Ever since it appeared on the scene, Barefoot has introduced a series of professional, high-cost monitors that have become a hit and are easily recognisable by their light and dark grey colours in recording studios.
The American manufacturer's choice is oriented towards quality, both in materials and results, with a Made in the USA construction. The Footprint series comprises three active three-way models: 01 and 02 are biamped, while the new 03 are tri-amped. All models share the same MEME (Multi Emphasis Monitor Emulation) technology for emulating listening on Yamaha NS10Ms or small Auratone monitors, with mode selection via a small external controller, connected with a cable to the monitor, supplied as standard.
The 01 and 02 monitors have closed cabinets with two 6.5' passive woofers at the sides, to reduce vibrations, while the 03s are the first Barefoot bass reflex monitors, with an unprecedented side hole. A certainly original solution, but one that we will see will require some attention during installation.
The 03 pair of monitors arrives with two power cables and two mini-jack cables to connect the monitors and the small, but solid, external controller.
Hardware
Footprint03 is a three-way monitor, with three lines of Class D amplification (a novelty in the Footprint series): 60 W for the one-inch tweeter with neodymium components and rigid cone, 100 W for the 6.5-inch woofer and again 100 W for the 3.5-inch midrange driver. Total harmonic distortion, at maximum power, is limited to 0.005%. The tweeter and midrange driver are inserted in a wave guide. The midrange driver and woofer have aluminium components.
The cabinet (10.5 litres) has an MDF structure with rounded corners, with a polyester coating. The crossover points are located at 400 Hz and 3.900 Hz. Each monitor weighs 8.1 kg and the dimensions are among the most compact for three-way monitors: 229x337x235 mm. Note the Triad-Obit and Konig & Meyer compatible mounts for immersive audio installations.
With Footprint 03, Barefoot introduces a novelty in audio signal management, called SPOC (SPectrally Optimised Conversion), which uses an active analogue crossover before the ADC converters, dividing the signal into two bands: high frequencies, unattenuated, and the rest of the signal. According to Barefoot, this patented system allows as much as 15 dB of signal-to-noise ratio for high frequencies to be recovered for improved performance.
Also new is the internal DSP, with a claimed latency of only 3 ms, which is responsible for reducing distortion and improving low-frequency reproduction. The DSP is also used for the Peak Limiter for the two High and Low Frequency channels, with frontal LED turning red when activated. In addition to these, there are also two digital RMS limiters, also based on DSP, to protect the drivers, with LEDs that turn red when activated. There is also an overload protection at the audio input, which shuts down the amplifiers until the burst or drop in the input signal level stops.
The declared frequency response is 50 Hz to 22 kHz +/-1 dB (45 Hz/40 kHz +/- 3 dB). The maximum sound pressure level is 101 dB. Audio conversion operates at 28 bit/96 kHz.
The only rear control is the attenuator switch for the input level in steps (+3dB, 0, -1, -2, -3, -5, -7 and -9 dB). In addition to the balanced XLR input, there are 3.5 mm stereo jack inputs called MEME In and a MEME Thru for connecting other monitors in series, with cables supplied as standard, and controlling them all with the external selector switch. The USB port is used for calibration.
Looking inside, all cables are covered with foam, as is the entire cabinet, which is crossed by the tube connected to the circular bass reflex port, which collects sound from a slot at its base. In addition to the IcePower amplifier and power supply, it is interesting to note that the proprietary board also accommodates the ESP32-WROOM-32E component, designed to also receive audio over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. There is no mention of it in the manual, but when asked for an explanation we were told that it is used for monitor calibration and factory setup. Officially, there is no end-user wireless access.
Field test
One of the first tests we carried out is the lowest note, sine wave-like, that the 03 can reproduce. The result is an excellent F1 (43 Hz), after which the level drops and the vibration reproduced by the bass reflex port appears, audible at high amplification levels at 34 Hz. How much does this vibration matter at very high listening levels, above 80 dB(A) SPL? It depends. If you work with the monitors in a close position, around 80 dB SPL, you can safely ignore the problem because at these distance, using 03 with a signal at +18 dBu with sensitivity at 0, you will be working with the monitor controller level at medium-low amplification. Under these conditions the amplification level is too low to set in motion the vibrations of the bass reflex port. If, on the other hand, you move them two or three metres away, mid fied position, then you will be working with higher levels and the bass reflex port vibration may also add higher harmonics to the low frequency output. No power supply noise comes from the tweeter, a sign of excellent electronic design. The structure of the cabinet and the quality of the tweeter offer greater off-axis dispersion, which is especially noticeable horizontally and allows for greater movement than in monitors of a similar size.
Barefoot has not included any HPF filter when listening by choosing Hi-Fi or Flat models, while the HPF filter is present for the OldScl (NS10M) setting, with cut-off below 40 Hz, and Cube (Auratone) which is placed at about 73 Hz. In addition to the filter, a difference in equalisation between the two settings is immediately perceptible, which emulate the sound of these two classic monitors well.
The three-way is one of the most interesting choices for greater reproduction quality than the two-way: fewer holes in the midrange and, if well designed, also greater spatial and attack detail. The Barefoot Footprint 03s respect this rule with further merits: the human voice is the central element of the listening and is always placed in the centre, almost with a lens over it without moving it too far forward with respect to the rest of the mix.
The midrange is one of the most successful element of the design: from guitars to snare drum, brass or piano, the individual instruments can be followed both in their performance and in the reverberations and spaces they occupy in the mix. They are analytical monitors, when used in flat mode, the one we liked best. One can expect a good amount of bass from a cone of this size, but apparently the bass reflex port's work seems to underperform similar monitor ports. It almost seems as if Barefoot did not want to exaggerate with the bass reflex port's contribution of low frequencies: to increase the amount, one needs to switch to Hi-Fi, but already one can hear less detail in the lower frequencies. This is not to say that low frequencies are a problem: the Footprint 03s have all the bass you want, it all depends on how much of it you want to put in the mix or have put in. For example, they are suitable for EDM and dance, because they are very honest and linear with excellent stereophonic representation and precise description of each element. However, if you listen to tracks made in the 1970s, you will see a clear reduction in low frequencies, because that is how they were mixed in those days. As proof of the fidelity of 03, listening to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Texas Hold 'shows the muscles in the bass.
So don't be alarmed if at first listening you don't hear all that bass that seems to be a calling card of bass reflex systems: the 03s reproduce what is there, without giving exalted listening or sly equalisation on the low and high frequencies (the classic smile). For us, this behaviour means having respect for the original source and the mix and production choices.
The 03s are not monitors for heady listening, the kind that grab you by the amount of low and high frequencies. Everything remains balanced around the midrange, as it should be in the mix, without the limitations of the classic NS10M, whose listening results are well represented by the OLdScl setting for frequency response. When they are particularly close together, at a distance of about five feet, the amount of low frequencies depends very much on the room. Choosing to use a side port as a bass reflex port can lead to some positioning difficulties and more effort in finding the correct position. Personally, we would have preferred a more classic bass reflex port, front or rear. The choice will probably be debatable unless you have a sub. The side reflex port can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage, you have to try it. In a properly treated room, the 03s are precise and analytical.
High frequencies are the 03's strong point: the tweeter is very good at detailing transients and maintaining the body of sound, which always seems present and never wavering. There is more air than with a soft dome tweeter, but less rigidity and lift than with a ribbon tweeter. The contribution to stereo spatialisation is evident and superior.
The mids are always well represented and precise, even if the driver seems slightly overpowered by the work of the tweeter. The three elements are well balanced with each other, with an optimal choice of crossover frequencies to maintain greater precision in the midrange and vocals. On the 03, we speak of greater fluidity of reproduction on the mid and high frequencies, without ever losing the necessary contribution on the mids. It is a modern timbre, suited to the listening pattern of these years and which tends to move away from the darker monitors typical of twenty years ago. The 03s seem to be somewhere between the three-way classics of the early 2000s and the richer high-frequency monitors of these years: they are well suited to pop, hip hop, rock and surprisingly well suited to jazz, acoustic music and soundtracks. We actually did not expect such flexibility. Rarely have we used such a versatile monitor in all genres of music and, a great advantage, it is also well balanced at different listening levels, even below 65 dB SPL, although at these levels it loses power in the low frequencies. Once again, it all depends on the distance between the monitors and the listening position.
Tracks such as WonderBrazz's Big Chief, with cymbal and brass work, are exposed with great precision and an easy-to-understand description of delays and predelays.
Want more rock, getting your head into the guitar amp? Try Tony Spinner's Cc Rider: when the bass appears you'll find it holding up the whole track, leaving the guitars to take over the whole movement, without the mid and high frequency instruments being affected. Everything stays where it should be.
For the soundtrack we combined the 03s with a Neumann DSP 750 subwoofer, which also handled the bass management and Neumann MA1 digital room correction. Darkstar , from the Top Gun Maverick soundtrack slammed the strings and horns in the face by placing them in front of the mix with a very present attack and body, but a little less rich in the low mids due to a certain dominance of the tweeter that made the attacks more incisive, represented in the body with a greater amount of mid-highs.
When it comes to jazz, a passage with Leslie Odorn Jr's Look For The Silver is a caress on the face with the roundness of the double bass, drums and piano, and a voice whose harmonics are almost separated from each other.
We then wanted to hear them with something more modern and electronic: Skrillex's Rumble goes well with the sound of 003. Bass and glitch never drool.
Used as a stereo system, without a sub, we have no doubt that the 03s have a modern timbre, still full and non-digital, with a slight predominance in the high mids, which helps a lot in the mix, and a high quality on the transients processed by the tweeter, which paint vocal timbres and acoustic instruments clearly.
For those who are looking for high performance monitoring in a very small size, the best solution is to combine these 03s and a sub, with bass management control. You will be working with full frequency monitoring, the results of which can only be achieved with large three-way monitors that cost at least three times as much as the entire system.
All of the above has a result in mixing: on a calibrated 03 system with subs, you won't miss anything, be it reverb, equalisation, harmonic saturation or compressor. The accuracy of the information coming back to your ears is of a high grade. We used them by holding them more than three metres away with the sub and never detached ourselves from the ease of use, in an acoustically controlled environment. This is the fact we want to emphasise: the best investment for those looking for a complete, professional, high-level listening system can best be made with the 03s and a sub. If used with high level converters, the investment will soon pay off in the coming years.
Used without a sub, the Footprint 03s already blow away all monitors of a similar size: bass that is present but without that smearing from excess bass reflex, round and reliable midrange, treble with above-average detail but without being intrusive. There's everything you want from a monitor and, something not to be underestimated, we can finally appreciate a good three-dimensional field in monitors with DSP and Class D amplification. It takes a few days of intense break-in of the woofer to bring the body of the bass and the speaker to life, so don't judge them as soon as they come out of the box!
Everything perfect then? From a sound point of view, we have no problem recommending them. There is only the slightest noise if we put ears next to the tweeter, as is the case with almost all monitors. At a distance of one meter, we do not hear any noise. If we talk about functions, the Footprint 03s are too basic: no possibility of equalisation, despite the DSP, and no possibility to control them from an external application or save your own presets. Barefoot chose to limit them to just sensitivity control and the selection of four playback modes, but with that DSP and the possibilities of connections, maybe also Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, in our opinion there would be room to make them even more flexible, especially today when in Dolby Atmos installations (note that the 03s reach 101 dB SPL, 4 dB lower than 105 dB Dolby specifications) an eq and delay control is required. Other manufacturers have done better when it comes to DSP access.
Conclusions
Barefoot Footprint03 were a pleasant surprise. After a substantial break-in period, the monitors proved that one can be precise even with a bass reflex port, when it comes to bass. Already excellent as three-way monitors for detail and description, once combined with a sub they deploy unparalleled power in the mix, for the cost of the investment. In a 2.1 configuration they do wonders!
Their quality and flexibility is so high that any musical genre is suitable for mixing or critical listening. The timbre is among the most modern heard and is perfect for the tonal trends of the 2010s. If you are looking for a small but great performing three-way system, the Footprint 03s should be high on your list of monitors to try in the studio.
