Ocean Way Audio is the brand created by Allen Sides, the multi-Grammy award-winning engineer/producer and studio owner. Allen Sides is also the conceptual designer behind the Ocean Way Audio monitor systems, which tend to be large size, compression-driven horns/waveguides, for main and mid-field configurations. Sides has almost 40 years of experience designing systems for his many studios as well for a wide variety of commercial installations, including George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch scoring stage, as well as private installations for musical artists such as Gwen Stefani, Dave Grohl, Meghan Trainor, Steve Aoki, Lady Gaga and Beck.
The studio monitor solutions from Ocean Way Audio tend to be highly customized, which is normal for main and even mid-field systems, but hardly the case in nearfield configurations. The brand's reference system is the very large HR1 originally designed for Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, and even the more compact HR4 and HR5 monitors, which can be used in relatively close positions, in large rooms. In the past, the company even ventured into compact monitors with the Pro2A, a trapezoidal profile, high-power nearfield monitor.
With the Pro3 monitors, Ocean Way Audio intends to reach into a broader market of engineers, producers and music creators across an expansive range of musical genres. The selling arguments being the "Outstanding time alignment, low frequency extension and high SPL capacity in a small format monitor" that the Pro3's claim.
"We are excited about the launch of Pro3 and the positive impact it will have within the music production community — not just for engineers and producers, but music creators," comments Allen Sides. "The Pro3 is an invaluable tool for anyone looking for a clear, truthful representation of their mix. Once you have created something that sounds great, these little monitors will deliver an unmatched degree of detail and punchiness, with a low frequency response that belies their size."
"One of the things that sets Ocean Way Audio monitors apart from its competitors is the accuracy of their imaging: in this case, between channels, the frequency response of each Pro3 monitor falls within ±0.5 dB of one another. This makes for a more cohesive stereo image and a more detailed spatial response. Meantime, the low-end frequency extension is exceptional for its size, delivering a flat response all the way down to 45Hz," the company also says.
These are bold claims for a very standard-looking design. The Pro3 cabinet design is said to help achieve accurate time alignment by reducing baffle reflections, incorporating materials designed to minimize low frequency resonance. The rear port on the Pro3 helps optimize the woofer’s low frequency extension, while adding to the speaker's overall sound pressure level capacity.
The HF driver on the Pro 3 incorporates a high definition, silk fabric dome design, while the low frequency driver uses a geometrically reinforced aluminum cone with a vented cast aluminum chassis — making it able to deliver the claimed "high power linearity" and perform optimally while monitoring at any level. The design is also complemented with analog (balanced) and digital AES3 inputs, supporting high-resolution audio sources. The monitors' built in overload protection provides users an added degree of confidence, ensuring system reliability for the long-term.
The Pro3 monitors are currently priced at a very reasonable $2,994/pair and are now shipping.
https://oceanwayaudio.com/pro3-reference-monitor/
www.oceanwayaudio.com
