow down dramatically lately. I used the Adobe Premiere and I could not edit. It was so slow and it would make the sound and video not match to each other for me to cut or trim the video. Is there anything I can do to my PC to fix that or speed it up? My PC is about 3 yrs old and I don’t download much software to it because I didn’t want to slow it down.

26. Thanks for sharing your set up. What are your top 3 studio headphones you have had success with?

27. Hey nice video!
    -What do you think about the canon 700d? I haven’t seen any of your videos involving the camera, and I’m curious about your answer.

28. Great video. I have 5" M-audio speakers with a Red Scarlet interface. I also use a couple different AKG head phones one open and one closed back when mixing. I still don’t have it where I want it. I use a Rhode Video Mic first generation. I also have a confessor Mic but its to hot to record video well. Sound on a video is very hard to nail down.

29. What about the screens you use?

30. If I have a mixer, can I use that instead of the interface?

31. I am using ATH-M70X, but somehow, it has weak bass, and isn’t really really flat.

32. Hey Sean, I’m looking into buying a nice pair of headphones to use solely for video editing. Although I’m by no means an audiophile, I’ve read that noise-cancelling headphones are horrible for editing. Is there a particular type/brand that you or anyone else could recommend? My budget is up to $250. Cheers!

33. i am a starter in making videos
    what the best free editing video program😎

34. U dnt need to say dats annoying intro in every video…

35. Whats the best way to transform 4k to 1080p? I heard of Wondershare Video Converter but I’m not sure about it.

36. I use a Presonus AudioBox 22VSL USB interface with a couple of Behringer B1030A studio monitors. For headphones I have the Beyer Dynamic Custom One Pro. For Mic I use the AT 2020. I also have a Behringer Xenyx X2442USB mixer, I’ve primarily used for some podcasts and some streaming. For some reason I find, I get a very clear sound when running it through my AudioBox and it gives me a lot of mic inputs… Plus it’s great to be able to have the mixer right there and be able to fiddle with the sound on the fly when necessary :o)

    I don’t really find any use for open back headphones, as I’m always using the monitors when editing. I only really use the headphones when recording(Or sometimes for gaming and music, but not that often unless I need to use my mic at the same time) – Here closed back headphones are better as there is no sound bleed.

    It’s not completely done yet, but I’m pretty happy with my setup :o)

37. Completely wrong about cables. A balanced XLR is Ground, Positive, Negative. I have never seen an XLR act as an unbalanced stereo cable. It passes a balanced mono signal. TRS can be either balanced or stereo depending on the gear they are connecting.

38. Great recommendations!

39. Would love to know how the Audient compares to Focusrite Scarlett 2i4.

40. Great video, once again. However your comments on balanced cables were incorrect:

    "XLR.. you get three prongs, you get left and right audio plus the third prong is grounding…. you get both audio channels plus a grounding channel"

    Actually all audio cables have a ground. RCA cables – the red and white ones you mentioned – have a signal and ground wire PER CHANNEL, so the white cable (connector) has two cores (signal and ground) for the left channel, and the red cable has two cores (again signal and ground) for the right channel. So 1 cable x 2 cores per channel = four cores total: RIGHT signal, RIGHT ground, LEFT signal LEFT ground = stereo audio. Of course RCA cables are usually joined together so it looks like one cable, but really it’s two.

    The difference with a balanced cable is that it employs a clever trick to cancel out any EMF/RF interference that may be induced on the signal via the cable. It has the signal and ground cores as per the RCA cable, but the third core carries the audio signal with the polarity reversed. Once the cable reaches it’s destination, the polarity of the reversed signal is switched back and added (summed) to the original signal. Without going into lots of detail here, what this effectively does is cancel out any interference/noise that was added while the signal travelled through the cable whilst leaving the actual audio signal intact. This is why you will often hear a (sometimes quite loud) hum or buzz when using RCA or other unbalanced cables, whereas using balanced cabling is nice and quiet and hum free (unless interference is coming in at another part of the chain of course).

    So a XLR/TRS balanced cables have 3 cores PER CHANNEL and each channel is a physically separate cable. So each cable has 3 cores carries the signal for a channel with a SIGNAL, GROUND and the INVERTED SIGNAL. balanced cabling also usually has shielding around the 3 cores to protect even further against interference. So with XLR/TRS callers you need one physical cable/connector per channel.

    Sean I’m sure you knew much of this already, but the way you said it in your video was actually partly wrong and misleading so I wanted to chime in to clarify for your viewers. Hopefully what I explained was clear enough!

41. Has anyone ever tried the M-Audio AV32.1 speakers ? Just curious.. Sean love the set up but I know for a fact that I would definitely will not be able to afford that ..

42. Hey man, does uninterrupted power supply also do the work of power conditioner?

43. What would be the best camera to travel with to other countries and various scenarios that might not be best to have a DSLR?

44. I have a request, you should do a video about YOUR progress on YouTube and how you use your tips to build your YouTube channel!

45. Merry Christmas Sean! Enjoyed, shared, and LIKED your GREAT video content all year long! Looking forward to 2017! -Christian Vedder, VIRAL VIDEO MARKETING (Kansas City, MO).

46. Epic! You mentioned you worked at a church before, are you a Christian? If so let me know I will sub a fellow believer. 😆

47. Sean can you do a review on the canon g5x not going to spoil it though

48. make a video on How to edit Voice on Audacity ?

49. Great video. Love your channel.

50. I’m rocking with a pair of jbl lsr 305 monitors , an apollo twin interface and a u87 for vocals