At the time we received the Arcturus monitors, very little information was publicly available because the speakers had not yet officially launched.

The expected price was approximately £28,000 per pair, although this was prior to the official release and therefore subject to change.

What immediately stood out was the low-frequency system. Each Arcturus features two 10-inch subwoofers capable of moving a serious amount of air. The scale and physical impact of the low end is astonishing, but importantly it remains controlled and usable for critical mastering decisions.

We were also told that the midrange and tweeter design builds upon the technology used in Ex Machina's Pulsar and Quasar monitors. At the time of writing, however, the final technical documentation had not yet been released.

One particularly useful design choice is that the amplification is external rather than built into the speaker cabinets.

For a soffit-mounted installation like ours, this is a major advantage. The amplifiers aren't generating additional heat inside the wall, and removing the amplification from the cabinets also reduces the weight of the monitors themselves.

Connection to each speaker is handled using one 4-pole Speakon connection for the midrange and tweeter, together with two 2-pole Speakon connections for the subwoofers.

The Arcturus monitors arrived in the UK extremely well protected and secured to a shipping crate. These are substantial speakers, so careful transportation and handling were essential.

SX Pro personally delivered the monitors to Audio Animals and helped us get them into the building ready for installation. As always, they went above and beyond to provide a genuinely personal level of service.

Before moving the speakers through the studio, we carefully removed the external packaging. This made it easier to manoeuvre them through the doorway and along the corridors leading to the mastering room.

The monitors were exceptionally well protected for transport, which is exactly what you want when dealing with speakers of this size and value.

With the speakers unpacked, the studio was ready for the Arcturus monitors to be moved into their permanent positions.

They fitted into the wall extremely well and were easier to manoeuvre than you might expect from monitors of this size. Again, having the amplification located externally makes a significant difference because the cabinets don't have the additional weight of large amplifier modules built into them.

Once positioned, the monitors immediately looked like they had been designed as part of the room from the beginning.

One of the biggest advantages of using the Ex Machina Arcturus within our Dolby Atmos room is the way the integrated subwoofers can be incorporated into the bass-management system.

Our surround and overhead channels use Ex Machina Titan monitors. Through bass management, the low-frequency content from those speakers can be supported by the Arcturus subwoofers.

In practical terms, this allows the Titans to benefit from the extended low-frequency performance of the Arcturus system, helping create a much more consistent full-range experience throughout the Dolby Atmos array.