Music Studio I is one of the largest recording studios in Europe. It was designed in 1990 by American architect Tom Hidley and reconstructed in 2006 by British acoustician Roger d'Arcy.

They recorded their music here: Angelo Badalamenti, Randy Brecker, Montserrat Caballe, José Carreras, Lara Fabian, Antigoni Goni, Donald Harrison, Michel Legrand, and Vangelis. Also, many soundtracks to various movies were recorded at this studio.

Music Studio I in Realphones 2.0

Despite its large size, the overall sound is very "tight" and "focused," emphasizing the attack of the sound. The timbre coloration is far from neutral, but the sound is very "alive" providing a natural delivery of tones and musical instruments.

Interestingly, different monitor lines significantly color the sound, but each brings something of its own, allowing the sound engineer to focus on different aspects of the mix. However, there are no anomalies related to stereo imaging and reverberation tails.

Near Field Music Studio I in Realphones 2.0

The sound of these monitors in Music Studio I differs from their classic sound in other studios. There is a strong limitation in the range of reproduced low frequencies, and the mid frequencies are further focused with no excess of high frequencies.

Among all monitor lines, NS-10 reproduces upper bass and lower midrange most evenly without coloration. There is a very fast decay in the low frequencies and no rumble at the bottom. The mid frequencies between 2500-4500 Hz play very "vividly."

The sound of near and mid-field monitors is heavily colored by reflections from the console, especially noticeable with NS-10. This phenomenon is typical for any studio with a large mixing console. In a sense, it positively enhances the sound, making it more interesting.

The strong characteristics of this monitor line are evident in the upper bass and lower midrange, as well as slightly below the upper midrange.

Mid Field (Genelec 1031A)

Mid Field Music Studio I in Realphones 2.0

Despite their small size, the acoustics in the placement of these speakers emphasize the "meatiness" of the bass drum due to the boost in the 60 Hz range.

A rise in the 250 Hz range is perceived as "boxy". This is a useful feature, allowing for the detection of such rumble in musical instruments. If the mix is well balanced, it will sound sufficiently appealing, as the body of musical instruments will sound full, warm, and rich. If the mix unpleasantly rumbles, this frequency range should be checked.

Cymbals in the tracks sound bright due to the open-sounding high frequencies, while the reproduction of mid frequencies is smoothed. In conjunction with the boost in low and high frequencies, this creates a colorful sound, which contrasts well with the "bare" NS-10 of the first monitor line.

Reflections from the console are quite noticeable, especially in the mid-frequency and lower midrange areas. The timbre is quite heavily colored, but the depth of space is better felt. If NS-10 significantly cut off the fundamental low end and the mix sounds rather modest, with restrained space, then on Genelec, the space is more convincing.

The bass drum is slightly elongated in time due to the phase inverter, but it adds additional richness to the sound. This is an important aspect of working with Genelec, and it complements NS-10 well, speaking of monitors located on the console bridge.

A tip from the dSONIQ team: Genelec has a significant dip in the 95-100 Hz range, which allows checking, for example, the bass guitar for harmonic content. If this instrument disappears, it's a good sign to find another timbre for the bass guitar or add harmonics to the original sound. If harmonics are present but weakly felt, you can boost the higher frequency zone with an equalizer. In the absence of harmonics, we recommend using a saturator to generate them.

Far Field Music Studio I in Realphones 2.0

The sound of this acoustic system is not affected by reflections from the console, as the speakers are much further away from it (unlike the first and second monitor lines). Every room has geometric peculiarities. These peculiarities in Music Studio I, combined with the monitor placement, result in a strong boost in low frequencies, but there is a dip in the upper bass. Some rumbling is felt in the lower midrange.

Another important feature is the very "tight" bass of the acoustic system. In this range, it sounds "faster" than the mid-field. There isn't as much bass, and it's not smeared in time. This provides a very good focus on the low-frequency foundation of the mix, allowing the low-frequency section and groove in the mix to be heard very well.

A very narrow rise in the 300-350 Hz range sounds not very pleasant, but it interestingly supports the rhythmic component of the mix. If there is too much of these frequencies in your mix, it can be easily identified. In the optimized version, this rise is attenuated and sounds more "flat."

Above 350 Hz, the frequency range has a fairly flat region, but still has peaks and dips, which gives a pleasant frequency coloring. This is mainly due to acoustic characteristics and provides a fairly lively sound that works musically and allows the music to "sing."

Of course, the monitors in the far field better reveal some spatial properties of the mix. At the same time, combo filtering associated with early reflections from the console is absent. In some mid and high-frequency areas, this monitor line is more neutral than Yamaha and Genelec.

Taking the overall combination of all three monitor lines at Music Studio I, it turns out that each color the sound in its own way but sounds musical. By switching between the speaker systems, it is easy to get a complete impression of your mix. The existing frequency coloring emphasizes the mood and musical movements inherent in the music. Despite the large size of the room, there is no sense that the sound is smeared in time. The spatial image is also quite interesting.

NS-10 - Unembellished lower midrange. Very "fast" and "nimble" sound.

Genelec - Very relaxed, beautiful punchy bass sound that carries you away. The midrange is pushed back, and the highs are slightly lifted.

ATC - Very dense and deep bass without artifacts, more controlled than the mid-line. Quite flat mid and high frequencies, without coloration.

Far Field Music Studio I Optimised in Realphones 2.0

Unlike sound engineers working in Music Studio I, Realphones users can use an optimised version. It removes the above-described features from the sound and makes it more neutral. Some room coloring is retained, but only to the extent that it helps to work on the mix without being too distracting.

The dSONIQ team and the emulations they create are not affiliated, endorsed, or licensed by Yamaha, Genelec, Bryston and ATC.