Mixing down classical music...near field monitors?

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pixeldustfilms

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Hello all,

My first post, so thanks for having me aboard. We're a small film company and we're starting to film live classical music recitals. We have a small set of M-Audio DX4's which really aren't servicing our growing need, and would like to purchase something that gives us a fairly accurate picture of what we're recording (we're going straight to the camera, HDV format, and then pulling the footage into Final Cut Pro, where we do the edits...audio sweetening is pretty close to the end of our workflow).

Anyway, we're looking at a pair of KRK V8 speakers, and although I know it makes the most sense to go listen to a pair (which we will), I was wondering if trying to mix classical piano on speakers such as these is overkill? We are also mixing down voiceover, doing voiceover with audio beds, and other mixing audio in Soundtrack Pro. We're not a recording studio, so we'll never be recording live drums, guitars, etc. It's pretty much what we capture on film, which, by the way, is usually done via a pair of AT 4050s...

Any thoughts on buying something like the KRKs for such a highly specialized application as classical music?

Thank you very much in advance!

Gino
 
Those KRK's will be light years better than what you are listening on now. It's important to remember that in classical music a lot of the listeners are audiophile types and will have some killer playback systems. So they'll hear stuff you can't hear if you use substandard monitors. If anything, in classical you need to use the very best you can afford.

Other monitors I'd suggest you consider are the Dynaudio BM6A or maybe BM15A. Also, the Event ASP8. These are still very affordable monitors, as you can easily get into Genelec's or Adama's when talking about classical music.
 
Thanks for the quick reply! And yes, you're right, the DX4s have run their course some time ago for us!

Any other insights are greatly appreciated! Looks like the Dynaudio BM6A, BM15A. as well as the Event ASP8 are double the price of a pair of KRK V8s, which will probably effect our decision (going from a $149.00 pair of speakers to a $799.00 pair is about all the jump we can make at the moment, but heck, it's still quite a jump!)

G
 
Mackie HR824's are being blown out right now for $499 each (just under $1,000 for a pair). Still near your price target, and excellent monitors. I have a pair of Mackie HR824 and I like them. I also use a pair of KRK V4's and like them a lot as well.

I haven't heard the KRK V8's, but based on my V4's I think they'd be good at the very least.
 
If you are mixing for DVD I would want to have a sub woofer also. You need to know what people are going to be hearing at home and many people use subs now.

P.S. Overkill is a myth.
 
"Full range" recording = "Full range" monitoring. V8's aren't even approaching "overkill" for classical.
 
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