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Merrylauwrens « Does "impartiality" really mean a thing for speakers... ? »
Published on 08/31/16 at 13:57
Value For Money :
Excellent
Audience:
Advanced Users
Here’s the first review on these gems :
I work as a producer and mixer.
Some months ago I had a budget to upgrade my main speakers (Focal solo6 Be)...
My choice was aimed at ATC25 or 45, Barefoot MM27 GEN2, Focal SM9 or trio, and PSI A21 or A25 if there was an opportunity...
After testing the ATC 45 and Barefoot MM27 GEN2.
I’ll say (in short) for these models :
-ATC 45 : really warm sound hence presence in the low-mids = pleasant to the ear, but with a tendency to squash the sound at (very) high levels… For the rest, it’s all high-end: all I listened on them sounded bettered (organic, all the opposite compared with the Barefoot)
-Barefoot MM27 GEN2 : an astounding clarity, well-decomposed stereo image (which can be a bit disturbing) and a very controlled low-end, but… a sub that seems like disconnected from the rest of the instruments. This can be a problem for a musical feeling (as a whole the song’s unity is somehow mistreated). Feeling of a digital listening – all the opposite compared with the ATC.
Just a mention for Focal which Trio 6 really astounded me considering the price difference…
The new class G amps are certainly no strangers to this. Coming from solo 6be (but I also know other models from this manufacturer), I could recognize Focal’s trademark (beryllium tweeter, stereo width, depth…) but with the addition of a clearly audible 3rd voice.
You end up with a very detailed monitoring, above the Twin, with an impressive overall power, with a well-controlled low (really low at 35Hz)-end.
All in all: a must have in its price range!
I was about to opt for the latter (and their excellent value-for-money) when I found an opportunity for PSI A25Ms.
I quickly remembered listening to A17s from the same brand, long ago, and being really impressed by them.
After listening to them at the shop, I end up choosing these A25M...
After a month working with them:
I can say they’re just incredible with accuracy. I had to listen many tracks I already knew by heart to understand how far these speakers would take me.
These are very high end devices that don’t aim at embellishing or polishing the sound, which would just hurt their aim… if a record was badly mixed/mastered, it jumps to the ears… I read a review recently that said they could turn you into someone snobbish and picky as they are particularly merciless. I wouldn’t say it so… Actually, they’re helping me perfect my musical culture when listening for a long period of time… I’ve never heard monitors that counl enter this way into the very character of a record’s production…
What I mean is, I can perceive all the choices and little (or bigger) misses at recording or mixing – all this with a perfect transparency.
Adopting a more distanced position for musical listening, they also deliver especially brilliantly… No need for an outrageous decomposition ala Barefoot, you end up with a musical unit as wished by the producer (and in wide band too: 32Hz to 23 kHz)… Of course, the better the record is mixed, the greater the result… while the more the record will have been driven down by an incompetent producer or the requirements of our consumer society (loudness war and so on), the worst the listening experience. In working conditions, you can imagine how easy it is to project oneself into a real producing session (with the right choices made from the start) or a mixing session…
As an example, I’ve rarely ever managed such a portability to other systems without even making a 2-bus mix (which by the way are nowadays essentially used in mastering), all this with a quickness of decision-making I’d never experienced until then.
So, I could go on developing the technologies used by Mr A.Roux and all the patents linked to these "AOI, ALG, CPR, PSC" speakers (by the way, the AVAA 20 is quite a revolution compared with what it can replace...), the excellent (and very reactive) customer service… among other things.
I’ll complete this review with a little more experience with it. In the meantime, here are 3 pics of them in my studio...
I work as a producer and mixer.
Some months ago I had a budget to upgrade my main speakers (Focal solo6 Be)...
My choice was aimed at ATC25 or 45, Barefoot MM27 GEN2, Focal SM9 or trio, and PSI A21 or A25 if there was an opportunity...
After testing the ATC 45 and Barefoot MM27 GEN2.
I’ll say (in short) for these models :
-ATC 45 : really warm sound hence presence in the low-mids = pleasant to the ear, but with a tendency to squash the sound at (very) high levels… For the rest, it’s all high-end: all I listened on them sounded bettered (organic, all the opposite compared with the Barefoot)
-Barefoot MM27 GEN2 : an astounding clarity, well-decomposed stereo image (which can be a bit disturbing) and a very controlled low-end, but… a sub that seems like disconnected from the rest of the instruments. This can be a problem for a musical feeling (as a whole the song’s unity is somehow mistreated). Feeling of a digital listening – all the opposite compared with the ATC.
Just a mention for Focal which Trio 6 really astounded me considering the price difference…
The new class G amps are certainly no strangers to this. Coming from solo 6be (but I also know other models from this manufacturer), I could recognize Focal’s trademark (beryllium tweeter, stereo width, depth…) but with the addition of a clearly audible 3rd voice.
You end up with a very detailed monitoring, above the Twin, with an impressive overall power, with a well-controlled low (really low at 35Hz)-end.
All in all: a must have in its price range!
I was about to opt for the latter (and their excellent value-for-money) when I found an opportunity for PSI A25Ms.
I quickly remembered listening to A17s from the same brand, long ago, and being really impressed by them.
After listening to them at the shop, I end up choosing these A25M...
After a month working with them:
I can say they’re just incredible with accuracy. I had to listen many tracks I already knew by heart to understand how far these speakers would take me.
These are very high end devices that don’t aim at embellishing or polishing the sound, which would just hurt their aim… if a record was badly mixed/mastered, it jumps to the ears… I read a review recently that said they could turn you into someone snobbish and picky as they are particularly merciless. I wouldn’t say it so… Actually, they’re helping me perfect my musical culture when listening for a long period of time… I’ve never heard monitors that counl enter this way into the very character of a record’s production…
What I mean is, I can perceive all the choices and little (or bigger) misses at recording or mixing – all this with a perfect transparency.
Adopting a more distanced position for musical listening, they also deliver especially brilliantly… No need for an outrageous decomposition ala Barefoot, you end up with a musical unit as wished by the producer (and in wide band too: 32Hz to 23 kHz)… Of course, the better the record is mixed, the greater the result… while the more the record will have been driven down by an incompetent producer or the requirements of our consumer society (loudness war and so on), the worst the listening experience. In working conditions, you can imagine how easy it is to project oneself into a real producing session (with the right choices made from the start) or a mixing session…
As an example, I’ve rarely ever managed such a portability to other systems without even making a 2-bus mix (which by the way are nowadays essentially used in mastering), all this with a quickness of decision-making I’d never experienced until then.
So, I could go on developing the technologies used by Mr A.Roux and all the patents linked to these "AOI, ALG, CPR, PSC" speakers (by the way, the AVAA 20 is quite a revolution compared with what it can replace...), the excellent (and very reactive) customer service… among other things.
I’ll complete this review with a little more experience with it. In the meantime, here are 3 pics of them in my studio...
