Pro Audio brands

[admin_exported]

Looking at the web it would appear that there is a world of brands out there providing kit for professional studios that don't get a mention here. Many active speakers, and very powerful amps for way less ££ than consumer equivalents etc. etc. So how does this stuff sound, and, looks aside, how would it do in a domestic setting?

 

[Anonymous]

I'd heard that studio or pro-audio speakers are usually voiced to be flat in frequency response whereas their domestic partners might have a little bass hump, etc, for the home tastes. I heard this about the PMC DB1.

 

[chebby]

Septicman:... Many active speakers, and very powerful amps for way less ££ than consumer equivalents..

Have you seen the prices for even the smaller ATC active monitors? (SCM20a £3900 per pair)

Even the diddy PMC DB1S-a active monitors are £1700 a pair.

 

[Craig M.]

chebby:
Septicman:... Many active speakers, and very powerful amps for way less ££ than consumer equivalents..

Have you seen the prices for even the smaller ATC active monitors? (SCM20a £3900 per pair)...

if they're anything like my scm19's, i bet you get a lot of speaker (and amp) for your money.

 

[chebby]

Craig M.:chebby:
Septicman:... Many active speakers, and very powerful amps for way less ££ than consumer equivalents..

Have you seen the prices for even the smaller ATC active monitors? (SCM20a £3900 per pair)...

if they're anything like my scm19's, i bet you get a lot of speaker (and amp) for your money.

Yes indeed. Just saying that... "way less ££ than consumer equivalents" is not necessarily always the case. A quick look at ATC, PMC, Harbeth and Dynaudio pro and consumer prices (where there are 'equivalents' or near equivalents) show that the pro models are often more expensive.

 

[Big Chris]

The singer in my old band had a pair of 'Genelec' active speakers. Sounded really good, but then at £1200, you'd hope they would/

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
Septicman:... Many active speakers, and very powerful amps for way less ££ than consumer equivalents..

Have you seen the prices for even the smaller ATC active monitors? (SCM20a £3900 per pair)

Even the diddy PMC DB1S-a active monitors are £1700 a pair.

Yes, you're right, but these are the premium brands. I was thinking of for example, Crown amps, 300w/channel, £299. Plenty of active speakers sub £1000 and quite a bit below.

 

[matthewpiano]

Behringer make some very nice active monitors which actually look OK as well. Very well balanced sound, although possibly a little analytical for home listening.

The best pro amplification I've used, however, has tended to be in powered mixers - Soundcraft, Yamaha, and Mackie. Superb stuff, but wouldn't fit in to the home very well.

 

[the record spot]

Acoustic Energy - AE22 Actives - £800. Fabulous speaker for the money, maybe not Pro Audio, but heavily drawn from that end of the market.

 

[up the music]

I use an MC2 power amp (with PC fan controllers). This is designed more as a high end PA rather than studio amp. The top end is slightly recessed but is otherwise amazing. Essentially the sound is neutral, detailed and fast with a stunning bass. It beats my Exposure 18 Supers, Naim 140 and Rotel RB991 by a significant margin. That said it should do given the MC1250 still retails new for around £2400. I've not had the chance to compare to similarly priced hifi power amps.

I also use Acoustic Energy AE1 speakers which were originally designed as studio nearfield monitors before they took off in the hifi world. 20 years on from first hearing these speakers I still find them remarkable.

A sound engineer friend uses a pair of the more modest Adam acive monitors through his Mac. For the £700 paid these sound like a very fine amp/speaker combination.

Products lke the Benchmark DACs and ATC monitors seem to have found a place in the hifi firmaament. I get the feeling that there are more products worth considering than the hifi mainstream.

The big thing to consider is whether you want transparent and neutral kit to show how bad your recordings are. Many people prefer something more forgiving.

 

[Anonymous]

I use a pair of PMC DB1SA's for home hifi use and they sound amazing. They are very analytical and do show up bad recordings to some degree but I couldn't be more happier with them. I picked mine up second hand for £750 and they were only 8 months old so I was a bit lucky and to be honest I'm not sure i would fork out £1800 pounds for them just to use them for hifi/home.

I would probably buy some used DB1's and a decent amp and save a lot of money but having said that they do sound great and they manage to fill a medium sized room with sound despite their diminutive size and they do go very loud. When you play well recorded material on them they never fail to impress.

Cyrus ACA7.5 PreAmp, Cyrus CD7, CA Dacmagic, PC (wavs), PMC DB1SA