14 DAY TRIAL // It's time to witness the birth of a most intriguing piece of audio technology in the field of loudspeakers attempting to re-create the natural conditions of the recorded sound: the Mono loudspeaker from British designer Simon Denzel. The Mono (object in Japanese) looks rather peculiar but behind its uncanny shape a new horizon seems to clear up.
Steven Spielberg has been one of the pioneers of surround audio and maybe if it weren't for him someone else would have taken his place and set the audio industry in motion once again.
Ever since the Jurassic Park era, surround sound has become a standard as far as audio is concerned, whether we're thinking about theaters or the daily home listening experience. Even more, the audio field has been thoroughly transformed and engineered since the dawn of the surround-age; there is little left in common between today's approach to surround and what surround sound systems were in their dawn.
[admark=1]Willy-nilly, one of the biggest problems of modern days’ audio is how to avoid losing the vivid, sparkling character of a soundtrack when running it through multiple processing stages. From the real life to the DVD and back, the path sound must tread is full of things that can go wrong, sometimes in a very disturbing manner, especially that modern audio relies almost entirely on digital technologies.
Capturing the sound in a multi-channel format so that it boasts a more realistic character, then editing and processing it, making the tracks ready for storage/playback on/from physical media is quite a challenge, despite its apparent "natural" ease. And even more, finding the best possible ways to deliver the digital audio content to the end-user poses another series of problems, from the DAC (Digital to Audio Converter) stage to the proper speakers and their placement inside the listening room.
Simon Denzel, a UK-based designer, came with a modern idea about how surround loudspeakers could look, behave and integrate in various settings. The result is the very special Mono speaker, a piece of audio tech destined to be wall-mounted in the very corners of the listening room and whose purpose is to rid the listening experience of the undesirable reflections and potential sonic interferences that usually plague traditional systems.
Audiophiles and exigent enthusiasts sometimes have a really hard time setting up a listening room and eliminating the early, uncontrolled (and uncontrollable) reflections diminishing the quality of the perceived sound. The Mono brings a new design, with a special positioning of the drivers, meant to keep all the side-effects down to an undetectable minimum; even if the Mono is practically between two walls, its inspired design prevents the soundwave clutter.
Simon Denzel has managed to blend in the high-class audio engineering principles with the optical comfort – that's why the Mono looks so spectacularly uncommon yet its functionality is not at all impaired. Furthermore, thanks to the lack of parallel side panels, the cabinet of the loudspeaker helps break up the stationary waves and allows the drivers to perform as they should, at their best. The dual drivers fire in different directions, further amplifying the acoustic sensation of space and well-aired soundstage and hinting to a listening experience that so far looks more than promising.
There is no word on pricing or future plans to develop a mass-produced Mono series; though such acoustic endeavors are well-known to spearhead the industry's advance, still there is a long way from design to the products on the shelf. Anyway, hats off to Mr. Denzel.
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