The Electronics




The Pre-Pro is a Yamaha RX-V657. In bypass mode, essentially only the volume control is in the signal path and two channel audio is reproduced with utmost fidelity. For movies, the RX-V657 does an excellent job a decoding the surround sound tracks. The internal amplifier channels are not used.





The crossover between the subbass, bass and Unities is carried out by a Behringer DCX2496. I was delighted to hear that a competitively priced digital loudspeaker controller had been released, but was initially weary of it's performance. I can confirm the fact that the unit does sound very good, with no audible artefacts when compared to the analogue crossover it replaced. Levels must be carefully set to optimise the dynamic range of the unit, but this is the same as any digital processor. I am very happy with my purchase, and would not hesitate to use one in a future system. It is easy to program and the sound is excellent. People who say they are hearing artefacts from this unit in a pro system are doing something wrong. It disappears in my audio system. The ability to store and quickly recall a number of different system configurations is a bonus.





The Unity horns and 15LW1401 bass drivers are powered by a pair of Australian Monitor 1K2's. These are some of the very best amplifiers available at any price, and are used extensively in recording studios world wide. The amplifiers are capable of 400WRMS per channel into 8 ohms, 600WRMS per channel into 4 Ohms and 700WRMS per channel into 2 Ohms.





The subwoofers are powered by an Australian Monitor AM1600. This amplifier either drives the subwoofers in stereo, for 500WRMS per channel, or is bridged into the pair for 1100WRMS per subwoofer, for when I am feeling reckless :-) The system does not sound any different with mono or stereo connected subs, because the crossover is quite low, at around 70Hz. The stereo connection allows me to run the subs 90degrees out of phase to enhance envelopment, this is a technique developed by Lexicon's Dr David Griesinger. It is actually quite effective, and I often set my system up this way. You may wish to read more about low frequency envelopment here.The bridged mono connections offers me an additional 3dB of headroom, which can be handy if I am giving my system a real workout.

Sadly these Australian Monitor amplifiers are no longer available. They became a victim of these lean economic times. I am lucky enough to own three excellent examples that should last me for a long time to come.



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