Unobtainium, again. This time it wasn't the speaker model, just a surcharge crossover version. Duelund had priced themselves out of the picture. Obviously my pair had just landed and an Up3 rev2 version wasn't yet cooked. The review would proceed as booked and represent the Studio Monitor per se just as any version of it would stand in for the alternate options. Once unpeeled from their very sturdy crates…

… the narrow, quite tall and distinctly deep glossy boxes with their multi-faceted fronts hopped atop our Track Audio stands first in the upstairs system.

Instant proof of life generated a happy confirmation with Hendry who was naturally keen to learn that his precious cargo had made the halfway trip around the globe unscathed. With crates as stout as his, it would take real abuse to inflict any shipping damage.

"By the way, the Studio Monitor still needs to burn in, I just ran them for 24 hours. They need at least 100!" That put my upstairs system out of commission for about 10 days. To reduce the noise pollution, I set them up face on wired out of phase. Partial cancellation allowed higher SPL to get more voltage into the filter parts and greater excursions on the drivers.

"I will make also make the Micro Studio Monitor below based on the sold-out 10th Anniversary design. I received some requests from the studio market to make a smaller version again because not all have spacious control rooms. With the same cabinet ported out the top, I'll have a solution for people with limited budgets by using the smaller 64-10 Raal ribbon and 5" Accuton then lowering the grade of the crossover, internal wire and binding posts." Glancing at the insert above, you appreciate how deep the standard Studio Monitor really is. While I can imagine it looking purposeful on a monitor console, in a home environment on a stand, the proportions do look a bit odd. It's as though a shallow floorstander had been cut in half, then the lower section grafted behind the upper.

If that's your sentiment, now the more conventional Micro version will appease such décor ruminations. You'll obviously give up some cycles on bass extension. Time to conclude break-in and earn my keep. While I'm personally no fan of piano gloss black due to its wicked reflections, finger prints and propensity to acquire swirl marks from dusting, many people adore a flawless lacquer finish. And that's exactly what you're getting here as long as you're driving Henry Ford's favorite color.