Los Angeles, CA (March 10, 2020)—Producer, engineer and studio owner Jay Baumgardner has installed new Ocean Way Audio dual-subwoofer HR2EX towers in the Moroccan-themed Studio B at his NRG Recording Studios and dual-horn HR 3.5 reference monitors in the Studio C mix room.
“I’ve known Ocean Way Audio founder Allen Sides for years and have worked extensively in rooms with his speakers,” says Baumgardner, who worked with Vintage King audio consultant James Good on the integration. “We first listened to his new monitor systems over at his showroom and were so impressed, we set them up at my studios alongside my existing monitors and they just blew us away.”
Ocean Way Audio Unveils HR5 Studio Monitor
Baumgardner continues, “Our previous monitors were from the Nineties and speaker/amplifier technology has really evolved since then. We still have rock clients, but we also have R&B acts, hip-hop and a lot of film dates. We needed more power to satisfy clients who demand a really big sound. Ocean Way’s amplifier technology is impressive, and powerful enough to drive these big cabinets.”
NRG’s Studio B control room resembles a Bedouin tent centered around a massive wrap-around Neve 8078 console that was sourced in Austria and purchased from Allen Sides. It has undergone a number of significant modifications. A full two-dozen mic preamp/EQ 1073 modules have been added to the monitor section for a total number of 64 input channels.
Studio B now features the HR2EX system, which includes Ocean Way tonal balance equalization and electronic crossover, custom electronic equalizers and crossover tuned and aligned by Ocean Way Audio’s team. Both towers feature 18″ subwoofers on top and bottom.
“I’ve always wanted a speaker so massive that it could topple over and crush someone,” says Baumgardner.
NRG’s Studio C was designed primarily as a mixing suite with a Slate Raven MPZ console. The studio also holds a wide-ranging gear collection, including UREI 1176, Teletronix LA-2A and Neve 2254 compressors and API, Avalon and Chandler Limited EQs. Ocean Way’s HR 3.5 three-way tri-amplified reference monitors are now tuned and installed.
Ocean Way Audio • www.oceanwayaudio.com
