Which Studio Reference monitors

Question

Sorry that this questions does not have to much to do with final cut though i don't know where i can ask people how know an video edit suite.
I'm looking at buying some Studio reference monitor and have found a pair i think are going to have what i need, untill the question of what happens if i wanted to go from a 2 monitor system and then the need came around for editing 5.1 dolby sound.
The monitors i'm looking at are Roland DS-5 2-way active digital Reference monitors. these have built in amps.
thanks for the help

Answer 1

Asking 'which studio monitors' is liek asking which flavor of ice cream, in some ways. So many choices that range in price, and it's really up to preference and function. What's good is that there are so many models out these days and some excellent inexpensive models, whereas just 6-7 years ago, powered monitors were generally rather pricey and less prolific. Good thing about self-amplified models is that you don't have to take up the extra space with an external amplifier.
I would go into a Guitar Center or Sam Ash and try some out. Depending on how much sound editing/edsign you do, there's a whole plethora of choices that are very affordable. For most video editing purposes, a good pair of 5.25" woofer monitors and 50-75W or so are plenty, unless you have a really large rig/console with a lot of distance between you and the speakers, or yo plan on playing things really loud. You may or may not want to add a subwoofer depending on the sound work you do. The Rolands you mentioned, the M-Audio BX5a, Yamaha HS50M, Samson Resolve 50a, Alesis M1 Active 520, KRK RP5, TapCo S5, and others in the same size/price range will give plenty of volume and accuracy for video work, and even sound design. Choices get more specific and pricier for those who do a lot of recording/mixing and sound work specifically. But a lot of those choices would be overkill for a video editing setup.
It's important that you get the sound to the monitors well, though, and preferably not via a mini-plug to RCA adapter from your computer's rear sound out jack. Look into good USB or Firewire audio interfaces or sound cards. Just about any of the compact powered monitors out these days are much better choices than the subwoofer and computer sattelite speaker packages that you can get at any store selling computer stuff these days.
As for 5.1...I never do any 5.1 surround work. I usually do all my editing and designing in stereo, and when it comes time to the final mix at a facility, we take care of the surround there, because they know how to do it. For most users who try to do 5.1 on whatever software that's available, it usually doesn't come out quite right...either because the mix itself is not good, or they just put things in 5.1 without checking for phasing anomalies, or the process by which the sound is put into 5.1 is just a poor reverse-pro-logic kind of thing. It's just not the same as having the sound professionally mixed and mastered.
I don't know the extent of sound work you do, but in general, I would suggest that you not worry abot 5.1 while editing and finalizing your sound edit/design. It's less to worry about and fight with, and a good stereo edit/mix will sound fine on a system with good pro-logic through a 5.1 speaker system anyway. Plus, speaker and room placement of just a stereo pair is essential enough, with 5.1 it's even more of a pain, if you really want to edit and design accurately. Can you set up all 5 speakers equidistant from your listening position at your editing station without rearranging the entire room? It's much easier with just two speakers, and since they are studio monitors, they are (a little) less dependent on the overall room placement, hence 'nearfield'. 5.1 Surround usually isn't done in editing, it's done in mixing and mastering, where they assign which sounds belong where, and process the whole thing out correctly.
Good luck!