In Spanish, whenever we praise a lady's beauty we add "mejorando lo presente" ("present company excepted"), as a clear sign of respect and, of course, to imply that the reality of the person present is far above what has been said. The EMES PINK turned out to be a pleasant surprise, placing them, in my view, among the best in their class: self-powered nearfield monitors with a five-inch woofer. So every time I have to talk about more popular brands, I won't be able to help comparing them with the ones now present.
The EMES PINK was completely redesigned; although the exterior is the same as the previous version, the response has been corrected to be flatter and to minimize distortion. The reason for not changing its looks lies in the great response of the rear-mounted tweeter, which leaves the possibility of shaping the front baffle as a waveguide, thus maintaining a very uniform polar pattern. It also helps conceal the screws.
Nearfield monitoring applications have expanded in recent years with the growth of small studios, both demo and broadcast, that use a single listening system, the nearfield, but with the ambition of large-scale listening, which pushes small cabinets in search of bottomless lows. The Emes haven't given in that much in this direction, seeking instead to render as clearly as possible the frequency range appropriate to speakers of their size.
Description
We have a bi-amplified monitor with an active crossover at 1500 Hz. In the treble we have the best part: a 25-millimeter soft dome tweeter with a neodymium magnet, mounted from the rear of the front baffle, where a fairly open waveguide is formed (100-degree circular polar pattern). For the lows we have a five-inch, magnetically shielded driver mounted on an aluminum chassis, with the cone made of a blend of paper, Kevlar and fiberglass, aiming mainly for lightness and speed of response, which requires a pure rubber surround and a spider that is as free as possible.
The front baffle has not only been carefully shaped in the treble area; the edges have also been routed and the woofer chassis kept flush, always with the aim of eliminating surface standing waves. For the same reason, the surface finish of the front baffle is rough and matte.
Rubber strips have been fitted along the edges to ensure grip on the surface, which is so necessary to get maximum performance at low frequencies; this also gives us extra security when placing the cabinets on the console's meter bridge.
The reflex port is well tuned, aiming more for clarity in the low frequencies than for crushing but deceptive punch, and the same factor is exploited for speed of response, which produces a better overlap with the treble driver.
The electronics are well executed, the first highlight being the switch-mode power supply, in this case one of the so-called "digital" ones, which have a very fast, agile response and lower weight, though it remains to be seen how Ohm's law plays out in practice with respect to the amplification's musical performance.
The use of balanced stages of equal power on both drivers is a smart solution to minimize common-mode rejection issues, with the power of each one rated at 80 W music power according to the paperwork; to me they seemed close to 40 + 40 W RMS, which is a more than consistent figure for cabinets of this size.
The correction options are really extensive, with combined switches for gain adjustment in 16 steps for both lows and highs, five on each with balanced input, plus the corrections for unbalanced. The EQ focuses on the low driver, with five different options over a 10 dB range.
IN OPERATION
Tracking
The first thing you appreciate is the low listening fatigue during hours of nonstop work, responding well to sustained demands (when the back of the monitor gets red hot, since it is the cooling surface for the output transistors and the heat sink for the power supply), with enough clarity and musicality. I found the long excursion of the woofer on bass takes a little surprising, even scary, although at no point did it seem to be "damaged."
On keyboards, vocals and acoustic guitars, the impression is of a flat, faithful response, perhaps a little dark in the associated harmonics around 10 kHz, which you usually stop noticing as you get used to working with the same monitors.
Mixing
Mixing was a different story, because this is where the EMES really hit the high note. The stereo image stays within the horizon and is fairly well in phase, giving us powerful, defined low mids, while the high mids are natural and we can easily forget about the crossover frequencies. Here the differences with models and brands of the same cost are clearly drawn, except for the not-so-linear speed response of the treble, which, while flawless, slightly hides the overlaps near 8 kHz, something we will pay for later if we over-compress the overall mix.
The crossover point is fantastically aligned, a test I carried out empirically and by ear, and since this is the most critical aspect when tackling a design, I can do nothing but congratulate the manufacturer.
The bass EQ correction and the gain changes didn't fully convince me, but after a couple of days I felt quite comfortable, which I can put down to my ears being used to my QUESTEDs, which are very special in this area. The more I pushed the bass, the less I liked it, with a small hump at around 100 Hz unbalancing the mix in favor of full kick drums and slightly over-compressed bass. If we start from the neutral bass position (0 dB) we'll find clarity and better balance, but our clients will find it "not very full."
As the only monitors in a home studio, I find this cabinet demanding of its engineer, since it offers quite a bit more than many of its competitors, which seem better dressed up and with more bells and whistles; but if you have good enough ears you'll discover new sensations that will bring you closer to that magic called mixing.
Conclusions
We are looking at a product detached from the latest fashion but with much more dedication and commitment to the tool it is: our first relationship with the content of our work, our companion for many, sometimes too many, hours. We're not talking about the best in its size, but quite possibly the best at its price. With this monitor you can set foot in mixing worlds above the ordinary, but make no mistake, it will demand a minimum of learning from you. Getting to know the personality of each pair of monitors is important, sometimes crucial, and there's a lot on offer, present company excepted!
