After a year of intensive building and redevelopment, mastering engineer Lewis Hopkin has moved Stardelta Audio Mastering into a new state-of-the-art home even deeper into the heart of Dartmoor National Park in Devon.
Housed in a former Victorian Baptist church that has been completely renovated from the ground up, Stardelta now boasts a fully active PMC MB2S XBD-A speaker system that Hopkin describes as absolutely phenomenal .
"I had PMC monitors in my previous studio but as I was moving into a much larger room it made sense to invest in a larger system, he explains. "On the recommendation of John Goldstraw, of Hathor Audio, I bought the MB2 XBD-A System because it is more suited to the space I am now working in. Due to the larger number of LF drivers in this system, the speakers have to work less hard to produce the SPL and this results in lower distortion and a more effortless presentation of low frequencies. The detail and response of this system is exceptional and fills the room with a very wide sweet spot."
With more than 20 years experience as an engineer, Lewis Hopkin set up Stardelta with one primary goal to provide artists with an a service that gave them the best masters possible in terms of processing quality with a firm belief in analogue methodology and practice. The combination of high end hardware and Hopkin s own skills as a mastering engineer has made Stardelta one of the busiest and most successful facilities in the UK. Indeed, its success was highlighted at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards this year where all but one of the tracks nominated in the Dance Recording category was mastered by Hopkin, including the winner, Rather Be, by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne. If this wasnt enough Lewis has also mastered 18 UK national chart number one singles in the last couple of years and countless top 40 hits, along with several number one albums. All on his beloved PMC speakers!
"We attract projects from right across the musical spectrum, and from both major and independent record labels, Lewis Hopkin says. "We are always busy, so it was difficult having to shut down while we moved into the new facility. Since re-opening at the end of January, I ve been working flat out trying to catch up. It was a pretty major undertaking making sure that everything was up and running to my exacting standards from the word go."
The new facility was designed by Thomas Jouanjean, head of Belgian-based Northward Acoustics. Hopkin was particularly keen to use Northward Acoustics due to their uncompromising design policy and exceptional attention to detail at all stages. The room is designed using the Northward Front to Back Design philosophy. This, says Hopkin, gives a very well controlled, highly accurate acoustic space but with a natural feel.
"Thomas has created a marvellous room, Hopkin adds. "The combination of his well-honed acoustic design and MB2 XBD-A speakers has given me a facility that sounds unbelievably good. Artists who visit are open mouthed when they hear how great their music sounds in this room. What I really love about PMC is how exciting they are to listen to. In this particular application they could not be better implemented because the room was designed around the speakers so there is zero compromise. So often monitors are just put in a room with no thought to how they will perform. In this instance every part of the studio design has been made to match every part of the PMC design. Even after a long 18-hour day I am still enjoying myself thanks to the performance of these monitors."
Alongside its PMCs, Stardelta Audio Mastering is also equipped with SADiE workstations, Prism Sound ADA-8XR multichannel converters, a Neumann cutting lathe, a Maselec mastering console and a wide range of other processors chosen for their exceptional sound quality. The building has been extended to incorporate a reception area, an anteroom, a separate central machine room and an entirely new second floor, which houses the Stardelta/Deltadisc offices and another similar size studio based around a 24 track Studer A800 for Hopkin s own use.
There is scope for live vinyl cuts and all sorts of other delights with this configuration; let s see what the future holds, Hopkin says.
While it would have been very easy for Hopkin to stay in his old facility, the opportunity to build something really special in an old church that needed saving was just too good for him to resist.
"I couldn t be happier, he says. "Starting a studio build from the foundations up is really the only way to cut out any possible compromise. The results speak for themselves."
www.pmc-speakers.com.
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. The International Data Corporation is predicting that worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services will increase by 1.4% in 2024 to...
08/05/2024
CUPERTINO, Calif. In a notable development for news and live video production, Apple has unveiled a number of significant upgrades to its Final Cut Pro software...
08/05/2024
Pliant Technologies has announced that it will be presenting its new SmartBoom LITE Headset at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C5116). The latest updates include enhanceme...
08/05/2024
SAN FRANCISCO Fox's ad-supported streaming service Tubi has launched Stubios, a fan-fueled studio for aspiring filmmakers and their fans that the company sa...
08/05/2024
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Five more stations have launched NextGen TV service, bringing to nine the number of local TV services on-air with ATSC 3.0....
08/05/2024
TYSONS, Va. Tegna Inc. has announced that Greg Retsinas has been named president and general manager at KGW, Tegna's NBC affiliate serving the Portland area...
08/05/2024
08 05 2024 - Media release Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA
Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: ...
08/05/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Atlas software-defined platform now available via AWS trusted partner network...
08/05/2024
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects
Graham Quince May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Arguably the best video use for AI generated images is Matte Painting...
08/05/2024
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects
Andy Ford May 7, 2024
0 Comments
The Throw expression is a time-saver in After Effects. It allows you to mov...
08/05/2024
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Thursday 30th May, from 2:30PM, Hosted by Alter Ego 488 ...
08/05/2024
Gray Television reported a first-quarter profit as advertising revenues rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 levels....
08/05/2024
The Today show shared the performers on its summer concert series, which feature...
08/05/2024
Lewis Dodley, longtime anchor for Spectrum News NY1, will retire at the end of May. He's been on the air at the Charter Communications-owned local news chan...
08/05/2024
Scripps Sports said it plans to air a new studio show when a new season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight starts May 24....
08/05/2024
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniv...
08/05/2024
Professor emeritus John (Jack) Johnson elected to the National Academy of Sciences Johnson's multi-disciplinary research has been instrumental in shaping ou...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows
Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management.
Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
Media releases
NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
Share this article
width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
wid...
07/05/2024
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
07/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Mampho cautions Maria against making a move on IsaacDon't miss Tuesday, 7 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Hous...
After a year of intensive building and redevelopment, mastering engineer Lewis Hopkin has moved Stardelta Audio Mastering into a new state-of-the-art home even deeper into the heart of Dartmoor National Park in Devon. 
