[Duke]

I posted about this elsewhere, but thought it might be interesting enough to merit its own thread.  Of course this is all highly promotional and prematurely self-congratulatory, so just see it as me taking advantage of a marketing window-of-opportuntity.

As of this writing (late at night on the 25th of August, 2011), a pair of my Prisma (pronounced "PREEZE-mah") speakers are in a fight to the death against five pairs of high-end professional midfield studio monitors.  The tournament is taking place in the recording studio of a Grammy-winning record producer, and first prize is inclusion in his arsenal.  Like most deathmatches, there is no prize for second place.

Early indications from the first round are that the Prisma has won its first match, against a seven grand/pair active studio monitor from a company you have all heard of.  Factoring in the cost of outboard amplification used, the Prisma package is about four grand (not counting shipping).  So far, so good.

But on down the road is a killer nine grand/pair active speaker that is very innovative and well respected among recording engineers... not that the seven grand speaker wasn't well respected, but I expected to win that match.  If the Prisma survives long enough to go up against the nine grand bad boy, I'll be happy.  Of course I'll be a lot happier if it wins!

Unfortunately in this case, the customer has deep enough pockets that being priced below the competition doesn't score me any points.  The passive Prisma + amp is the least expensive entry in the tournament, to the best of my knowledge.  All the others are active speakers, with current-generation DSP built in.  So it's geezer technology against the best & brightest.  And geezer tech draws first blood!

(No, I don't think passive speakers are necessarily "better" than active speakers.  But I do think Duke is better at designing passive speakers than he is at designing active ones.)

Anyway whether I win the tournament or not, it's exhilirating to compete.  In a way, I'm representing Audio Circle there, going up against the big boys like my fellow Audio Circle manufacturers do every day.  I just happen to have something that falls loosely within the cagegory of "midfield monitor", and this opportunity was presented to me.

I'll post updates as I get them, but won't name names unless given permission.

[jtwrace]

Cool.

What parameters are they looking for?  How is the test conducted?

[jimdgoulding]

Very interesting and best wishes.   How were you selected to face off with all active speakers?

[Russell Dawkins]

Can you say what amp is powering the Prismas?

[Duke]

What parameters are they looking for?  How is the test conducted?

All I know is they're evaluated based on how effective of a tool they would be in their role in the process of producing a good recording.  I don't know where in the chain they would come in, so I'm not sure exactly what that role is.  At least part of the evaluation is conducted using recordings that the producer produced and is therefore very familiar with, and apparently sound quality is a top priority, as from what I was told that's the area where the Prisma surpassed the seven grand monitors.

I'm using the word "produce" here without knowing whether that's really the right term; I don't know whether what he does is primarily recording and tracking, mixing. mastering, or some combination thereof.  It's whatever one can win a Grammy for, so it probably includes mastering.

In my amateur (and everso everso unbiased) opinion the Prismas are pretty good at letting you hear the differences from one recording to the next without superimposing a characteristic sonic signature on top of everything, and if they truly excel at that sort of thing, it might make them a good tool. 

How were you selected to face off with all active speakers?

The producer apparently has a requirement for a speaker that is more capable than what he currently has on hand.  One of the associates of the producer, who is also a producer and who designed and built the first producer's studio, has heard enough good things about my speakers (primarily from master acoustician Jeff Hedback - I think it's okay for me to drop his name) to put them on his radar screen.  The associate borrowed the Prismas from one of my customers and evaluated them at his place first, and apparently was impressed.  Based on his evaluation he told me that the Prismas would be his recommendation, but that the choice of course was the producer's.  So that's how they made the short-list.   

I'm pretty sure the associate is familiar with the nine grand bad boy, so his endorsement is certainly encouraging. 

Actives dominate this segment of the market, and are considered to be more convenient, so I have to overcome that hurdle.  But on the other hand if an internal amp goes down, an expensive active speaker is offline until it can be repaired.
 

Can you say what amp is powering the Prismas?

My understanding is that yesterday a Yahama amp that dates from the early 90's was used, but the recommended amp for this application is a Crown DSI-1000.   They're trying to come up with one, and hopefully will before the title match.

[edit:  I have since learned that the Crown XTi-2 series has an updated DSP engine relative to the DSi series, so the XTi-2002 would be my suggestion for prosound.  I may be able to become a Crown dealer and offer it as part of a package.]

[pardales]

Good luck!   

[Rocket_Ronny]

Hi Duke:

Is there a link we can look at, or is this simply a private death match. I am thinking a thread might be on at GearSlutz.

Thanks,

Rocket_Ronny

[Duke]

Good luck! 

Thanks - I'm gonna need it!  The Prismas were suggested to the producer several months ago and rejected (without an audition) because they were too big.  Then the present situation arose where the need for a bigger, more capable speaker became evident.  Now that there are other fairly large-footprint speakers in the tournament (though none quite so big), I'm hoping size doesn't matter.  Don't we all.

Is there a link we can look at, or is this simply a private death match. I am thinking a thread might be on at GearSlutz.

No Gearslutz thread to the best of my knowledge, and I think it's unlikely that there will be one.  I don't think either of the major players in the drama post there.

So I guess we'd call it a private deathmatch.

[JLM]

If your comparing sizes, it might be best to keep it private.   

[jimdgoulding]

Good show, Duke.  Best wishes.

[Rocket_Ronny]

Can you state what the other speakers are? Are the 6 grand speakers the Barefoot 27s? I doubt it would be, BUT if you were chosen of those then that is a big feather in your hat. I would like to know what the Killer 9 grand guys are. Actually, all the contenders.

As always, these shootouts have to be taken into perspective such as listener preference, room acoustics, audio chain, etc. What might be best in that situation may not be best for someone else. Yet, it does give interesting info to go on.

Rocket_Ronny

[Duke]

Good point, JLM!

Thanks for the encouragement, Jim!

Ronnie, I understand your curiosity but I'm not sure my highly biased one-sided reporting should include naming the other speakers.   If you hang out at Gearslutz, you've probably heard of them.
 
Latest update is that the Prisma has slipped back in the rankings, though it's not over yet.  The issue is bass; the built-in EQ'd subwoofer-type bass systems of the competition are able to dig deeper and hit harder.  So we're still trying to come up with one of the Crown amps, whose built-in programmable EQ should go a long way towards levelling the playing field, as the woofer I'm using can take a fair amount of bass boost.   

The producer has said that he could mix on the Prisma, but it's awfully big to be used as just a mixing monitor, and he already has others that he can mix on.   So right now I'm pinning my hopes on the Crown amp.   One has been located, and someone has gone to get it.

The drama continues!

[Duke]

A quick update:  With the Crown amp in the system (actually a larger model than specified because that's what was available), but without needing to EQ the low end, bass impact is now competitive with the active monitors, and the rest of the spectrum is improved as well.   The producer wants to keep the speakers until Monday at least, so we're back in contention.

[konut]

This is better than a horse race! Hope the Prismas make it till at least the home stretch.

[Jeffrey Hedback]

Thank you Duke

As I'm nestled at my office in Indiana, I thought I'd add a bit more intrigue to the story with some details.

The producer is none other than Trevor Horn.  Earlier this year, I was involved with acoustical and wiring integration renovations to his personal production room in Bev Hills.  He has made a ton of great records in this space for 20 yrs, but it was very much in need of better function and upgrades.  The leader of the team is my great friend Nigel Martinez of NJM Media.

The competition is to select "bigs" that will give more full-room impact.  Primary uses are songwriting/arrangements, mix reference and the all important client "wow" at rear of room.

...back to you Duke in Idaho

[lonewolfny42]

Good luck Duke....

Info...

[dburna]

Hopefully Mills Lane is the referee for this, with Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond the announcers.  Lord help this producer if Nick Diamond has to step into the ring to sort out this mess (we  miss you, Celebrity Death Match).

Good luck, Duke.  Can't see how these other monitor wannabes have a chance against your offerings.

-dB

[Duke]

Glad ya'll are enjoying the horse race!

Thanks for posting, Jeff.  Your security clearance is higher than mine, so I appreciate your letting people know that it's Trevor Horn.  Also, I am grateful for your making the initial recommendation to Nigel, which gave me the opportunity to compete if we passed the "Nigel test".  And thank you for the Crown amplifier recommendation.  For an acoustics guy, you sure know a lot about a lot of things.  I wouldn't have known to even suggest an amplifier change, much less make and model for a studio.

With the arrival of the Crown amp, my first opponent has been officially retired from the competition.  One down, a bunch more to go.

I found out a bit more about my next opponents.  Apparently over the next couple of days the Prisma will face one or two more, depending on how far it gets.  One of them is ballpark twelve grand/pair retail; the other presumably less - I know the brand but don't know the specific model. 

The unknown model is from a brand that people tend to be strongly polarized about, so it's a roll of the dice but I think the Prisma will win on the basis of sounding more natural; we scored big points for that earlier.
 
The twelve grander has got some serious mojo going on.  I am sure that it has very good mids and highs, and the matchup could go either way in the bass region; depends on how good a job their designer did there.   On paper it stomps all over the Prisma.  Well, so do the others.
 
These and other hurdles must be overcome.  I don't know when the nine grand badboy makes his entrance.  But so far the dark horse is still in the race.

To be continued!

[Duke]

Well I just got word that the Prismas are on their way back to their owner, so we didn't win.  I don't have any details of the final battle at this point. 

I'm hoping they went the distance like Rocky in his first fight with Apollo Creed, but at this point that's about the best I can hope for.  I'll post the details when I have them.

Thanks for following along! 

[Rocket_Ronny]

You did well to compete in a tough crowd with higher priced active speakers.

Since it is over, can you now name the speakers involved. I am interested more because there might be something I have not heard of before.

My bet are the usual suspects like PMC, Event Opal, Barefoot, Klein and Hummel, Focal, with a smattering of the eclectic such as Equator Q 12, or Precision Transducer Engineering - Pheonix.

Rocket_Ronny