The Professional Monitor Company’s new range of powered two-way monitors are aimed at applications in the international broadcast and recording markets.
The active twotwo series combines PMC’s Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) bass loading technology with digital signal processing to provide a professional reference monitor designed for critical listening in stereo or surround studios.
The range initially comprises two models, the twotwo.5 and twotwo.6. A third, the twotwo.8, will be added in 2013. All three share the same core design and features; the model number refers only to the approximate size (in inches) of the bass driver, with larger numbers denoting increasing cabinet volume, greater bass extension and higher SPLs.
Like all PMC speakers, the twotwo series is based on ATL designs with their inherent benefits of low distortion, extended bass response and a consistent frequency response. All aspects of the range, including the custom-designed 27mm precision soft-dome tweeter and the three new matt doped natural-fibre bass drivers, are new to the close-field monitor market.
‘Great care has been taken to make the speakers as easy to set up and use as possible, no matter what format the input audio is in,’ the company asserts. Connections include analogue phonos and XLRs as well as an AES3 digital input, which will handle all sample rates up to 192kHz. ‘These innovations mean it's as easy to set up the twotwo range in a rehearsal room with a phono cable and a laptop as it is to drive them on the meterbridge of a digital console in a professional studio.’
The twotwo range also draws upon technology used in other recent PMC products. The onboard DSP engine, derived from that employed in PMC's IB2S-A, optimises the response of the drivers, guarantees a smooth crossover, maximises dispersion and provides non-invasive protection using modelled excursion limiting. The Class D dual-amplification calls on the amplifiers developed for PMC's powered range, producing high-resolution audio with high headroom and detail, delivering 50W to the tweeter and 150W to the bass driver.
Another new design feature of the twotwo series, reflected in the range’s rotatable logo, is that the speakers may be mounted vertically or horizontally without compromising tonal accuracy or stereo/surround imaging. There is no need for a separate horizontal version of the speaker for use as a centre channel, or in environments where horizontal use is a necessity for space reasons.
The twotwo also includes PMC’s new DeeCup vibration-reducing pads on each face, which decouple the speaker from its flat surface, and also prevent it from moving or slipping. The twotwo’s mounting flexibility makes it well suited to close-field monitoring of music and speech in situations where space is at a premium, such as in outside broadcast vehicles, small radio on-air studios and television sound control galleries, project music studios, video editing and post-production suites, and for A&R evaluations.
The twotwo.5 and twotwo.6 will be available from October 2012, and the twotwo.8 are expected to follow in Q1, 2013
