I’ve used the Palmer Orbit 11s monitors daily since they launched — the hype is real!£699 each, palmer-germany.com
Palmer has a history of producing sturdy, utilitarian audio gear such as DI boxes and monitor controllers. Its latest release, though, is far more exciting and appealing: a three-way, coaxial active monitor with a cardioid response and bass extension all the way down to 28Hz.
That’s enough bass to make your studio throb without using a sub-woofer, and the product seems to have shaken up the market as well.

READ MORE: I put the HEDD Type 20 A-Core three-way monitor against my Genelecs and now I don’t want to switch back

Monitors with a similar design—three-ways with bass radiators on the side to bolster low end—tend to be far more expensive than the Orbit 11’s £1,400-per-pair price. Barefoot’s Footprint 02 Gen 2 for example cost over three-times more at £4,495.
Talk of this bargain three-way rocketed through various forums (you know the ones), with some commentators concluding that it was all too good to be true. Others were apparently struggling to find fault and declaring the orange ring around the Orbit’s coaxial driver to be an aesthetic faux pas. There had to be something wrong with them at this price after all.
Well, I just had to experience the Orbit 11s for myself. I’ve been using them as my main monitors for the past couple of months, and I have to say, I’m totally blown away.
Image: Press
The low-down
The Orbit 11 is housed in a die-cast aluminium case that exudes sturdiness and reminds me of high-end Genelec monitors. On the front, there’s a 1-inch tweeter mounted concentrically to a 6.5-inch mid driver. As well as being super-compact, this arrangement helps with phase coherence, making the monitor closer to a point source and therefore is ideal for immersive arrays (bracket mounting is an option). Dual 8-inch woofers are mounted around the sides to facilitate the impressive bass capabilities.
I’m immediately struck by the slender footprint of these large-sounding monitors in my relatively small studio space compared to other three-ways I’ve tested from HEDD and Adam Audio. The fact that they also have a near-cardioid response is also a big win, meaning they’re less likely to suffer unwanted low-end build-up by being placed close to a wall.
On the back are analogue and AES digital inputs; with the AES option you can chain the two monitors to make cabling simpler, and then select the correct channel using the control panel on the top. Power switches are also around the back but are easy to locate, which is welcome because there’s unfortunately no auto-standby option. This doesn’t bother me really, since I just switch them off when I’m not using them.
On the top of the monitors sits a digital control panel, with the first option being a sensitivity pad. There were various reports on forums of the Orbit 11s being excessively hissy at close range. This is true with the pad turned off—the default state when the Orbits are first turned on—but I find that setting horrendously loud for my set-up. I swiftly switch the pad to the maximum attenuation of 20 dB on each side and the self-noise is dramatically reduced, and I can still muster plenty of level from my RME interface. I’m really irked by hissy monitors, so I’m delighted to report that it’s not really an issue here once the pad is set correctly. Yes, there’s a little more self-noise than with my Genelec M040s when you have your ear pressed to them, but it’s perfectly fine working in a near-field position.
Onboard digital processing gives you the option of various filters to tweak the sound, with multi-position, three-band EQ settings, plus Desk and Rear Wall filters that can be activated according to the monitor’s physical location. DSP is always on, so there’s a permanent latency of four milliseconds. That means it’s best to mute headphones when you’re swapping back to playback on monitors, because the latency is perceivable. That said, I don’t encounter any additional lag when triggering software instruments with a USB MIDI keyboard.
Image: Press
The sound of Palmer’s Orbit 11
Leaping into critical listening, I plug in an IK Multimedia ARC Studio to apply ARC X room correction to EQ the monitors, since I have an issue with a low-mid bump with my monitors placed on a desk. Despite the cardioid response, I’m also wary of the potential heft of the bass build-up in my room, so I’m resigned to switching ARC on straight away. Once complete, ARC’s analysis reveals little need for any correction above 130 Hz or so, which is an impressive feat.
I’m immediately struck by a large yet tight bass extension, plus an incredibly detailed and agile mid range. The mid articulation is a pleasant surprise as many three-ways lean towards a scooped mid voicing (for increased flattery rather than accuracy); I’m reminded of high-end B&W mastering monitors here. Highs are also crisp and articulate, and I prefer leaving the room correction off from the high-mids upwards, as the Orbit 11 stock response is sweeter.
Doing a shoot-out with my Genelec monitors, there’s nowhere near as much bass extension as the Orbit 11s, and mids on my own monitors sound a touch blurred and harsh in comparison, with the harsh timbre becoming more apparent at louder motoring levels. However, the Orbit’s twitters are slightly too crisp for my taste; I’m a sucker for a ribbon tweeter and so select a warmer target curve in the ARC room correction.
At my friend’s studio we make a similar comparison with his mk1 pair of Mackie HR824s. The ‘824s appear to have a more thunderous bass than the Palmers with room correction switched off, yet with ARC X on, the Orbits reach further down than the Mackies, while also sound tight and controlled. Comparing the Orbits with an equally-large set of monitors helps to demonstrate the effectiveness of the cardioid response. The Mackies continue to excite the room modes even after room correction, resulting in a lingering bass sustain that gives a false impression that tricks the listener into hearing —and feeling—a far larger bass end than there actually is. Conversely, the Orbits remain articulate, without the bass lingering on. You hear subsonic details in the mix you never knew existed, and start to address them by either shaping them or else high-passing them into oblivion.
Comparing the mid range, there’s a similar picture building to before – the Mackie mids are scooped, smoothed yet more brash in presentation. We’re both left wondering whether we need to buy new monitors, such is the lasting impression left by the Palmers.
Image: Press
Should I buy Palmer Orbit 11s?
If you’re looking for three-way monitors that reach the lowest octaves without need for a sub, or a large sound in virtually any size room, the Palmer Orbit 11s have you covered — all for a startlingly low asking price.
The tightness and depth of bass coupled with fast mid-driver articulation is far more than you could have previously hoped for at £699 per side, while a cardioid response means less hassle with unwelcome room modes in the bass end.
I hope we see Palmer’s Orbit range grow to include smaller models to sit alongside the 11s for immersive audio set-ups.
Image: Press
Key features

3-way active coaxial monitors
Die-cast aluminium case
1-inch tweeter mounted to 6.5-inch mid driver; dual, side-facing 8-inch woofers
Cardioid response
Frequency range: 28 Hz – 28 kHz (-3dB)
1000 Watts (peak) class D amplification (250W each for tweeter and mid driver; 500W to woofers)
Analogue XLR in
AES digital in; AES thru for daisy-chaining
Onboard DSP and control panel for level selection and filter settings (permanent 4ms latency)
Black and white colourways
Weight: 13.9 kg per monitor
Comes with power lead and bracket security fixings

The post I’ve used the Palmer Orbit 11s monitors daily since they launched — the hype is real! appeared first on MusicTech.