Los Angeles, CA (October 28, 2020)—Edwin Fish “Jed” Gould III, known to listeners of KROQ-FM in Los Angeles as Jed the Fish, has installed a pair of Ocean Way Audio’s HR3.5 reference monitors in his L.A. studio.
His HR3.5 speakers were personally tuned by Ocean Way Audio founder and designer Allen Sides. “They are simply the best I’ve ever heard,” says Jed the Fish. “Amazing is an understatement.”
Producer/engineer and disc jockey Jed the Fish became a celebrity as he hosted the afternoon drivetime show on KROQ. An early supporter of New Wave and alternative bands, he is reputed to be the first US DJ to play Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and The Pretenders, helping KROQ establish itself as the West Coast’s best-known alternative radio station of the 1980s and 1990s.
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“OWA HR3.5s are the speakers I have always wanted to own,” Jed the Fish continues. “Every NAMM, I groupie out with Allen Sides; I just stand there and listen to Steely Dan. My go-to for a great, reasonably unspanked recording is the Frankie Goes to Hollywood album, Welcome to the Pleasure Dome, produced by Trevor Horn. The sound is simply large, not just loud, and the stereo image is generous. While at KROQ, I used to have radio mixes sent my way frequently and listening to those through the 3.5s truly reveals their ultra-clipped shortcomings. It’s gross.”
He says, “I asked Allen if I could play my synths through them. He assured me there are precautions taken at the amp which would allow it, so my Moog semi-modulars sound wondrous. I’m not a fool; I run a peak limiter on my inputs. When you take distortion out of the equation, you can listen loud without hurting yourself. Be reasonable, listen at a variety of volumes, but fatigue goes waaay down with the 3.5s.”
He adds, “Actually, these speakers sound better than most studio monitors for a variety of reasons. One, lots of studio monitors are driven by abused amps; two, it’s Allen’s up-to-the-minute designs; and three, lots of studio monitors only sound good from directly behind the desk. These have 100-degree horizontal dispersion, which means there’s no bad spot to listen from. You can actually go to the next room and still listen to a miracle.
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