how do you monitor audio?

Welcome Joseph.Maino First i have to say monitoring audio is,nt easy as just listen to a pair of speakers on a hi-fi systems.
Its almost the opposite, therefore its best to have a decent pair of neair-field monitors, which can eighter be active or passive.
Active-meaning self-powered, Passive is the opposite.
It does,nt matter much weather its active or passive, however active works out to be more predffered, cause it makes set-up so much easy.
Which should be suited with a well recomended soundcard/interface other than what comes with your computer, after that all shoud be fine, logic/Mackie/controller, is great at levels plugic midi, controlling parameter, and so much more, its also integrates with F.C.P have fun.

Fr. BlayZay.

hey there,
"monitoring" audio is analagous to "monitoring" video. it assumes you are listening for specific things. eveness among the lows, mids & highs-so that the signal is 'flat' so no segment of frequencies is more pronounced than another. home hi-fi speakers tend to color sound making the listner hear certain freq's. (usually mids) more than others. to truly monitor you need a set of project studio-type monitors or better. these wil be anywhere from $300.00/pr. to $600.00. the more pro monitor makers like Quested, or Dynaudio, Genelec will start about $600.00 ea. & go up in price. i use a pr. of Alesis M1 mk ii(project studio-types) active connected to a MOTU 828 mk2, that recieves it's signal from the Toslink on my G5, but i also do music. if your needs are not critical/professional you may be able to get by w/ what you're using. just make sure your tone controls are set flat. you may also want to look @ Auralex 'site to check out their "University" regarding acoustics, acoustic room treatment, etc... the US Navy has conducted extensive studies regarding hearing, and learned men tend to begin losing high freqs after age 25. adjust your volume so you can hear everthing, but not too loud as to damage your ears louder isn't better it's just louder.

good luck.

Your B & W speakers might be good enough for the job, their lineage is as a studio monitor for the BBC. If you paid over $500/pr, and they sound good, then they're probably good enough. You can use them with a mixer hooked-up to your Mac and outputted to the Denon like in your current set-up or it might be more convenient to buy some active monitors. If you go to a Sam Ash/Guitar Center store you can probably see and hear your prospective rig in action.

The playback volume you use is relative. Most of the engineers I've worked with over the past 30 years prefer to listen back at higher volumes than I'm comfortable with, but that's entirely up to you and what you're listening for. As far as the levels within the track are concerned, that is all done in the software, again per your preferences, and with an eye on the meters.

Hope this helps.

John


iMac G5 20'' 2GHz rev B Mac OS X (10.4.9) MacBook

Giving advice such as saying <Your B & W speakers might be good enough for the job, their lineage is as a studio monitor for the BBC. If you paid over $500/pr, and they sound good, then they're probably good enough. You can use them with a mixer hooked-up to your Mac and outputted to the Denon like in your current set-up> is so cool, if that was the case would,nt you think for a quick minute they would be recomended by pro or advertise as nearfield monitor and not hi-fi.
<conveinient to buy active monitors.> that ain't the case active monitors are made for monitor audio interms of listening to frequency that would be imposible to hear on hi-fi speakers which is the opposite of hi-fi which is more colour-full and does'nt give the true sound, also because its self-power and easy to plug and play.
<The playback volume you use is relative. Most of the engineers I've worked with over the past 30 years prefer to listen back at higher volumes> most pro enginineer listen to mix at very low D.B so as to know exactly what there getting, and after crank them up to hear the over-all levels, any engineer that linsten at loud D.B. does that to show off in seeking attention fr. clients making them feel as if the mix or the song is all that, take it outside the studio and its a different story! <listen back at higher volumes than I'm comfortable with,> thats what i have just explain.
<As far as the levels within the track are concerned, that is all done in the software, again per your preferences, and with an eye on the meters.> it would be nice of you to explain what meter are you talking about, and if it was all so easy with eyes on the meter, dont you think every mixing engineer or anyone attempting to mix would all were glasses, meter in sofware aren't the same as the meters in a pro studio, nor is it the same in hardware, also not all meters are the same where as mixing is concern, they are special meters prefreable know as V.U. meters, check below and you'll all get a better understanding of what i have just out-line, before giving wrong advice of monitor audio.
http://johnvestman.com/meter_madness.htm

Fr.BlayZay.

blayzay,

do you realize how difficult this post is to read, much less decipher the typos?

if you're going to criticize a post, please do so that it is legible. this was a mildly amusing topic but your post structure is so disturbing that i lost all my concentration.

regards,

zeb

<if you're going to criticize a post, please do so that it is legible. this was a mildly amusing topic>
How can you find something amusing when the person giving advice doesn't know what he is talking about and giving it all mouth, its like a doctor leaving is notes of one of his patient at the office.

Eg. his secretary start reading the doctor notes and start assuming stuff, and as soon as the patient arrives the secretary opens her mouth telling the patient she as cancer.
when whats written in the Doc,s notes is a unusual case that can further develops into breast-cancer.
And not of what the secretary had just told the patient.

And these are the things you find to be funny.
Zebulun grow up who wants to be lead up the wrong path, loads of ppl on these forum are set to learn, give advice, share ideas, update themselves to the changes that one would,nt. notice as in reading the threads,
and not to find it funny of someone thrilling them-self of thinking he was now in the seat of the mixing engineer, after watching the Engineer for 30 years.
<but your post structure is so disturbing that i lost all my concentration.> Sorry i did'nt understand you were a bit thi~k and you did'nt seems to find my post's funny i apologize!

Fr.BlayZay.

perhaps you need to be far less critical of others and moreso of yourself. english expressions are different here than across the pond so they shouldn't be taken literally. mildly amusing = interesting. i'm not taking pleasure from anyone's discomfort here.

again, if you want to make a point, cease with the ridiculous text message abbreviations and shortened sentence structure for as you've pointed out, people come here to learn, share ideas and what not. how can we learn from such a learned man as yourself if we cannot read your wonderful ideas? please, regale us, wise master.

regards,

zeb

Ha ha ha your so funny! Zebulum, i forgot to laugh, <please, regale us, wise master.> yes my lord.

Fr.the humble-Slave/Blayzay!

Blayzay,
You're goofing me, right?
Sorry you don't agree with my advice, I was only trying to help.
I'm not an engineer, but have worked with a few of the best during the last 35 years as a professional musician. One of which (Grammy awarded) uses Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) speakers to monitor his recordings. When I last recorded at the BBC Abbey Road studios ('95?), they where using B&W speakers in some of their installations too.
Dig it: http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/local.main
Since Joseph didn't give the model number of his speakers I could only differentiate their quality by asking the price - an ugly method, but generally true. Remember, he's only doing voice over work.
Also, REAL hi-fi gear is meant to be just as accurate as the music it's reproducing; similar to the pro gear your comparing it to.
I have to disagree with you that most engineers listen at low volumes and only turn it up to impress their clients - that has not been my experience, ...whatever.
All (most?) boards, whether software or hardware, have meters at their input and at their output. Recording and mixing is a balancing act between using your ears and referencing the meters, and yes, VU meters are analog, but their software counterparts are meant to measure the same things.
Thanks for listening.
John

iMac G5 20'' 2GHz rev B Mac OS X (10.4.7) MacBook

John.b. sucess is'nt for the week heart, hang in there no harm done i am just straight and is very serious about Music-Technology alright.
I can mix on almost any brand of monitors, with additional tools for the monitor, however when you know a job its quite different, from when your trying to get into it.
Its like years ago i went to a music store, place an order which was to get 16 in and outs of audio that is, into a computer to a mixing desk and so they sold me two interface of 16 ins/outs all together where as i though i could get 16 audio in and outs, instead it was midi, in/outs they saw me coming.
So its unfair to build up people hopes and then, it turn out for the worst, but its just fun on here anyway.

Fr. blayZay.