New York–based mix engineer Jason Goldstein (pictured) has been using JBL LSR6300 Series monitors that he takes to every session in a special road case. “With the LSR Series, what you hear is exactly what you get,” Goldstein explained from New York City’s Sony Music Studios, where he completed his mix of the new Beyoncé album, B-Day, due to ship in September. “These speakers enable me to work with absolute confidence that the record will sound precisely the same to the market as what I heard when I mixed it,” Goldstein says. The first single off the album, “Déjà Vu,” reached the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Goldstein first encountered LSR Series monitors at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles. “The philosophy behind the LSR technology was very intriguing to me, but monitors are so subjective and I was somewhat skeptical before hearing them,” Goldstein says. “I’ve had the same cables and amp running to the same pair of speakers for eight years, so the idea of a switch was a little bit daunting. I auditioned quite a few, both powered and unpowered, but with no luck until someone suggested I give the LSR6300s a try. So I called my gear guy, Jon Haber at Alto Music in upstate New York, and he drop-shipped me a pair the next day. I was immediately impressed.
“I had been looking for monitors with a significantly more extended and accurate low end. Prior to using the JBL LSR6300s I’d actually learned how to check the low end on my speakers by watching how the woofers are moving as they ‘try’ to reproduce low-frequency energy or by putting my hand up to the port and feeling how much air is coming out. With the JBL LSR6300s, I’m hearing what I was only feeling or seeing before. I love the imaging and that they go loud without any noticeable compression. And my assistants love not having to run any extra cables and the fact that they have handles, so they’re easy to pick up.”
Aside from finishing up Beyoncé’s album and 10 out of 13 songs on The Roots’ Game Theory, Goldstein has begun work on a new project, a children’s episodic television show called Kids Block, which represents a career departure for the versatile mixer. “I couldn’t be happier,” Goldstein adds. “Some people worry about the health of our industry but with all of the changes that are affecting the creation, enjoyment and business of music, I believe there are also many opportunities to evolve and be successful. Having the right tools is important and the right attitude is essential!”
For more information, visit www.jblpro.com and www.harman.com.
