Recording - March 2015 - 62

Avantone Pro Active MixCubes

BY PAUL VNUK JR.

The active model I was sent has an onboard ClassAB amplifier with 60 Watts RMS @ 0.005% THD (1
kHz). Some other specs: frequency response of 90
Hz to 17 kHz ("useful musical range"), maximum SPL
of 104 dB at 1 meter with 1% THD (pink noise), and
a signal-to-noise ratio of -113 dB

Since this is our issue dedicated to all things monitoring, I want to talk about
a speaker that anyone who's serious about mixing may want to consider
adding to his or her monitor selection at some point. This is a box that is
squonky, blunt, forward... and yet, as history has proven, can be quite handy
in helping to nail down a mix and getting it to translate to the real world.
If you look at pictures of many pro, project, and even mastering studios,
you will often see one or two small single-driver cubelike speakers somewhere on the desk or meter bridge. If you see a speaker that looks like a
cheap paper cone stuffed inside dated wood paneled sides, you're looking
at the original Auratone 5C (often called Horror-tones!) from the 1970s and
1980s. It's now discontinued and the company long since defunct.
On the other hand, if you see a version with a high-gloss enamel-looking
finish and a shiny chrome ring around a black speaker cone, that's the new
version created by Avant Electronics a few years back, the speaker I'm
reviewing today. The Avantone MixCubes are available in two versions,
active or passive, in white, crème, or limited-edition black. My review pair
was the active model in black.
Pimp my Cube!
The original passive Auratone 5C featured a particle board cabinet in
a laminated wood grain finish, with a paper cone stamped-frame speaker
screwed in place. Intended to simulate everything from a TV speaker to car
speakers, they were made cheap to sound cheap. Not that many exist
today in good working order, and most of the ones I've seen still in use are
warped, peeling and battered, and not surprisingly, those originals sound
even worse than they did when they were sold.
The new MixCubes are an upgrade on every level, including sonically. The
cabinets are a sealed design made of MDF with soft rounded edges, sporting
a classy high gloss polyurethane finish. The 5.25" speaker is a diecast frame
with a high-quality traditional paper cone in a chrome surround. The 6.5" cube
weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. and sits on a thick rubber damping pad. The bottom of the
speaker is threaded, too, to allow the speaker to attach to a mic stand.
On the rear of the powered model is a large metal heat sink, an XLR-1/4"
combo style input jack, a ground lift switch, an input level knob with a
throw of -30 dB to +6 dB, and a power switch. Power is externally supplied by a screw-on multi-pin socket. A cloth-wrapped power cable screws
onto the speaker and is attached to an impressive and weighty power supply that's about half as big as the speaker itself.
62

RECORDING March 2015

Upgraded sound? Why bother?
I mentioned upgraded sound, and one of Avant's
goals was to create the best sounding single-driver
speaker that they could. You may be wondering why,
when the point of the original was to sound marginal at best?
It's interesting that televisions and home stereos
have given way to the "home theater experience".
Boom boxes are now replaced by iPod docks and
portable Bluetooth speakers; even car stereos are no
longer simple mono/stereo in-dash affairs. On a simple level it would make sense to upgrade and make a
better single-driver speaker as well, right? More on
this in a moment.
Are these still a necessity?
I have heard the argument from many engineers
that reference speakers such as Auratones/Avantones
and even Yamaha NS-10s are no longer a necessity
in light of these abovementioned advances in audio
tech. After all, if your goal is to check your mixes on
bad sounding systems, then those are legion!
Everyone has a free set of desktop speakers that
came with their big-box purchased computer system,
or a mono speaker in their smart phone, or small
innocuous ear buds. Fair enough, but what these possible mix checking solutions do not offer is consistency
between other studios and engineers. This in my opinion is where the MixCubes shine: as an affordable and
even portable option that you will most likely find in
most studios or take with you from room to room if
need be. Maintaining this consistency required that
Avant build a better mousetrap for the long haul.
But is a single-driver speaker still necessary? Even a
good one? Before I answer that, let me describe the
sound of the Active MixCubes. They offer a tight, ultraforward, constrained tone that sounds better at moderate listening levels vs. being extremely cranked, and they
have very little low end or extreme high frequency "studio monitor" sounding highs. These speakers will make
you work for your mix, and that is partially the point!
Like the 5C and NS-10 before them, if you can get a
mix framed out and sounding good on the MixCubes,
they will make your job easier in the long haul with mixes
that should nicely translate to most of the abovementioned sources, from ear buds to Bluetooth to automobile.



Recording - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2015

Contents
Recording - March 2015 - Cover1
Recording - March 2015 - Cover2
Recording - March 2015 - 1
Recording - March 2015 - 2
Recording - March 2015 - 3
Recording - March 2015 - 4
Recording - March 2015 - 5
Recording - March 2015 - Contents
Recording - March 2015 - 7
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