[ATTACH=CONFIG]200926.vB5-legacyid=13166[/ATTACH]Franklin, Tennessee—August 2015… Naxos of America is one of the world’s largest digital distributors of independent classical music and video, supplying a catalog of over 1.6 million tracks and 65,000 album discs to hundreds of digital platforms and mobile outlets across the globe. Mastering this type of music requires great ears, as well as strong technical chops, and Naxos of America Head of Mastering Perry Sorensen has both in abundance. A seasoned engineer who has recorded, mixed, and mastered a wide variety of material, including work for Universal Music Publishing Group and having also engineered for several Grammy-nominated producers, he has developed his critical listening skills to a very high level.
So when Sorensen replaced his old monitor speakers with PreSonus® Sceptre™ S8 high-definition CoActual™ studio monitors, it was anything but a casual decision. “I first saw the Sceptres in a major audio-technology magazine,” Sorensen recalls. “The first thing that caught my attention was their unique design. Realizing that they were coaxial and time-aligned, I wondered how in the world PreSonus was pulling that off—especially at that price. I started thinking of how I could get my hands on a pair! I have to say that before they arrived, I was a bit nervous because I was wondering if they would really deliver.”
Sorensen and a friend who also engineers at Naxos decided to set up an A/B listening session at the company’s listening room, comparing the S8s side by side with an audiophile monitor with an 8-inch woofer and air motion tweeter. “Almost immediately, I was blown away,” Sorensen says. “We were both so excited that we brought in another Naxos engineer and friend. As one of my friends said, the Sceptres are ‘punchy,’ but I’m not referring to bass. I’m referring to the mid, upper-mid, and upper frequencies.
“The transient response, depth, and clarity were obvious—the transient response amazed us. We played some classic R&B songs, and instruments that were getting masked by the competition’s monitors were clearly and beautifully represented by the Sceptres. The difference was night and day! And yes, the Sceptres represented the low end quite well. We were not disappointed.”
As Sorensen points out, the midrange frequencies are where the definition, nuance, and texture, of any audio piece lives. “The Sceptres expose every little nuance and detail of the music I master, whether it’s classical, jazz, or even a country album,” he states. “Every instrument comes through. I honestly cannot overemphasize how the Sceptres shine in allowing me to hear every bit of vital midrange information. They don’t hype. They simply, effortlessly, and accurately reveal everything that’s there. That in turn, allows me to make any fixes and adjustments that need to be made so Naxos can give the client the best results. And listening to the Sceptres is enjoyable.”
While Sorensen appreciates the Sceptre S8’s high-end performance, he is puzzled by one thing: “I’m still trying to figure out how PreSonus has come up with such an offering at this price point,” he muses. “They cost a lot less than I’d expect to pay for something that offers this level of accuracy and imaging.”
Sorensen is excited about two recent projects that he mastered with the Sceptre S8s. The most recent, as of this writing, is Live From Music City: The Best of Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony. “The Nashville Symphony and Naxos of America enjoy a great business and creative relationship, and we’re both very excited to release this special project in August,” he says.
Another project Sorensen recently mastered on the Sceptres is Ancient Voices, written by award-winning American composer Richard Danielpour and performed by soprano Hila Plitmann, Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony, John Alexander and the Pacific Chorale, and Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony. Ancient Voices includes “Darkness in the Ancient Valley,” a symphony in five movements inspired by recent events in Iran, and “Season of Peace,” an oratorio that explores violence and war in the name of religion.
For more information about Naxos of America, visit [url]www.naxos.com[/url].
For more information about PreSonus Sceptre studio monitors, visit [url]www.presonus.com/products/Sceptre[/url].
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About PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc.
Founded in 1995, PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc., is a leading designer and manufacturer of audio-recording and live-sound software, hardware, and related accessories. PreSonus’s software, microphone preamps, signal processors, digital audio interfaces, digital mixers, control surfaces, loudspeakers, and other products are used worldwide for recording, sound reinforcement, broadcast, sound design, and Internet audio.
