Recording - May 2021 - 40

REVIEW
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.

ack in our March issue, we
looked at the HR5 powered
studio monitors from Ocean
Way Audio. Remember-this
is the one with its 7 " aluminum
woofer and 1 " silk dome tweeter
hidden behind a unique dual/
hybrid waveguide that looks like
it could have been swiped from a
70s-era PA stack. This month, we
check out the S10A Subwoofer,
which effectively turns the HR5
into a three-way design.

Ocean Way S10A Subwoofer
Enhance your low end with a well-designed and highly focused compact subwoofer
The boomin' box

At 14 " x14 " x18.5 " and weighing in at
52 pounds, the S10A is relatively compact. Its robust textured gray MDF enclosure matches the other HR series monitors.
The S10A is a sealed cabinet design
with a front-firing 10 " aluminum driver
(20-120 Hz frequency range) powered
by an internal 300W amplifier. The sub
ships with a flush-mounted fabric grille
that attaches magnetically.

Controls

Around the back are controls for input
gain, a crossover with eleven selectable
points from 60 Hz to 120 Hz in 5dB steps,
an LF adjustment control (a low-frequency
shelf set to 45 Hz +/- 5dB in 1dB increments), and a delay control (0 to 20ms) for
correcting time and phase issues. There's a
three-position LED-equipped power switch
(off/on/auto). When in auto mode, the
S10A sleeps and wakes when signal is
present. The S10A also includes both AC
and DC 12v triggers for daisy-chaining
with other auto-powered products.

Connected

The S10A is equipped with both left and
right XLR inputs and outputs. Despite the
healthy selection of filters and tone shaping capabilities, the inputs and outputs are
a parallel straight wire with no electronics
40 RECORDING May 2021

that simply allows the S10A to live in-line
and not eat up outputs on your monitor
controller or interface. This means that bass
management needs to happen in said monitor controller or on monitor speakers, if so
equipped, which the HR5 is.

A three-way system

Returning to my HR5 review, on its back
is " a recessed push-button and four LEDs,
used to...engage a fixed highpass filter
for using the HR5 with an Ocean Way S
series sub. " When engaged, the S10A takes
over the low end from 85 Hz on down.
While the S10A does include onboard DSP complete with a USB port for
updates, unlike the HR5, it's not a digital
monitor, and when used in 3-way mode,
the HR5 defaults to analog as well.

In use

Subwoofer reviews can be a tad boring. I plugged it in, dialed in the boom
and rattled my neighbor's walls. In a
home theater install, boom and rumble
may be the name of the game. A subwoofer needs to complement and integrate into your existing monitor setup as
seamlessly and transparently as possible
in a studio situation. If you can forget
that it's there, all the better.
In my 12'x15' GIK-treated mix room, I
placed the S10A equally between the pair

of HR5 monitors and about 6-7' back from
my mix position. For settings, I bumped
the volume down one notch on the gain
dial and set the crossover point to 90 Hz.
The S10A sound can be described as
tight, focused, and dry, compared to many
boomy, flappy subwoofers I've tried. Rather than presenting as a 2.1 system, think
satellites and a sub; the S10A and HR5
monitors became one in my studio and presented as a hand-in-glove three-way system
with a well-integrated midrange image.
I was most happy that adding the sub
into this setup never lessened or smeared
the remarkable ultra-wide imaging of the
HR5 monitors. In case you were wondering, with 110dB of possible gain, the
S10A can also be effortlessly pushed to
shake the block Jurassic-style when needed (think dinosaurs walking).

Conclusion

On its own, the S10A is the very definition of a tight, focused, pro studio-style
subwoofer, with a well-chosen feature set
for easy integration into any stereo or surround setup. If you own or are considering
a pair of Ocean Way Audio H series monitors, it's hard to argue against enhancing
the experience further with the S10A.
Price: $1879
More from: oceanwayaudio.com

http://www.oceanwayaudio.com

Recording - May 2021

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