Desktop speakers recommendations for sound editing

Hi there,

I’m hoping to buy a pair of speakers during Black Friday sales for my home studio. For film Editing and playback.

There’s a lot of great recommendations out there for the music industry but not so much for film.

Some of the ones I’m interested in are Presonus Eris 3.5” and JBL 1 series 104BT.

Would love to know what people could recommend. Not looking for anything too expensive I just need something to reference sound during edits.

Hey Blake,

I think you've got a good eye for speakers with the Presonus Eris 3.5” and JBL 1 Series 104BT – both are solid choices for a budget-friendly and compact setup. If you're open to suggestions, the KRK Rokit 5 G4 might be a great addition to your list, known for their flat response, which is super handy for detailed editing. You can also check out the Yamaha HS5 – they're a bit of a legend for precision in sound.

Remember, how your room interacts with sound matters a lot, so a bit of acoustic tweaking can go a long way. Try to give these speakers a listen firsthand if you can – nothing beats the personal experience.

Good luck!

Hi. Yes room acoustics should matter a lot if needing accurate translation from speakers. Maybe look at any speaker specs in their frequency bandwidth range if you want fuller range with lower bass output. If the audio involved is already up to an acceptable ('mastered') standard or if that isn't so important then you should be good to go with any of the better known brands.

Thanks Will,

After speaking to a few more people today they also say the Yamaha HS5 is the way to go. So thanks for recommending that option!

Yamaha have just released HS3 and HS4. I wonder if going one smaller would be ok? That would be HS4 (it’s actually 3.5)

Hi Blake,

Glad to hear the Yamaha HS5 came up in your other discussions too! They're definitely a top choice for precise sound editing. Regarding the newly released HS3 and HS4, going for a slightly smaller size like the HS4 can still be a great option, especially if space is a concern or you're working in a smaller room. The HS4, with its 3.5" size, should still offer the clarity and accuracy Yamaha is known for, just in a more compact package.

It's all about finding the right balance between your space, budget, and sound quality needs. If possible, try to listen to them before making a decision to see how they fit with your editing environment.

Best regards,

Will

I'd recommend you check out the Audio Science Review speaker tests.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... s/Reviews/

Amirm (owner of the site) has been reviewing/testing speakers of all kinds on his Klippel NFS

for example

PreSonus Eris E5 XT
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.13436/

JBL 104 (not the newer bt model)
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.11076/

KRK ROKIT 5 Gen 4
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... tor.20711/

Yamaha HS5
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.10967/


I'm personally considering Adam T5Vs
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... tor.18122/


Side note, this can be a black hole subject. It can also cause issues with audiophile types who don't like to hear their $$$ speakers aren't very good. For example these Vandersteen VLR ($1800 a pair).
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.35444/

Speakers for post should first of all be very neutral. This is not really what audiophiles tend to like
So, I second your suggestions. We are using ProSonus, BTW.

We went for the JBL LSR 308P's in a 5.1 surround configuration, with the LSR 310 subwoofer. Works great, not too expensive. If you just want to get two for stereo, that can work, too.

I'll second the JBL LSR 308P speakers as I use five of the mark ones with Pro Tools. If space it at a premium the LSR 305p versions are just as good but with less bass extension.

Like studio monitor I had a couple of Adam a8x series and I adore them
Them Are big, but had also smaller version of 4 and 5 inch.


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, I ended up going with the new Presonus Eris studio 5”. I was going to go for the Yamahas but I went to a place to demo a bunch of speakers and I personally liked how the Presonus’ sounded.

Set them up in my home studio office today. They sound great but when playing back some movies I noticed how I kept adjusting the volume between scenes with mainly music only and dialogue only. Scenes with dialogue and music together seemed to be the perfect level. The room acoustics are pretty good too so I wondered if maybe I’m just so used to using my built in laptop speakers and now with the monitor speakers I’m just hearing the dynamic range and sound mix. Or could it actually be the speakers not being flat or compressed sounding enough? Wish I had of tested a movie scene at the demo just for peace of mind. Am going to experiment with some of the manual calibration settings on the back of the speakers tomorrow. Besides the volume adjusting they sound great.

I’d definitely appreciate any insights anyone has on this.

Blake

They sound great but when playing back some movies I noticed how I kept adjusting the volume between scenes with mainly music only and dialogue only. Scenes with dialogue and music together seemed to be the perfect level. The room acoustics are pretty good too so I wondered if maybe I’m just so used to using my built in laptop speakers and now with the monitor speakers I’m just hearing the dynamic range and sound mix. Or could it actually be the speakers not being flat or compressed sounding enough? Wish I had of tested a movie scene at the demo just for peace of mind. Am going to experiment with some of the manual calibration settings on the back of the speakers tomorrow. Besides the volume adjusting they sound great.

I assume you mean these?
https://www.presonus.com/en-US/monitors ... 00127.html


I've not seen a quantitative review of these speakers, just subjective ones. however even if they where quantitatively bad speakers, they would still be far better than anything you are going to find in a laptop.


You haven't given any information about the size of your studio, or if it's been treated, or equed.


Without knowing anything about your studio space, id assume that your larger and much more powerful speakers are now exposing acoustic issues with your studio. For example in a small room those 5.25" woofers should be able to produce enough low end power to excite room nodes. you could also have reflection issues. Since the speakers are front ported, you shouldn't have issues with them being to close to the wall.

https://www.gikacoustics.com/what-are-room-modes/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_modes

Are your speakers on your desk? if so are they insulated so the desk doesn't become a sound board?

do you have any acoustic treatments like base traps or general acoustic panels?
https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/im ... bass-trap/
https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/im ... -absorber/


have you analyzed/equed the room?

I can only second that. Either prepare the room and position the speakers carefully or tune them. Or both.

My experience with a Sonos arrangement for viewing movies in a less than perfect room (not that I recommend them for your purpose) confirms this. They sounded pretty bad when installed, but after tuning them with the app by walking around with my phone, the sound got so much better!