Just one week after firing up the PMC IB2S XBD monitors in his JV Acoustics-designed studio, mix engineer Robin Hunt was so impressed with the sound he was achieving that he put his old monitors up for sale.
“I was planning to keep both sets, but what was the point when the PMCs sounded so good?” he says. “I can’t believe how accurate and transparent they are. The mixes that I do on the PMCs translate perfectly wherever else I play them. I work at low volume levels to ensure frequency consistency during the day, but I can still hear everything, right down to the smallest detail, because I have access to the entire frequency range. It is so satisfying to have a monitoring system that has been calibrated to perfectly match the acoustics of my room.”
Originally from the Netherlands but now based in Germany, Robin Hunt discovered electronic dance music as a teenager and began DJing at various venues and festivals, including the Defqon.1 Festivalin 2005. After completing his Bachelor of Music degree, Robin moved to Berlin and built a studio in an abandoned casting factory where he worked on a number of projects, including co-producing and mixing Thomas Azier’s acclaimed debut album Hylas. A move to Paris and an engineering job at Ferber Studios followed, allowing him to expand his horizons and work with many artists signed to Universal Afrique.
By 2017 Robin was back in Berlin where he founded the Atlas label with Isa Azier and Ferran Huijsmans and developed artists such as Remme and Stevie Bill. At this point Robin’s work shifted from production/mixing to solely mix work, which led to him tackling increasingly prestigious projects such as Faber's Addio album; Anouk’s Wen D’r Maar Aan album; the fully orchestral Deena & Jim album; collaborations with Son Mieux featuring Nile Rodgers; Aloe Blacc's title song for the Believe documentary, and Roxy Dekker's two number-one singles in the Netherlands. In addition, he worked on numerous albums, EPs, singles, TV series soundtracks, and a soundtrack for the feature film Divine.
“By early 2022, I felt it was time for the next step,” he says. “My self-built Berlin studio no longer met my needs, so I connected with acoustician Jochen Veith, of JV Acoustics, with the vision of building my own mix room at my home in Attendorn. It took two years to complete the studio, which finally became operational in June 2024.”
Although Robin had heard of PMC, it wasn’t until he visited Wisseloord Studios that he realised these were the monitors he wanted.
“My mixes need to sound good on any system and this is where PMC comes in,” he says. “I took along one of my own tracks and when I played it through the PMCs it translated so much better in that room. The combination of the monitoring and the acoustics is what makes a room work. Jochen excels at this, and it is one of the main reasons why he got to design Wisseloord Studios. When he built my room he took the same approach and designed the room around the PMC monitoring. His experience of the brand was also a deciding factor. He knows PMC products inside out and was able to recommend exactly the right monitors for my studio.”
Robin’s studio is located on the ground floor of his house, so to ensure proper sound isolation Jochen specified a high-quality room-within-a room construction. This meant lowering the floor by taking out the original concrete floor, digging down into the bedrock and supporting the footing of the house. A new entrance area was also added, and an effective air conditioning system was installed to create a pleasant working environment.
“We decided pretty early on that we’d use PMC monitors and have them soffit mounted,” Jochen says. “The room acoustic treatment, which was entirely delivered by my company, is based on a modular concept but on a highly professional level. Robin and members of his family did most of the building of the studio by themselves and that wasn’t an easy job, so chapeau from my side!”
Although not yet equipped for it, Robin’s room is prepared for Dolby Atmos and he anticipates upgrading to full Atmos monitoring in the future. For now, though, he is busy working on a variety of album and soundtrack projects in a room that he describes as sounding ‘absolutely perfect’. “I love how it has all turned out and I couldn’t be happier,” he says.
