HEDD Type07 at StarMount Studio

StarMount Studio is really fortunate to be one of the few to experience the first things that reaches our shore (Malaysia)
Dennis Tan of  Roland Asia Pacific (RAP) offered us a trial to listen out to new speakers and without much hesitation and with great pleasure we got a pair of Heinz Electro Dynamic Design HEDD Type 07 active monitor speakers in the studio.

 1:1 box for the HEDD Type07

To be honest, this pair is not a show stopper. It appeared to be under powered when it was fired up alongside with ATC SC25, Solitaire 6a (which sounded very close to ATC SC25 at a fraction of the price) or even Axis Voicebox S passive ribbon speakers. We are used to a more open sounding, class A amps rather than enclosed bass reflex active speakers. Thus the underpowered impression was made when they were lined up together.

We always believe in 2nd chance, so we took great length into sweeping frequencies, adjusting speaker angle, and finding the best distance from the wall and to the sweet spot etc.

Here are some things we figured. The speakers sounded best in the studio when its about 1ft away from the wall, spaced in between is around 5m and about 3m to listening spot. The speakers are very directional, and we manage to widened the listening sweet spot with this arrangement. And listening to 78dB is quite comfortable as well. The mids and highs are very well presented without much hype or in your face especially on those sensitive 7k, 10k region. Its not muffled but much more comfortable to use and encourages explorations on the high frequency regions in tone sculpting.

Listening Party

The studio just got a major rewiring. We've got in some really nice ADDA converters as well.

CraneSong Avocet is the centre of monitor controlling, providing the links to Horus DA, Lavry Blue DA, Genex gx8500 and RME ADI 8 QS.

We are a strong believer on ADDA conversion quality affects heavily on the outcome and the sound of a production (make or break).

Now we have the opportunity to house these few world class gems and hear them out in a press of a button.

We're pleased to have a pair of HEDD speakers to try out (courtesy of Dennis Tan of Roland Asia Pacific). And also be listen to Axis Voicebox passive speakers.

First Impression on Solitaire 6a

It looks like a larger sized Solitaire 5a. The unit has the same black wooden finish, and has only power switch and level knob on the back of the speaker (no shelving or boosting features).
Nothing much on the looks of this pair, but what amazes us was that 1 inch difference in driver size can have such drastic sonic presentation!! We're talking about a lot more wider stereo field, deeper depth and almost a full freq band reproduction. This is definitely not sounding or behaving like any other 6 inch monitors we've ever came across.
One of the tracks played was Tracy Chapman's "Baby Can I Hold You". We're able to "see" the sounds, localization has never been easier with these pairs. The impressive stuff is the bass frequency. It can go really low yet very composed and maintaing the clarity of the bass.
We all agreed that the unit needs to be run-in for a few days or at least a week before it can fully open up. So far, the depth was amazing. The reverbs and sound field was just amazing. We're able to hear ADSR of so clearly, especially on the bass and vocal reverbs.
Apparently although they look identical on the outside, 6a was a total restructured unit from 5a. Components used and op amps are different and I would say the designer really maximize the potential of the 6 inch monitor speaker.
Right now the speakers are on the treadmill, so let it run for couple of days and we'll do another round of listening session probably by next week.
If you're interested to listen to the speakers, feel free to contact us at info@starmountstudio.com. We'll be more than happy to listen to it again and again (provided the studio is free from sessions).

Solitaire 6a is coming tonight!

If you've been to StarMount Studio, most of you would be remember how well the Solitaire 5a performs on the top end and throughout the frequency bands. Just that its a lil bit shy on the bottom end as it can go down to 50hz as claimed.
This post is about, Solitaire 6a is coming to StarMount Studio tonight, 9pm, courtesy of SoundBuzz Enterprise. We'll be having listening sessions on the larger 6a and I'm already excited thinking of how it would perform against the smaller 5a.
Limited seats are available and kindly mail into info@StarMountStudio.com for your reservation. So far we left 4 seats only.. Hurry!