Recording - September 2013 - 30

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Back in our February 2013 issue, Mike Metlay introduced us to
Emotiva Pro when he looked at the company’s airmotiv 4 and airmotiv
6 powered studio monitors. He found them to have a “nicely balanced
and strong sound” and to “offer a considerable value for your speaker
buying dollar”. At $349 and $699 per pair ($449 per pair for the middle-of-the-line airmotiv 5 that wasn’t reviewed), it’s hard to argue.
This month we step up into Emotiva Pro’s flagship Stealth line, as we
look at the new Stealth 8.
Direct to you
Emotiva was founded a decade ago in Franklin, TN, with a home hifi/audiophile product line. Emotiva Pro is a new division and is focused
on the recording studio market. The reason you don’t see them at your
local retailers is that part of the company’s business model is to sell
direct from their website, complete with free shipping. By cutting out distributors and stores, Emotiva can pass that savings on to the customer.
The company also offers a generous 30-day trial/money back guarantee, so you can listen and evaluate them in your own personal space
without fear of buyer’s remorse.
I was sent a pair of Stealth 8 monitors for review. Visually, “stealth”
is one of the most appropriate monikers I have seen attached to a product in a while. Their satin-black contoured enclosures are quite reminiscent of a U.S. B-2 stealth bomber, and I would guess that the contours
and edges contribute just as much to the Stealth 8’s sonic character as
to its visual appeal.
Like all Emotiva products, these speakers are designed and engineered in
Tennessee, but manufactured globally. Their fit and finish is simply superb.

Emotiva Pro Stealth 8
A professional speaker with sexy looks... and sexy sound
The ribbon tweeter
Just like the tweeters on the airmotiv series, the Stealth 8’s tweeter is
a folded-ribbon transducer. As mentioned in the airmotiv review, this is
an update of the original AMT (Air Motion Transformer) design from Dr.
Oskar Heil from the early 1970s.
What is the difference between that and a standard dome tweeter? It
all comes down to surface area. The best way to conceptualize a folded ribbon tweeter is to take a piece of paper and fold it accordion style.
You still have the same piece of paper with the same mass and surface
area, but it now takes up less space.
A good ribbon design can yield a very accurate, fast and detailed
sound that is often more sonically even and with less of a resonance
peak than its circular cousins, although that point is, as Mike Metlay
alluded to in his review, very subject to taste and debate.
The Stealth 8 in detail
The Stealth 8 is 16.5" high x 12" wide x 15" deep and weighs 41.5
lbs. It uses a 60 x 32 mm tweeter and an 8" cast frame, woven
polypropylene woofer. A pair of 200W RMS amplifiers with an active
crossover powers both elements.
It has a frequency response of 30 Hz to 23 kHz ±1.75 dB and 28
Hz to 32 kHz +0 / –6 dB and can handle up to 121 dB peaks!
30

RECORDING September 2013

Around the back is a top-mounted, rear-firing bass port,
an XLR/balanced 1/4" combo input jack, a ±6 dB trim
control, and a healthy set of sound sculpting controls by
way of 3 sets of DIP switches. A Bass roll-off control (similar to a highpass filter) allows you to roll off the low end
by –2 / 4 / 6 / 8 dB at 40 Hz (starting at 250 Hz).
There is a Bass Tilt adjustment to lessen the low end with
choices of –2 / 4 / 6 dB at 40 Hz (starting at 1250 Hz),
as well as a setting to fully disable the low-frequency driver.
Lastly there is a Treble Tilt that can boost the highfrequency driver by +1 dB or lessen it by 1 or 2 dB (above
3 kHz)—or, as with the Bass Tilt, you can completely disable the tweeter.
A memorable first impression
I first heard the airmotiv 6 in December 2012 at Allen
Goodman’s studio in Denver, CO, when Mike Metlay was
testing them for his review. Like everyone else at the studio,
I was impressed by the airmotiv’s balance of smoothness,
clarity and huge full low end, and I have since suggested
the airmotiv line to a few friends looking for small affordable speakers for their home-recording setups.



Recording - September 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2013

Recording - September 2013
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
The History And Mystery Of Monitoring: A Chat With JBL’s Peter Chaikin
Better Sounds From Tight Spots
Do It Yourself: Fix Your Cables—Save Your Money!
Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 Monitors
MOTU Track16
Ashman Acoustics SOM50 Microphone
Sontronics Sonora 2
Stop Sound Leakage!
Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller
Do It Yourself: Build Acoustic Treatment Right Into Your Walls!
From Shed To Studio
Sneak Previews: Apple Logic Pro X and Avid Pro Tools 11
Readers’ Tapes
Plug-In Outlet: FXpansion Bloom
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 21: Equalization—Part 2
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - September 2013 - Intro
Recording - September 2013 - Recording - September 2013
Recording - September 2013 - Cover2
Recording - September 2013 - 1
Recording - September 2013 - 2
Recording - September 2013 - 3
Recording - September 2013 - Fade In
Recording - September 2013 - 5
Recording - September 2013 - Contents
Recording - September 2013 - 7
Recording - September 2013 - Talkback
Recording - September 2013 - 9
Recording - September 2013 - Fast Forward
Recording - September 2013 - 11
Recording - September 2013 - 12
Recording - September 2013 - 13
Recording - September 2013 - The History And Mystery Of Monitoring: A Chat With JBL’s Peter Chaikin
Recording - September 2013 - 15
Recording - September 2013 - 16
Recording - September 2013 - 17
Recording - September 2013 - 18
Recording - September 2013 - 19
Recording - September 2013 - 20
Recording - September 2013 - 21
Recording - September 2013 - Better Sounds From Tight Spots
Recording - September 2013 - 23
Recording - September 2013 - 24
Recording - September 2013 - 25
Recording - September 2013 - Do It Yourself: Fix Your Cables—Save Your Money!
Recording - September 2013 - 27
Recording - September 2013 - 28
Recording - September 2013 - 29
Recording - September 2013 - Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 Monitors
Recording - September 2013 - 31
Recording - September 2013 - 32
Recording - September 2013 - 33
Recording - September 2013 - MOTU Track16
Recording - September 2013 - 35
Recording - September 2013 - Ashman Acoustics SOM50 Microphone
Recording - September 2013 - 37
Recording - September 2013 - Sontronics Sonora 2
Recording - September 2013 - 39
Recording - September 2013 - Stop Sound Leakage!
Recording - September 2013 - 41
Recording - September 2013 - 42
Recording - September 2013 - 43
Recording - September 2013 - 44
Recording - September 2013 - 45
Recording - September 2013 - Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller
Recording - September 2013 - 47
Recording - September 2013 - Do It Yourself: Build Acoustic Treatment Right Into Your Walls!
Recording - September 2013 - 49
Recording - September 2013 - From Shed To Studio
Recording - September 2013 - 51
Recording - September 2013 - Sneak Previews: Apple Logic Pro X and Avid Pro Tools 11
Recording - September 2013 - 53
Recording - September 2013 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - September 2013 - 55
Recording - September 2013 - 56
Recording - September 2013 - 57
Recording - September 2013 - 58
Recording - September 2013 - 59
Recording - September 2013 - Plug-In Outlet: FXpansion Bloom
Recording - September 2013 - 61
Recording - September 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 21: Equalization—Part 2
Recording - September 2013 - 63
Recording - September 2013 - 64
Recording - September 2013 - Advertiser Index
Recording - September 2013 - 66
Recording - September 2013 - 67
Recording - September 2013 - 68
Recording - September 2013 - 69
Recording - September 2013 - 70
Recording - September 2013 - 71
Recording - September 2013 - Cover3
Recording - September 2013 - Cover4
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