One of the world s largest digital distributors of independent classical music and video, Naxos of America has built a catalogue in excess of1.6m tracks and 65,000 albums. The company’s Head of Mastering is Perry Sorensen, who has recorded, mixed, and mastered a wide variety of material, including work for Universal Music Publishing Group and having also engineered for several Grammy-nominated producers

When Sorensen replaced his old speakers he did it with PreSonus Sceptre S8 high-definition CoActual studio monitors: ‘I first saw the Sceptres in a major audio-technology magazine,’ he recalls. ‘The first thing that caught my attention was their unique design. Realising that they were coaxial and time-aligned, I wondered how in the world PreSonus was pulling that off – especially at that price.’

Sorensen and a friend who also engineers at Naxos set up an A/B listening session at the company-s listening room, comparing the S8s with an audiophile monitor with an 8-inch woofer and air motion tweeter. ‘Almost immediately, I was blown away,’ Sorensen says. ‘We were both so excited that we brought in another Naxos engineer and friend. As one of my friends said, the Sceptres are punchy, but I m not referring to bass. I’m referring to the mid, upper-mid, and upper frequencies.

‘The transient response, depth, and clarity were obvious – the transient response amazed us,’ he continues. ‘We played some classic R&B songs, and instruments that were getting masked by the competition s monitors were clearly and beautifully represented by the Sceptres. The difference was night and day. And yes, the Sceptres represented the low end quite well. We were not disappointed.

‘The Sceptres expose every little nuance and detail of the music I master, whether it s classical, jazz, or even a country album,’ he adds. ‘Every instrument comes through. I honestly cannot overemphasize how the Sceptres shine in allowing me to hear every bit of vital midrange information. They don t hype. They simply, effortlessly, and accurately reveal everything that s there. That in turn, allows me to make any fixes and adjustments that need to be made so Naxos can give the client the best results. And listening to the Sceptres is enjoyable.’

Sorensen is has mastered two projects with the Sceptre S8s. The most is Live From Music City: The Best of Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony. ‘The Nashville Symphony and Naxos of America enjoy a great business and creative relationship, and we re both very excited to release this special project,’ he says.

Also mastered on the Sceptres is Ancient Voices, written by award-winning American composer Richard Danielpour and performed by soprano Hila Plitmann, Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony, John Alexander and the Pacific Chorale, and Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony. It includes Darkness in the Ancient Valley, a symphony inspired by recent events in Iran, and Season of Peace, an oratorio that explores violence and war in the name of religion.

More: www.presonus.com