Rather than EQing the system, they EQ’d the room. Justin Berkmann founder of Ministry of Sound best explained it: “Richard Long and Levan were constantly trying to improve it by tuning and retuning. He also paid special attention to room acoustics, making adjustments as needed. Long was a masterful carpenter who built wooden speaker boxes by hand. This legendary New York club was where Long brought new clients, tested new speaker units, and catered to Larry Levan’s sonic fantasies. The Paradise Garage (1977-1987) became Long’s business card and playground. But eventually, the student became the master and Long started his own sound system business. Richard Long started out working under Alex Rosner. As Mancuso put it: “Loud is good, but there’s this thing called too damn loud.”Ĭlubs that had Rosner sound systems: Copacabana, Directoire, the Ginza, the Limelight, Max’s Kansas City, and more. What’s special about Rosner sound systems: it’s an audiophile’s sound-detailed, polished and clear. This was later imitated by many clubs for its immersive quality. Mancuso also had Rosner build a groundbreaking setup: four tweeters above the crowd each facing one of the cardinal points: north, south, east and west. Rosner set up a custom sound system with Klipschorn speakers. Mancuso’s Loft is the cradle of modern dance music-it was the most famous party of the 1970s New York. His custom sound systems were made famous by David Mancuso’s legendary New York City venue, The Loft. The Bozak CMA-10-2DL, the first commercially available DJ mixer Rosner also developed an early mixer prototype that inspired the Bozak CMA-10-2DL, the first commercially available DJ mixer. “I must have built about 400 systems, and not one of these systems ever failed completely” said Alex Rosner. Each sound system has several amps in case one of them fails-a novel idea back then. Rosner Custom Sound is all about reliability. Rosner Custom SoundĪlex Rosner studied engineering but had a strong love for all things hi-fi, which lead him to start building sound systems in 1959. So get you started here’s the 8 most iconic sound systems in the world and why they matter.
Knowledge about playback situations is a valuable tool in the studio. You try to achieve the best possible sound for your own tracks right? So you should know how they’re getting played too.
There’s a handful of sound systems out there that changed the way we experience music. The old schoolers know all about this: subcultures from reggae to disco to drum ‘n’ bass have obsessed about the quality of their sound systems for decades. So sound system culture has had to evolve to keep up.
High-quality sound for music has become more accessible then ever through innovations in mastering and home recording. It also prevents your brain and ears from getting tired or even destroyed by the music.įor a while club owners stopped caring-spending more on the bar or lighting rigs than the sound. It not only makes the experience more immersive and physically intense. The sound system is the centerpiece of the party. There’s one thing all good parties have in common.įrom the quality of the audio format to the speakers, everything matters.