Joseph Cali uses PMC Reference Monitors

Date: 2009-05

The staging and sonic detailing that these PMC monitors reveal is amazing

While Joseph Cali was mixing a new album for female singer and co-producer Lori Lieberman, he wondered why his tracks didn’t sound quite right. “I tried out a pair of PMC MB2S Reference Monitors,” he recalls, “and immediately I could hear the difference. It was like I was listening in a totally different room – I could hear everything! Since the multi-track elements sounded wonderful, I decided to remix the CD on these MB2S systems. They were a dramatic difference, and added to the success of Lori’s project, titled Gun Metal Sky.” Although the MB2S units were too tall for his personal-use studio in Los Angeles, the producer decided to install the next best thing: a pair of IB2S Reference Monitors, which feature the same mid-range and high-frequency drivers, but with a slightly smaller, 10-inch bass driver. The MB2S and IB2S systems were both powered by Bryston 4BSST amplifiers.

“I just love my new IB2S monitors,” enthuses Cali, who served as executive producer and engineer on the Gun Metal Sky project, which was produced by Lieberman. “We even added a Thank You credit to the CD liner notes: ‘Special thanks to PMC MB2 Reference Studio Monitors used in mixing and mastering. The reality they provided enables us to achieve the highest level of audio reproduction.’ The staging and sonic detailing that these PMC monitors reveal is amazing.

“The slightly larger MB2S Reference Monitors let me hear a lot more on the tracks I had recorded. For example, I used a whole lot less reverb when I started to remix the material on the MB2S systems; I prefer the way they sounded dry, whereas I needed to add a lot more artificial ambience with my older monitors. And Lori's vocals sound terrific! I just couldn’t hear it with my previous setup – and I’m very critical of the way the final mix should sound. All in all, my new PMC monitors are the way to go.”

In addition to music production, Cali also runs an LA-based company that designs and installs multiroom audio and video systems, in addition to high-performance home and professional screening rooms. “Joseph Cali Systems Design offers media and screening room systems that utilize the latest in surround-sound processing,” Cali offers, “with premium loudspeakers and amplifiers designed to bring the movie experience into the home with the clarity and dynamics that filmmakers intended. My personal experience with PMC Reference Monitors means that, in the future, I will definitely be recommending them to my clients!”

Lori Lieberman was born in California and grew up in Switzerland; she signed with Capitol Records during the early Seventies. Her self-titled debut album featured Killing Me Softly with His Song, written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, after Lieberman saw Don McLean in concert and wrote a poem about the experience. After releasing several albums, and providing music for the Schoolhouse Rock TV show, in the Eighties Lieberman receded from the industry before returning in the mid-Nineties to record again with independent labels. “Four years in the making, Gun Metal Sky was previewed at this year’s CES Show in Las Vegas,” Cali states, “and was praised for its outstanding sonic qualities, performances and songs.” With songs mostly penned by Lieberman, the new CD also includes three songs from independent songwriters, interpreted by Lori’s unique sensitivity and style.