Acoustic Design

Without a doubt the most important issue in the construction of a state-of-the-art mastering studio is the quality and precision in the reproduction of sound, as these make up the foundation of the technical and aesthetic intervention which takes place during the mastering process.

Within the 130m2 that is ATHENS MASTERING, two suites were created as designed by French acoustic designer Christian Malcurt (APIA). Malcurt, who has designed some of the more well-known studios in France and participated in the study for the new opera of Bastille in Paris, has gained an immense reputation and respect.

Malcurt designed two rooms with LEDE specifications. The LEDE plan has been very popular in recent years as it solves many previous design problems, and these are the first rooms in Greece to be designed in this manner.

The two rooms are fully suspended (a room within a room) and an interesting detail is that Suite No. 1 has a window overlooking a garden. The air conditioning provides an noise floor of 25db. The availability of natural light was one of the decisive factors in the choice of this space as it allows for pleasant and productive working conditions.

There is full control of secondary reflections in the whole spectrum of the front panel and especially-made diffusers in the form of asymmetrical pyramids on the rear surfaces of the room(s).

The main monitors in Suite 1 are the active ATC SCM 200A with ATC SCM 0.5 sub-woofer and Lipinski 707.  Suite 2 has the Focal Solo6 Be with a Focal Sub 6  subwoofer. Top-quality discrete Class A analog equipment and hi-end digital system by Daniel Weiss are used for processing.  The final conversion of the signal to analog is made by Weiss DAC1 , Metric Halo LIO-8 and Dangerous Monitor.

The combination of consumer and pro hi-end equipments achieves a happy medium between what the professional hears in the studio and what the listener hears at home.