PAR Daily E-Reviewsletter featuring Focal Professional, Metric Halo, Monkey Banana, Radial & Small Tree

New Products - September 26, 2012 The 2012 PAR Excellence Awards: Vote Now! » Metric Halo Production Plug-in Bundle » Monkey Banana Studio Reference Monitors: Now With US Distribution » Radial Powerhouse 500 Series-Compatible 10-Slot Rack » Small Tree ThunderNET for Mac-Based Audio Post-production Networks » Today's Product Review Focal Professional SM9 3-/2-Way Active Studio Monitor By Russ Long, PAR Senior Contributor "After spending the last three weeks working non-stop on the SM9s, I’m sold. The imaging is spectacular and they provide a flat, smooth and natural sound regardless of volume level. When the band comes in the control room for a listen, I can crank up the monitors and kick butt, but they also sound great at extremely low levels. I like that there are significantly more tonal shaping tools on the SM9 than on any other monitor I’ve encountered. This allows the SM9’s response to be sonically adjusted to work in spaces with a strong sonic thumbprint. Low apparent levels of distortion provide non-fatiguing monitoring, which is another strong suit of the monitors. The dual monitor feature is a brilliant idea. Rather than having a pair of NS-10s around for occasional referencing, I simply press the focus button on the side of the SM9 and the woofer and passive radiator are deactivated turning the speaker into a two-way system more typical of most people’s home stereos." More » Today's Blog Choosing Monitors By Rob Tavaglione and Rich Tozzoli "Yes, it’s complicated, messy and all subject to personal interpretation — so much so that many engineers don't want to experiment with monitors (or review them either, for that matter). Personally, I've learned to embrace the awkwardness of readjustment when reviewing monitors, as the difficulty has made me better at frequency identification and has forced me to look at my monitoring decisions under a microscope. I'd like to think that, if anything, I can share mistakes and conclusions I’ve made, as well as translate those special moments of insight to the next generation of engineers who are often “stuck in their caves,” too." More »

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