KAUSTUBH RAVI & SIVANESH BABU
TIME TO
MONITOR
YOUR SOUND!
Monkey Banana Baboon 6 Active Studio Monitor
WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU CAN STAND OUT?
Studio monitors usually invoke a pretty boring and standard image of a speaker. There haven’ t been many interesting design variations and while this works for most people, here are a few products that might add a little colour to your studio, a little aesthetic touch.
The Monkey Banana Baboon 6, as the very name suggests, is quite the quirk in studio equipment. The case shape is unusual- and very embellishing for a home studio. The manufacturer ' s logo on the front is backlit in soft orange when the speaker is on. The rather oddly shaped active studio monitors have an Air Motion tweeter( 7.4 inch AMT) and a Kevlar woofer( 6.5 inches). It features a biamp module with 60 watts for the low-frequency range and 30 watts for the high-frequency range. The German com-pany is just making an entry into Indian markets as a midrange priced product.
On the input side, it features an XLR: 1 / 4 inch combo jack and S / PDIF inputs as well. These feautures are aimed at the hi-fi audio market, allowing them to digitally connect to high-quality audio interfaces. There is a continuous volume knob, which snaps at the median position, along with an LP filter adding between- 6db and + 6db at 100 Hz and an HP filter adding between- 6db and + 6db at 10Khz.
The frequency response maybe described as controlled and soft. Some may feel the bass could use some more oomph compared to other speakers in the price range, but otherwise the bass sounds quite tight and full. The ribbon tweeters bring quite some detail without being too harsh with some tweaks of the HP filter. The sound field was also impressive with a good deal of separation and clarity.
There are better speakers in this price range for those looking for more bass and oomph, but the Mon-key Banana does deliver quite a bit in the sound department while being quite the showpiece in a stu-dio. It is certainly an ideal monitor for professional recording and mastering.
Prodipe Pro 5 V3 Active Studiomonitor Active Studio Monitor
GREAT WAY TO BEGIN!
French company Prodipe surprise us on a regular basis with the quality, value, and pricing of their pro-ducts. Their latest contribution to the table is the Prodipe Pro 5 V3 Studio monitors. On our previous month’ s issue, we had featured the overly impressive Prodipe TT1 Dynamic microphone for the quality that it delivers for the price. Have the French makers managed to level expectations with these moni-tors?
Appearing fairly plain at first sight, the build quality is quite good with a well-finished exterior, making it ideal looking for a professional studio environment. The bass reflex port in the front finishes the look and makes it easier to position the speaker.
Moving on to sound, the speaker performs well for its price. A beginner-level producer is certainly going to enjoy these. They have a very non-fatiguing and soft sound profile. Ideal for programming, you can find yourself working on tracks for extended periods of time. The bass response is good but could be a little tighter.
The speakers may come off as too soft for mixing, with the top end being a little too smooth taking away some accuracy in those regions. We also noticed that the speakers don’ t get too loud for their size, compared to a lot of the other products in the range.
To sum things up, these are great monitors for beginner producers. You can work on them for extended periods of time and makes for an enjoyable programming experience. However, if you are looking for a loud speaker with very tight bass and sparkly highs, you might have to look elsewhere.
The Score Magazine
28 highonscore. com