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NAMM 2014: Avantone Pro series (Video)

Full-range monitors

Avantone, famous for their MixCubes, are branching out with their Pro series of full-range active studio monitors. 

The MixCubes from Avantone have been jokingly described as the best-made bad-sounding speaker on the market. Calling them bad-sounding outright is a little unfair though, because their purpose is to sound like a cheap mid-range speaker. Based on the Auratone 5C Sound Cube, known to many as 'Horrortones', the Active MixCubes, reviewed in June 2010 (http://sosm.ag/jun10-mixcubes), serve a very useful function as a secondary reference when monitoring. 

According to Mike Senior in his review, "They provide an approximation of lesser-quality consumer playback devices such as radios and televisions... [and their] frequency response is very heavy on the mid-range, which is the section of any mix that is most likely to survive to the listener." 

The range consists of the LA7 ($1000 per pair), which stands for Little Abbey Sevens, these feature an Air Motion Transformer for HF and a proprietary woofer, not based on the MixCube.

Next up, and on display at the NAMM show for the first time are the 3-way Mix Towers ($1200), which incorporate two drivers of the LA7 with a MixCube for mid-range coverage. The idea with the Mix Tower to have two mixing tools in one, so you can use a hand or foot switch to A/B between the full-range 3-way monitor and just the MixCube on its own. The MixCube within the Mix Tower is actually inside a box, and Avantone claim it sounds just the same as the original.

The third model from Avantone are the Abbey speakers ($2000 per pair). These have a front-mounted Air Motion Transformer and woofer but supplement these with two side-mounted sub woofers for bass coverage.

All models are expected to ship in June.

http://www.avantonepro.com/

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