Biggleswade, UK (March 29, 2019)—Fenix, a recording studio in Varnhem, a small Swedish village within reach of Gothenburg and Stockholm, has rebuilt its main control room to accommodate a new PMC QB1 XBD-A monitoring system.
Fenix is owned by musician Lars Hallbäck, who opened the studio in 2010. The control room was originally designed for a 5.1 system, but when Hallbäck decided to upgrade the monitoring to PMC’s flagship QB1 XBD-A system he recognized that changes to the control room construction were needed to achieve the best sound.
“I knew the control room has some acoustic issues, partly due to the fact that it was once designed for surround that we don’t do anymore and that my original monitors were not giving me the sound I wanted,” Hallbäck says. “So I investigated an alternative and that led me to PMC. I was well aware that we could not just change speaker brands, but that a rebuild was necessary in order for the new speakers to perform at their full potential.”
Hallbäck contacted PMC’s UK supplier SX Pro and arranged to demo a QB1 XBD-A system. SX Pro’s sales director Dale Chapman introduced Hallbäck to Chris Walls of Level Acoustic Design. Walls worked with Hallbäck to resolve the studio’s acoustic issues and prepare the control room for the installation of the QB1 XBD-A system, a re-engineered version of the QB1-A Active system, which incorporates an XBD cabinet per channel and is the largest, most powerful system PMC has ever made.
“The QB1 XBD-A system is perfect for Fenix because the transmission line design of PMC monitors allows you to hear the full frequency range of the music at all levels without losing any detail,” Hallbäck says. “Fenix has quite a large control room and it needs a monitor system with great low end.
“The work Chris has done has also made a lot of difference to the sound and I am really happy with the results. I am very happy with the new monitors and we have accomplished what we set out to achieve. Simply turning up the volume wasn’t the solution—I actually didn’t want just loud; I wanted clarity. Now with the PMC’s I can mix or track and be sure of that what I´m hearing is correct and it has also helped me reduce the number of different speakers needed for a good mix or when tracking.”
PMC • www.pmc-speakers.com
