Resonate Audio Studio in Cape Town, South Africa, has upgraded its main control room with PMC twotwo monitoring in a 5.1 configuration.
Award-winning sound artist, sound engineer and studio owner Rob Brinkworth says he chose this system, which comprises twowo5, twotwo6 and a sub1 monitor, after being invited to a PMC demo by the company’s local agent, Benjamin Pro Audio.
“I was completely blown away by the open, linear and ultra-responsive nature of the Transmission Line design of these monitors and by the low current draw of the Class-D amplifiers, the modern digital interfacing and detailed, precise setup options,” he says. “I was also swayed by the overall impression I got from PMC as a company, with their attention to detail and their hand-made, personal approach to their products.”
Formerly a product designer before moving into the audio world, Brinkworth has worked on numerous different projects including film scores, orchestral recording, broadcast media, spatial mixing, sound design, sound installations and many different music projects with various artists. He has won several awards for his work and is, he says, completely obsessed with sound.
“I have always valued great monitors, and have always seen them as an important investment,” he says, adding that when he first hear PMC twotwo monitors In Benjamin Audio’s demo room he thought he was hearing the larger PMC IB1S system because their bandwidth and throw was larger than he expected from a speaker that size.
“They truly match any 3-way system, and the depth of the sound imaging, the linearity and the transient response is excellent,” he explains. “At any volume, the mix stays linear. The transient response and bass reproduction thanks to the ATL design technology is spot on. Ported and passive radiator designs just can’t achieve a reference quality bottom end like this. We’ve coupled this system to run with the twotwo Sub1 monitor, both as switchable satellites and with the sub’s crossover and it’s probably the first time I’ve liked having a sub in the mix for a long time.”
The introduction of Resonate Audio Studio’s new PMC 5.1 monitoring system has helped Rob Brinkworth and his team improve their workflow because it is now much easier to hear what is going on in their mixes.
“As a 5.1 system, the imaging is perfect, our mixes translate exactly as expected, and we get jobs out faster, due to things being placed right the first time,” he says. “There is no ear fatigue and at any volume, the mix stays balanced.”
Located in the historic Castle Brewery building in Woodstock, Resonate Audio Studio is a boutique facility that is highly individual, thanks to the combination of an historic setting and cutting edge technology.
“The studio is built into an old cold storage space, which is perfect for sound,” Brinkworth says. “It has a double volume main area, double cavity walls and all of the history of time etched into the building surrounding it. We’ve been in this current space for 10 years now and are very fortunate to have wonderful people around us.”
The studio complex features a tuned coffin shaped control room, a live room that is ideal for vocals, instruments, drums, foley and ADR and a secondary dubbing room off to the side. A second studio, equipped with a stereo pair of PMC twotwo monitors, houses an extensive collection of vintage synthesizers and drum machines. These are permanently wired, providing the perfect environment for programming and sound design, as well as a useful space for editing.
“Both of our rooms are interconnected and fitted with Metric Halo’s ULN8 3d interfaces – an ideal match with the PMCs as their pristine preamps and DA converters really need a great monitor,” Brinkworth adds.
Resonate Audio Studio’s equipment list includes plenty of plug ins, amps, preamps, microphones and guitars and there is also a vintage Rhodes Mk! and a Lowrey organ in the live room.
“Due to my extensive work in custom sound design, we have a range of highly specialised equipment for location and field recording,” Brinkworth adds. “These rigs are custom built, wired and designed to withstand harsh conditions, from being strapped to speeding cars, bashed around in rain forests or stuck into beehives.”
Resonate Audio Studio handles a diverse range of projects including feature films, short films and commercials. The facility has recently competed a multi-speaker sound design piece for the Nelson Mandela Capture site museum in KZN, and before that it worked on commercials in Kenya, a commercial project in Mauritius and sound design for Dubai Frame, which required 16 channel surround mixes and meticulous detailing.
“We are very grateful to be entrusted with so many peoples’ beautiful projects and visions,” Rob Brinkworth adds. “We believe in never cutting corners and knowing that we are able to give our clients and friends the opportunity to mix their work through a signal chain of this calibre is truly a privilege. Coming from a product design background, I was brought up knowing that a great design is the sum of many refined, simple parts. All monitor speakers are made from similar materials, yet PMC has arranged these parts into something truly perfect.”
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About PMC
PMC is a UK-based, world-leading manufacturer of loudspeaker systems, the tools of choice in all ultra-critical professional monitoring applications, and also for the discerning audiophile at home, where they provide a transparent window into the recording artist’s original intentions. PMC products use the best available materials and design principles, including the company’s proprietary Advanced Transmission Line (ATL™) bass-loading technology, cutting-edge amplification and advanced DSP techniques to create loudspeakers that present sound and music exactly as it was when first created, with the highest possible resolution, and without coloration or distortion. For more information on our clients and products, see www.pmc-speakers.com.
