Avantone Active MixCubes Powered Reference Monitors (Black) - Pair

(1 review) Write a Review
SKU:
AB
UPC:
794504765908
Weight:
28.50 LBS
Shipping:
Calculated at Checkout
Availability:
Usually ships within 24 hours
$499.00

Description

The Avantone MixCubes are shielded, high-resolution, full-range powered mini-reference monitors for fixed or remote locations. Their design is inspired by the legacy of the 5C Sound Cubes used in virtually all-major studios for the last 25 years.

Performance Objective

Studios primarily use 2-way & 3-way larger monitors designed to represent a wide range reference viewpoint at higher listening levels. However, in this newly developing age of High Definition Audio, there is still a need to also hear what your mix will sound like when played back over small “bass-challenged” systems such as televisions, clock radios, computers, car stereos, iPod docking stations, etc. It is important to make mixing judgments based partially on listening to reference monitors that will not impart tonal anomalies caused by crossovers or inferior full range drivers. Particular attention is always paid to the critical mid-range vocal/guitar/keyboard areas. This is where having a full-range monitor without a crossover is truly revealing. Ten months of R&D comparative listening & tweaking went into the voicing of the AVANTONE MixCubes. The result is a very smooth sounding, full range upgrade from the original 5C Sound Cubes. Listening tests reveal that the MixCubes have a smooth, more open, transparent top end response with extended bass while maintaining their basic original character.

Cabinet Design

The original 5C Sound Cubes™ were made of ½” particleboard covered with a glue-on wood grain contact paper. Thicker, denser MDF board is used because of its high rigidity and inherent low-resonance characteristics. Avantone started with a 165mm (6 1/2") sealed cube design with radiused edges, then chose an elegant Polyurethane high gloss “RETRO-CREAM” finish. The originals had either screws or on later models plastic binding posts mounted on a recessed plastic cup, upgraded here to high-end nickel plated, machined solid metal binding posts (Dual banana spacing) mounted on a black anodized, milled and silk-screened aluminum terminal plate. A 7mm thick neoprene pad has been embedded into the base of the cabinet to serve as a skid-resistant acoustic isolator. Additionally, for creative mounting situations, an industry standard 5/8”-27 mic stand mount is recessed into the base.

Driver Design

The originals were a basic 5” stamped frame design. Avantone designed a proprietary 5.25” die cast aluminum frame driver/cone assembly to exceed the performance of the originals. The mounting bezel is then polished for an elegant appearance. The paper cone, chosen for its musical character, is custom designed & crafted using the finest New Zealand pulp with mica fibers added for lighter weight & rigidity. The cloth surround is made in Japan to exacting uniform thickness tolerances. The Top Plate and T-Yoke of driver are made of Sumitomo 1008 low carbon steel enabling the highest modeled flux density in the gap. The magnets are Y- 40 GRADE (MIL-SPEC) yielding a 43oz. High Power-low distortion motor structure.

Amplifier Design

The amp module is designed from the ground up to be a true professional-grade amplifier. It incorporates “overkill” concepts in component selection as well as safety. The result is a “no-compromise” amp with robust headroom characteristics that will rival the performance of much higher priced studio rack mount amps.

View AllClose

Specifications

System Type

Active (Self-powered) shielded full-range stereo pair  

Frequency Response

90Hz - 17,000Hz (useful musical range)

Driver Impedance

Nominal 8 ohms

Max SPL

104db @ 1 meter = 1%THD (PINK NOISE)

Amplifier Type

Class A/B

Amplifier Power

60 watts RMS@ .005% THD (1KHz)

Amp Frequency Response

22Hz-50KHz +0dB/- 3dB (90Hz-50KHz +/-0dB)

Noise

S/N -113 dB

Sensitivity

0dBu (.775VRMS) input at maximum volume (+6dB) = 104dB SPL

Driver

Proprietary design 5.25" cast aluminum frame / paper cone / shielded

Cabinet

Sealed / 18mm MDF / Dacron acoustical stuffing

Inputs

XLR & TRS (COMBO JACK) +4/Balanced and -10 unbalanced

Weight

7 lb 5 oz (per speaker)

Dimensions

165mm x 165mm x 165mm (6 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" in)

View AllClose

1 Review

  • 5
    Great secondary monitors!

    Posted by Sigurdur Egill on August 1, 2013

    Before I bought the mixcubes I only had yamaha msp5 studio monitors, which also have ~5 inch driver/cone like the mixcubes. Even though I had read plenty of reviews and discussions about the mixcubes I was slightly worried that they would not sound that much different from my msp5's since the mixcubes are high quality monitors even though they have a more narrow frequency range than primary studio monitors like the msp5 but the difference between those two are like night and day! The mixcubes really give you another perspective compared to regular 2-way/3-way studio monitors and make you focus on what is important when it comes to producing and mixing. I like the stepped volume control so it's easy to adjust the volume of the two speakers to be exactly the same and I also like the screw on the bottom so I can mount the speakers on microphone stands. I like to keep things as simple as possible and therefore don't like to keep anything in my small studio that doesn't serve much purpose to keep a fast workflow, but it looks like the mixcubes will be a mainstay in my small studio for years to come.

View AllClose