Unerring Monitoring Accuracy at All Volume Levels
The Ocean Way Audio HR3-FL is a 3-way main monitor system designed for studios that require unerring monitoring accuracy at high sound pressure levels. Powered by 3,400 watts of dedicated tri-amplification and equalized to perfection with the Ocean Way A-4100 Voicing Module, the HR3-FL offers breathtaking dynamic range and a stunning maximum SPL of 132dB. Matched uniform frequency response between channels ensures razor-sharp stereo imaging, while smooth off-axis response allows for a generous listening sweet spot. Rounding out the low end is a custom 18-inch subwoofer that extends highly detailed bass response down to 20Hz. Ocean Way studio facilities are world famous for their in-house-designed main monitors, and the HR3-FL, with its wide-dispersion horn design and exceptionally broad-bandwidth, low-distortion drivers, delivers the prodigious performance of these acclaimed monitoring systems in your own control room.
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Hear everything
Although compact nearfield monitors are indispensable in today’s music production environments, there is no substitute for powerful main monitors that can accurately reproduce the full audible frequency range at all volume levels. Of course, cost and space considerations will dictate whether such behemoths are feasible for a given scenario. But for world-class professional recording facilities (or those that aspire to be), main monitors are a requirement, and the Ocean Way Audio HR3-FL system is an excellent solution. Across the frequency spectrum — including the lowest octave — the HR3-FL eliminates the guesswork. At any volume, the system will tell you the truth about what’s in your recording — and what’s not. Of course, an outstanding large studio monitor also has residential applications. The same attributes that make the Ocean Way HR3-FL a great studio monitor also make it suitable for audiophiles who like it loud and have a taste (and commensurate budget) for the best. To that end, the HR3-FL supports both free-standing setups and soffit-mounted installations.
The case for main monitors
In addition to illuminating what’s happening in the lowest octave of your recordings at high volumes, a formidable main monitor system will also allow you to gauge the impact of your recordings. Now, this will perhaps seem counterintuitive to generations of engineers who have achieved success working almost exclusively on compact nearfields: It’s a relatively low bar to “excite” a pair of small speakers to achieve a punchy-sounding playback. But to do so on a large system at high volumes requires that you actually have an exciting mix. Otherwise, it’s just a loud, lackluster mix. The HR3-FL’s ultra-accurate phase coherency and smooth off-axis response deliver rock-solid stereo imaging across a generously wide sweet spot, so you and a control room full of clients can always hear exactly what’s going on.
Big monitor bass response
If you’ve ever heard a loud playback on the “bigs” (main monitors) in a world-class studio, it’s a revelation. For the uninitiated, your first reaction is one of being overwhelmed. After you’ve caught your breath, you marvel at the incredibly tight and deep bass. You feel the crush of a well-recorded kick drum and the sheer girth of a monster synth bass. To record frequencies this low, you’ve got to be able to hear them. With the Ocean Way Audio HR3-FL main monitoring system, you can. With its impressively high damping factor and massive cast frame, the HR3-FL’s 18-inch sub-bass driver moves serious air with perfectly controlled excursion all the way down to 20Hz.
Ocean Way: a legacy of unerring sonic quality
In 1976, five-time Grammy-winning recording engineer/producer Allen Sides started leasing the former United Western Studios in Hollywood, originally built in 1952 by legendary engineer/audio designer Bill Putnam. In 1988 he purchased the property and changed the name to Ocean Way Recording, and also added Record One in Sherman Oaks to the Ocean Way Family. In 1997 he opened Ocean Way Nashville on Music Row. Over the years, Sides personally worked on over 1,000 albums by top artists like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Phil Collins, and Alanis Morissette; and it is estimated that albums recorded in Mr. Sides’s studios have sold in excess of one billion copies. Housed in a 16,000 square-foot beachfront villa at the exclusive Eden Rock Resort on the Caribbean island paradise of Saint Barthélemy, Ocean Way St. Barths was created to provide the ultimate creative environment for this level of clientele. Sides created Ocean Way Audio to provide the worldwide professional studio community with the same unerring level of monitoring accuracy for which his studios have long been renowned. Sweetwater is thrilled to offer you this exceptional line of pro audio monitoring equipment.
Ocean Way Audio HR3-FL Powered Studio Monitor (each) Features:
- 3-way, 3,400W tri-amplified system
- 2-inch high-frequency driver with aluminum voice coil
- HF horn with 90-degree by 40-degree dispersion
- 15-inch mid/bass driver
- 18-inch sub-bass woofer in separate enclosure
- Ported enclosures
- Maximum Peak SPL: 132dB
- Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±2dB
- Digital and analog inputs, accepting 24bit/192kHz data streams
- Supports free-standing setups or soffit-mounted installation
- Includes rackmount amplification, Ocean Way A-4100 Voicing Module, and cabling
