Published 28/9/09
KMR distribute MicroMain 27 monitors
Anyone who keeps a keen eye on audio technology forums may have already read about the Barefoot MicroMain 27 active monitors. They were released in the US back in 2006, and top-flight producer Butch Vig (who has produced Nirvana and Jimmy Eat World, among others) famously has nothing but good words to say about them. UK producers will now have a chance to give Barefoot monitors a try, with KMR Audio distributing them on these shores. Designed and hand-built in San Francisco, the MicroMain 27s are intended to give producers an active monitoring system which can successfully perform in nearfield, main and mastering applications. Users have commented that all of the features required to perform these varied duties (relatively small physical size, unusually high maximum SPL output and a very high level of presentation detail) are indeed present and correct.
Barefoot used an innovative driver layout in order to achieve their goal, and although the front of each unit appears quite ordinary — including a one-inch soft-dome tweeter for the high frequencies and dual five-inch cones putting out the mid-range — things get a little more interesting when we look at the sides of the cabinet. Each face sports a 10-inch aluminium-coned subwoofer, and their motor assemblies are joined together internally. In this way the opposing forces generated when their cones move act to cancel each other out so that the cabinet remains rock steady and vibration-free. The MM27s are entirely sealed — even using separate internal enclosures for each of the mid-range drivers — allowing bass response to roll off very gently at an impressively deep 33Hz. Sealed designs can engender more low-end accuracy than ported designs while avoiding their pitfalls: phase distortion, ‘breathing’ at high volumes, and inaccurate timing on low frequencies. The subs are powered by a 500W amp, with a 250W amp driving the mid and bass scones, and a 60W amp for the tweeter, so there’s no shortage of power available for high SPL playback. The Barefoot MicroMain 27s cost £5744 a pair including VAT.
KMR Audio +44 (0)208 445 2446
www.kmraudio.com
www.barefootsound.com
Anyone who keeps a keen eye on audio technology forums may have already read about the Barefoot MicroMain 27 active monitors. They were released in the US back in 2006, and top-flight producer Butch Vig (who has produced Nirvana and Jimmy Eat World, among others) famously has nothing but good words to say about them. UK producers will now have a chance to give Barefoot monitors a try, with KMR Audio distributing them on these shores. Designed and hand-built in San Francisco, the MicroMain 27s are intended to give producers an active monitoring system which can successfully perform in nearfield, main and mastering applications. Users have commented that all of the features required to perform these varied duties (relatively small physical size, unusually high maximum SPL output and a very high level of presentation detail) are indeed present and correct. Barefoot used an innovative driver layout in order to achieve their goal, and although the front of each unit appears quite ordinary — including a one-inch soft-dome tweeter for the high frequencies and dual five-inch cones putting out the mid-range — things get a little more interesting when we look at the sides of the cabinet. Each face sports a 10-inch aluminium-coned subwoofer, and their motor assemblies are joined together internally. In this way the opposing forces generated when their cones move act to cancel each other out so that the cabinet remains rock steady and vibration-free. The MM27s are entirely sealed — even using separate internal enclosures for each of the mid-range drivers — allowing bass response to roll off very gently at an impressively deep 33Hz. Sealed designs can engender more low-end accuracy than ported designs while avoiding their pitfalls: phase distortion, ‘breathing’ at high volumes, and inaccurate timing on low frequencies. The subs are powered by a 500W amp, with a 250W amp driving the mid and bass scones, and a 60W amp for the tweeter, so there’s no shortage of power available for high SPL playback. The Barefoot MicroMain 27s cost £5744 a pair including VAT.
KMR Audio +44 (0)208 445 2446
www.kmraudio.com
www.barefootsound.com
