A Versatile multi-pattern condenser Mic for amps, rooms, instruments, vocal groups
- M Audio Studio Speakers
- M Audio Omni Studio Download
- M-audio Omni Studio Delta 66
- Omni Studio Nashville
- M-audio Omni Studio Usb Driver Windows 7
by the Tweak
Sitting in its durable coffin like case, the Solaris lies safely in state
The M-Audio Firewire 410 is an amazingly well conceived and executed product targeted at musicians and audiophiles desiring Firewire audio without the associated high price tag. It's ideal for stereo recording in a home studio setup and to take with on the road. Highly recommended! I would give it 4.5/5 because it's almost perfect. Omni creates compelling front-end solutions by accentuating your organization's visual and cultural brand. Our team develops aesthetically pleasing sites that resonate with your target audience. And our integration of images, artwork and audio/video are based on current standards so they work seamlessly on your site. M-Audio Omni, Mackie/Tapco S5s, And. I bought a pair of Tapco S5 studio monitors on eBay, and they came today. I'm not very good at thinking about cables and connections, but I think- after web prowling- that I want balanced TSR instead of unbalanced TS, and that my best option would be to get two TSR to XLR cables, the TSR ends plugging into the Left/Right Monitor Outs on the Delta.
The wordSolarismeans different things to different people. To an astronomer, it is a star. To a geek, it is an OS from Sun Microsystems. To a literary buff, its a novel by Stanislaw Lem, to music buffs, a band, and even a comic book anti-hero by name. Now recording studio jocks have their own Solaris, a condenser microphone from M-Audio.
The pictures you see in the ads really don't do the mic justice. When you look at the low price and then the pic you start thinking low-cost plastic trash mic. And what's with that big ball on top--weird!. Wrong and wrong. You really need to see it and hold it in your hand to appreciate what it is. This mic is no lightweight. And it neither feels or sounds cheap. In fact, the Solaris is heavier than most mics I have. So much I had to tighten the lugs on my boom stand pretty tight to get it to sit up straight. Don't put your cheap boom out too far or you know what will happen.
The Mic comes in an attractive, black aluminum reinforced case with locks, something typically reserved for higher priced mics. When you pick it up you notice a precision manufactured feel. Another surprise is that it comes with a shock mount as standard equipment--no add-ons to buy. All of this gives the mic a great first impression. There are 3 switches on the mic, all located exactly where one wants them. On the front you have a -10db pad switch and a bass rolloff switch. On the back is the multi-pattern switch for Omni, Cardioid and Figure 8 patterns. Its a large condenser mic, so it requires phantom power on your preamp, mixer or audio interface in order to work.
Solaris is a large-capsule condenser microphone that sounds as good as it looks. Beneath the stylish exterior lies the best-sounding solid-state electronics available at any price. |
The Solaris is, on the inside a 1.1 inch solid brass capsule that is double sided, so in figure 8 and Omni modes, it picks up from the front and the back. M-audio claims that all Solaris mics have less than +/- 1db variation, which is pretty close. This makes it a good candidate for a stereo pair without worrying about whether they will match. The pad is quite effective when you know you are going to get loud on it. The bass rolloff cuts at a slope of 6db per octave at 125Hz. To my ears, it was a dramatic bass cut and quite useful at removing bass frequencies. It has a rated frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHZ. There was much less proximity effect than on other mics and it sounded quite natural even at close range. The stated max SPL is 130db, which is adequate for most applications. I would not want to use it as a kick or snare close mic but think it would do fine as an overhead.
That's not a ball on top of the Solaris. The mic is designed like a large lollipop. You can see the capsule through the mesh if you hold it up to the light, suspended in the center of the lollipop. M-Audio cautions us in the manual never to subject the mic to physical shock. Yep, you don't want to drop this one or even have the drummer knock into it. The Solaris does not like being jolted and your preamp will emit a nasty noise if you do. Perhaps that is why they supplied us with a shock mount and nice case. I'll be using them to keep this mic pristine.
I tested the mic on my voice and on acoustic guitar and give it high marks on both. Vocals came out very clear and transparent to my ears. No muddy bass clouding. I found it did not like me getting right on the mic (within 1 inch) like I dowith my TLM 103 for a little proximity boost for my soft low voice. A 'P' plosive fed right into the mic is a definite track killer (but of course that is bad mic technique with any mic). At 4-8' away the sound was focused, yet clear. A loud vocalist will get farther out. I suggest a pop filter. I found the Solaris, in cardioid mode, picked up less of the room than the Rode NT1 and definitely less bass. I have a distant train that goes by every hour at the TweakLab and the Solaris did not pick up very much of it where the Rode seems to capture every rumble. This rejection is a good thing for those of us in less than stellar rooms. Its a quiet mic for a condenser.
On acoustic guitar the Solaris did well especially with the pad off and rolloff off. Facing a little right of the sound hole, parallel to the strings, it was almost as good as my Shure SM81 with a remarkably precise and consistent tone. There is a definite advantage being able to point the sm81 capsule exactly where you want it. With the Solaris, as you can see by its size, you might have to struggle with pointing it. Yet I was surprised at this as there was no mention of acoustic guitar in the manual. (The manual says 'is also great for most other instruments and applications--including amplified guitar or bass'). I did not test those. I did try a hand drum (Darbouka) and it was nice. 2 different exotic tambourines--excellent, no splatter. A few wood flutes--good definition. I found in a mix of all the above, with vocals I did not have to make any bass adjustments. There was no mud. That will keep me reaching for this mic over and over again.
I think it is a solid mic for vocals, both spoken and sung, but as mentioned before, watch out for plosives. I think it's be great for recording a group of singers or 2 at once using the figure 8 pattern. I can see possibilities for voice over for video production and podcasts. Nice for ambient recordings, recording the room, or a source at a distance. While I would not call it 'bright', it does have the ability to rise above in a mix. I think it would be a really good mic for sampling and recording instruments that benefit from condensers. If you need one mic that can do both vocals and acoustic guitar under $300 its a prime contender. I think it will beat out getting two cheaper mics (large and small condensers) that add up to $300.
Potent Posts from Studio-Central
Links
Want to talk about Microphones? Studio-central has a great Mic forum where we discuss these everyday.
More Hardware Reviews by Tweak
With their latest monitor design, M-Audio are aiming higher than ever before. We put the EX66 to the test...
Although they are by no means new to the studio monitor marketplace, with their new EX66 monitor M-Audio have set out to compete with the kind of big-name monitors found in professional facilities as well as project studios. This aim is reflected in the EX66's UK price, although, given what it offers, it's still very competitive within its market sector. The EX66 is a rear-ported, two-way active monitor, but it uses a less commonplace dual bass/mid-range driver topography and features internal DSP-powered signal processing. Having the port on the rear panel reduces audible port wind noise, but it does mean you need to leave some space behind the cabinet — placement less than six inches from a wall is not recommended.
Photo: Mike Cameron
The tweeter sits centrally between two identical bass/mid-range drivers. Though this looks like an invitation to site the speakers horizontally, they are in fact designed to be stood upright. The two bass/mid-range drivers are six inches in diameter while the titanium-dome tweeter is one inch in diameter and sits in a shaped waveguide to control the horizontal and vertical dispersion angles at the crossover frequency.
Specifications
Measuring 209.6 x 482.6 x 241.3mm (WxHxD), the monitors can produce a peak SPL of 109dB each or 115dB for a stereo pair. The monitors have a specified nearfield frequency response of 37Hz to 22kHz at -3dB with a pass band flatness of ±1dB between the two extremes.
M-Audio have used their own proprietary driver technology, where the crossover and equaliser functions are handled by the onboard DSP rather than analogue circuitry. Because the crossover and filtering are done in DSP, this also made it relatively easy for M-Audio to add a digital input for those who need it. The DSP also uses IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filters to counter any remaining cabinet resonances, though the box seems to be very rigidly built anyway and incorporates internal bracing.
For the bass/mid-range driver, M-Audio worked with UCLA's Department of Materials Science to develop a cone structure that was light and yet resistant to breakup modes within its frequency range. The EX66's crossover is set at 2.56kHz and the designers claim that the first breakup mode occurs at around 6.5kHz where the signal level is already down by over 30dB thanks to the steep, fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover. The drivers have an inverted dust cap and silver/grey-coloured cones that seem very well damped.
The front edges of the MDF cabinets are radiused to minimise diffraction and the cabinet has an attractive black satin finish. Two blue LEDs show when the speakers are powered up and a chunky moulded driver surround gives the whole front baffle a very stylish look.
Placement
Normally, studio monitors are set up at head height and angled in towards the listening position, but in this case the recommended orientation (unless the speakers are very widely spaced) is to have them facing directly ahead, as this widens the perceived stereo image while still providing a solid centre image thanks to the wide horizontal dispersion characteristics that have been designed into the speakers.
Early reflections from walls and equipment, particularly mixing consoles, also affect what you hear, which is partly why M-Audio went with the arrangement of two identical bass/mid-range drivers wired in parallel with the tweeter midway between them. This setup, in conjunction with the asymetrical tweeter waveguide, deliberately constrains the monitors' vertical dispersion into a narrower-than-usual angle, reducing the amount of audio energy being sprayed onto your mixing console or work desk. At the same time, it produces a wider horizontal dispersion pattern, which results in a wider sweet spot. These directional characteristics also make the speakers suitable for multi-channel (surround) systems and should help avoid problems in rooms with lower than ideal ceilings.
Audio Test CD
One very practical inclusion with each monitor is a reference audio CD, which includes a set of calibration signals to aid setting up the monitors in the user's room. To make the best of this you'll need some means of measuring levels or frequency spectrums, but most DAW software includes metering that could be used to do the job providing you have an omni-directional microphone with a flat frequency response. There's pink noise (both in and out of phase), single tones at ISO standard third-octave frequencies and constant-level sine-wave sweeps. By checking how consistent low frequencies sound (or measure) at the listening position using the slower-frequency sweeps, you can quickly see if you have bass-end problems that need to be corrected by moving the speakers or treating the room.
Amplifier Technology
Each EX66 monitor is driven by two 100W PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) amplifiers, one to drive the two six-inch drivers and one to drive the tweeter. Normally you need much less power to drive a tweeter than a woofer, but having plenty of headroom can't hurt. Each amp feeds into a 4Ω load, where the damping factor is matched to the impedance characteristics of the drivers so as to tightly control the amount of overhang or ringing that is particularly evident on low notes in systems with insufficient damping. In practice this should allow deep bass notes to be reproduced with clean transients and accurate decays.
Photo: Mike Cameron
The circuitry features RF interference filtering, output current limiting, over-temperature protection and suppression of turn-on and -off transients, though I did still notice a small amount of noise when powering up the speakers. A subsonic filter takes care of frequencies below the design range of the monitors.
Rear Panel
As with most active monitors, the rear panel is a pretty busy place, with an IEC power inlet and mains switch, analogue and digital inputs and a number of switches to adapt the performance of the monitors to various physical environments. Balanced XLR and TRS jack analogue inputs are present, along with a level-control knob. The digital input can be handled in either S/PDIF or AES-EBU format, with a sample rate up to 216kHz (set by the incoming source). When the analogue inputs are being used, the converters run at 24-bit/96kHz. Rear-panel switches determine whether the speaker should respond to the left or right channel of a stereo digital source and a link cable between the two speakers can be used to distribute the same digital source to both in as straightforward a way as possible.
The Acoustic Space switch, which has full, half and quarter positions, allows for placement in free space, close to a wall or close to a corner. High-frequency adjustment is possible via a slide switch offering +2dB, flat or -2dB options. There's further control over the mid-range (flat or +2 dB) and a choice of low-cut filter frequencies (37, 80 or 100 Hz). Normally the 37Hz setting would be used, but to check what a mix might sound like on domestic speakers with a limited low end, there are the 80Hz and 100Hz options. These would also be useful if using the speakers in conjunction with a subwoofer that didn't feature its own crossover.
Listen!
M Audio Studio Speakers
In my own studio, with the EX66s set up in place of my usual monitors, I got very good results straight out of the box, with the Acoustic Space switch set to half space, the bass at maximum extension and all the other settings flat. The low end is surprisingly strong and well extended, to the extent that I began to think it might be a little larger than life, but it isn't so exaggerated as to present a serious problem. In any event, the bass end can be tamed somewhat by switching to quarter-space mode.
As expected, the titanium tweeters have a slightly forward quality about them, but stop short of sounding harsh, and the EX66s score very highly on enabling you to separate the different instruments in a mix. I noticed that the level of background noise is slightly higher than I would expect from conventional analogue active speakers, especially at high input-gain settings, and I suspect the use of DSP filtering may have something to do with this. However, at sensible input-gain settings (around 50 percent is fine and still allows the speakers to be driven to full volume), this should be unnoticeable from the listening position, unless you are fortunate enough to have an extremely quiet studio!
The stereo imaging is particularly good, with a stable centre image, while the overall tonal balance seems smooth and free of obvious vices other than the aforementioned slightly larger-than-life quality of the bass. M-Audio are right to recommend that the speakers be mounted vertically, as they sound a hint phasey when used on their sides. The sweet spot also becomes very narrow and tall with more energy than is ideal being directed towards the desk and ceiling. When stood the right way up, they do sound like very 'grown-up' monitors.
Having the option of a digital input is useful for those who need it, though I'm still a little cautious insomuch as there's always the possibility of your computer locking up and firing full-level digital noise into the monitor system. The monitors could probably survive, but the experience wouldn't be a pleasant one!
Summary
I have to admit that I didn't quite know what to expect from M-Audio, as they aren't known for high-end monitors, but the EX66s might just fast-track them into the big boys' league. Within their price range, these monitors come across very well in terms of clarity, presentation of detail and bass extension. I'm particularly impressed by their ability to cut through the clutter within a mix and present each sound source as a clearly separate entity. There are occasions on which the extended low end tends to hide the detail within sounds such as bass guitars and kick drums, but as mentioned earlier, you can always tame the bass using the filter and Acoustic Space switches. I've noticed the same tendency for the bass end to obscure other aspects of the mix in larger studio monitors designed for greater bass extension, so it may well be unavoidable.
The EX66s meet pretty much all the requirements of high-end monitors. Their ability to let you hear individual elements within a mix is amongst the best I've heard and they seem very well suited to analytical listening. Mixes done on these monitors also appear to travel well, which, when it comes down to it, is what really matters.
Alternatives
Given the EX66's price, M-Audio are going up against the smaller Genelec, Dynaudio, ADAM and Mackie monitors, so this is where to look for the obvious alternatives. Also consider Event and Quested monitors as well as less obvious models such as the AVI Pro Nine powered version.
M Audio Omni Studio Download
Pros
- Balanced sound with adequate bass extension.
- Very good stereo imaging.
- Good separation between instruments.
- Wide, shallow sweet spot helps minimise problems caused by room acoustics, studio furniture and mixing consoles.
Cons
- Not exactly cheap, but at the same time the price is comparable with the competition.
- The strong low end can sometimes obscure the detail in bass instruments.
Summary
M-Audio wanted to create a serious studio monitor that would make people sit up and take notice, and I think they might just have succeeded. The EX66 is a great monitor for most musical genres and has the benefit of a digital input where that is a requirement.
M-audio Omni Studio Delta 66
information
Omni Studio Nashville
£898 per pair including VAT.
M-Audio +44 (0)1923 204010.
M-audio Omni Studio Usb Driver Windows 7
+44 (0)1923 204039.