Event Electronics 20/20 V2 (pair)

Event Design 20/20™ V2 Direct Field Monitors

The new Event 20/20 V2 Direct Field Monitor System continues the tradition of excellence begun with the original 20/20. Here is the story of the 20/20 development—spawned by design engineers Frank Kelly’s and Walter Dick’s mission to systematically engineer the deficiencies out of small reference monitors.  Drawing on their vast design experience, a great deal of scientific research, and hours upon hours of critical listening, Frank and Walter eventually completed their mission: The 20/20™ Direct Field Monitor.  The development process began with the decision to design everything-woofers, tweeters, crossovers, and cabinet-from the ground-up. All components were to be custom and proprietary—off-the-shelf parts simply wouldn't do. Three goals drove the design process: The speakers had to be sonically pleasing yet have extremely flat frequency response. They had to be exceptionally reliable. And they had to be truly affordable.  First came the tweeter, a magnetically shielded 25mm natural silk dome that provides accurate, detailed high frequency reproduction—without the harshness and ear fatigue associated with metal dome tweeters. An internal high frequency pole piece damping element aids in smoothing out the signal, allowing for extended listening periods. And for improved reliability, there's a ferrofluid-cooled aluminum voice coil support that reduces heat; a special flexible lead wire minimizes wire fatigue as well as insures consistent performance. 

Frequency response.

The woofer was designed to provide smooth, consistent extended-range frequency response without the need of added EQ. (Equalization circuitry can introduce amplitude and phase anomalies.) The driver itself is a magnetically shielded 8" mineral-impregnated polypropylene cone with a highly-damped linear rubber surround. It also boasts a 1-1/2" high-temperature voice coil for reliable operation at high power levels.

Frank and Walter then set about designing a cabinet that would be the perfect acoustic complement to their new transducer components. From their efforts came a 5/8" laminated MDF cabinet filled with acoustical damping material to reduce internal standing waves. The cabinet also features a front-mounted large diameter low air restriction bass port, engineered to deliver direct, uncolored low frequency reproduction at all monitoring levels—even at very high volumes. The port is front-mounted, allowing the speakers to be placed in close proximity to walls without compromising the low end response.

Accurate.

Attention to detail permeates every aspect of the design, though not everything is immediately obvious. For example, you can't see the custom asymmetrical second-order passive crossover. But you can hear how smooth the sonic transition is from the woofer to the tweeter at the crossover point. Or maybe you didn't notice that the tweeter is recessed to provide flatter frequency response. Even the diecast aluminum trim ring has more to it than meets the eye: Not only does it minimize acoustic discontinuity between the driver and the cabinet, it's also a unique, self-aligning four-point mounting system for the woofer.

As the years have proven, Frank and Walter havesucceeded in their task. The 20/20™ Direct Field Monitor delivered wonderfully clean, accurate, pleasing sound at a price most musicians considered eminently affordable, and the basic design led to a whole host of products, including the new 20/20™ V2.