Studio 21A is a world-class modern recording studio founded by talented audio engineer TC Zhou from China. The international Walters-Storyk Design Group developed the studio design, established by interior designer Beth Walters and acoustic architect John Storyk. The team has won the TEC Awards 13 times, and Studio 21A was nominated for the TEC Awards 2021.

The dSONIQ team expresses gratitude to colleagues from the DingDong Audio team. Thanks to the Realphones technology and the efforts of our partners, you can now find yourself in one of the largest Chinese world-class studios without leaving your home!

Thanks to its neutral sound, the studio serves as the foundation for Reference Monitoring presets. Its consistent response across the entire frequency range delivers precise, balanced sound, allowing you to closely monitor the mix and individual elements.

The modified Yamaha MSP-3 mono speaker with custom EQ has a peak around 2 kHz.

This setup is ideal for monitoring the 2-5 kHz range, which is often softened in far-field monitors and less highlighted in near-field monitors.

This EQ allows the speaker to emulate mobile device sound while retaining the informative nature of professional acoustic systems.

Due to its unique acoustics, the Yamaha NS-10 near-field monitors in this studio offer a distinct sound compared to other studios, featuring the same lively, scattered reflections as the far-field monitors. Their working frequency range starts higher, and the highs sound smoother.

From 140 to 2000 Hz, the resonances are evenly distributed, providing clear insight into the harmonics of the bass and the lower formants of primary instruments and vocals. The bass body is softened, and sibilants are reduced, helping to concentrate on the core spectral range.

The main monitor pair offers a consistent frequency response from low to mid frequencies. Although this might make kick and bass guitar sound less prominent, it provides neutral sound for key mix elements. This effect is achieved through precise room acoustic tuning.

The studio features numerous diffused reflections with minimal frequency coloration, creating a spacious sound free from unwanted comb filtering. This effect is particularly noticeable in the mid and high frequencies, where the extended reverb tail avoids a "boxed-in" sound. These reflections add air and accentuate reverb effects.

The operating range down to 30 Hz allows for objective control of the mix's low-frequency components. Below 1000 Hz, the sound remains even and neutral. A softened upper midrange and slightly elevated highs reduce ear fatigue, allowing work at lower volumes while still clearly hearing high frequencies.

The pronounced high-frequency lift and the "dispersed" acoustics don’t make the sound overly sharp. Rich reflections soften the highs—a unique feature of this monitoring setup. This allows you to catch even the finest nuances of high and ultra-high frequencies and enhances spatial perception, creating a "crystal-clear" sound and revealing excess in the high range.

When making an emulation of Studio 21A we observed a pattern that’s hard to consider a coincidence. Each of the studio’s three monitor lines has unique qualities, creating an intriguing combination.

The full range system consists of large monitors with an audiophile sound that provides a flat low end, a smooth midrange, and an accentuated high end, lending an elegant character to the sound.

The near-field Yamaha NS-10 monitors, the classic "workhorse," have a cardboard-like, less pleasant sound with limited lows, highlighted mids, and a natural high-frequency roll-off.

The mono speaker emulates portable devices by even more drastically limiting highs and lows and emphasizing the midrange.

Switching between far-field monitors, near-field, and mono speaker, you transition across the sound spectrum, from full, transparent audio to a more restricted, focused sound.

For those wishing to use Studio 21A monitor lines without their characteristic frequency coloration, retaining their spatial quality, we have created an optimized version.

If you want to hear how your mix sounds on a single speaker, the mono speaker can simulate physical mono, providing a tool to check mixes.

The optimized near-field sound is more universal, but it loses the unique focus on the 140-2000 Hz range.

The far-field monitors’ response below 1000 Hz remains largely unchanged, as this line was originally acoustically optimized.

Above 1000 Hz, corrections were made to achieve a more neutral, analytical sound, which may feel less dynamic than the non-optimized version.

The sound of the Studio 21A monitor lines feels confident, neutral, and provides broad opportunities for mixing.

The Augspurger far-field monitors ensure solid control over deep lows and silvery highs.

The Yamaha NS-10 near-field monitors effectively focus on and control the midrange.

The Yamaha MSP-3 mono speaker allows tracking of upper mids and checks mixes with a mobile device emulation.

Studio 21A’s unique feature lies in its evenly diffused and neutral response across the entire frequency range, making it easy to acclimate to this studio’s sound.

If you need additional sibilant control, we recommend using the Sibilant emulation from the Mix Check set.

The dSONIQ team and the emulations they create are not affiliated, endorsed, or licensed by Yamaha, Genelec, Bryston and ATC.