Sunday, June 26, 2011

Unity Audio - "The Rock" 2-way Active Studio monitors



Unity Audio's "The Rock" is an active 2-way studio monitor that has the unusual feature of having a front baffle made of Corian granite, combined with a folded ribbon tweeter and 6.5" woofer powered by a custom E.A.R. amplifier in a sealed cabinet. The speakers frequency response only deviates an impressive +/- 0.5db from 70hz to 30khz. I need to acquire a pair of these for a more in depth evaluation.
Meanwhile check out the following for more info on "The Rock".

From their website:
"We wanted to produce a brutally honest monitor and we've certainly done that, our measurements indicate this. The cabinet is sealed, it has no port, which is unusual for studio monitors, but the difference in bass accuracy is incredible, it also has very good low-end extension too. From the start we decided not have any EQ controls, the sound is what you get, if you can't deal with the accuracy The Rock produces then it's not for you, simple. We've consulted with many producers and engineers and they welcome such a monitor,..."

Here's an excerpt from a great Sound On Sound review :
  "The Rock is a relatively modestly sized speaker, comparable with the likes of the Mackie HR824 or the PMC TB2, and so would sit comfortably on the meter bridge of a big console, or behind (or on) the DAW desk.... "
".... I found these monitors to be a real pleasure to work with. There was no hint of fatigue even after long, intense editing and mixing sessions, and their ability to reveal mid-range detail and low-frequency timing makes it very easy to hear what you’re doing, whether it’s making EQ decisions, adjusting dynamics, balancing instruments or checking edits. Adjusting stereo panning was slightly less precise than it could have been, perhaps, but in practice I didn’t have any problems....."

Key features
  • 2 way active monitor
  • Bespoke true class A/B 100 watt E.A.R. discrete amplfier
  • Closed cabinet design
  • Corian front baffle, highly polished black finish
  • 50kHz folded ribbon tweeter
  • 7''/180mm woofer
  • Balanced XLR input
  • Un-balanced RCA gold plated phono input
  • SPL Max @ 1M = 105dB
  • Frequency response = +/- 3dB 50Hz- 35kHz
  • Frequency response = +/- 0.5dB 70Hz- 30kHz
  • Baltic Birch 9 ply cabinet 
  • 11.2kg each
  • 290mm deep x 22mm wide x 325mm high
  • Brutally honest
Visit the Unity Audio website.
Available at Mercenary Audio - $2500 per pair