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The EQ on the 440 is far from surgical, and it doesn’t
claim to be, but it may save you from using additional EQ
in the form of a plug-in or hardware, by applying a touch
of top and helping clean up the bottom where appropriate.
Keep in mind that the EQ section is located before the
effects loop in the 440’s signal flow, so it’s not available
when using the module as a DI.
As I mentioned earlier, another fun job for the Meris
440 is incorporating effects pedals during mixing. The
module’s usefulness is essentially doubled in this way, and
turning knobs on analog devices in real-time opens up
great creative opportunities for glorious sonic freak
“accidents.” For example, send your drum subgroup to a
stereo aux fader in your DAW, and feed a pair of 440s. Plug
in different fuzz pedals on each side, add a little
compression, and you’ve got yourself dinner! I love this
stuff, and the fun is endless.
The Meris 440 is marketed as a go-to guitar preamp,
but I found that it also sounded great on everything else
I threw at it, including vocals, drums, and keys. Its
preamp is not a “new flavor,” but it is its own version of
API’s classic rock flavor. Even at a higher asking price, the
440 would be a great addition to any 500-series rack, and
it’s a downright bargain considering you get an effects
loop and built-in filters on top of the solid mic preamp. I
would recommend ordering a double scoop — a pair of
440s — for your rack.
($549 street; www.meris.us)
–Geoff Stanfield
Equator Audio
Q10 active coaxial monitor
When I moved my mix setup out of my living room and
into a large shared studio space, I sensed that it would be
helpful to have a larger pair of midfields for monitoring.
Unfortunately, most of the speakers that I admired were
prohibitively expensive, until I discovered the Equator
Audio Q10. Modern engineering techniques, likely in
conjunction with outsourced construction, have combined
to create an affordable midfield speaker, available directly
from Equator for $1,500 a pair. I’ve long been a fan of
coaxial speakers like the Q10; I once used a vintage pair of
Electro-Voice speakers for my home stereo. Coaxial drivers
mount the tweeter at the center of the woofer cone,
allowing all frequencies to originate from the same point.
This consistency affords a very accurate image in both
width and depth.
The biggest improvement that I expected from
midfields was help in the low frequencies, and the Q10
proved impressively accurate. It provides accuracy at low
enough frequencies to make it easy to combine bass guitar
and kick drum in a rock mix, and the low mids seem to sit
especially well as a result. I previously had to switch
between two different nearfields and then stare at my
spectrum analyzer, but now I can feel confident that if the
bass frequencies sit correctly, then the mix will be
appropriate — and will translate well. Highs and mids
sound great too, with generally even frequency balance
that stretches into the top octaves. The stereo imaging
proved reliable too, as I have an easier time identifying
pan location with the Q10 pair than with my ADAM A7
monitors [Tape Op #57].
I did feel that the self-powered Q10 has a somewhat
exaggerated sound, which makes everything sound a bit
like it’s running through an API. Transients always receive
a slightly unnatural emphasis, and heavily distorted
electric guitars become even more distorted. Working with
such distorted signals was the only time I found the Q10
at all fatiguing. Ted Keffalo, President of Equator Audio,
explained, “It may be that what you’re hearing as
unnatural is the result of the Q10 using a real, highfrequency
compression driver horn. A horn can tend to be
aggressive-sounding, especially at a higher SPL. It is true
that a silk tweeter is much easier for your ear to
accommodate. That’s one of the reasons we use silk
tweeters on the D Series [Tape Op #88]. Of course, you
can’t hit the same SPL with a silk tweeter.”
The Q10 reminded me that midfields can be impractical
for some applications. First, a pair of Q10s is a lot harder
to set up than nearfields. Positioning them on stands
behind a desk became a lot easier with two people
involved, where I’m used to comfortably moving nearfields
myself. The Q10 is deep with a relatively small frontal
surface — their coaxial design enables the front
dimensions to be only slightly larger than the 10’’ woofer.
Also, in our studio’s smaller control space, the Q10 pair
produced too much low end due to placement in the
corners of the room. Even with the exaggerated lows, my
studio partners (Jay Sherman-Godfrey and Joe McGinty),
who primarily use the smaller area, found the Q10s helpful
in that space.
A nice feature of the Q10 is the room compensation
software for Mac and PC, which comes for free with the
speakers; it’s a bit like the algorithms in a dbx DriveRack.
The software was slightly tricky to install, because it needs
several drivers in place first, even in Mac OS, and USB and
network cables are needed to connect the speakers to the
computer and each other. Once the drivers were installed,
it was quick and easy to run the software and tune our
room. In the small space, with the speakers close to the
walls, it shaved out a lot of low end, effectively correcting
for the corner-loading. It also accurately detected
reflections and compensated for them, to bring down a bit
of cymbal pinging in the process, and it precisely matched
the volumes of the two speakers. The software allows realtime
control of the DSP that operates between the analog
input and the built-in amplifiers. Once you’re satisfied, you
can save the room compensation, tone contour, and
volume trim adjustments to each speaker.
For the price, we all found the Q10 especially impressive.
Quality midfield monitors are now available to a studio where
the budget had previously made the option impractical.
($1499.98 direct; www.equatoraudio.com)
–Steve Silverstein
Sonodyne
SRP 600 2-way active monitor
The Sonodyne SRP series is a no-nonsense entry into the
sub-$1000 monitor scene, with five different models ranging
from 3’’ to 8’’ in woofer size. Touting an ultra-wide sweet spot
with custom waveguides for the tweeters on each model, SRP
monitors are enclosed in die-cast aluminum enclosures that
eliminate vibration-induced coloration. They feature woven
Kevlar cones, and Sonodyne claims they exhibit accurate
transient and low-end response, despite their compact size.
Having no prior experience with Sonodyne monitors, I was
excited to take a listen.
I spent a few weeks with an SRP 600 pair mainly using
them as a complementary set of monitors, as I’d loaned
my NS-10Ms to another engineer and needed another set
of monitors for referencing during some mix projects.
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74/Tape Op#103/Gear Reviews/(continued on page 76)
Right off the bat, it was apparent that they are indeed