Recording - September 2021 - 72

Polite
The Frontier is certainly one 'polite'
monitor and very 'honest' as well. Those
seeking a more aggressive or hyped
sound need not apply! One significant
advantage of a polite monitor is less ear
fatigue. I have not experienced any fatigue
at all working with these monitors
over the past few weeks, sometimes for
hours on end at all different playback
levels. This is not to say that it can't get
loud and proud-it can and will, certainly
at least as well as others in its
price range and even above.
Mixing
Having passed my 'sounds unflattering'
test, the next thing to do was determine
if these monitors would lead me
astray or set me on the right path when
mixing. The only way to do that was to
actually mix on them and then switch to
my more familiar monitors and see how
far off I was with the mix.
I realize this is purely subjective, but
in use, the Frontier didn't cause me to
make any bad decisions. And that is
the least you can ask from a good monitor,
no? Plus, there was never any shock
from switching back to my familiar
monitors, which says a lot. Differences
heard were minor and helpful in providing
a similar yet different perspective,
which is what you want with multiple
sets of monitors.
I did notice an approximate 1.3 ms
latency with these speakers-possibly
from built-in DSP? Not a big deal on
its own, but worth being aware of as
it all adds up in a digital audio system.
When tracking critical instruments, I
would switch to headphones or a different
monitor just in case!
Deeper comparisons
In further listening, I found the Frontier
monitors blended nicely with my other
monitors mentioned above, which I am
intimately familiar with. Monitors that
cause an uncomfortable 'head tilt' when
you switch to them tend not to get used
in my setup.
The Frontier had a similar low-frequency
response as my much bigger
JBL models when listening to music that
Frequency Response: ..............................................................45 Hz to 25 kHz
Crossover Frequency:.......................................................................... 3000 Hz
LF Amp Power: ........................................................................................100W
HF Amp Power: .......................................................................................100W
Input Impedance: .............................................................................. 20K ohms
Input Sensitivity: .............................................................87dB @ 1m @ -15dBv
Power: ..............................................................................................265W max
Eco Mode Power Draw: .......................................................................280mW
doesn't feature heavy sub activity. This is
especially surprising considering the JBL
system employs a 12 " powered sub in
addition to its 8 " woofers-the Frontier
woofer is only 6.5 " !
A 6 " driver will never have the
bass response of a 12 " woofer, and I
wouldn't expect otherwise. But the system
and design used in the Frontier is
doing a damn good job of trying and
getting closer than anyone would have
dreamed in the not-so-distant past. Still,
I wouldn't mind seeing a matching subwoofer
from Output/Barefoot to compliment
the Frontier at some point.
Imaging
Imaging is one of the main attractions
of a point source monitor for me-all
of the sound coming precisely from the
same central point. When done well,
this design can pay off in pinpoint accuracy
for panning and overall clarity
due to the elimination of the delays and
interference between multiple drivers
(which can change as you move). The
Frontier monitors have done a fine job
advancing the dual concentric concept
to the next level and are now my reference
for the best point source near-field
monitors available.
Bottom line
Frontier from Output is a great way
to step up your monitor game, either
as main monitors in a smaller setup or
as part of a larger alternate near field
setup (with or without a sub). It would
also make a great monitor for an audio
and/or video editing suite or as a part
of a surround system. Plus, they come
directly from Output with a 30-day
money-back guarantee.
Giles Reaves (reaves@recordingmag.com)
is a recording engineer and musician
who divides his time between session
work in Nashville and his new studio in
New York.
Price: $1399
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