Metropolis Adds The Power of PMC’s QB1-A Speakers To Studio A

Over 120 pro audio industry luminaries packed Metropolis Studios in London last week to celebrate its £250,000 refurbishment programme, which saw PMC’s flagship QB1-A Active ultra-high-resolution main monitors installed in Studio A.

The mood of the event already celebratory thanks to England’s last minute win over Wales in the Euro 2016 tournament – a game that was screened to a packed Metropolis bar with sound courtesy of the new IB1S-AII 3 way monitors. With that victory out of the way, it was time for the great and good to check out the awesome power and precision of the QB1-A’s, the main monitor of choice for discerning music makers including Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.

Metropolis’ Chief Engineer Sam Wheat, who has worked with artists such as the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Lionel Ritchie, and ZZ Top, demonstrated the system, showcasing the resolution, dynamics and pure usability of the QB1-A main monitors. The reaction was phenomenal, with guests crowding into the studio control room in a bid to hear the QB1-As in all their glory.

PMC owner, Peter Thomas, says: “We are delighted to have played such a significant part in the Metropolis studios refurbishment which builds on our 23-year relationship with the facility. The QB1-A’s are a real step change in high-end reference monitoring.”

Acclaimed throughout the world for the quality of its studios, Metropolis used the event to showcase its entire Grade II-listed complex where approximately 50% of the UK Top 40 charts are either recorded, mixed, mastered, or creatively treated.

Ian Brenchley, CEO of Metropolis Studios, adds: “We have enjoyed a long standing relationship with PMC – a benchmark in the audio world. We are delighted that the company’s flagship QB1-A monitors are now part of our continuing evolution at Metropolis, a facility that is already renowned as a gold bearer for recording and for providing the best in class for all the artists who work here.”

Launched 18 months ago to huge critical acclaim, PMC’s QB1-A monitors were designed to fill a gap in the market for a new reference standard for medium-to-large-scale recording facilities. Offering over 4800 Watts of power per channel, plus the flexibility of analogue and digital inputs (up to 192kHz), QB1-A Active monitors incorporate the latest generation of PMC's driver designs, Class-D amplification, Advanced Transmission Line (ATL™) bass-loading technology and DSP control. They also featuring a quartet of 10-inch carbon fibre/Nomex® piston bass drivers in an extensively vented, cast-aluminium chassis.

“QB1-A provide all the transparency, resolution, dynamic range, frequency response, forensic sense of detail, and wide, consistent imaging demanded by the international audio elite,” Peter Thomas adds. “"Many engineers record with one set of monitors to create a sense of excitement while tracking, but then use another set for the low-level, intensely detailed business of mixing and mastering. The QB1-A is designed for both kinds of work, offering faithful, non-fatiguing reproduction for a beautiful general listening experience or for recording, but with microscopic detail when you need it."

The first pair of QB1-A Active monitors to roll off PMC’s production line went to Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. The speakers have also been installed at the University of Westminster’s new studio in Harrow, UK, where they operate in conjunction with a 5.1 surround sound monitoring system featuring PMC twotwo.8’s.

While the QB1-As were being put through their paces in Studio A, PMC speakers were also being demonstrated by legendary mastering engineer Tony Cousins, who has been a PMC user for over 23 years. Cousins, who has mastered tracks for some of the biggest names in the rock and pop world including Robbie Williams, Paul Weller, Tom Jones, The Verve, George Michael, Elton John, Genesis and Adele, showed how his BB5 XBD speakers and new PMC twenty5 21’s reveal all the intricacies and subtleties of a track, making the mastering process much easier by providing the key to a great balance.