New York City-expatriate recording engineer power couple hires Carl Tatz Design® to implement a Dual PhantomFocus System in their pastoral home studio.
Nashville, TN: A noted husband-and-wife team of independent recording engineers who spent many years at the iconic A&R studios in New York City, as well as several other Manhattan facilities, and who wish to remain anonymous, have chosen the acclaimed PhantomFocus System (PFS)™ to complete their Connecticut home studio’s mix room. Their Dual PhantomFocus™ Monitor System is composed of a pair of PFM HD-1000 Master Reference Monitors and a pair of legacy Dynaudio C4 mid-fields. Dual systems share the same subwoofer system and frequency response curve, creating an unusually satisfying and accurate tool for the audio professional.
States Carl Tatz (TEC Award-winning studio designer and creator of the PFS), “This project had an unusually long gestation period, as the owners wanted to take their time working meticulously on the acoustics of the room with several top acoustic designers long before Carl Tatz Design (CTD) came into the picture to implement the PhantomFocus technology.”
Tatz continues, “Although acoustic designers ourselves, we’re aware, from our design experience, that acoustic design alone will not render the type of performance that can be achieved with the PFS. In this case, all the excellent work of the designers rendered a great PhantomFocus-ready room.”
Although the clients wished their identities not to be known, the husband generously insisted on testifying to their PhantomFocus experience. His testimony in full reads as follows:
“After the first time Carl sat me down to audition a few well-chosen tracks on my freshly tuned Dual PhantomFocus Monitor System, I turned to him and simply said: ‘I have no words – and anyone who knows me would tell you that is never the case’ In retrospect, it was nothing short of mind-blowing. It was emotional. In fact, when my wife first heard it, she was literally in tears. I could go on about the insane imaging and depth and focus when listening to premium material, but what counts more is how revealing the system can be when things are not so premium. Indeed, several tracks I’ve always considered to be ‘demo quality’ tend to expose their shortcomings in spades. I expressed this to Carl, who likened it to a microscope.”
The studio owner continues, “Overall, the PFM HD-1000 Monitors in particular are the portrayal of what a monitor system should be. To me, monitoring is everything, and I am thoroughly delighted every time I sit down in the sweet spot, to know that I finally have this powerful tool at my disposal. Throughout the entire process, Carl was always there, and endlessly giving of his time and detailed advice whenever I reached out. I think the final result paid out beyond either of our expectations. Thank you, Sir – you’re one of the good ones.”
Photo caption: Lead PhantomFocus Installation Engineer Adam David Smith and PhantomFocus creator Carl Tatz sitting on a pair of PhantomFocus Raven Chrome eChairs™ in front of a Dual PhantomFocus™ System featuring the PFM HD-1000 Monitors and a pair of vintage Dynaudio C4s
