MONITORING SOUND IN THE ONE-PERSON ENVIRONMENT

With the growth of personal computers as display devices for media has come the need to monitor sound accompanying images on these systems. Many of the same parameters that constitute the capabilities of large- scale systems also need to be addressed in small-scale ones in or-der to produce similar experiences of the program material. These include frequency range and response over-the range, dynamic range, and stereo imaging capabilities. In addition, some new problems also arise, such as those br ought about by being too close to the loudspeakers, and t he difficult acoustical environment faced by the loudspeakers. Several methods are described that make the desktop environment useful in mak ing professional judgments of sound usually reserved for calibrated mo nitoring systems in motion picture dubbing stages. Having such a syste m extends the utility of digital audio and video workstations. Perform ance data are presented here.