Good (audio) monitors for film-scoring?

[MattiasNYC]

Yeah, if you already have good headphones you’re used to then I think you might be better of spending more on 8" or 6-is" speakers of higher quality (plus room treatment if needed) than also adding a sub.

[skijumptoes]

I’m running on some cheapy Behringer B2031A’s, and they’ve been fantastic for me.

Behringer B2031A Truth

If you want something that’s got decent power and low end these are solid. Not fancy, or overly stylish - but I’ve absolutely hammered them over the years and all good. Most of the time they’re cranked up for guitar sims or drums.

I was only going to keep them for a year as a ‘make do’ as found them on offer for under £250 for the pair, but it’s easily been 10 years now!

They’re not entirely flat, which is quite encouraging if you’re mainly composing rather than mixing. And I use them for listening to commercial music a lot too, Which ticks the boxes for me.

For very precise mixing tasks, they’re probably not ideal because they can really pump out noise you need a decent level to get the sweet spot - But I know them so well now at lower volumes, I think that’s the most important factor with monitors. They’re definitely reliable in that regard.

I had KRK’s beforehand which died on me, and I much prefer these but they are larger which is maybe an unfair comparison.

So there’s a cheap option to consider!

[somecomposer]

Cheers buddy, much appreciate your suggestion!!

[Early21]

@MattiasNYC

Bass is generally difficult to set up in non-professional environments though. If I were you I’d consider just getting 8" speakers and then supplement with a pair of really good headphones that reproduces lower lows and doublecheck on them.

It’s easy enough to make a sub sound good in a room, but it’s way harder to tune so that what you hear is actually also reflecting the mix. Not trying to discourage you, just a heads-up.

I think this is your best advice. Your aim is to get your mix to sound the way you want in all environments. Just watched a series of videos made by a (successful) professional film composer, who does all the mixes on headphones, but checks against 8" monitors. If you get a magnificent sound in your room with a sub-woofer, how do you know what it sounds like everywhere else?

I like the Yamaha monitors, for the record. I have HS-80M’s, which were replaced by HS-8’s, which I’ve never heard. I think they are similar, but I don’t know.

The headphones that this composer says all of the film composers are using are Beyerdynamic DT880 and Sennheiser HD 650.

Good luck! Remember, it’s not about what it sounds like where you are. It’s about what it sounds like where they are.

[somecomposer]

@Early21

The headphones that this composer says all of the film composers are using are Beyerdynamic DT880 and Sennheiser HD 650.

Hey cheers!! I use HD 238 - Precision, I love those headphones.

Of course, when all is said and done, composers are at the mercy of the final film soundtrack mixing engineer, who usually cuts all the bass out to hear are the glorious sound effects

[somecomposer]

@MattiasNYC

Yeah, if you already have good headphones you’re used to then I think you might be better of spending more on 8" or 6-is" speakers of higher quality (plus room treatment if needed) than also adding a sub.

Hugely helpful, I was leaning towards that direction, great to have another input! Cheers!

[knmack681]

Take a look at Kali IN 8’s, amazing value for 3 way speakers and they sound awesome…
checkout youtube for some reviews.

[somecomposer]

Cheers buddy!

[MattiasNYC]

For the Kali “IN”-series make sure you get generation 2, not 1. 2nd gen has significantly less self-noise. They’re also fairly large so if space is a concern there’s also their 5" version of that line, if you like coax/3-way.

My hunch is that the LP might be closer to the JBLs in terms of sound. But I agree that the IN-series are great value for money. It’s what I currently use.

[knmack681]

Yeah, what he said, definitely get the 2nd generation.