JADE — Linear-Phase Active Studio Monitor

The JADE was Klark Teknik's near/midfield reference monitor, engineered alongside Andy Munro for the mastering and mixing community that demanded measurement-grade accuracy. The cabinet houses a time-aligned two-way system with both drivers physically offset on the baffle to bring their acoustic centres into phase, an approach refined to give a flat impulse response well beyond what conventional active monitors of the period could deliver.

Driver Configuration

An 8" Neoflex woofer in a reflex-loaded cabinet handles low frequencies down to 55 Hz, while a 1.25" soft-dome HF driver covers the top end out to 17 kHz with minimal coloration. Each driver is powered by its own dedicated 100 W MOS-FET amplifier with full protection circuitry, eliminating the impedance interaction and crossover insertion loss that plague passive designs.

Signal Path and Control

Balanced XLR input feeds an analogue crossover and trim network with HF and LF shelving EQ for room compensation. Driver-protection circuits intervene before damage, preserving the unit during sustained reference-level monitoring.

Application

Engineers reached for the JADE in mastering suites, mixing rooms and broadcast control rooms where translation across playback systems is the deciding criterion. Its linear-phase response and low coloration made it a trusted second reference alongside larger soffit-mounted main monitors.

Specification Highlights

• Two-way time-aligned active design with linear-phase configuration
• 8" Neoflex woofer, reflex-loaded; 1.25" soft-dome HF driver
• 2 x 100 W MOS-FET amplification with comprehensive protection
• Frequency response essentially flat 55 Hz to 17 kHz
• Balanced XLR input, HF/LF shelving EQ for room trim
• Designed and built in the United Kingdom