Output and Barefoot Sound’s Frontier speaker is en-route
A long-awaited list of specs and features has been unveiled, promising supreme sound quality
Image: Output
NAMM 2021: After giving us a sneak peek at last year’s NAMM Show, Output and Barefoot Sound has announced the Frontier studio monitor. The sleek and powerful active speaker won’t be immediately available, but we now have information on its feature set and price.
The collaboration between the two brands may make Frontier desirable for many; Output is renowned for its stylish studio furniture and intuitive music production software, while Barefoot has a reputation for creating powerful, precise monitoring systems. Here’s what we saw last year:
Each speaker boasts bespoke coaxial aluminium alloy drivers with a 6.5-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter, which have been tuned by Thomas Barefoot for a “flat anechoic response and low distortion”, Output says. The forward-facing tuned port design ensures an accurate bass-response down to 45Hz, with the frequency response maxing out at 25kHz. Frontier’s crossover frequency is 3000Hz.
On the back of Frontier is a balanced combo-XLR input and an unbalanced TRS quarter-inch jack input. There’s also a stepped-level attenuator to fine-tune the speaker to your environment.
Frontier is built with a solid walnut base, with natural wood grain making each speaker unique. The design is distinctly minimal, with a soft white LED light for a modern visual accent. Output is packaging Frontier in 100 per cent recyclable packaging and also included an EcoMode on the speaker to reduce power consumption, minimising excess waste. Each speaker’s dimensions are 332x230x200m with a weight of 7kg.
Output’s Frontier speakers come as a pair at a price of £1,259. This isn’t too bad, considering the thoughtful design and upper-end specs – and considering the £3,700 price tag of a Barefoot FootPrint 01 monitor pair. Frontier isn’t available yet, but you can sign up to the waiting list on Output’s website.
To see the full specifications of Frontier and sign up to the waiting list, head to output.com.
For more NAMM 2021 news, click here.
