Audio metering and control provider RTW this year celebrated the 30th anniversary of the introduction of its classic 1206 peak meter by launching an international search for the oldest one still in working condition. At last, the winner has been found. Although more than 25,000 units have been sold in 42 countries worldwide, the oldest 1206 is located only 12 kilometers (eight miles) away from the RTW factory, at mango studios in downtown Cologne.
mango studios purchased the meter several years ago on eBay. While its entire journey cannot be reconstructed, it is probable that mango’s meter traveled widely before returning to its hometown.
RTW offered a choice of two attractive prizes to the owner of the oldest 1206, either a weekend for two in a luxury hotel along with a show in Cologne, or an RTW DigitalMonitor 10500X-PLUS. mango studios opted for the 10500X-PLUS.
On delivering the prize, RTW managing director Andreas Tweitmann met with the owners of mango studios, Christoph Bette and Michael Neubert, who took over operations at the 180-square meter studios in 1997. A subsequent renovation gave the facility a complete acoustic and electrical face-lift. For example, one of the studios was designed as a room-within-a-room to achieve optimum protection against structural noise. The design is so effective that when Cologne’s municipal archive collapsed only 80 meters from the studio earlier this year, the noise went unnoticed and taping continued inside that room.
mango studios (www.mango-studios.de) offers a wide range of professional audio production services, with a focus on speaking productions for radio stations including Deutschlandfunk, Deutsche Welle, and WDR.
Joining two 1206 units and a PortaMonitor 1063 purchased several years ago, the new DigitalMonitor 10500X-PLUS becomes the fourth RTW product in use at mango studios. In addition to the well-known PPM bar graph, this modern TFT screen offers many options for displaying stereo signals, including vectorscope, correlator, AES/EBU status display, and an integrated ITU BS.1771-compliant loudness meter.
