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Q&A with Michael Hedges of Monitor Audio

Q&A with Michael Hedges of Monitor Audio

What ignited your interest in high-end audio? Did it come from the music side or the electronics side? 

It’s a little bit of both. I grew up listening to hi-fi at home, going to hi-fi shops with my father, and trying new speakers and electronics. I’d spend time with my dad listening to different combinations of equipment and talking about the differences. It was really my father’s hobby, and it was his passion that got me excited at the start. My school also really encouraged music; so I learned the drums and had many musicians as friends. Music was a focus, whether it was listening, playing, or sound engineering.

Around the age of 14, I finished building my first pair of speakers with my father. At this point, I was getting really interested in the science behind speakers. Going through a speaker build, selecting the drivers, constructing the cabinets, and finally tuning the crossover, all gave me a good foundation at an early age. As I got a little older, I did a lot more sound engineering and built some bass-guitar cabinets and subwoofers for friends.

Then, when it came to career options, I was looking at university and found myself being pulled towards something related to hi-fi and music, either audio electronics or acoustics. In the end acoustics won out, and I was lucky enough to be accepted into a degree course at Salford University, which is one of the UK’s leading universities for acoustics.

What was your first high-end system?

Before leaving home, I’d built speakers and tried many combinations of DACs, preamps, and power amps, but most of it was out of my price range. I ended up choosing a small pair of ATC SCM7’s and a Tag-McLaren 60P power amp driven by a high-quality sound card. This, however, quickly turned into a pair of Monitor Audio GS60s and a value amp I lovingly cared for. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the value amp, it eventually had to go. 

What attracted you to the industry? And loudspeaker design in particular?

If anything, it was building my own loudspeaker that inspired me—just seeing what could be done, and realizing this was all without designing the transducers. It felt like there was much more to learn and explore. Once I got to University and started looking at the simulation tools that were becoming available, I was hooked. In addition to this, it was a hobby; so spending time on it was natural, and one thing led to another.

What differentiates high-end audio from other forms of audio?

All audio reproduction is about the experience; however, most forms of audio are defined by a solution. This might be to get good coverage over an area or to go very loud, for examples. High-end audio is a little more elusive. We are pursuing the best audio experience—to recreate the perfect reproduction of a piece of music. There are many ideas about how to go about this, but there’s always passion behind it and great people willing to talk about what they love.

Is the younger generation demanding something different from Monitor Audio than earlier generations?

There are always going to be changes as new age groups develop and technology evolves. What’s key is that we at Monitor Audio offer exceptional audio experiences. How we do that may change over time, but the core of what we do remains the same. Given this thought, there’s a lot of demand for simplicity at the moment. Some of this is about trying to reach new people, but some of it is driven by changes in technology and customers’ expectations.

In light of current technology do you approach speaker design differently today?

There are two sides to this. Firstly, the tools available to design loudspeakers have changed drastically, and I’ve been at the forefront of this, starting with my dissertation on fully coupled loudspeaker simulation using FEA. This means we now conduct virtual prototyping, where we simulate the complete loudspeaker before committing to a design. Then there is the increasing use of DSP within products, which opens new opportunities and ways to design loudspeakers. Both have changed the approach, but with DSP now coming down in cost, there are some really interesting possibilities that can be explored.

What are the greatest challenges facing the high-end audio industry in general?

The reduction in cost of DSPs and the introduction of streaming as the main source of music lead towards active streaming speakers, which, if done right, will outperform traditional passive speakers. However, without some innovation, it could remove the hobby element that got us all into audio in the first place.

Outside of audio, what do you do for fun?

Right now, I’ve got a busy home life with two young children and a house we are working on; so there’s not much spare time. When I do get a chance, I’ll normally be playing drums or, before the pandemic, doing some live sound engineering. That said, hi-fi is still my hobby; so, I can be found thinking about new speaker designs all too often.

What (still) inspires you about your work?

Two things: I enjoy the challenge—it’s not simple to improve the performance of an already great speaker; and secondly, music is something people get really excited about, and it’s great working with people who are so passionate about their jobs.

Tags: MONITOR AUDIO Q&A

Neil Gader

By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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