The Studio

The Imperial Mastering studio is a dedicated CD mastering suite utilizing high-end outboard mastering equipment, not a computer system with some mixing speakers and plug ins.

The mastering suite is approximately 17 x 13 x 9 feet. It was built to a known ratio of 1-1:4-1:9 that is free of excessive standing waves. I have added bass trapping to the corners and also added some acoustic foam is key areas. There are also diffusers on the back wall. This room sounds very nice for its size and I have become very comfortable with it. Here’s a rundown of the equipment I use.

Monitoring chain:

Classe CP-35 class A audiophile preamp, Monster audiophile balanced XLR interconnects, Spectron Musician II digital amp, Analysis Plus Oval Nine speaker cables, KRK nearfields, and Dunlavy Athena far-field mastering speakers. Everything here is pristine audiophile quality gear. I have chosen these components with one thing in mind; accuracy. This system sounds extremely natural and un-hyped. What you hear is what you get. The Dunlavy’s are world renown for their ultimate fidelity and accuracy. The Spectron amp is perfectly matched to these speakers and sounds equally natural. The system is completely non-fatiguing and I can listen comfortably for many hours.

Mastering Chain:

Sources: CD, DAT, ADAT, Minidisk, Cassette or computer files, any resolution and bit depth. Analog source machines available on request. Mytek 8×96 AD and DA converters,  Crane Song STC-8 mastering compressor, GML 9500 analog mastering EQ, Waves L2 outboard digital limiter. There is also a Z-sys digital router and I use a Mytek DDD-603 digital meter for keeping an eye on levels and digital overs. Audiophile interconnects are used throughout the chain. Components are linked as needed; a patch bay is not used so signal flow is as pure as possible. I have a custom mastering desk designed by Lucas Shedd.

The computer system I use for mastering is a PC based mixing and mastering system called Pyramix. It’s a dedicated mastering system similar to Sadie or Sonic Solutions. I also incorporate Universal Audio or Waves digital plug ins when appropriate.