Mastering Studio Start Up

[nothingface7602]

Hello, so i am setting up my mastering studio in mid August, and I know everything i have to get, except for the amp for my B&W DM604S3. Any suggestions? I got the Genelec 1031A's , and i grew to not like them for the task at hand, and if i had the money for Lipinski's, i would do it, but i dont...so be it.

So, any help is greatly appreciated, and as soon as I am up and running, I will master your projects at a VERY special rate!.


So far:

Z-sys digital detangler z-16.16
Sonic Studio Sound Blade
Mytek 8X192 AD/DA 8 channel mastering audio converter
Place still to be rented
Billy Stull and Rupert Neve's Masterpiece (LegendaryAudio home page)
Still to get an additional gain stage
Will get the dangerous S&M
Coleman Audio M3PH mkII
Only plug-ins: Roger Nichols Bundle and Sonic's EQ
Studio to be tuned by the Real Traps guys.


Only starting!.






Julian Silva
Julian Silva: Audio Engineer

[DSD_Mastering]

Consider amps for the B&W speakers from the following manufacturers:

Classe'
Pass Labs
Mark Levinson
Krell

I don't like Bryston for Mastering.
Good-luck with your new studio!

Regards,
Bruce

[Ben F]

You would probably want to get the masterpiece modded with different filters- the standard ones wouldn't be that much use for mastering, unless you were trying to decode a hidden message from the KGB.

Second vote for Pass Labs- big improvement over the Brystons.

[bit mangler]

604S3s are really great @ less cost -this is coming from a 802 owner.Look for high current amps like Classe & Krell.Dont make the mistake of underpowering them..great choice of speakers there.

[inlinenl]

well considering "live earth" you should get a real modest class A amplifier ... you just need the will to dig into the music .... you don't want a power-consumer .. or you're studio should run on solar/wind etc. energy ...

you're choice on equipment to me is a bit off the beaten track ... it shows some personality .... thumbsup

you don't need a "hummer" to get you there .... I started with some B&W DM3000 and a quad 303 .....

depends also on the size off the room ....

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by Ben F

You would probably want to get the masterpiece modded with different filters- the standard ones wouldn't be that much use for mastering, unless you were trying to decode a hidden message from the KGB.

Agreed. I have no idea why they made the stock values on the HPF's & LPF's so steep to things that seem much more suitable for tracking or broadcast than mastering - but when I talked to Billy Stull at AES a couple of years ago he seemed very amenable to having these values modded for a custome order if one wished.

The other thing that I think should without a question be modded from the stock modules on the Masterpiece is the input and output gain controls - which stock are continuously variable pots. I think changing these to stepped switches with 1/2 dB steps would go a very long way to having work flow and recallability vastly improved (I had my Medici's input gain stage - also designed by Neve - and also stock with just continuously variable pots - modded to 1/2dB stepped switches for these exact reasons).

Second vote for Pass Labs- big improvement over the Brystons.

And a third vote for Pass Labs - along with a mention of McIntosh as also worthy candidate for consideration.

Originally Posted by nothingface7602

So far:

Still to get an additional gain stage

why the need for this?

Originally Posted by nothingface7602

Will get the dangerous S&M

Given the Masterpiece's extensive imaging controls, and with very good digital M/S encoders/decoders also available for when you need specifically to process M/S differently - I'm not sure whether this would be my first purchase before getting other analog processors not integrated into the Masterpiece first. I'd personally probably lean towards getting an eq and a compressor that provided different sounds from the Masterpiece, and then after getting these maybe adding the S/M.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Contrary to others our Bryston 4B and 3B amplifiers are the best I have heard.

Alon IV speakers - acoustically tuned room

[Jerry Tubb]

Originally Posted by nothingface7602

I know everything i have to get, except for the amp for my B&W DM604S3. Any suggestions?

You should check out a Bryston 4B SST.

Great sounding amp, loads of power, reasonable price.

JT

[nothingface7602]

I didn't expect so much generosity form the mastering community!.

thanks so much for the replies, i will definitely take your input into account. i won the auction on Ebay, and they will be shippped tomorrow!.

hey, Jerry, my pal Ryan Blum took the cd i recorded of his band, Shell, to you for mastering!. small world, huh?.

what about the ADCOM GFA-5500?. i have read a lot of good reviews about it.


thanks so much for the input, and Yes, you are right about the stepped mod on the masterpiece, i will definitely look into it, it allows you to be more precise when you want to recall settings!.


Julian