Orazio Pollaci
Member of the Trade: Warwick Acoustics
Thoughts from Alan Silverman (nominated for 80 Grammy's);
“Bringing new gear into a mastering room is a big deal, especially gear that is involved in monitoring. It’s a bit like bringing a new animal onto a farm – the behaviour of all the other animals changes. Bringing in a new EQ reveals new characteristics of the existing EQs, they get used differently, the pieces interact differently. Changing or augmenting monitoring is especially critical.
I started out with the M1’s at home. The sound was intriguing, compelling, and a departure from anything I’d ever heard, reinforcing my first impressions at your demo suite (at AES NY 2018). At the studio, the effect on the other farm animals was immediate. After the first week, a trusted pair of high-end phones were pulled from service. They just didn’t sound good anymore. The most dramatic improvement with the M1's is the linearity in the low frequency range. They are rock solid all the way down. My bass adjustments became more accurate. Likewise, the resolution in midrange allowed fine-tuning with greater accuracy. Cycling between my main monitors and the M1’s led to an iterative process that resulted in some excellent sounding masters.
As I checked work home I found that the improvement in sound and feel heard at the studio translated all the way down to my cellphone paired with a modest Bluetooth speaker. The improvement fostered by a change in gear takes time to validate – it often happens that initial euphoria wears off once the newness fades with time. This has not been the case with the M1’s.
The M1’s sensitivity gives me the information I need for those last few tweaks that can make all the difference. In short the M1’s have led to an improvement in my work, and that is what matters most.”
Alan Silverman, Owner - Aerial Sound, NYC (formerly Arf! Mastering)
“Bringing new gear into a mastering room is a big deal, especially gear that is involved in monitoring. It’s a bit like bringing a new animal onto a farm – the behaviour of all the other animals changes. Bringing in a new EQ reveals new characteristics of the existing EQs, they get used differently, the pieces interact differently. Changing or augmenting monitoring is especially critical.
I started out with the M1’s at home. The sound was intriguing, compelling, and a departure from anything I’d ever heard, reinforcing my first impressions at your demo suite (at AES NY 2018). At the studio, the effect on the other farm animals was immediate. After the first week, a trusted pair of high-end phones were pulled from service. They just didn’t sound good anymore. The most dramatic improvement with the M1's is the linearity in the low frequency range. They are rock solid all the way down. My bass adjustments became more accurate. Likewise, the resolution in midrange allowed fine-tuning with greater accuracy. Cycling between my main monitors and the M1’s led to an iterative process that resulted in some excellent sounding masters.
As I checked work home I found that the improvement in sound and feel heard at the studio translated all the way down to my cellphone paired with a modest Bluetooth speaker. The improvement fostered by a change in gear takes time to validate – it often happens that initial euphoria wears off once the newness fades with time. This has not been the case with the M1’s.
The M1’s sensitivity gives me the information I need for those last few tweaks that can make all the difference. In short the M1’s have led to an improvement in my work, and that is what matters most.”
Alan Silverman, Owner - Aerial Sound, NYC (formerly Arf! Mastering)
