Presentday Production Mum-8 Studio Monitor

There’s nothing like great sound.

The first time you experience sonic perfection is a moment you’ll never forget and in some cases, one you’ll spend a lifetime chasing. The detail, the phantom image, the depth that reveals an extra dimension. It’s mind-blowing. It’s as if the room itself suddenly transforms into one harmonious organism. People say walls can’t talk, but I’ve heard them sing. Truly.

Of course, it’s always a combination of factors — the acoustics, the listening position, the production, and of course, the monitors. Four golden elements. And getting those four to come together in perfect harmony always felt, to me at least, a little out of reach. After finishing music school, I worked for thirteen years in pretty much untreated spaces, drifting from one studio to another, switching between office rooms, headphones, and small nearfields. But god damn it, hard work pays off. We made it. And it’s goooooooood.

for quite a while. Their content is always entertaining and insightful, but nothing could have prepared me for what I heard that afternoon. Sound you could almost touch. A phantom image so detailed it felt as if the band was performing as a hologram right in front of me. A vocal that appeared out of nowhere, suddenly right in front of my face, locking eyes with me. Overwhelming and at times, almost unsettlingly real. I actually jumped a little. Tracks I’d been DJ’ing for years suddenly revealed new layers I’d never noticed. Songs I had always admired as a producer suddenly showed me how many things I’d overlooked. And as the final humbling touch, my own productions — the ones I’d been most proud of — made me blush with secondhand embarrassment. For the first time, I could truly hear what I had done. It was like painting in the dark for years, and suddenly someone turned the lights on.

The funny thing about such an experience is that even without owning those speakers yet, your work almost instantly improves. You never forget what you heard that day, and with a bit of imagination, you can recreate that sense of balance and clarity in your mind. Your world has literally expanded and even if you’re still working in the dark, you’ve now seen what’s really out there.

For me, the search was over. This speaker was the one for me, made by people I deeply respect. My communication with James during the ordering process was absolutely perfect. Every question I had (and there were many) was answered quickly and clearly. When making an investment like this, being in direct contact with the actual creator of the product is truly a blessing. Once financing on my hand was arranged and the order confirmed, I received regular updates and photos throughout the build process. Present Day Production also runs a great Discord server filled with passionate fans and professionals. On March 25th, 2024, I officially became the proud owner of the first orange pair of Mum-8's in existence.

Fast forward to today: I’ve been working on these speakers for a year and a half now. My studio is finally complete (more on acoustics and nerdy stuff like that in a future post), and my mastering career has taken off like never before. Life is good. I can wholeheartedly say the team at Present Day Production played a major role in that.

If this post has sparked your interest and you’d like to experience these speakers for yourself, feel free to contact me via email or DM. For current pricing and other details, I highly recommend visiting the Present Day Production website.

After hearing PMC 8-2’s, various ATC models, and a handful of other high-end monitors, I had the pleasure on December 13th, 2023, of listening to a pair of Present Day Production Mum-8 studio monitors. Their flagship monitor with the silk mid and tweeter dome. I’d been following their creators, James Nugent and Mark Ashfield, on YouTube