Part II on Bob Katz
He has a mix studio for doing some minor adjustments (Mix Doctor) and that Studio uses Genelec 8260s.
For His main studio for mastering this is what he says, hard to tell he is a tech guy isn't it? Not sure if his room treatments are the ones that @amirm is a fan of, or those that he is critical of.
On the topic of "standards" for mastering, he has written and presented on this at AES. I'm not sure, but based upon his book, articles (numerous) I think a lot of what you see him describe below would be incorporated into standards on mastering, including his K System if he had his way.
View attachment 306006
"Studio A is our mastering room. The first key to good analog reproduction is a transparent signal path. Mastering engineer Bob Katz believes that a short, clean path between your analog tape and digital conversion makes the most transparent, dynamic master. The 1/2" and 1/4" tape machines are highly customized. For example, the "STAMPEX," is a unique hybrid of a Studer C37 transport with custom-made extended response 1/2" head connected to very customized Ampex MR 70 electronics, all-tube. The STAMPEX is quiet, transparent and warm, yet with tight bass."
"Bob Katz's Stereoization Process, embodied in his K-Stereo Processor, actually lets the mastering engineer get a handle on the original reverb returns of the recording. It's been commercialized in several products: the Z System's K-surround processor, the Weiss DNA1, and the K-Stereo Plugin by UAD Audio."
Processors include digital and analog outboard and selected digital plugins. We have developed some custom analog solid state and tube gear such as Bob's Tube Blender and Bob's Solid State Blender. We use hardware and software by: Anamod, API, Bettermaker, Bricasti, Cranesong, DMG, Elysia, Flux, Forsell, Izotope, Maselec, Millenia Media, Pendulum, Prism, PSP, Sonnox, TC Electronic, UAD, Waves, Weiss, and many others, in unique and musical ways."
A custom-installed 100 AMP service feeds power to all our gear. The service is over 20 dB quieter than the standard house power lines and has power to spare. This allows us to run each of the power-hungry amplifiers on dedicated 20 amp lines."
Our stereo monitors, Dynaudio M5P, weigh 300 pounds each. The unique Dynaudio design reduces ceiling and floor reflections by 75% according to the manufacturer. They sit on custom isolators constructed by Norman Varney of A/V RoomService, Ltd. The isolators resonate at 8 Hz, above which the loudspeakers are isolated from the room. The result is an incredibly quiet and tight response. The room is treated with active bass traps from PSI Audio, passive traps from RealTraps, and some custom-made traps."
The center and surround speakers are by Lipinski Sound, designed by Andrew Lipinski."
The Eq of the listening position:
"The mating of satellites and subs is seamless and perfectly calibrated by use of Acourate loudspeaker and room correction software from AudioVero. Acourate corrects phase, impulse response and time alignment. Response is +/- 1 dB to a target from 17 Hz to 20 kHz. It is -3 dB at 15 Hz!"
The Room: "The mastering room is 23' long in the part between the speakers, and 18' long at the sides, by 14' wide with a sloping cathedral ceiling that starts at about 12' high in the front and goes up to 20' high in the rear. 3 out of 4 walls are concrete block with one overlayer of sheetrock, and the back wall is double reinforced sheetrock. The walls are selectively treated with Sonex located at precision points to remove flutter echo. There is a carpet over mat on the floor, which is first floor mounted right on the concrete slab. The room is extremely quiet and the air conditioning is inaudible (all noise-making machinery is in a separate room).
And all of this, get you . . . "Because of the headroom and response accuracy of this system, Bob's work translates to the widest variety of playback systems."
He has a mix studio for doing some minor adjustments (Mix Doctor) and that Studio uses Genelec 8260s.
For His main studio for mastering this is what he says, hard to tell he is a tech guy isn't it? Not sure if his room treatments are the ones that @amirm is a fan of, or those that he is critical of.
On the topic of "standards" for mastering, he has written and presented on this at AES. I'm not sure, but based upon his book, articles (numerous) I think a lot of what you see him describe below would be incorporated into standards on mastering, including his K System if he had his way.
View attachment 306006
Studio A - Digido.com
Digital Domain - we ensure musicians, independent artists and record labels get the best sound possible. Bob Katz provides the best in mastering and mixing.
www.digido.com
"Studio A is our mastering room. The first key to good analog reproduction is a transparent signal path. Mastering engineer Bob Katz believes that a short, clean path between your analog tape and digital conversion makes the most transparent, dynamic master. The 1/2" and 1/4" tape machines are highly customized. For example, the "STAMPEX," is a unique hybrid of a Studer C37 transport with custom-made extended response 1/2" head connected to very customized Ampex MR 70 electronics, all-tube. The STAMPEX is quiet, transparent and warm, yet with tight bass."
"Bob Katz's Stereoization Process, embodied in his K-Stereo Processor, actually lets the mastering engineer get a handle on the original reverb returns of the recording. It's been commercialized in several products: the Z System's K-surround processor, the Weiss DNA1, and the K-Stereo Plugin by UAD Audio."
Processors include digital and analog outboard and selected digital plugins. We have developed some custom analog solid state and tube gear such as Bob's Tube Blender and Bob's Solid State Blender. We use hardware and software by: Anamod, API, Bettermaker, Bricasti, Cranesong, DMG, Elysia, Flux, Forsell, Izotope, Maselec, Millenia Media, Pendulum, Prism, PSP, Sonnox, TC Electronic, UAD, Waves, Weiss, and many others, in unique and musical ways."
A custom-installed 100 AMP service feeds power to all our gear. The service is over 20 dB quieter than the standard house power lines and has power to spare. This allows us to run each of the power-hungry amplifiers on dedicated 20 amp lines."
Our stereo monitors, Dynaudio M5P, weigh 300 pounds each. The unique Dynaudio design reduces ceiling and floor reflections by 75% according to the manufacturer. They sit on custom isolators constructed by Norman Varney of A/V RoomService, Ltd. The isolators resonate at 8 Hz, above which the loudspeakers are isolated from the room. The result is an incredibly quiet and tight response. The room is treated with active bass traps from PSI Audio, passive traps from RealTraps, and some custom-made traps."
The center and surround speakers are by Lipinski Sound, designed by Andrew Lipinski."
The Eq of the listening position:
"The mating of satellites and subs is seamless and perfectly calibrated by use of Acourate loudspeaker and room correction software from AudioVero. Acourate corrects phase, impulse response and time alignment. Response is +/- 1 dB to a target from 17 Hz to 20 kHz. It is -3 dB at 15 Hz!"
The Room: "The mastering room is 23' long in the part between the speakers, and 18' long at the sides, by 14' wide with a sloping cathedral ceiling that starts at about 12' high in the front and goes up to 20' high in the rear. 3 out of 4 walls are concrete block with one overlayer of sheetrock, and the back wall is double reinforced sheetrock. The walls are selectively treated with Sonex located at precision points to remove flutter echo. There is a carpet over mat on the floor, which is first floor mounted right on the concrete slab. The room is extremely quiet and the air conditioning is inaudible (all noise-making machinery is in a separate room).
And all of this, get you . . . "Because of the headroom and response accuracy of this system, Bob's work translates to the widest variety of playback systems."