Arguably the most accurate, revealing, and technologically advanced recording monitor ever made, the Barefoot Sound MiniMain12 is a no-compromise four-way titan packed with no fewer than seven drive units. Barefoot housed the septet of drivers inside the MM12's sealed enclosures, effortlessly delivering 20Hz to 40kHz with vanishing low distortion, unbelievably wide dynamic range, and ultra-fast transient response. No hype, literally. Barefoot's commitment to supreme quality and technical sophistication is evident throughout their monitor lineup, but the MiniMain12 significantly raises the bar. Just the DSP crossover took Thomas Barefoot more than four years of meticulous R&D to develop. What's more, beyond the MiniMain12's abundance of innovative tech that delivers its matchless linearity and transparency, the MM12 can even emulate other speakers. Barefoot understands that most of us have trained our ears on a set of secondary references. Using the MM12's selection of classic-voiced speaker emulations, you can pack up your Cubes or NS-10s, ultimately streamlining your space, eliminating the problematic reflections attendant with multiple sets of monitors, and getting all your main and referencing done in the most sophisticated manner possible. The wait is over, give your studio all the monitor you can imagine—and the monitors you already own—in the standard-setting Barefoot Sound MiniMain12. Read on to learn more.
- The best from the best: Barefoot Sound's ultimate reference monitor
- Speaker emulation technology eliminates your need for secondary references
- Seven meticulously designed drivers deliver a linear 20Hz-40kHz
- Four years of R&D behind the seamless DSP crossover technology
The best from the best: Barefoot Sound's ultimate reference monitor
If you've followed the trajectory of Thomas Barefoot and Barefoot Sound, then you know the number "12" has near-mythical origins among monitor aficionados. Barefoot originally made his widely acclaimed monitors one by one in his garage, branding them with the number "12" which has always signified his best-of-the-best. As technology marched on, Barefoot retired the flagship number and went to work re-envisioning monitor technology to release the "12" of today. Thomas Barefoot and the Barefoot Sound team chased down every idea, teamed with the best and brightest, and have been hard at work for nearly half a decade bringing you the MiniMain12 you see today. It's already creating a tidal wave in studios familiar with the Barefoot story and among pros who demand nothing but the best.
Speaker emulation technology eliminates your need for secondary references
With the MM12, you can box up your secondary reference monitors for good. Thomas Barefoot realizes that despite the advantages of high-resolution monitors, many engineers still use their NS-10s and Auratones as secondary references. These speakers have long traditions and people find them familiar and useful for focusing in on certain aspects of their mix. However, it's also a fact that crowding your console with those extra boxes degrades the sound field of the primary reference monitors—not to mention, they're no longer manufactured, need amplifiers, require cable runs, and consume more studio space. To offer an elegant solution, while streamlining the studio at the same time, Thomas Barefoot made the MM12 sound and translate like those classic speakers, too. With the turn of a knob, you can switch from the MiniMain12's brutally revealing "Flat" response to the warmer and sweeter "Hi-Fi" setting, the "Old School" sound of the NS-10M, or the mid-centric "Cube" sound of the Auratone 5C. The idea was not to perfectly replicate every subtle quirk of those venerable old speakers—that would be impossible. Rather, the MiniMain12 can capture the essence of how they behave and translate, modeling their frequency, phase, and transient responses, along with their dynamic compression and even some of their distortion components. If you know how to work on NS-10s or Auratones, then you'll feel very comfortable working on the MM12's emulation settings.
Seven meticulously designed drivers deliver a linear 20Hz-40kHz
The Barefoot Sound MiniMain12 boldly brings you a four-way active system with seven drivers, all housed in sealed enclosures, delivering unbelievably low distortion, wide dynamic range, and ultra-fast transient response. Every driver has an under-hung voice coil moving inside an advanced geometry motor that enables it to make extremely long linear excursions. What's more, the ring radiator tweeter is incredibly detailed and produces very wide dispersion out to its highest frequencies. As for the aluminum cone subwoofers, woofers, and midranges, they radiate as perfect pistons to at least two and a half octaves beyond their respective bandwidths. To ensure the MM12 pushed the technology as far as possible and set the standard yet again, Barefoot teamed up with the brilliant Bruno Putzeys of Hypex to develop the powerful and completely transparent amplifier stage of the MM12.
Four years of R&D behind the seamless DSP crossover technology
Most products are designed in well under four years. Barefoot Sound spent four years just on the MM12's crossovers. This kind of above-and-beyond, unmatched brand of passion shows. With beautifully designed high-end converters and cutting-edge proprietary filtering techniques, the MiniMain12 produces such a seamless and coherent wavefront that, if you dare, you can actually listen to this speaker from fewer than three feet away, with no sonic compromise. And, yes, the MM12 works perfectly out to far field distances as well, producing SPLs equivalent to big mains.
Features
- Input impedance: 50k ohms
- Frequency response: 20Hz - 40kHz (+/- 3 dB ); 24Hz - 30kHz (+/- 1 dB )
- Input sensitivity: 88 dB @ 1m (-15dBV input; 24Hz - 30kHz nominal)
- Bass response
- -3 dB @ 20Hz
- Q = 0.707
- Slope: 12 dB/octave
- Cabinet
- Total internal volume: 82 liters
- Sealed sub enclosure
- Individual sealed midbass and woofer enclosures
- Machined aluminum baffle plate
- Aluminum subwoofer frames function as lateral cabinet bracing
- Crossover frequencies: 80/800/4000Hz
- Tweeter
- 1" ring radiator
- Advanced neodymium motor
- Rear waveguide chamber
- Amplifier power: 250 W
- Dual midranges
- 2.5" aluminum cones
- Advanced neodymium motor
- Sealed chamber
- Amplifier power: 250 W
- Dual woofers
- 7" aluminum cones
- Advanced motor
- Sealed chamber
- +/- 9.5 mm linear excursion
- Amplifier power: 250 W
- Dual subwoofers
- 12" aluminum cones
- Advanced neodymium motor
- Sealed chamber +/- 25 mm linear excursion
- Amplifier power: 1200 W
- Power consumption
- Idle: 50W
- Maximum: 1500W
- Weight: 135 lbs each (61 kg)
- Dimensions: 26 x 13.5 x 20 inches (660 x 343 x 508 mm)
Word on the Street
"I find that the Barefoots are the truest for me. You hear the detail and the true definition of every sound. With Barefoot, it's smooth top-in, perfectly clean. I like to listen to music loud, but these Barefoots don't hurt. It's loud but it's not overpowering. Everything is tuned so perfectly."
"I love them—they're my best friends. How you hear music, and how you make music and listen to music is the most important part of this whole experience. For me, there is no other way now. You should have an experience with the sound and know that each part of song is being expressed correctly. The right speaker is what gives you that. That's what Barefoot is."
Rodney Jerkins, Producer For full article, click here.