Multi-Million Dollar Studio Chooses $400 Speakers??
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- Justin Colletti talks to Christopher Mallamaci of Avid about their new Pro Tools equipped music production and post studio in Burbank, California.
Despite the incredible resources at their disposal for this build out, they chose some remarkably affordable studio monitors for this Atmos surround sound-equipped room: The Kali Audio IN series.
Big thanks to sponsor Kali for helping make this video possible, and to Avid for letting us take a look inside.
Find out more about Kali at kaliaudio.com
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#kaliaudio #recordingstudio #protools #musicstudio #postproductionstudio #avidprotools #avid #ChristopherMallamaci #Atmos #Surroundsound #mixingstudio #postproduction #prostudio
Love My Kalis. Had to get used to them again after putting them on the iso pucks but now i feel i am making better decisions. Not to finish treating the rest of the room, but i do not Mix super loud anyways.
I'm listening to this video on Kali LP-8s. Love them.
Nice! I like those a lot. I'm really a sucker for 3-way speakers and coaxial designs. Amazing they can make a set so affordably. Great midrange detail on them. And they don't try to sound artificially "pretty" meaning they help get good results.
-Justin
I have the kalis lp6 v2 I have a small apartment so I don't need anything beyond 6.5" woofer and it's so easy to identify problems in the mix it's like magic
Great to hear! They are definitely among the very best options in their price range IMHO.
-Justin
I’ve heard only great things about kali audio speakers from many different sources sponsored or not. I’m convinced they’re the best for the money but will have to wait to compare them myself to the hedd type 20s
I have just built a mixing room in my garden and I'm using Kali IN-5's with the new WS 6.2 sub woofer. They sound wonderful and the sound stage is incredible! 😎
I have two IN-8s in my home studio. They’ve been great
Awesome to hear! They are legit possibly the best speakers I've heard or used for under $1000 a pair. There are only a few other speakers in this range I'd consider buying or recommending.
-Justin
@@SonicScoop Adam T8V !
Those are great speakers in their price range as well! It's also surprising how well the very small Adam A4V perform.
If you want something really compact, they are one of the best full range options out there. (Plus you can add a sub if you want. But for a lot of applications you may not need to.)
Kali doesn't make anything that small in a 2-way monitor yet. But their new IN-UNF is an interesting concept. I'd like to hear it some more outside of a tradeshow environment to make a judgement on it.
i have the in8s and have been enjoying them too! 👍
@@SonicScoopI Enjoy your videos .There are SO many good monitors out there now.I've had the A4V's since last June.I'm in a small home studio and the bottom end on them is really surprizing.They are sitting next to a pair of Presonus S-8's.Pink Noised both pair,to have the same volume.Never heard better depth and soundstage than the S-8's.Had them since 2013..Nobody in a lower to mid price range can touch the Adam ribbon tweeter.IMHO. But-I Would like to check out a pair of the Kali 8 coaxial 3 ways down here.👍
When we were buying/choosing our own studio monitors a few years back it was between Adams Yamaha Kali Genelec and Focal. We spent quite some time evaluating and testing various models in different price ranges and sure we found the difference between most low to mid range was minimal at best and some high end monitors offered little over those significantly cheaper and hard to justify the premium price. What we did deduce was it depending on the size of the room and what power/dynamic range specific speakers could deliver, using speakers at around 60% volume was the sweet spot and they still had plenty of headroom. With that in mind we chose the Adams T7Vs, they were just untouchable value without spending significantly more. The Kali LP8s are certainly great value monitors and a popular choice for many, but we collectively decided that Adams and for that matter Yamaha were superior. We chose Adams and happy with our choice
Adam make great monitors. One of my other favorite brands in this price point.
I would personally absolutely pick the Kalis over the Yamahas in this price range though.
Remember that the most important thing is not how the monitors sound, but how your mixes sound!
I believe the Kalis translate better than the Yamaha is do. The Yamahas could arguably “sound” better, depending on your taste. They are more bright on top and scooped in the middle. But the Kalis are just flatter, and have a more honest mid range, and will therefore tend to get most people better results, in my opinion.
Whether that means you “like” the speakers more or not in a sip tear is another question.
As an analogy: Coca-Cola probably beats black coffee in a sip test for most people. But if your goal is to lose weight, one is better than the other to have with breakfast than the other.
-Justin
I have the Kali Audio Lp6
Great value, those speakers. Some of the best in that price range for sure IMHO!
-Justin
Thanks Justin...doesn't matter if I switch to Pro Tools Avid or Kali I appreciate the great content here on my #1 channel source... that said I confident my next pair of speakers will be pair Kali.
Sweet. They do make great stuff! Thanks so much for being a member and for the comment!
-Justin
00:01 = Proud Justin face of his wonderful video title (kidding)
Nice to see this thanks Justin !
Haha, yes! I'm doing like a Mr. Beast level thumbnail on this one 🤣
Maybe I'm supposed to do this kind of thing more often?
-Justin
@@SonicScoop Im unfortunately not a good advisor on this, but what I can tell you and be sure help is contrast and color on the thumbnail for the newcomers, because for us we know you so when we see your face Its already appealing for the informations so we are often clicking but for acquisition it can be essential, but it can also hurt you watch time retention on long video as people attracted by shiny things may have less concentration (we all are but some have more concentration, look here nunjistu course! ^^)
Haha, good advice, and glad to have you tuning in!
-Justin
Kali make excellent speakers (and undervalued). Warren Huart is also a big fan.
Well good on him then! I agree. I've also been informed that we've had the same favorite headphones for years. (And since they've been discontinued, we've apparently also come to have the same favorite NEW headphones once again.)
A man of taste apparently! I wish him well :-)
TBH, I don't watch a lot in the way of other people's music production channels. But I am trying to make a point to start catching up on what other channels in the space are up to soon. His is one that definitely seems to stand out!
Thanks for the comment,
-Justin
Can't speak to Kali but I am very happy with my Adam monitors. Since most listeners these days are on shitty speakers or earbuds it just doesn't make sense to use $10,000 monitors anymore.
Adams are 100% my other top brand in this price range. For speakers under $1000, these are always the first two brands I recommend.
$10k monitors do potentially have a place in mastering I believe. But for most modern production and mix settings they may be overkill, and you can make great sounding records without spending nearly that much, for sure.
-Justin
Personally from a recording/mixing engineer pro tools has the the most user friendly options. Command as a main quick key Along with what ever key is added. I love the face they avid has not changed to a drastic point that you have to learn multiple options just to keep up. Also I’m a little biased haha! Been working with pro tools since 7 never left to record on anything else!
Sorry Avid, the horse has bolted, you messed up when you turned subscription on a product that was clunky at best and myself like many others will never be coming back. Sorry, Studio One is in a different universe. 😬
Hey, I just deleted my comments where I gave a bit of negative feedback to Kali. Yeah, my bad. My bad. I went stupid. Wrong company. It's Adam I was having the issue with, not Kali. So yeah. Keep doing your thing Kali, and don't sue me please.
Oh jeez we would never. If you're having problems though, just reach out. We do our best to help!
This is just an ad inside an ad
😂 I'll take the criticism!
Kali are regular sponsors of our channel and our website....But they are regular sponsors because I actually like their stuff and don't mind talking about it!
What has amazed me is just how incredibly effective this over the top clickbaity approach to thumbnails and titles has been. I usually don't go half as clickbaity as this. I guess I should more often?
We often have extremely deep, useful and valuable content, with tons of literally life-altering takeaways. But apparently if just put up a super clickable thumbnail and subject line can get even more views, I guess I'm supposed to do more of that or something?
Weird incentives, but the world is the way that it is!
Anyway, I legit like the speakers and thought it was cool and interesting that such a pro studio build went with such affordable monitors when they probably didn't have to.
-Justin
@@SonicScoop good try
What am I trying?
Trying to be incredibly open, honest, and transparent? (Especially about our relationships with sponsors?)
Would you prefer we be more like other channels that DON'T disclose their sponsorship affiliations?
-Justin
I’m addicted to these ads. I’m also convinced kali audio is the best for the price. And the room, calibration, and listener are more important. Wish they would sponsor me
@@sonicpulp9417 you also need to be convinced that dolby atmos is the future
Yoooo
Yoooo Benj, thanks for stopping by!
-Justin
Yooooooooo
look guys , dolby atmos for music isn't dead and a big studio is using 400 $ speakers!! it is the future just like NFTs 🤣
You'll be happy to know that I'm personally NOT a proponent of Atmos for music for average consumers.
Atmos is fun and sounds great, but unlike what a lot of other channels will tell you, it's a NICHE. It will likely never be the dominant way music will be consumed by average listeners. So we probably agree there!
As for $400 speakers in fancy studio? That is not only the way of the future, it's also the way of the present and the past.
Many of your favorite records have been mixed on inexpensive speakers like Auratones, NS-10s, and for a lot of great mixers, some weird boombox that they reference on for a disproportionate amount of time in every mix.
But more than that, accurate monitors that are meant to be relatively flat, and put a lot of focus and detail into the midrange (instead of big glossy lows and highs) tend to give better results in mixing. The Kali IN series does this brilliantly at their price point IMHO.
To be fair to Avid, building an Atmos room makes a LOT of sense, because so much of the high end motion picture market uses Pro Tools. They'd be crazy not to make their demo room a surround room for that reason alone.
And, if for some reason you did want to get into pure mixing music for Atmos, Kali is probably the most affordable way to do that a good level of quality. I personally know great mixes who have literally sold their 5x more expensive glossy sounding studio monitors to buy Kali IN monitors instead.
This is stuff I'd be saying whether or not I knew these guys. Which is why I'm happy to collaborate with them! I legit personally recommend their stuff.
(And this is coming from someone who also owns and uses $10k speakers!)
Hope that helps make sense of it,
-Justin
You could spend millions on walls and still have no gear...
That is possible! But honestly, you actually would be better off spending more on a room and less on gear than the average person expects if you want to make great sounding records.
A $4,000 mic in an untreated room into a $5,000 signal chain will sound less good that an $100 mic straight into an interface in a decent sounding space.
Same goes for speakers and the like: The room provably has a bigger impact than the speakers.
Just did a livestream podcast episode about this very concept last week! It's counterintuitive but true.
-Justin
For reference purposes, not hi- fidelity. Similar reason they have a mono channel speaker as well to see how will sound on different playback systems.
Hm… Are you saying that the Kali IN series would be considered low fidelity?? That seems odd. Have you heard them? These are not NS10s or Auratones. They are full range 3-driver monitors, and the only monitors in the entire studio. Not a secondary reference.
Hope that helps clarify,
-Justin
@@SonicScoop not as tight as i hoped for resulting in unwanted color whether intentional or not. Depends, just as any signal chain whether it's working for or against your needs For the average DAW'er should satisfy most seeking value.
So, this Kali Audio sponsored channel calls a Kali Audio partner who made a studio sponsored by Kali Audio, and pretends to ask candidly : "How come you have chosen Kali speakers?" lol 😆
It is a serious question: Why did they choose to accept using Kali monitors and working with Kali to help them with the studio build? Why not use a higher end monitor brand to do the same?
It would certainly be well within the means of a huge company like Avid to do so, right?
Avid’s goal with the studio is to show off their gear in the best possible light so they can sell more of it, right?
If spending a several thousand more in monitors or partnering with another brand might help make it easier to move hundreds of thousands more in their gear and software, then why not do it?
Even if their goal was to save money, why not do so with some other monitor brand in the same price point? I’m sure any brand in this price range would be thrilled to have their monitors in there as well! Why didn’t they get selected instead?
I wish I had got an even more candid and detailed answer, but the question is genuine: Avid can realistically choose ANY speakers that want to show off their gear in the best possible light. Why choose these?
Also, why are you assuming Avid’s studio is “sponsored by” Kali? Avid is the much bigger company of the two. I don’t know their relationship, whether Kali charged them full price or gave them a discount, or if they added in help with acoustics for free to help persuade them to buy the speakers, or if they billed for the consultation.
No idea. It honestly didn’t occur to me to ask! I assumed that the Kali guys persuaded them to buy the monitors, and that paying more wouldn’t be in their best interest, and maybe sweetening the pot by helping them with consultation on the build? If so, that would be a really smart business move. Wouldn’t that be a great idea for a speaker company if they can do it?
But again, realistically, a company like Avid could have easily spent 2x-10x more on monitoring on this build. Or they could have chosen any budget speakers they wanted. Whether they paid full price for the speakers, got a discount on them, or even got them fully comped is kind of a drop in the bucket for a company that size. And you’re assuming that other speaker companies wouldn’t also be interested in wooing them to select their speakers.
With all that in mind, why did they choose these specific speakers and not others if the ultimate goal is to show off their gear in the best light?
The question is a good one. The answer could have been more detailed IMHO. But the itself question is valid, no?
-Justin
meh lame avid ad
It is not! !Technically, it's a Kali ad. Avid just came along for the ride 🤣 But I like their stuff too and use it every day, so I really don't mind!
-Justin
They are getting desperate for dolby atmos
This sound like a conflict of interest, kali sponsors this channel, the Kali guy helped making the room etc…. Saying that I am not saying that those speakers are not great value for their cost.
Wait... It's a conflict of interests for a sponsor to do a sponsored video, which we openly mark as being a sponsored video? How so?
My friend, I would suggest that the conflict of interests is when other channels don't tell you they are doing sponsored videos for the brands they work with! 🙃 (There are sadly a great number of them, it seems.)
We are one of the few channels in our space that takes the time to actually click the darn "this video includes paid product placement" box on videos where we collaborate with brands, like we are supposed to. This makes us the good guys I think!
Full disclosure is that Kali sponsor us, as mentioned in the video, in the description and in the on screen notice. But also full disclosure is that they are allowed to sponsor us because I actually like their stuff, and have no problem recommending it! I sleep like a baby when doing so, because honestly, it's what I would be doing anyway. :-)
-Justin
@@SonicScoop all is way to much in terms that one of the room designer is part of Kali and then the channel is sponsor by Kali, too many angles… and yes you can be sponsor by anyone you want and you should and that is cool, but you can not pretend that this video feels a bit strange…. And yes are so many channels that are only about $$$ and for me is ok as I already know how the audio industry is … but the vast believe everything everyone says ….pretty much like in politics
It is interesting that the Kali guys got involved in the room build. I don't know what their relationship is like, but if Kali said something like "Hey you should install our speakers, they translate amazingly well, will save you money, and we'll even help with the acoustics if you go for them," that sounds like a very smart thing for them to do from a business perspective!
If you ran a business you'd be very wise to try to do something similar, wouldn't you? It's such a a great proof of concept.
I really do know some major producers and mixers who have literally sold speakers that cost several times more to go with the Kalis instead in their installations, and have been happy that they have done so.
One example I know personally is chart-topping mixer Jeff Ellis, who had much more expensive monitors in his studio, but dumped them to go with Kalis.
Did someone from the brand recommend he try them, and even offer to help him set them up? I have no idea. But if they did, how would that not be smart for them and a win for the person installing them?
Things to think about!
-Justin
@@SonicScoop which Kalis? In-8s?
@@SonicScoop not necessarily , having the amount of $ already invested and sure they got a budget for great speakers, I go with the speakers I like, and sure there are so many great and better speakers than Kali, they also had a budget for acoustics.. is Avid…. Now, yes I Would put a pair of Kali or KRKs V series to check in more budget speakers
so the reason is, its sponsored by Kali. How about you state that in the beginning of the video and stop using click bate titles.. man, that kid in the studio sounds like he has rehearsed every single thing he says
It IS stated, in the introduction of the video, in the description, and in the pop up on screen that states it includes paid product placement. What more do you want?? 😆
The ironic thing is that you're probably watching a TON of sponsored videos from others channels that you don't even know are sponsored because they don't state or disclose it at all.
And here we are, being the good guys, by being totally transparent about our sponsorship affiliations, and you're complaining about US. Instead of the channels that aren't being honest to you.
Oh well, the world is the way it is. 🤷
The clickbaity title was fun, but it is true: This is legit a high end studio build that could have spent much more on monitors to showcase their gear, but instead chose remarkably affordable monitors.
I think that's interesting and worth knowing. Sponsored or otherwise. (I also genuinely like and recommend both brands.)
-Justin
“It’s sponsored therefore it’s bad”
How do people believe this? Look at the context. Do you really think that a huge, powerful, industry-leading company building a custom studio is going to cave and sacrifice their brand reputation for a couple bucks of sponsor money? Especially when there’s almost certainly a higher-price speaker company who would have been willing and able to out-bid Kali. If it was all about the money, I’m sure there would be some extremely expensive speakers in there instead. The speakers would have come from the highest bidder.
(I would also like to tell a personal story. My dad is the one who got me into pro audio. He bought me my first set of monitors, my first guitar amp, etc etc etc. Back in the day, he built his own speakers, and installed one set of them into our family’s home theater. Our basement rivaled some movie theaters. He has always told me that speakers are the most overpriced snake oil in the audio world. They consist of a magnet, a paper cone, and an enclosure. He built speakers that stood toe-to-toe with systems tens of times more expensive than what he spent on the parts for his.
My point of this story is that if there’s any part of a pro studio that could be had on a college kid budget, a good set of speakers is absolutely the most believable.
@@SonicScoop you re right. it is stated in the pop up. here in the EU all channels are required to state sponsorship by using -at least- that little pop up note. So we dont see channels that hide sponsoring.
However this video feels so fake and scripted.. it opens up like a product review but actually is a single ad. Did i miss it, or didnt you mention a single downside to the speakers?
I prefer channels where the channel owner clearly states at the very beginning of every video his relationship to the manufacturers/ sellers and weather he received compensation (financial or material) for the content in the video.
Frank, I honestly think that a big part of what makes the video feel a little less natural than our average, is just that Christopher is not experienced in doing public interviews, and is a young guy who doesn’t want to take risks speaking publicly at a company he has been working at for a short time. So he probably didn’t want to “riff” that much, like I am apt to do, and doesn’t have the experience to sound and feel extremely natural and authentic on camera yet.
That really does come with time and experience. If you’ve never spoken about something that you care about publicly on camera before, I challenge you to do so and feel extremely natural and flowing and unscripted on your first try! It’s HARD.
I agree that the video feels a little stiff compared to our channel average. But I like Pro Tools, I liked Christopher, and I’m willing to cut them a little slack about not being ace UA-camrs right off the bat.
I understand if you feel differently.
Also: Just because other channels are “supposed” to disclose their relationships doesn’t mean that they do! I know of several for a fact that don’t.
Zachary, I wouldn’t go as far as to call speakers “snake oil”, but they do provably have less of an impact on what you hear than the room does.
Speakers are much harder to get right than say, mic preamps. Transducers are some of the harder things to get right in audio.
But relative to the impact of rooms, musicians, producers and engineers, their impact is much smaller!
(And this is coming from a guy who loves speakers!)
-Justin
@@SonicScoop yea i reacted a bit edgy.. i just expected a different kind of video when clicking on the thumnail. i ve gotten good advice from this channel in the past. thx
Promote Like A Pro.
🤭
SO much Avid scripted pitches and all the Kalifying really make this one fly low and crash loudly.
Not one of the best SonicScoop videos, IMHO.
Ironically, Avid didn’t sponsor this one at all. I just gave them the opportunity to make their case.
Did it feel a little scripted? Yeah. I think that’s what you get when you talk to a junior person at a large corporation. They’re not going to want to take a lot of risks or inject a lot of their own personality into the message, and may not have a lot of experience being on camera.
With all that in mind, I think Chris did well for literally his first time ever being on camera in this kind of context. I can give a guy a break for being a bit stiff and press-release-y in that context. I liked him.
Only sponsor on this video is Kali who helped us cover costs of production on the video to talk to Avid about the buildout and install. And understandably so! A nice feather in their cap to get selected for a build of this caliber.
-Justin