Pro Audio Review - June 2008 - (Page 32) STUDIO | Feature MONITORS Continued From Page 31 don’t usually have to operate much beyond 10 watts each. In addition to technical requirements, we place a strong emphasis on listening. We have five sets of trusted ears who listen to the products critically, and we evaluate potential improvements for six months to a year before they see production. We maintain static reference systems in which things change slowly, but we try other equipment out. The speakers we use are varied—from the latest tweaked full-range drivers to classic Tannoy, Altec, and Klipsch. Most recently we worked with the new Reference 1 studio monitors from TAD. It’s very important that the product is build-able, reliable and serviceable. We build the boards and other assemblies in house, which allows us to keep a close watch on quality.We do strong QA on incoming parts, including grading and matching transistors. Subassemblies are tested before they go into product, partially assembled product is tested, fully assembled product is fully tested, then it’s burned in for three days and then it’s fully tested again, with minor adjustments made at each test. RICHARD ROSE: Well-designed, durable products, built from premium components, many of which are individually tested and hand (or ear) matched, ensure the kind of performance for which we’re known. But even more importantly, every piece of equipment that leaves the shop has been extensively burned in and carefully auditioned by myself or someone else with a long history of critical listening and a solid engineering background. We’ll even put a pair of speakers through an extended accelerated break-in burn if we know a client is about to start an important project and can’t live with a couple of weeks to loosen up his surrounds and spiders. A true testament to our level of build quality is that little did we know when we first started manufacturing electronics and introduced the industry’s only dedicated control room amplifier, the original S400, over twenty years ago, that virtually all of them would still be making music today, and even more incredibly, would still be highly prized and sought after. We often get calls for the vintage amps and help by providing recycled to original spec units whenever possible. The new technology is certainly more perfect, but the old MOSFETS have a beautiful sound. PAR: How do you compete with today’s powered studio monitors, which continue to improve in quality? NELSON PASS: Our market is at the top end of two-channel, where there is less competition. Being an amplifier company, we tend to look at our first loudspeaker, The Rushmore, as a loudspeaker wrapped around four amplifier channels. On the one hand, mating electronics with a specific set of drivers inside a loudspeaker offers an opportunity to optimize amplifiers to the drivers. Active crossovers easily raise the performance and efficiency of loudspeakers, and of course there is some convenience for Since we’re one of the very few companies providing audiophile quality professional amps (you can count them on one hand and still have a few fingers left over), and we manufacture high-end monitors in need of transparent power, the competition actually drives our clients ‘upstream’ to us, keeping us in a backorder situation as often as not. PAR: Does the wider array of “affordable” studio monitors on the market offer your products any sort of advantage? NELSON PASS: Of course. Affordable products set the stage for high-end products by raising the interest in high-quality audio. Virtually every customer who owns highend product started with something modest and eventually experienced a desire for something better. RICHARD ROSE: For those who want to get the most out of their “affordable” passive monitors, our Model Four Hundred frequently gets the nod. Regarding straight up amp sales, the less someone spends on “affordable” monitors, the more they have left over for a good amp. And the more they need one. PAR: Considering the recording business and its budgets aren’t what they used to be, has your customer base shifted over the past few years? Nelson Pass, audio designer and founder of Pass Labs the customer. On the other hand, most of our customers want to make independent decisions about electronics: upgrading, replacing, and repairing at will. Consequently, we see ourselves doing more in three loudspeaker categories: passive, internally active, and with external active crossovers. RICHARD ROSE: First off, while many [powered monitors] are quite reasonable attempts for the money, the vast majority don’t impress me as seriously accurate monitors, as they’re built to a price point more than anything else. Many are little more than, as you refer to them, powered speakers, and are barely properly designed truly active monitors at all. While our passive PRM165 nearfield/Model One Thousand amplifier combo has gained a great following, all our models beyond that are either onboard active or supplied with a full outboard complement of amplifiers, electronic crossovers, sub controllers, cables and even isolation mounts creating an ‘external’ active system guaranteeing peak performance. RICHARD ROSE: Not really. We see less activity on the mega-monitor side these days (few clients are willing to spring for a hundred thousand dollar system, or even have the space for it these days), but our nearfield and amp sales are better than ever. And surprisingly, sales to newbies and pros alike are growing thanks to [jazz recordist] Joe Ferla’s enthusiasm and the buzz in the blogosphere. So we’re pretty much supplying every level from the real heavy hitters to the aspirants at home who are a decade away from their first platinum. NELSON PASS: Pass Labs is a two-channel house, committed to high-end stereo. We stayed out of the multi-channel race to home theater, and we’re pleased with that decision, as we have done well by sticking to what we know best. We’re a small boat, so we stay close to the shore. Over the last ten years, Pass Labs product has gradually shifted from low powered single-ended Class A amplifiers to much more powerful push-pull Class A and AB designs, broadening our appeal, and increasing the business. The domestic two-channel market has suffered a disruption in retail distribuMONITORS continues on page 34 ➤ 32 | ProAudio Review | June 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
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