Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Installs State-of-the-Art PMC MB2S-XBD Reference Monitors within New Recording Studio

Date: 2010-06

“The system is a major contribution to our new facility” - Paul Eachus, Director of Audio Services.

As the oldest continuously operating conservatory of music in the United States, Ohio-based Oberlin College offers a number of undergraduate majors, including private study in 32 areas, in addition to concert halls, practice rooms and teaching studios. So when the time came to outfit the Joseph R. Clonick Recording Studio and control room with surround-sound loudspeakers, Oberlin looked to the best: PMC Reference Monitors.

“We selected a pair of MB2S-XBD cabinets for left and right channels, plus an MB2S-C for the center,” explains the Oberlin’s Director of Audio Services, Paul Eachus. “We went for PMC because our MB2S system offers a very large sound stage in terms of both width as well as height – the image extends far beyond the system’s physical dimensions. Which means that our students can work throughout the room on tracking and mixing sessions and not lose that essential sweet spot. MB2S offers life-like reproduction, just as if the band was right there in the room with you. The PMC system is a major contribution to our new facility.” The studio is housed in the conservatory’s new Bertram and Judith Kohl Building.

The three up-front PMC monitor loudspeakers are augmented for surround-sound projects with a pair of PMC IB2S reference monitors located in the rear of the control room on 34-inch stands. All PMC reference systems are powered by Parasound amplifiers: three JC 1 single-channel units for left, center and right, plus a single A21 two-channel unit for the surrounds.

The MB2S XBD is a development of the successful MB2S, with increased dynamics and LF performance. According to Maurice Patist, PMC’s Strategic Sales Manager, Specialist Systems Group, “the addition of the XBD cabinet containing a second precision 12-inch Radial™ driver increases the LF headroom by 3 dB below 380 Hz, which allows a larger room to be driven to greater effect. The MB2S XBD is featured in many quality-conscious films scoring, music recording and mastering facilities.”

The new performance area measures 55 feet by 38 feet with 30-foot ceilings, with a good-sized isolation booth, connected to a spacious control room. The new space was designed by leading acoustical consultant Dana Kirkegaard, and integrated into the Kohl Building by project designer Jonathan Kurtz of Westlake Reed Leskosky, a Cleveland-based architectural and engineering firm. “We needed a studio large enough to accommodate jazz and classical recordings as well as performances,” Eachus continues, “including rehearsals with the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble.” Recent events at the college included an early-May grand opening celebration weekend with Bill Cosby and Stevie Wonder (both received honorary doctorates from Oberlin), together with performances by the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble, with Stevie Wonder serving as a very special guest.

“I first heard these new MB2S systems at the AES Convention in New York a few years ago, and was very impressed,” Eachus recalls. “Maurice Patist set up critical listening sessions in Los Angeles to audition the PMCs. I was totally convinced. The sound quality and detail is outstanding and extremely accurate through the entire frequency spectrum. And the correspondence between the front and rear soundstage is seamless – the IB2Ss are a perfect match for the surrounds. I want a pair of IB2S reference monitors for my living room!”