Archives
January 2013
What are you really hearing when you listen to your tracks and mixes? That's the most important question any recording musician can ask, and we provide the answers in the January issue of RECORDING. It's time to put on our listening ears and dive into the wonderful world of monitors and headphones!
Good monitoring has become more affordable than ever, new technologies and refinements on classic approaches to monitor and headphone design are revolutionizing how we listen to music. From entry-level speakers that will fit anywhere and in-ear headphones that will travel anywhere, to world-class monitors and headphones, we bring you in-depth reviews of products by ADAM Audio, AKG, Sennheiser, Shure, and Trident.
Beyond reviews, this issue's packed with great advice about choosing and working with monitors, from a monitor-centric edition of our Recording Fundamentals series to an illuminating look at how headphone amplifiers fit into the personal studio experience and a fascinating article about how we hear and process music.
And that's not all! We test out Universal Audio's stunning new Apollo audio interface/DSP engine, take the Lauten Atlantis mic for a test-drive, listen to preamps from Earthworks and PreSonus, look at last-minute gift ideas in the world of iOS apps... and did we mention our coverage of highlights from the 133rd AES Convention in San Francisco? Now we have!
Listen and learn, read and learn... there's something for everyone in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING. Check it out!
Pick it up now on the newsstand... and so you get your next issue early (and save on cost), why not hit the big red Subscribe Now button on this page and have RECORDING delivered to your door each month?
Universal Audio Apollo
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Reviewed by
Darwin Grosse
Universal Audio Apollo |
Reviewed by
Darwin Grosse
With built-in DSP and high-end audio I/O quality, this all-in-one interface is a full production solution in a portable package.
Originally founded in 1958, and rebooted in 1999, Universal Audio has a long history as an inno......Expand
With built-in DSP and high-end audio I/O quality, this all-in-one interface is a full production solution in a portable package.
Originally founded in 1958, and rebooted in 1999, Universal Audio has a long history as an innovator in professional audio systems. From hardware preamps and compressors favored by recording engineers, through the UAD DSP-based plug-in system, UA gear can be found in almost every studio in the world.
Universal's most recent addition to the world of recording is the Apollo audio interface, Universal's shot at creating the ultimate in-the-box recording solution. How does it measure up? Let's dig through the shipping peanuts to check it out...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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ADAM Audio F5 and F7 Monitors
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Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
ADAM Audio F5 and F7 Monitors |
Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
The ribbon-tweeter sound reaches a new audience with these affordable active monitors. Also reviewed: the IsoAcoustics ISOL8R200 speaker isolation stands.
ADAM Audio is based in Berlin, Germany. The company makes loudspeaker......Expand
The ribbon-tweeter sound reaches a new audience with these affordable active monitors. Also reviewed: the IsoAcoustics ISOL8R200 speaker isolation stands.
ADAM Audio is based in Berlin, Germany. The company makes loudspeakers for a variety of markets, from home to installed audio to multimedia systems, and a number of its products are squarely aimed at the control rooms of audio production facilities large and small. Over the last ten years we have reviewed a number of these monitors, from the fairly pricey S-1A to more affordable models like the A3X, ANF-10, A5, and A7.
Now comes a new pair of monitors, looking identical except for their size, the self-powered F5 and F7. These models are to be released early in 2013 and are aimed at the budget recordist while promising the special sound of which ADAM is justly proud...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Earthworks ZDT 1022 Mic Preamp
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Earthworks ZDT 1022 Mic Preamp |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
This preamp isn't brand-new, but its Zero Distortion Technology will be a startling revelation to recording musicians in search of ultimate clarity.
New Hampshire-based Earthworks is a microphone company famous for their üb......Expand
This preamp isn't brand-new, but its Zero Distortion Technology will be a startling revelation to recording musicians in search of ultimate clarity.
New Hampshire-based Earthworks is a microphone company famous for their über-clean and honest microphones. Yes, the ones with the small tapering bodies and itty bitty capsules that look very much like microphones of the measurement variety. If you have read any of my recent reviews of their products you will know that I typically refer to these high-definition mics as the "straight wire with gain" of the microphone world.
Of course that phrase is typically attributed to microphone preamps and refers to designs where the sound from the microphone and source pass through the unit strongly and cleanly with as little coloration as possible.
Interestingly, this month we look at a mic preamp from Earthworks, which the company claims is truly worthy of the "straight wire with gain" title, the ZDT 1022 Microphone Preamp. This isn't a brand-new product, but it's one that is worthy of our readers' attention, and I had a very interesting time reviewing it. Here's what I found...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Trident HG3 Close Field Monitoring System
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Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
Trident HG3 Close Field Monitoring System |
Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
A unique steerable driver pod allows these speakers to adjust easily to different listening situations, with impeccable sound.
Trident Audio Developments is a venerable name that has always been linked to that of Malcolm Tof......Expand
A unique steerable driver pod allows these speakers to adjust easily to different listening situations, with impeccable sound.
Trident Audio Developments is a venerable name that has always been linked to that of Malcolm Toft, who worked at Trident Studios in London as far back as 1968. The Trident website tells us that Toft mixed "Hey Jude" which was recorded at Trident because it had an 8-track recorder... That's quite some history.
Toft founded Trident Audio Developments in 1971, and soon the A Range split-design console came about, these days still available as a 2-channel rack-mountable version. Another console followed, the B-Range, also still available as a rackmountable 2-channel version, and in 1980 the Series 80 followed, a modular live console. Malcolm Toft also designed the currently available Series 82 24-bus recording console.
So why do I hark back to those iconic products? To point out that Trident doesn't just come out with any old short-lived product, and that in all these years Trident has never produced a studio monitor-until now. This one is not Malcom Toft's baby, it is the brainchild of another industry veteran, Harvey Gerst of Indian Trail Recording Studios. Was it worth the wait? ...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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AKG K702 65th Anniversary Edition Headphones
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
AKG K702 65th Anniversary Edition Headphones |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
The venerable Austrian audio firm celebrates a birthday in grand style with a set of phones that provide uncompromising quality.
AKG has a long and storied history of designing headphones for casual listeners and studio prof......Expand
The venerable Austrian audio firm celebrates a birthday in grand style with a set of phones that provide uncompromising quality.
AKG has a long and storied history of designing headphones for casual listeners and studio professionals alike. The line includes famous headphones like the standard-setting K271 (reviewed September 2003 and still this reviewer's favorite mid-priced headphone) released in 2001; the K240, used everywhere from full-orchestra sessions to rock tracking (and another stalwart in my studio), released in 1976; and the user-controllable K180 of 1969.
How do I know all these dates? They're printed in the little historical brochure that came with AKG's latest headphone, the K702 65th Anniversary Edition. Tricked out in a special color scheme of sexy charcoal grey with blue trim, this new limited-edition headphone adds a unique commemorative look to a design that's attention-getting even in its standard version.
AKG started building headphones in 1949, and the K702 represents the company's latest pinnacle of sonic excellence. Let's see what all the fuss is about, shall we? ...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Grace Design m903 Reference Headphone Amplifier
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Grace Design m903 Reference Headphone Amplifier |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Headphone amplification, monitor control, D/A conversion, computer interfacing, and more, all with quality that's second to none.
As we've said many times in these pages, recording musicians can choose unfortunate times to g......Expand
Headphone amplification, monitor control, D/A conversion, computer interfacing, and more, all with quality that's second to none.
As we've said many times in these pages, recording musicians can choose unfortunate times to gloss over important stuff; if we don't understand what's going on under the hood of a particular device, we may tend to shrug and assume it's going to give us what we need and it can't be improved upon. For example, beginning recordists tend to ignore the innards of computer interfaces and converters as "black boxes" whose functions can't be fathomed, only accepted. First we learn to worry about getting really good preamps and A/D converters on our inputs, but we accept the D/A conversion and output circuitry of our interfaces as whatever the manufacturer sees fit to give us. Shouldn't we be as concerned, or more, about how we hear as how we record?
Grace Design thinks so, and has been backing up that belief with exceptional listening amplification systems for many years. The latest from The Brothers Grace is the m903; it's not only an extension and refinement (read, complete redesign) of the m902, but it offers added features that now make it not only a brilliant headphone amp, monitor controller, and D/A, but an unparalleled audio listening interface for modern computers....
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Lauten Atlantis FC-387 Condenser Microphone
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Lauten Atlantis FC-387 Condenser Microphone |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
With a flick of a switch, this one mic becomes three, each with its own useful and beautiful sonic signature.
Here at Recording we have been covering the Lauten microphone line since 2007 when we reviewed their first product......Expand
With a flick of a switch, this one mic becomes three, each with its own useful and beautiful sonic signature.
Here at Recording we have been covering the Lauten microphone line since 2007 when we reviewed their first product, the Horizon LT-321 tube microphone, in our Aug 2007 issue. Since then we've also reviewed the Torch ST-221 small-diaphragm pencil tube condensers (October 2009) and the Clarion large-diaphragm multi-pattern FET condenser mic (May 2011).
In each instance what has impressed me the most about Brian Loudenslager and Dr. Charles Chen's designs is that each of these mics exhibit its own unique sound that is not a clone of one of the vintage greats. Each Lauten model we have seen has offered impeccable and unique sound in a robust and well-built package.
This month we look at Lauten's new Atlantis FC-387, a solid-state mic that excels in versatility....
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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PreSonus BlueTube DP V2
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
PreSonus BlueTube DP V2 |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
This beginner-friendly tube mic preamp has a major upgrade in the form of greatly improved solid-state electronics.
PreSonus is a company that truly offers something for everyone, from beginner to boutique. In recent years w......Expand
This beginner-friendly tube mic preamp has a major upgrade in the form of greatly improved solid-state electronics.
PreSonus is a company that truly offers something for everyone, from beginner to boutique. In recent years we've looked at products like the Anthony DeMaria-designed ADL series, the AudioBox and AudioBox VSL computer interfaces, and the StudioLive digital mixers. With the company's recent heavy emphasis on digital devices and its Studio One DAW, it's easy to forget that PreSonus still also offers important analog signal processors aimed at improving the sound of entry-level studios for reasonable prices.
In 2001 we saw the BlueTube, a 2-channel, tube-equipped mic preamp for a mere $200, at a time when most 2-channel mic pres (even ones that didn't have tube electronics) were double to triple that price. In 2005 the unit evolved into the BlueTube DP with an updated look and an improved design. The line continues to improve and evolve, and in this review we're taking a look at the newest incarnation, the 2-channel BlueTube DP V2....
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Shure SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Shure SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
In-ear monitors can be surprisingly handy in the studio, and these affordable in-ears combine comfort and utility.
The SE Series is Shure's newest line of personal in-ear monitors, an upgrade to the company's former E and SC......Expand
In-ear monitors can be surprisingly handy in the studio, and these affordable in-ears combine comfort and utility.
The SE Series is Shure's newest line of personal in-ear monitors, an upgrade to the company's former E and SCL lines. The SE215 is the entry model in the line; it is a single-driver design using what Shure calls a Dynamic MicroDriver.
I've been using and loving the SE215 for some time now, and when I learned of the monitor-specific focus of this issue of Recording, I volunteered to write up my experiences with this affordable, comfortable, good-sounding in-ear. Why in-ears in a recording magazine? Read on...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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iOS Music Tools: Last-Minute Audio Gifts!
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
iOS Music Tools: Last-Minute Audio Gifts! |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Audio apps for the iOS musician on your list: Korg iKaossilator, Moog Filtatron, Wizdom Music SampleWiz, and Nonlinear Educating macProVideo.
A lot of our subscribers will receive this January issue in early December, meanin......Expand
Audio apps for the iOS musician on your list: Korg iKaossilator, Moog Filtatron, Wizdom Music SampleWiz, and Nonlinear Educating macProVideo.
A lot of our subscribers will receive this January issue in early December, meaning we have a chance to squeeze in a few more choice reviews of worthwhile gift apps for the holidays. Enjoy!...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Sennheiser HD800 Headphones
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Sennheiser HD800 Headphones |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
These ultra-high-end phones provide audio that's simply out of this world.
Along with the good solid entry-level gear we recommend to beginning recording musicians, and the exceptional mid-to-high-level gear that helps our r......Expand
These ultra-high-end phones provide audio that's simply out of this world.
Along with the good solid entry-level gear we recommend to beginning recording musicians, and the exceptional mid-to-high-level gear that helps our readers step up to new levels of quality, every once in a while I am privileged to try out something really special. Its price tag may be a jolt, but it delivers results in the upper stratosphere of what we do, and that may be justification enough for some buyers.
While I've reviewed headphones ranging from 'affordable and surprisingly good and utilitarian' to 'spendy but of very high audio quality', I don't often get to listen to phones like the Sennheiser HD800. As a closer to this issue on monitoring, here's a quick spin around the block with a set of phones best described as 'mind-blowing'...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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2012 AES Convention Report
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Written by
Mike Metlay with Paul Vnuk Jr.
2012 AES Convention Report |
Written by
Mike Metlay with Paul Vnuk Jr.
New gear aplenty was on display in San Francisco, and we're here to walk you around the show floor and show you the highlights.
The Audio Engineering Society held its 133rd Convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco o......Expand
New gear aplenty was on display in San Francisco, and we're here to walk you around the show floor and show you the highlights.
The Audio Engineering Society held its 133rd Convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on October 26-29, with the last three days of the show featuring an exhibition hall full of new products for attendees to examine. Show traffic was quite strong on the first two days of exhibition, giving a strong impression of community interest despite the show's somewhat smaller size in comparison to recent years.
One interesting addition to this year's show was a Project Studio Expo Track, where a stage at one end of the exhibit hall hosted speakers from a variety of music magazines discussing topics ranging from tracking and mix techniques to mastering and live recording. RECORDING’s Mike Metlay hosted a discussion of modern music applications and hardware for iOS, and participated in a round-table Q&A session featuring editors of many industry magazines. The sessions were well-attended, and we'll be interested to see if the Project Studio Expo becomes a regular part of future AES Conventions.
But for now, it's time to hit the show floor and see some highlights. We apologize in advance to folks we may have missed; a lot of well-attended booths (AEA, Earthworks, and JBL, to name a few examples) were showing products already known to our readers, and a surprisingly frequent refrain was "Nothing new here, but catch up with us at NAMM." It will be interesting to see which of the traditionally AES-bound manufacturers give the much larger NAMM Show, with its far more diverse (and chaotic!) audience, a try. In the meantime, let's see what AES San Francisco had to offer...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Monitors & Monitoring
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Written by
Joe Albano
Monitors & Monitoring |
Written by
Joe Albano
A crash course on what you need to know about the many ways to get your recorded audio faithfully to your discerning ears.
The last link in the recording/mixing chain is often overlooked or glossed over, but, needless to say......Expand
A crash course on what you need to know about the many ways to get your recorded audio faithfully to your discerning ears.
The last link in the recording/mixing chain is often overlooked or glossed over, but, needless to say, it's one of the most important aspects of all -- monitoring! After all, if you can't trust what you're hearing... This article will take a look at that final link -- speakers and headphones -- and a couple of key considerations that come into play when setting up your studio's monitoring.
A discussion of monitoring could easily descend into a morass of technical detail about transducers, drivers, crossovers, enclosures, etc, and choosing and setting up monitor speakers gets into a lot of specs -- size, power handling, SPL capability -- all of which will involve balancing many factors, not the least of which can be cost. Ultimately, the choice of one brand of monitor speaker over another often comes down to a subjective preference for tonal balance, just as much as it's based on the other, more objective technical considerations.
But for this piece, I'll approach the topic from the standpoint of the recordist who's setting up a studio/control room, and needs to make choices about his/her monitoring setup in the context of the studio environment....
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 13: Monitors Part 2
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Written by
Eric Ferguson
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 13: Monitors Part 2 |
Written by
Eric Ferguson
This month, we talk about the history of monitor speakers and about how different designs interact with your listening space.
Last month, this column investigated the attributes that make a loudspeaker a monitor, how crossov......Expand
This month, we talk about the history of monitor speakers and about how different designs interact with your listening space.
Last month, this column investigated the attributes that make a loudspeaker a monitor, how crossovers and driver spacing affect sound quality in multi-way monitors, and why active 2-way monitors have become the norm in most control rooms. Continuing forward, this month's edition will discuss the various sizes of monitors found in professional studios, the legacy of a few famous models, and how different enclosure designs affect a loudspeaker sonics...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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Getting Into Your Head
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Written by
Mike Rivers
Getting Into Your Head |
Written by
Mike Rivers
Headphone amplifiers come in all shapes and sizes; we teach you how to spot features you can use and make the most of what they provide.
While everyday headphone listening can be as simple as plugging into a device's headpho......Expand
Headphone amplifiers come in all shapes and sizes; we teach you how to spot features you can use and make the most of what they provide.
While everyday headphone listening can be as simple as plugging into a device's headphone jack, a dedicated headphone amplifier is usually required for studio or on-stage monitoring. Many different devices fall under the name "headphone amplifier." They differ in the number of inputs and outputs, some may offer controls beyond volume, and they find use in different applications. In this article we'll look at a variety of devices that go between an audio source and one or more sets of headphones, look at their similarities and differences, and suggest appropriate applications....
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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2012 Annual Index
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Written by
2012 Annual Index |
Written by
A whole year's worth of informative articles and in-depth reviews at your fingertips!
A whole year's worth of informative articles and in-depth reviews at your fingertips!
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Fade Out
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Written by
Mike Metlay
Fade Out |
Written by
Mike Metlay
Music Apps: When the Prevailing Wisdom Is Stupid.
Recently I was browsing the App Store on my iPad and found a product page for a promising music app that I felt might be review-worthy. I noted that while the vast majority o......Expand
Music Apps: When the Prevailing Wisdom Is Stupid.
Recently I was browsing the App Store on my iPad and found a product page for a promising music app that I felt might be review-worthy. I noted that while the vast majority of buyer ratings were 5s and 4s, there were a significant number of 1s as well, so I took a quick look at the criticisms to see what people were upset about.
I was stunned to see that while the product did in fact offer fantastic features that worked just as advertised and with exceptional convenience and elegance, its critics were upset by its exorbitant cost. One went as far as to say that he considered himself to have been "completely ripped off" and that the app should have only cost half of what it did.
The app in question cost $9.99. This fellow was saying he thought it only deserved to cost $4.99, and that extra five-dollar expenditure was a symbolic defilement of his poor wallet...
Read more in the January 2013 issue of RECORDING!
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