My point exactly. What Fearful Symmetry said was so right. He gave the speakers the priority which is the correct thing to do. The way he has got two monitors set-up is probably the only way it could be done. 

I have been into many very pro studios that only used one monitor as well so dual monitoring does not imply a professional set-up at all.

The problem with two monitors in a desktop set-up is exactly as sharke mentioned, it forces the two speakers too far apart. A problem I see with many set-ups that are pictured here on the forum. This is bad and the speakers really need to be totally equilateral in that speaker distance to you should match their distance apart. You are doing yourself such a dis service by having them too far apart. You will be pushing centre panned things up harder than they need be as a result. This is because your centre image is weak. When the speakers are the correct distance apart and you switch to mono you should hear the ghost between the speakers very well right in the centre. If you cannot you are not set up correctly. (This test needs to be done with your eyes closed as well and two friends need to be able to slide your monitors slowly apart. As soon as the main speakers are even moved very slightly the ghost disappears and you are left with a weak centre image. Then you just slide them back until it re appears again)

The software decides how well you can work with a single monitor and some programs are way better in that area. Sorry but true.

The ideal thing is a single monitor (or something like Fearful Symmetry's setup) with the main monitor on a reticulation arm so for critical listening in mixing and mastering you can easily push it way back behind the main speaker line. 

As I said in my first post when you shift your emphasis into the audible and listening you just automatically start shifting the emphasis away from the visual and looking.

Hi Fearful Sym. (from the Blake I presume)


What touchsreen is that and where did you buy it from. I'm a Kiwi too and can't find any of those Planar ones here and can't be bothered forking out GST at customs on import.


I have a rack box with outboard gear on caster wheels and plan to have my touch screen on that so I can push it round the music room to where wherever I need it to go.

Hi Jeff. 
Totally with you there. I'm from the room-treatment-is-all school. If you can't hear it it's not there. If the room is crap, you can't hear it. Anything interfering with the sound is going to result in poor mixing choices. The screen is about 6 inches higher than it was before I introduced the second one. I bet when I re-ARC the room, there'll be a difference. 

And good luck for today, you Aussie guys. We are thinking of you over here. Stay cool.
 
Hi Backwoods. Yip Blake ... Like a forest in the night:-)

No. It's just a normal AOC, $179 from Palytech in Mairangi Bay. With my fat fingers I can barely work a GPS. Lord knows what kind of mess I'd make of a detailed touch screen. I've now been working with this setup for 5 hours and I could never go back. It's better than screens side by side IMO as you don't have to reposition yourself or twist you neck as you move from screen to screen. Also, once setup correctly, the mouse movement down and up is somehow more intuitive. 

Nice to know I'm not the only Kiwi not using Protools :-)

...get your speakers down into the right position, set them up properly, set them the right distance apart, position yourself the right distance from them...

...The speakers should ideally make an equilateral triangle with the listener's head. Most desktop speaker setups I see (even with one monitor) make an obtuse triangle in which the distance between the speakers is larger than the distance between the head and either speaker.

If two widescreen monitors together side by side take up too much overall width and interfere with speaker placement, then don't go widescreen.  19 inch 5:4 ratio 1280x1024 resolution screens are still available and still used in business/office environments.  The 5:4 shape suits activities that involve a lot of mouse control and fine detailed editing, whereas widescreen generally suits activities that involve your eyes more than your mouse.  Widescreen is the overwhelmingly popular choice of the average consumer, but is not necessary the best option for DAW work.

Jeff Evans


 There has already been a lot said (by experts) about turning off your monitor(s) or covering them up and just listening. It is quite interesting actually. Ever tried it? 
 

PS Remember the old days, there were no monitors and they manage very well. Very well in fact.

 
>>>>I agree: studies performed using brain scans (PET) have shown that the brain becomes very selectively engrossed with visual images at the expense of auditory acuity. This is why a big bright monitor or projector, with a poor quality audio system, still elicits comments from the unsophisticated of "wow that's the best home theater system I've ever heard!"

Yes, I often place a towel across my monitor(s) to listen. Also, I lay one across the surface of my work desk to kill the reflections there. The improvement is quite nice. A very effective free upgrade.<<<<<<
 
>>>>>True, but then they also had the benefit of not cluttering up their control rooms with PCs and computer based DAWs that required monitors.......  ;-) <<<<<<

Good point from Kev999 re normal ratio monitors. I agree this could be a good workaround. Or even One widescreen and one normal ratio might work too. I think that widescreens are good for looking at the main arrange page as you can see a bit more.

Interesting point too that Zenwit has made re the brain being distracted by visual things. How often have you spent ages on doing a tricky edit that you are trying to correct visually but in fact if you play right over it and close your eyes often you wont hear the problem at all. While you are looking though you can swear you are hearing something but that may only be because your eyes are telling you so.

A great example of that is the Mcgurk effect as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-lN8vWm3m0

Jeff Evans


Interesting point too that Zenwit has made re the brain being distracted by visual things. How often have you spent ages on doing a tricky edit that you are trying to correct visually but in fact if you play right over it and close your eyes often you wont hear the problem at all. While you are looking though you can swear you are hearing something but that may only be because your eyes are telling you so.

A great example of that is the Mcgurk effect as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-lN8vWm3m0
 
 

Wow.  Great example Jeff.  Now I'm wondering if it is a mistake to attempt to adjust EQ while  listening to tracks and simultaneously watching a visual graphic such as Voxengo Span.

All I know is you can take my dual monitors from my cold dead hands!

Well Zenwit that is good question. The last thing I would do is to watch some sort of spectrum analyser while adjusting EQ. What are you wanting to see? Flat response maybe, maybe not. That might not sound the best. NO use your ears and ears only to adjust EQ. I just adjust the EQ until the track or buss sounds the way I want it to sound.

Our ears are pretty amazing measuring tools, but you have to keep using them and practicing to make them so.

Jeff Evans

Good point from Kev999 re normal ratio monitors. I agree this could be a good workaround. Or even One widescreen and one normal ratio might work too. I think that widescreens are good for looking at the main arrange page as you can see a bit more.

Yes.  Big and wide is better for viewing while small and squarish is better for intense editing.  It's a compromise.

I used to have a 24" 16:9 alongside a 19" 5:4.  This setup was reasonably ok, but not satisfactory for stretching a window across two screens.  Two identical monitors is preferable.

But even if you obtain another of the same model, it's not guaranteed to be identical.  I have four Dell 1905FPs and the image quality is slightly different on each of them.  No amount of adjustment will produce a consistent colour balance, contrast and brightness.