JBL Professional has begun delivery of its MSC1 monitor system controller, which brings convenience and greater accuracy to audio production rooms at an accessible price point. Designed as an add-on to JBL’s LSR2300 Series studio monitors, the MSC1 works equally well with any speaker system. The controller includes features found in large mixing consoles to control various monitoring functions from the mix position. Because room acoustics can compromise the quality of the mix, the MSC1 includes the new third generation of JBL's RMC (Room Mode Correction) technology that helps overcome low-frequency problems that can affect the quality of the mix.
The MSC1 provides the ability to monitor up to three two-channel input sources, such as a mixing console, computer workstation and personal music player, while controlling the volume of the monitor system and connected headphones. The MSC allows connection of two sets of speakers and a subwoofer. The primary “A” speaker outputs include user-defined monitor EQ and JBL RMC to tune the system to the room. The subwoofer output has its own level control, selectable crossover settings and RMC to blend a sub with the “A” speakers. The “B” speaker outputs allow connection of a second set of studio monitors. Included MSC1 control center software allows access to user-adjustable settings including speaker equalization, subwoofer crossover frequency, subwoofer polarity and level, and fine-resolution delay that can be applied to compensate for variations in speaker and subwoofer distance relative to the listening position.
The built-in RMC technology of the MSC1 system measures the room and automatically tunes the speakers to compensate for low-frequency anomalies. Calibration is simply carried out using the supplied calibration microphone and control center software. During the RMC calibration, the software measures the room, calculates and downloads corrective filter coefficients to the MSC1, and balances the primary speakers and subwoofer within 1/4dB of each other. Following calibration, the MSC1 operates as a stand-alone unit without the need for connection to a computer. The MSC1 ships with Windows XP and Vista-compatible software. JBL Professional plans to have Macintosh-compatible software available in spring 2010.