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  D5 Studio Monitors with DSP (Pair)
  D5 Studio Monitors with DSP ($300/Pair)
Equator D5 Studio Monitors with DSP (Pair)


 
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D5 Studio Monitors with DSP (Pair)


Direct Price: $299.99

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Product Code: D5
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Description Technical Specs Customer Reviews
 
Equator 2-Way Active Coaxial Studio Monitors with Internal DSP (Sold as a Pair).

 



The Goal
Develop a Pro Monitor to Sell for Under $300 a Pair. 
 
Our margins are much thinner than anticipated but we will do our best to keep the price under $300 for as long as possible.
 
How Can We Do It?
Selling direct to the end-user allows us to eliminate the margins normally received by a distributor, a retailer, and a factory sales rep.  Further, by reducing our own margins we are able to use the highest quality (expensive) components to deliver the absolute best product for an amazing $299.99 introductory price. 

Special Note From The President 
January 16, 2012 

Hello,

We've had many calls and emails asking us how long we will extend the introductory price of $299.99 on the D5s.  The original plan was to announce the distribution of the D5’s through traditional dealers and distributors at the January 2012 NAMM show and with that the end-user price would have been increased substantially.   But the plan changed when our direct online sales grew far beyond our projected sales numbers.  Word of mouth quickly spread thanks to an extremely exuberant blogosphere.  Gearslutz, Reaper, Studio Central and a host of other Pro Audio blogs have said wonderful things about these little monitors.

By getting to higher production numbers we have been able to reach an economy of scale that has reduced our manufacturing costs.  That reduction in cost combined with the upward sales volume has allowed us to project profit at the current $299.99 selling price.  Our official statement is: “If it works we see no reason to fix it.  The big winner here is the end-user who will continue to be able to purchase a high quality, professional product for a price that’s well below the products normal market value.”

So, the price of $299.99 for a pair of D5s will remain until further notice.

Thanks so much for the support.

Ted Keffalo
President
Equator Audio Research

Through normal retail distribution channels, with our current BOM (Bill Of Materials) and the cost of each link in that sales chain (Distributor, Rep, Dealer), the D5 would cost the end-user no less than $749 per pair  ... with performance that exceeds that of other competitive $749 per pair products.



The D5 Studio Monitors
Our new D5's (Direct 5) studio monitors are geared for the recording professional seeking a small (9.75" x 7" x 8.5"), affordable, accurate, well-voiced, reference studio monitor solution. Focused attention was paid to the development details to ensure that they deliver professional sonic performance. These monitors feature an expensive coaxially designed transducer with a 5.25" woofer and a 1" silk tweeter.  The frequency response is 53hz to 20khz. A new cutting edge digital amplifier with breakthrough performance was designed specifically for the D5. The internal DSP allows for intricate factory adjustments.

 

The D5 also has pro features such as balanced XLR (and unbalanced TRS ) inputs as well as a boundary selection switch to select the appropriate monitor response for their placement (in a corner, in front of a wall, free standing).  No plastic front baffle here.  The D5 features an all wood cabinet, including a wood front baffle for optimum performance.  No simple air releasing cutout on the front baffle or cut-out hole in the back.  The D5 features a fully extended 1.75" perfectly tuned front port, providing superior and accurate extended low-end response.  And because the port is on the front baffle, the D5's can be positioned close to a wall with no fear of the low-end being choked.  

The coaxial transducer design combined with a steep 4th order crossover delivers a detailed mid-range that allows for clarity in that complex 900Hz - 3 kHz range.  Guitars, voices, strings, horns, & reverb trails are very clearly and accurately portrayed and any mid-range anomalies that might exist in the source material can be easily determined and addressed. Because of our matched transducer output, mid-range mix elements can be positioned in the stereo field without the fear of being misplaced.  The D5’s are optimally pre-set and voiced for ideal instrument translation. 


Like the Q Series, the D5 features our Zero-Point Reference™ custom designed coaxial Digitally-Controlled Transducers™ along with internal DSP to provide a consistently matched output with every unit. This allows for accurate no-shift imaging. The DSP allowed pin-point accurate adjusting during the voicing process. The voicing was aided by award-winning recording engineers that referenced their hit mixes for voicing considerations.  The final D5 pre-set voicing curve is optimal for mid-range detail.  With high-quality components, internal DSP, 100w of power and 103 dB of SPL the D5 deliver a huge bang for a little buck.

 



UNCONDITIONAL 60 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE


We are so confident that you will love them that we even offer an UNCONDITIONAL 
60 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.


DEMO IN YOUR OWN ROOM
Every room has different sonic characteristics.  The best place to demo the D5's and confirm your speaker purchase is within your own room.  

If for any reason within the first 60 days of receiving the D5's you are not completely satisfied with your D5 purchase, just email us at: info@equatoraudio.com with the words "RETURN D5" in the subject feild of the email or you can call us 888-772-0087 to receive a return authorization number.  

Then pack up the speakers in the original packing box, notate the return number on the box and ship them to:

RMA # ______Equator Audio  Research
Otay Lakes Rd #502-331
Chula Vista CA 91915-2220 

When we receive the speakers, barring any damage or obvious abuse, your credit card will be credited the purchase price minus freight charges.  Typically freight costs within the continental US are under $30 a pair.

Should there be damage or if they are repacked in something other than the original shipping box we will contact you with re-stocking charges.
 


Direct Field Monitoring
It is a well known fact and a matter of physics that sonic reflections off of walls, ceilings and other reflective surfaces, when combined with directly received audio information, will result in a distorted representation of the original audio at any given space. 

 

The farther the listening position from the speakers, the larger the percentage of combined reflective information, the greater the distorted results.  Room reflective problems can be relieved through digital software manipulation, as in the Equator Q Series Room Analysis software, or by building a room with non parallel walls and strategically positioned absorption panels or by working in the Direct Field. 

 

Simply put: in a normal room, the farther from the speakers, the greater the room effect. Conversely: the closer to the speakers the less the room effect. Direct Field Monitoring is where the clear majority of the audio information is received directly from the speakers with minimal reflective interference. By working in the direct field, the negative distortion effect caused by the combining of reflected information with direct information is dramatically reduced. 

 

Many speaker systems are designed to deliver their optimum low frequency and high frequency combined audio results when monitoring from a certain distance away from the speakers.  In the case of traditional tweeter over woofer designs, that distance would generally be greater than that of a coaxial design where the audio develops and is delivered from a single source. 

 

The D5 works perfectly in the near field or the direct field.


Equator Audio: Why Coaxial Speakers?

Average Customer Review: Based on 15 reviews Write a review.

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  1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 
Amazing December 27, 2011
Reviewer: ERNEST BUCKLEY from Brooklyn, NY United States  
Brief History: I`ve monitored through the Mackie 824s for the last 12 years in my own studio. I`ve worked on NS-10s, Westlake Audio LC monitors, Genelecs 1032As and my favorites, the DynAudio BM6As.

The D5s needed a few days to settle but once they did, I experienced an overall balance, exceptional stereo imaging and quick transient response that I have only heard in monitors costing 4x the D5s $299 price tag. For anyone looking for a small footprint, great sounding near-field and on a budget, the D5s are going to answer the call 9 times out of 10. I`m not trying to say the D5s are equal to the Genelecs or DynAudios mentioned above but they do have similar characteristics like detail/stereo image and the tight/focused bottom.

Suggestion for Equator... consider building an 8 inch monitor "the D8" and pricing it for $999. It will become a studio standard.


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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
love the color, personally! December 22, 2011
Reviewer: pigasus records from columbus, OH United States  
these D5's fade into the backround, until they are passing audio, that is! then, they are the focal point of everyone in the room! nobody believes all that smooth sound isn't comming from my bigger JBL's or KRK's...awesome design, Equator! i will be ordering another pair soon as i recover from Christmas.

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
These are the best studio monitors I've ever heard December 12, 2011
Reviewer: Tim Lyakhovetskiy from Los Angeles, CA United States  
My set of monitors before the D5's were the Wharfedale Diamond Pro 8.2 active monitors. Within 15 minutes of A/Bing, I took the Wharfedales down so they could be sold on eBay the following day.

BUY THESE MONITORS IMMEDIATELY.

The D5's are incredibly clear, from 53 Hz all the way up to 20 KHz, and will allow you hear any sparkle or garbage in the high end of any music. You do NOT need a sub with these: the tight low end completely destroys speakers with even 10" woofers. They don't need a nice treated room to sound phenomenal. Comparing a $100K treated studio to my completely ordinary 10'x10' room, there wasn't really any loss in imaging or clarity! AMAZING! What a huge difference: cymbal separation is so much easier to NAIL down, vocal EQ can be PERFECT, and bass guitar can be sculpted, versus setting up a rough EQ and hoping for the best. I'm going to buy another pair with my next paycheck, in case Ted decides to charge the fair price for these, which is like $750 or higher. ;)

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
Amazing bang for the buck October 31, 2011
Reviewer: L-P from Montreal  
Compared these speakers with:
ADAM A7
DYNAUDIO BM6 MK1
FOCAL CMS 65

+ I must say they hold their own well against every speaker I tried.
+ They sound like their fair price would be around 700$ per pair so it's a huge steal at 300.
+ Imaging is very good.
+ Transient are faster than every speaker but Focals.
+ The 3 modes are pretty cool. I find that number 2 is the best for mixing, number 1 is good for working the mids and number 3 is cool for music enjoyment.
+ Fantastic value

- They lack a bit definition in the 150-200 hz.
- They have less bass because the speaker is indeed smaller. A comparison with smaller speakers like ADAM A5 and Focal CMS40 would be more fair.
-  They need to break in to sound smooth because at first they are a bit harsh in the high end and they lack a bit of bass.
- Not a big fan of the color.

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  1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 
small and honest October 27, 2011
Reviewer: guido bugmann from Solothurn, Switzerland  
i mixed several projects on the monitor till now.
the localisation and the depth is exellent.
and the mix works - will say - it translates to the world outside very well!
well done!


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