Because the speakers are so precise and so consistent, if you pan a sound element across the LCR speakers and into the surrounds, the character of the sound does not change. The speakers are unbelievably accurate, and create a very uniform sound field.”
Andy KrisRe-Recording Mixer, Goldcrest Post
Located in New York’s West Village, film postproduction facility Goldcrest Post has recently launched Mix Theatre Q, its newest mixing room that marks a key component of the company’s growth plans. With the goal to attract new clients to Goldcrest Post, Mix Theatre Q has installed a Dolby-certified Meyer Sound cinema monitoring system.
Goldcrest Post decided it was time to expand when prominent New York audio post facility, Sound One, shuttered its business. “At the time, we had a screening room that was underutilized,” recalls staff re-recording mixer Andy Kris. “I proposed that we create what I call a ‘wow’ room. Other rooms of similar size were popping up, and I was looking for ways to give us the edge. And the Meyer Sound monitors were something that would definitely set us apart.”
With its new audio capabilities, Mix Theatre Q has received uniformly positive feedback from the professional cinema community. To date, prominent mixers who have used the Meyer Sound system in the new mixing room include Dominick Tavella, Martin Czembor, and Eric Hirsch.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from outside mixers,” notes Jim Gardner, studio manager of Goldcrest Post. “When we tell them that we have Meyer monitors in here, they respond that they know them and can trust them.”
Noteworthy projects that were mixed using the new Meyer Sound system in Mix Theater Q include the final season of HBO’s “Treme,” CBS’s “Blue Bloods,” and NBC’s “The Michael J. Fox Show.”
“On the first mixing sessions,” says Kris, “I immediately noticed the improved imaging. Because the speakers are so precise and so consistent, if you pan a sound element across the LCR speakers and into the surrounds, the character of the sound does not change. The speakers are unbelievably accurate, and create a very uniform sound field.
“You also feel their sheer power,” continues Kris. “All the low frequencies, which are often problematic in mixing rooms, are uniform across the bass spectrum.”
The Meyer Sound monitoring complement includes three Acheron Studio screen channel loudspeakers, two X‑800C studio subwoofers, 10 HMS‑5 cinema surround loudspeakers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 408 processors. The system was provided by Steven Strassberg Associates of New York, and installed by Avi Laniado, with assistance from Goldcrest Post staff engineer Bob Troeller. Acoustical design was handled by David Kahn in the New York office of Acoustic Dimensions.
Completing the room’s premium equipment package are Euphonix S5 Fusion and Avid ICON D-Control ES mixing consoles, MADI-connected Pro Tools HDX and Native systems, an NEC 2K DCI-certified digital cinema projector, and a Vevo BS65K acoustical woven screen.
“With Meyer Sound monitoring, I now have the utmost confidence when mixing,” says Kris. “There’s no more mystery about how it will sound, because I know I’m hearing everything.”
Opened in 2000, New York’s Goldcrest Post is a sister facility to Goldcrest Post in London, which has long been recognized as one of the city’s premier facilities. Both studios are part of the highly diversified, London-based Goldcrest Films enterprise that has produced or co-produced releases such as “Chariots of Fire,” “Escape from New York,” and “Gandhi.”