Angel is the second London studio to install Meyer X-10s following the installation of a stereo system at Abbey Road's mastering room 7. Allen Stagg, recording engineer and former manager of Abbey Road Studios, was instrumental in introducing the Angel staff to the X-10. The sale was conducted through acoustic analysis expert Bob Hodas, a Meyer studio products dealer who is well-versed in X-10 technology. Meyer's UK distributor Autograph Sales handled the sale and also provided a SIM System II FFT Analyser for Hodas to install and tune the system.
Angel Studio's senior engineer Gary Thomas requested that Hodas help them to configure a 5.1 system for the new room. They selected a 5.1 music system consisting of five X-10 linear control room monitors for L/C/R and L/R rears, which would also be suitable for film music. The system also includes two X-800 studio subwoofers, an X-01 Crossover and six CP-10S tamper-resistant parametric equalizers. During the project, Hodas consulted with the studio designer, John Flynn of the Acoustic Design Group. "We covered subjects such as cabinet phase alignment for aiming, and air circulation for the soffits, since the amplifiers are built into the cabinets," he says. "We also discussed the centre of gravity of the cabinets since the X-10 weights about 85 kilos. John came up with a very clever mounting device for the rear speakers. I also made a wiring chart for Dave White, Angel's chief maintenance engineer, for the rack configuration of EQ and crossovers." Once the speakers were installed, Hodas flew to London to tune the system into the room using Meyer SIM System II, adopting a linear tuning that would translate well to the outside world.
(Ruth Rossington)
