Published 8/4/09
UK distributor ramp up manufacturing with new monitor
Unity Audio have been associated with some of the biggest names in studio monitoring since the company was founded in the mid-’90s. The latest news takes their involvement with equipment distribution one step further, and thrusts their own-brand products into the mainstream.
Unity have announced that they’re now manufacturing an active studio monitor called The Rock. Described by the designers as “a brutally honest tool on which you can base the most critical decisions without a second guess or hesitation”, it certainly sounds like it’ll be tough competition for the manufacturers at the professional end of the market.
The Rock has an intriguing front baffle that looks a bit like a slab of the material used for those faux-granite worktops found in classy modern houses. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the material, called Corian, is actually used for kitchen worktops, but was apparently chosen here specifically because its mass and rigidity make it well suited as a speaker baffle. The rest of the cabinet is made from nine-ply birch.
The monitor features a two‑way design with a 180mm aluminium low‑frequency driver and a folded ribbon tweeter, which can apparently reproduce signals up to 50kHz. The Rock’s discrete-circuitry amplifier has been custom designed by high‑end amp gurus Esoteric Audio Research, and provides 100W RMS of power, has dedicated low- and high‑frequency sections and on-board overload protection. The rear panel has sockets for the power cord and a balanced input.
A pair of The Rocks will cost around £1265 including VAT when they become available later this year.
Unity Audio have been associated with some of the biggest names in studio monitoring since the company was founded in the mid-’90s. The latest news takes their involvement with equipment distribution one step further, and thrusts their own-brand products into the mainstream. Unity have announced that they’re now manufacturing an active studio monitor called The Rock. Described by the designers as “a brutally honest tool on which you can base the most critical decisions without a second guess or hesitation”, it certainly sounds like it’ll be tough competition for the manufacturers at the professional end of the market.
The Rock has an intriguing front baffle that looks a bit like a slab of the material used for those faux-granite worktops found in classy modern houses. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the material, called Corian, is actually used for kitchen worktops, but was apparently chosen here specifically because its mass and rigidity make it well suited as a speaker baffle. The rest of the cabinet is made from nine-ply birch.
The monitor features a two‑way design with a 180mm aluminium low‑frequency driver and a folded ribbon tweeter, which can apparently reproduce signals up to 50kHz. The Rock’s discrete-circuitry amplifier has been custom designed by high‑end amp gurus Esoteric Audio Research, and provides 100W RMS of power, has dedicated low- and high‑frequency sections and on-board overload protection. The rear panel has sockets for the power cord and a balanced input.
A pair of The Rocks will cost around £1265 including VAT when they become available later this year.
Unity Audio +44 (0)1440 785843
www.unityaudio.co.uk
www.unityaudio.co.uk
