Top Recording Professional Aid D5 Development
San Diego, California June, 2011 …. Equator Audio Research, recognized globally as a leading manufacturer of highly accurate studio reference monitors for mission critical recording applications, is pleased to announce that acclaimed recording professional Francis Buckley has joined the Equator Technical Advisory Committee.
Francis comes to the Equator Technical Advisory Committee with a long list of successful projects under his belt including one with Quincy Jones in which he won a Grammy™ for Best Recorded Album. Most recently Francis completed his 9th season of recording the American Idol Ford Music Videos at the Record Plant.
All too often products have been developed in a vacuum with professional consultation often occurring after the product was completed and already being sold. Francis has been consulting for Equator for some time and throughout the D5 development process.
To ensure that the D5 is a viable recording and mixing tool, members of the Technical Advisory Committee have been directly involved with detailed evaluation and adjustments of its default frequency response curves. Earlier this month we took the latest version of D5’s to Francis Buckley’s home studio for assessment and fine tuning. A cross section of tracks were referenced from Francis recorded; Quincy Jones “Jooks Joint” to the soundtrack from Walt Disney’s Aladdin. The accuracy in the D5 mid-range was refined to a point in which Francis commented that he was hearing details that had previously gone unheard. He pointed out the clearly revealed, two bass parts on “Beat It” as well as a newly heard vocal breath on Aladdin. After referencing, Francis summed it up with: “WOW”.
Most $300 monitors are voiced for consumer excitement. The low end is extremely boosted and the high-end is extremely boosted, resulting in a smiley face frequency curve that leaves a hole in the mid-range. Manufactures have done this because it is fairly easy to accomplish and, conveniently, in a store demo situation the speakers “cut through”. During the production phase, however, the mid range is the most critical area and if the monitors lack mid-range detail the resulting mix will not translate appropriately.
The new D5 (Direct 5) studio monitors are geared for the recording professional in need of a small (9.75" x 7" x 8.5"), affordable, accurate, well-voiced, reference studio monitor solution.
To achieve extensive mid-range detail the D5 shares much of the acclaimed Equator Q Series technology. Like all Equator 2-way active monitoring systems, the D5 employs a Zero-Point Reference™ coaxial design with internal DSP handling numerous tasks, including matching the Digitally-Controlled Transducer’s™ output and the ability to apply pin-point accurate voicing. The DSP allows for instant A/B voicing adjustments.
The tiny D5 features a coaxially designed 5.25” woofer and center mounted 1” silk tweeter in an all wood cabinet. The newly designed digital amplifier boasts extremely low distortion specs and delivers 2 x 50w of peak power. SPL is rated at 103 dB combined @ 1m.
The D5 incorporates the highest quality components.
The introductory price for the D5 is under $300 per pair, Equator has developed an online store to sell them directly to users throughout the Americas and is offering a 60 day money back guarantee. Shipping will begin in the summer of 2011.
About Equator Audio Research
Equator Audio Research is committed to delivering studio reference monitor solutions that overcome the myriad of challenges faced in today’s production environment. From our phase and time accurate coaxial designs to our matched transducer manufacturing to our sophisticated Q Series Room Analysis and compensation software; our products meticulously provide solutions to existing sonic obstacles. Equator products are used daily in mission-critical applications at many of the world’s finest recording studios. For additional information on all Equator Audio products, visit the company online at www.equatoraudio.com.
