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Sonodyne SM50AK Active Studio Monitor

(Click image to enlarge)

(Click image to enlarge)

The Sonodyne journey into studio sound and design began with the SM50Ak. India, in the wake of embracing a global economy in 2005, issued several hundred FM licenses. This, in conjunction with a thriving cinema industry in Mumbai (Bollywood), prompted the introduction of a new range of cost effective yet high performance studio monitors. Experienced sound engineers, upon hearing the SM50Ak, remarked that it was among the best small monitors they had ever monitored on.

The SM 50Ak is ideal for not only desktop editing but also serious audio monitoring. It provides a well articulated yet full bodied response from its compact enclosure. The highs are open, the mids well resolved, and the bass, detailed and tight. Magnetically shielded, it may be placed beside video monitors.

The SM50Ak can be used with the SLF210 Sub Woofer for 2.1 and 5.1 applications.

Review Verdict

The real strength of these monitors is in their mid-range detail and spacious stereo imaging, with enticing treble precision — and those things are key to building accurate mixes. Balancing bass instruments requires constant referencing to commercial tracks — at least, until you become familiar with the sound presentation of the SM 50AKs — but I found it relatively easy to construct test mixes that travelled well, and EQ decisions came quickly and unambiguously, which is always a good sign.

The SM 50AK is fighting in a very competitive part of the budget monitor-speaker market, but it stands comparison with its peers well and has some useful strengths. As a relative newcomer — to the UK market at least — Sonodyne have made a good impression with this reviewer, and I’m intrigued to discover what the larger SM models are capable of.

Hugh Robjohns, Sound On Sound May 2010   Read More

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Sonodyne Technology

1. Magnetically shielded Kevlar cone woofer with powerful motor and long throw voice coil. A die-cast chassis helps to eliminate resonance
2. Flared twin bass ports to minimize turbulence
3. Magnetically shielded ferro fluid cooled silk dome with wave guide for a larger sweet spot
4. Aluminium die-cast enclosure with non-parallel edges; specially treated inner walls (to prevent ringing)
5. Easily accessible master volume and power
6. Inclined front baffle for time alignment
7. Bi-amplifier with 4th order active crossover. Toroidal transformer, low noise op amps, minimal signal wiring and careful PCB layout for high S/N ratio
8. Balanced TRS and XLR connectivity (recessed)
9. LF, HF tilts for workstation boundary compensation

Good quality audio reproduction hinges on the quality of audio production. Sonodyne, India's premier audio design and manufacturing house of 40 years, understands this. To allow for high-grade production values in audio recording and broadcast we present the SM active monitors.

The SM series of reference monitors were designed with the utmost attention to detail and feature high-grade components throughout. The SM series key elements:

MONOLITHIC ALUMINUM DIE CAST CABINETS: At Sonodyne, our research into alternate enclosure designs has resulted in the development of rigid aluminium die-cast enclosures for the reference series. The entire cabinet of SM 50Ak and 100Ak is a 6 mm thick monolithic aluminium die-cast. For the SM 200Ak, the front baffle is aluminium, and the sides and rear are made up of 15 mm MDF. Additionally, the interior walls are coated with a specially formulated deadening compound to prevent ringing.

MECHANICAL PRECISION: All sides are non-parallel to discourage the formation of standing waves. The inclined baffle also contributes towards horizontal time alignment. Additionally, all corners are rounded, and all controls well recessed to minimize edge diffraction. The twin bass ports are flared at both ends to minimize turbulence. The vent area has been optimized to prevent power compression at loud levels.

KEVLAR WOOFERS IN METAL DIE-CAST CHASSIS: The woofer for each monitor has been designed with 2 objectives in mind: As a bass unit, it should provide fast, tight and low distortion bass from the modest sized enclosure, and, as a low mid unit it should yield a smooth frequency response, good transient response and minimum cone break up. Kevlar was the obvious choice of material. The bass performance was achieved by optimizing the T/S parameters to suit the enclosure volume and by equipping it with a powerful motor and long throw voice coil. The mid performance was achieved by optimizing the cone geometry and the dust cup.

INTEGRAL WAVEGUIDES: The 26mm dome tweeter, for the 100Ak, has a wide dispersion at high frequencies made possible by the integral waveguide. In conjunction with the waveguide, the dome produces smooth response out to 22 kHz. A rear chamber design pushes the tweeter resonance peak to below 1 kHz allowing for a low crossover frequency thereby minimizing phase errors due to horizontal time alignment. The SM 200Ak, with a new waveguide design, features excellent off-axis response, that allows it to be placed farther from the console.

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