Argosy Dual 15 desk and studio updates

[J.R. Rogers]

After finishing the recording of my eighth album, I decided to update my little home studio desk so I'm not hunched over a laptop on an old computer desk for hours on end anymore. I did a lot of research and decided on the Dual 15 studio desk from Argosy Console. The Dual 15 gives you several integrated rack spaces and most importantly (to me) it has a lower monitor shelf which puts your computer at an ideal angle for lengthy sessions. (So many of their competitors want to put the computer display up on a shelf and have you stare up at it for hours and that makes no sense to me.)

The Dual 15 desk is offered in multiple different configurations but I opted for the 803 option which gives you a flat monitor surface at an ideal height. The entire front of the desk on this design is padded and L-U-X-U-R-Y compared to just about everything else out there. The integrated 19" racks give you immediate access to your most important gear such as your recording interface, and the desk also has rack spaces at the back (behind the monitor shelf) for rackmount power conditioners / power strips, etc. There is a lower shelf which can be filled up with whatever you want and the whole desk is designed with good cable management integrated all over the place:
https://argosyconsole.com/dual15/dual15



The desk arrives in about 12 fairly large boxes and some of the boxes needed two people to lift so be sure to get a friend to help you with this. Assembly took me four hours with help but the instructions were very clear and I encountered no snags in the build process. I am not sure if the whole desk is solid wood but it is SOLID and heavy-duty with wood that is laminated by a durable surface. The rackmount portion of the desk seems to be made of heavier solid wood to support the weight of your rack equipment and monitors. They also offer solid mahogany sides as an option for those who appreciate that look. The desk is probably 300lbs or so once completely assembled but the legs made it easy to scoot around on the carpet and position. Overall, this seems like a very well thought-out solution and I think it looks great also.

Thank you to Sweetwater Sound for eventually sending me the right desk!:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...sy-dual-15-803

The 43" monitor that you see below is mounted on a sturdy stand from Amazon because it's adjustable and I didn't want to drill a bunch of holes in the wall for a VESA mount:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I assembled the stand without using the included shelf or the casters and it's a solid solution that puts the 43" monitor just where I need it. I'd like to point out that Argosy also offers a monitor arm solution that supports up to 40lbs and mounts directly to the desk allowing you to position the monitor where you want it using a few different mounting options:
https://argosyconsole.com/images/ima...719_170828.png

I was concerned about clamping a heavy monitor to the desk long-term however and so I opted for the floor solution. The monitor is a 43" 4k monitor from LG which is the company that makes the LCD panels for Apple. I opted for this monitor because it uses the new USB-C standard and works really well as an extended monitor for the Mac. The monitor also allows you to view up to four inputs at the same time so it's a really good solution if you have more than one computer or device. I currently have an Apple TV plugged into one of the HDMI inputs which gives me a really quick wireless monitor solution for my laptop via Apple's AirPlay:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1





Mixer/Interface and nearfield monitors visible. I have since added a rackmount switch box to allow me to turn everything on right at the desk.



JR

[Bob Womack]

Congratulations! I've been sitting behind a custom Argosy for the last seventeen years. It works great and lasts well.



Bob

[J.R. Rogers]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Congratulations! I've been sitting behind a custom Argosy for the last seventeen years. It works great and lasts well.



Bob

Thanks! That looks great, Bob! I love how your console control is set down directly behind the keyboard. I'm thinking of either a mix control surface or a little 49-key keyboard/controller to go directly behind my computer keyboard since I have about 10" of space left.

JR

[KevWind]

Very Cool Argosy does indeed make some great studio furniture

What is the console on the right ? And you do realize now you are going to have to buy some Hardware to fill the two racks.

The curse of being a finish carpenter is I felt compelled to DIY. on my desk

[gwlee7]

My two part question has nothing to do with the desk but with the monitors sitting on it. Are those the Neumann KH310s and how much do you like them? Monitors are the next major upgrade for my room.

[jim1960]

Very cool. I'm looking forward to getting a desk in the next year or so.

[J.R. Rogers]

Originally Posted by KevWind

What is the console on the right ? And you do realize now you are going to have to buy some Hardware to fill the two racks.

The curse of being a finish carpenter is I felt compelled to DIY. on my desk

Kev, that looks great! You built that?? In awe of your skills, my friend. My father was a good carpenter and built some of the furniture in my house but I got the computer bone instead. On the right, I have the mixer set on two SKB rack cases that hold a CD player and recorder. A few years back Bob Womack did a great review on the Argosy rolling rack and I will probably upgrade to something like that eventually. Unless you take custom orders. Yeah, I need to fill the racks now but it's a good place to start.

Looks great in the dark!


gwlee7 - Yes, I love the Neumann speakers. As you would expect they are pretty perfect sounding. I'm also running the KH750 subwoofer which gets me clean all the way down to 18. Interestingly, these can be ceiling or wall mounted with a kit from Neumann. They have threaded holes in the sides.

JR

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by J.R. Rogers

gwlee7 - Yes, I love the Neumann speakers. As you would expect they are pretty perfect sounding. I'm also running the KH750 subwoofer which gets me clean all the way down to 18. Interestingly, these can be ceiling or wall mounted with a kit from Neumann. They have threaded holes in the sides.

JR

So you feel like the speakers “need” the sub or is it more for the types of music you are mixing. Lots of what I have read says the speakers hold their own without the sub. You opinion is appreciated and sorry for being off topic.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by J.R. Rogers

Kev, that looks great! You built that?? In awe of your skills, my friend. My father was a good carpenter and built some of the furniture in my house but I got the computer bone instead. On the right, I have the mixer set on two SKB rack cases that hold a CD player and recorder. A few years back Bob Womack did a great review on the Argosy rolling rack and I will probably upgrade to something like that eventually. Unless you take custom orders. Yeah, I need to fill the racks now but it's a good place to start.

Thanks. It is color 2 sided melamine (red and black) with Alder trim (left over from one of the last custom home projects before retiring ).
The side rack is also left over Alder, and I designed it open back and sides for better air flow.
A custom rack project wood be fun BUT unfortunately (again the curse) currently I am up to my neck finishing the tack room and mechanical room in the the new Barn Riding arena we are building.
But here are some shots of the rack just for possible Ideas

Looks great in the dark!
JR

. That does look great the top one is 40 something inches ?

[jim1960]

Kev, you have a lovely rack.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Kev, you have a lovely rack.

Ha I see what you did there, pretty punny

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Kev, you have a lovely rack.

It’s real and spectacular.

[J.R. Rogers]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

So you feel like the speakers “need” the sub or is it more for the types of music you are mixing. Lots of what I have read says the speakers hold their own without the sub. You opinion is appreciated and sorry for being off topic.

No worries - Not off topic at all. Thanks for the question. Neumann recommends using a sub as part of an "ideal" stereo setup for the simple reason that the subwoofer takes the load off of the woofer on the nearfield monitor allowing the woofer to reproduce the low-mids with more detail and actually allowing the speakers to produce more volume overall. The KH750 also gives you digital inputs for your entire system and offers the option of being configured in multiple different ways such as being managed by an external source like a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. This subwoofer can act as the .1 on a studio setup for film scoring or even just as the sub in a home stereo system.

Out of the box it sounds great with the 310's and factory settings but they have an iPad app which lets you adjust crossover points and even mute the subwoofer if you want. Also, the DSP settings apply to the KH 310 monitors when they are plugged in to the KH 750 so you can play with the EQ curves or fine tune everything for your specific room.





If you want to get really crazy with the bass, Neumann goes to great lengths in their manual to explain how to set up a multi-subwoofer system consisting of up to FOUR subwoofers! And this is the baby of their subwoofer lineup. They offer a bigger KH 810 model that has eight analog inputs and an even bigger 870 double-barrel which approaches 120db SPL!

I like the Neumann sub because it is so nicely balanced with the volume of their KH 310 nearfield monitors and isn't boomy or otherwise coloring the sound. Without the sub, you are sort of missing the bottom spectrum of your music and I guess hoping that it's okay. None of the nearfields that I've seen will reproduce the lows below about 40 for some reason and that's a pet peeve of mine. (I've heard even delicate piano samples that trigger the subwoofer.) So the sub with a pair of 310's would give you an amazing 4-way system. But if you have a big room Neumann recommends the even more powerful KH420's.



https://en-de.neumann.com/kh-750-dsp

JR

[J.R. Rogers]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Thanks. It is color 2 sided melamine (red and black) with Alder trim (left over from one of the last custom home projects before retiring ).
The side rack is also left over Alder, and I designed it open back and sides for better air flow.
A custom rack project wood be fun BUT unfortunately (again the curse) currently I am up to my neck finishing the tack room and mechanical room in the the new Barn Riding arena we are building.
But here are some shots of the rack just for possible Ideas

. That does look great the top one is 40 something inches ?

Thanks for the side shots. That really is a good design. I hope to see pictures of your new tack room and arena too! How big is the arena? Sounds like a real project!

Yes, the monitor is a 43" 4k LG computer monitor (not a TV). I think the iMac can drive up to four of those at the same time as the built-in 27" 5k display. I could get really crazy here.....

JR

[Bob Womack]

BTW, if you use a subwoofer and place it off-center, don't be the least bit surprised if you can tell it is off-center. I can always tell. It isn't necessarily hearing a difference but feeling more pressure from one side. I always feel "steered" to the offset side. It drives me around the block enough that I insist on centering the sub or... In my home system I have a receiver that combines all the speakers' low end into a mono feed. I split that feed to two subs, one below each front main, in order to avoid some of the phase issues from dual subs, and balance them with an SPL meter.


Bob